Hey guys,
Thread title says it all - I’m wondering if Echo Show can show a video stream from an OpenHAB ipcamera binding item.
I can see the video stream in MainUI and the item is found as type CAMERA in the Alexa app, but neither the app nor the Echo Show can display the camera stream.
Regards
Alex
Hopefully someone that knows how to do it will post as I dont really know if it can be done.
There is this similar thread see here.
I believe Alexa can show a jpg or a mp4 recording, but the issue is starting a live feed as you need RTSP or WebRTC to do it and it needs to be via HTTPS with a valid signed cert.
If you want 2 way audio then you must use webRTC according to the Alexa API docs.
I saw some people mention using https://voicemonkey.io/ on the web to trigger routines and send video, but my guess is it may need to be mp4. The ipcamera binding can create mp4 recordings from any camera that has a rtsp feed or other type of feed that ffmpeg can use.
Its also difficult to know if this is possible to do in all countries as some of the Alexa stuff only works if you select your in a country they allow the feature to work in.
With Google Home and Chromecast devices it is easy to do as they support HLS streams which the binding can create. Using a tablet on the wall with the main UI and a widget is probably a better long term alternative and may end up cheaper.
If I read this correct, protocols RTSP and HLS are supported, so we’d be good on that end.
I’m not sure how the Alexa-certified cameras like Blink etc. handle this (if they need to be certified for using a stream or what not), but since they offer the functionality for skill devs and we can set up our items as CAMERA, my naive hope would be that there is a way and I’m just not smart enough to figure it out 
I’m with you on the tablet approach btw and also using MainUI for a video stream, but since I got an Echo Show in my office room I was wondering if this would actually be possible.
I found this for you as it looks like CameraStreamController is soon to be added:
Major code refactoring by jsetton · Pull Request #394 · openhab/openhab-alexa (github.com)
It may be possible to use https://voicemonkey.io/ to do it in the meantime and whilst it is in Beta the skill is free.
This is a skill that seems to act as an interface : https://monoclecam.com/
Most probably nothing for people with security concerns as the cams credentials need to be entered.
Do you know if there’s a way to see when that would be implemented into the live skill?
See the github link above.
I did - but I only found “I think we are good for a beta test for sure !”. No indication on when it will be implemented / live (unless I overlooked it).
Feel free to join the beta test. I am interested to hear feedback about the new camera integration.
Thanks for the note! I registered for beta participation but haven’t heard back yet.
You should have received an email generated by Amazon from the openHAB Foundation titled “You’re invited to beta test a new Alexa skill”. I just sent you a reminder email. Check your spam box if you don’t see it in your inbox.
Once you have it, you need to click on enable the (beta) skill link and accept disclaimer.
Are there any new updates in this area?
I wish to find the most seamless and reliable way to automatically display my Axis doorcam on any of the Echos in the house when someone rings the doorbell.
@jeshab: I’m looking into this a bit, and have a couple questions. It looks like the access to OpenHAB needs to be unauthenticated from Alexa’s end, right? Second, is the request for the stream made from the Echo Show device itself (so i.e. I could allow access to this from inside my network, but not out), or from amazon’s servers (and proxied to the echo)?
Correct but only on your local area network. I have been going back and forth with Amazon and they finally agreed to fix the authentication issue I raised to them. However, this will most likely take a while before they release this.
From the echo show, that’s why I mentioned the access should only be allowed locally. When you request to open a stream, the skill return the URL to access it back to Alexa API which then provides that URL to the device making the request. The requirement to set a proxy is just to fulfill the valid SSL certificate and port 443 requirements. As a matter a fact, I don’t believe the proxy domain for that certificate need to be accessible from the outside as long as you use a DNS proxy (e.g. dnsmasq) on your network that would make it accessible locally. This would need to be tested though.