1. A method for displaying an image from a camera on a user's system, the method comprising: executing, by a processor, at a site remote from the user's system, the steps of: sending the image to the user's system via a network; refreshing the image periodically according to a refresh frequency rate; maintaining a counter of a number of refreshes that have occurred and a timer of a refresh time since the last image refresh, the refresh frequency rate being evaluated based on the counter and the timer; determining whether the user is inactive, and whether to refresh the image based on a value of the timer and the refresh frequency rate, and incrementing the counter when the image is refreshed; adjusting image parameters over a period of time to produce a degraded image in response to a determination that the user is inactive; periodically sending the degraded image, during the period of time, to the user's system via the network when the refresh frequency indicates a time for an image refresh; re-evaluating the refresh frequency rate when the counter reaches a preset threshold value, wherein the re-evaluation of the refresh frequency rate causes the rate to increase, decrease, or completely stop refreshing of the image; and increasing quality of the degraded image upon receiving a user request to improve the quality of the degraded image.