Hi all,
just wondering which IP-CAMs would be easiest to integrate in openhab. Is there a specific brand where a binding for a IP-Camp already exists? I know there is a genreric binding worked on but just curios if there is one for a specific brand already.
NoTechi
No, there is no generic IP cam binding, nor a specific brand binding. Except Netatmo. There is an existing binding, but the Welcome-camera from Netatmo is a “special kind” of camera. And (AFAIK), it isn’t already implemented in the binding. It’s no classic IP-camera.
Foscam is quite often mentioned here. Myself, I am using an INSTAR camera, which works very good with OpenHAB. Instar is quite popular here in Germany.
The most important thing: The camera must be accessible through CGI-commands. Then openhab can talk to the camera using the http binding. And the camera must support MJPEG. Otherwise the video stream could not be handled by OH.
I want to show a public webcam from the internet in my openhab sitemap. I only have a link to it and on the webspace is a webcam.jpg which changes every minute.
So i use the following code in my sitemap:
Text label="Webcam" icon="camera" {
Video url="http://webcam.abcd.de/webcam.jpg" encoding="mjpeg" label="IP-Cam 01"
}
But there is no automatic refresh every minute. Is this the right command to show the webcam picture? If i remove “encoding=mjpeg” then i geet a blank screen.
But i think, in my case that is no “real” webcam - i need something to show a simple picture? What is the right way to do this and how can i include a refresh setting?
First of all, you shouldn’t hijack another ones thread if you have a completely different issue! 
If you just want to display an image (no video), you shouldn’t use the element type “video”. You can use the Image type. See here for an explanation how to integrate images:
http://docs.openhab.org/configuration/sitemaps.html#element-type-image
You don’t need the encoding parameter for this. And you have the desired refresh parameter.
Ok thanks Jaydee73. Was hoping for a simple solution but getting things working is part of the fun anyhow I got a Foscam but also a Synology NAS with Surveillance Station. Goolge-trial&error fun incoming
NoTechi
Hi Stefan,
Is it allowed to speak in german here?
I try to config my Acti IP Cam for Openhab 2 and it Supports everything you talk about. But my Problem now ist that i have no idea what i have to enter at “CGI-Pfad & -Programm” at the cam Setup.
Can you please help me?
Greatings Lycos
As this is an international forum, other languages than english are not very welcome…
I’m sorry, I do not know the Acti cameras. But I do know that I hadn’t to enter any kind of CGI commands in the CAM setup! The CGI commands have to be entered in an OH script or rule.
Here is an example for my INSTAR camera to activate the alarm monitoring (done in a rule):
sendHttpGetRequest("http://USER:PW@IP/param.cgi?cmd=setmdattr&-name=2&-enable=0&-s=20&-x=70&-y=303&-w=96&-h=294")
Cheers,
Stefan
hi Stefan
would you be able to share the sitemap entries to follow the rule line you’ve pasted here?
There are no sitemap entries for my ip cam. At least not at the moment, as I don’t use the camera picture/video to be displayed in my OH2 sitemap. I simply activate/deactivate the surveillance mode of the camera. And this is done with some rules, based on presence detection (which is another rule…).
So if there is no presence detected, the rule activates the camera surveillance. And if somebody returns home (=presence detected), the surveillance is switched off.
Does this help?
I’m using a camera proxy such as
Works only on Windows though. Maybe source code can be compiled on Windows as well?
Hi stefan,
I have an Ip Cam INSTAR and would like to bind it. Could you please show me how did you do it?
Thanks
For instar cameras some features are implemented in this binding found here