Ask HN: IP cameras that don't require an app or internet

• amdacli

  1 6 5.4 Go

  Amcrest / Dahua HTTP API Client

I bought a couple Amcrests just a week ago, and they still operate identically to ones I purchased back in 2017. They have apparently re-branded Dahua's software, since the HTTP APIs are identical, and there are still lots of "Dauha" strings in the configs[0].

I think a lot of the problems with IP cams aren't with the cameras themselves, but the poor state of open-source media players. Getting mplayer, ffplay, or vlc to play nicely with any ipcam has been a Labor of Hercules. If you're using the versions in repos--which are usually quite stale--all bets are off. I've had much better luck using the latest installers, direct from the project websites. So far, VLC seems to work best for me[1].

[0] https://github.com/BourgeoisBear/amdacli

[1] https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

• VideoLAN Client (VLC)

  379 12,995 0.0 C

  VLC media player - All pull requests are ignored, please follow https://wiki.videolan.org/Sending_Patches_VLC/

  

I bought a couple Amcrests just a week ago, and they still operate identically to ones I purchased back in 2017. They have apparently re-branded Dahua's software, since the HTTP APIs are identical, and there are still lots of "Dauha" strings in the configs[0].

I think a lot of the problems with IP cams aren't with the cameras themselves, but the poor state of open-source media players. Getting mplayer, ffplay, or vlc to play nicely with any ipcam has been a Labor of Hercules. If you're using the versions in repos--which are usually quite stale--all bets are off. I've had much better luck using the latest installers, direct from the project websites. So far, VLC seems to work best for me[1].

[0] https://github.com/BourgeoisBear/amdacli

[1] https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

• WorkOS

  workos.com sponsored

  The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS. The APIs are flexible and easy-to-use, supporting authentication, user identity, and complex enterprise features like SSO and SCIM provisioning.

  

• PiWebcam

  1 3 10.0 Python

  Webcam for my Pi Zero NOIR

I'm assuming, given where you're asking, that it would be fine to suggest a DIY option?

If so: on my desk right now is a Raspberry Pi Zero with a NoIR camera, configured so that when it gets power a small Python script starts up as a web server and begins hosting the camera output.

Here's the code for both the server and a webpage to auto-refresh the camera view. MIT license, so have fun:

https://github.com/BenWheatley/PiWebcam

• frigate

  291 14,734 9.9 Python

  NVR with realtime local object detection for IP cameras

AXIS P1468-LE Bullet Camera

I usually find these on eBay.

[1] https://github.com/blakeblackshear/frigate

• mediamtx

  11 9,917 9.7 Go

  Ready-to-use SRT / WebRTC / RTSP / RTMP / LL-HLS media server and media proxy that allows to read, publish, proxy, record and playback video and audio streams.

  

For my apartment, I run rtsp-simple-server[1] on my home server and use Raspberry Pis with generic USB webcams running ffmpeg to stream the audio/video to the RTSP server. Then I run camera.ui[2] separately for a nicer interface on top of all the cameras, HomeKit integration, etc.

The only downside hardware-wise is I don't get any indoor IR night vision with these, which some of the nicer "smart home" account-locked ones do.

It's honestly not too bad to set up if you run [1] and [2] in Docker. I've done disaster recovery scenarios of my home infra where I straight up disconnect the modem's uplink and everything works without any issues.

[1] - https://github.com/bluenviron/mediamtx

[2] - https://github.com/seydx/camera.ui

• camera.ui

  10 564 0.0 Vue

  NVR like user Interface for RTSP capable cameras

For my apartment, I run rtsp-simple-server[1] on my home server and use Raspberry Pis with generic USB webcams running ffmpeg to stream the audio/video to the RTSP server. Then I run camera.ui[2] separately for a nicer interface on top of all the cameras, HomeKit integration, etc.

The only downside hardware-wise is I don't get any indoor IR night vision with these, which some of the nicer "smart home" account-locked ones do.

It's honestly not too bad to set up if you run [1] and [2] in Docker. I've done disaster recovery scenarios of my home infra where I straight up disconnect the modem's uplink and everything works without any issues.

[1] - https://github.com/bluenviron/mediamtx

[2] - https://github.com/seydx/camera.ui

• firmware

  18 1,058 9.8 C

  Alternative IP Camera firmware from an open community (by OpenIPC)

  

• InfluxDB

  www.influxdata.com sponsored

  Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale. Get real-time insights from all types of time series data with InfluxDB. Ingest, query, and analyze billions of data points in real-time with unbounded cardinality.

  

• yi-hack-Allwinner-v2

  6 709 9.0 Shell

  Custom firmware for Yi 1080p camera based on Allwinner platform

i use yi home camera (4 pack on amazon for $72 currently) which runs over wifi and firmware via https://github.com/roleoroleo/yi-hack-Allwinner-v2. this bypasses the app and internet connection entirely. you will need some microSD cards to flash and run the cameras.

this exposes RTSP/ONVIF and also allows for local motion detection and recording capabilities.

i also use https://www.scrypted.app/ to handle MQTT for motion detection events from the camera and restream to apple home to take advantage of notifications on my phone, remote streaming, etc.

• yi-hack-v5

  2 707 8.9 C

  Even newer Custom Firmware for Xiaomi Cameras based on Hi3518ev200 Chipset. It includes free RTSP, ONVIF and other improvements based on the work by roleoroleo

Xiaomi yi with replacement firmware https://github.com/alienatedsec/yi-hack-v5

Suggest a related project