Camera Options

Apps & Services HABPanel
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OK, so there are a lot of threads that discuss cameras, but some of them are quite old and it’s difficult at times to understand what relates to past difficulties vs. current state.

I’d like to add some outdoor cameras to my house and be able to display them on a HabPanel. I have some preferences:

  1. easy setup
  2. completely wireless (i.e. battery)
  3. Display on HabPanel
  4. Local recording

I’ve looked at ring (doorbell and cameras) and they seem to cover 1 & 2, but I’m not so sure on #3, and I think #4 is only available via cloud (which you pay for). Most IP camera solutions look like they will take much more setup, and will require at least wired power, though they are more flexible in meeting #3 and #4.

Is there a solution out there that offers easy setup, completely wireless and display to HabPanel?

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Imho you will struggle to find what you want. Cameras are power hungry.

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The last time I looked the answer was no. Neither Ring, nor Nest, nor Arlo (the three big players in wireless cameras) allow you see the stream outside of their app/web pages. There was a way to get at a URL that you could put on your sitemap for Nest, but Google further obfuscated their page’s source code and it no longer works.

4

We have some Hikvision cameras that are connected with Ethernet for network & power. I have not yet integrated them with OH yet though. It is accessible through RTSP though.

Here is our outdoor camera.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M1EMS52

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https://m.aliexpress.com/wholesale/wifi+solar+camera.html?channel=direct&keywords=wifi+solar+camera&catId=301102&initiative_id=AS_20191125104918&SearchText=wifi+solar+camera

These tick some of of your boxes.
You could use the stream from the camera or, even better, run it through motioneye or similar.

6

Do the other ring products (motion sensors, contact sensors, etc.) work with standard Z-wave controllers?

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Doubt it but I have no idea. I don’t use the Ring products. They are most likely WiFi or Zigbee though.

8

I’m leery of cameras from China from a security perspective.

I also don’t really care for cameras that can only be accessed via the cloud. I want local access and don’t necessarily want them to be sent elsewhere. It would be great if I could get this functionality along with wireless capability that stays just internal to my setup without using the internet, even if that does mean I can’t monitor it from far away.

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The ring site says their sensor are Z-wave.

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Our database lists a PIR sensor and a Door/Window Contact sensor from Ring. Nothing else.

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If they say Zwave, then they will work with the Zwave binding. They might need to be added to the database if they are new, or at least new to OH users.

12

Oops. You’re stuffed there then :slight_smile: All camera’s are made in China. The cheap ones might be “watching” you and the expensive ones are :slight_smile: It’s how you use them camera though

For the most part, these types of cameras do not need a cloud offering. They have a local stream that anything can connect to and render.
You could use another RaspberryPi to install MotionEye which is a great CCTV server. From there you can control any or all of your cameras and not have any of them connect out.

If you’re really worried, do as I have done and have a separate vlan for CCTV and they you are ensured that nothing can get in or out unless you allow it. :slight_smile:
On most routers you should be able to block internet access for a certain IP address (camera) and then it won’t be able to talk out but can still be used locally.

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