Outdoor sensors

[Tuicemen]

I have several IP cameras now all have motion sensing ability, however none of them are reliable enough for me.
The most reliable camera I had/have for that is a Kinects not only will it detect motion but detects people standing or sitting.
My brother-in-law had a ring IP camera setup for motion and got more false alarms then not.

Modifications and work arounds.... were at one time a big part of X10 use. And with the X10 Pi... I see that attitude of alter and change to make it work continue

That is still a big part of any HA setup not only X10. The PiX10Hub allows you to integrate many different protocols and for them to talk to each other. I've been playing with WeMo devices which use to have sensors and HG. Since Belkin no longer makes a motion sensor one would have to create a workaround and change things to have another protocol sensor work with them. Either that or find a old sensor on ebay. Gone are the days of good one protocol HA setups.

[bkenobi]

I don't consider combining systems a workaround as much as finding a solution. X10 has some good modules. They don't have a good motion sensor. Other systems have good motion sensors but don't work with X10 directly. Using a hub to use both is a design design desicionthat is perfectly valid. Reimagining a lighting arrangement from using x10 to using Alexa is just throwing working modules out because they aren't shiny anymore.

[HA Dave]

I have several IP cameras now all have motion sensing ability, however none of them are reliable enough for me...…….  My brother-in-law had a ring IP camera setup for motion and got more false alarms then not.

Yeah.... my X10 floodlight wasn't reliable either... TONS of false alarms mostly caused by small critters. Maybe.... a motion sensor/camera detection conditional macro like setup could increase reliability? Just thinking and typing out loud. This topic is timely for me. 

Gone are the days of good one protocol HA setups.

I've never felt compelled to limit my solutions to any one brand or idea.

….. Reimagining a lighting arrangement from using x10 to using Alexa is just throwing working modules out because they aren't shiny anymore.

It's still rare that anyone suggests pitching X10... to convert to another protocol. But... there are those that are vanilla ice cream only types. People who want a all-in-one solution as if that somehow simplifies things. What they are really doing... is limiting their automation... in their effort to simplify.

Lighting... is only a small part of my Home Automation.... which includes security, information, convenience, and entertainment... as well as lighting. I'd guess the biggest part of my automation use would fall under "security", with lighting control being (a guess) about 25% of my automation. With X10 still handling about 2/3's of my lighting control. And every bit of my automation integrates through both my iPhone AND Amazons Alexa. 

[soxfan1966]

So I got my 2 new IP cameras and have then running but cannot get them recognized in HG using the Generic IP camera program.

I enter the IP address, user name and password but it never connects. There is an Android app that connects and works just fine.

[bkenobi]

There's nothing wrong with asking about your IP cameras interfacing with HG here, but you will get better answers if you go to the HG forum or the github page. Both of those places are where the HG experts and authors go to ask/answer questions about HG.

[Tuicemen]

Each IP camera manufacture uses a different connection string for their cameras and HD ones are different then Mjpeg ones.
You need to specify make and model your trying in order to get the proper connection string. the camera documentation usually includes this or can be found on their web page.
The sample cameras I included in the image are for 2 Airsight models and Foscam all connection strings are different.

[Tuicemen]

petera posted this during the beta tests of the PiX10Hub you may find it helpful  :

Before adding http camera links in HG camera widgets just try them first in a standard web browser. If they work there they'll work in HG. Here's a typical call to a Foscam camera. Adjust the settings as you need to

http://[IPAddress]/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=snapPicture2&usr=[Username]&pwd=[Password]

I've tested most camera types in HG and they all seem to work...…
….Ps this link gives you every conceivable URL for nearly all the cameras known to mankind   https://www.ispyconnect.com/man.aspx?n=Generic

[soxfan1966]

Ok thank you.  I'm away for a few days now but next chance I get I will try.

[soxfan1966]

Good morning.   Tried playing around with this today.

Using the https://www.ispyconnect.com site and my camera types I was able to get two of them to work.  Still trying the other one (different brand).  Thanks

[Tuicemen]

Glad to see your making progress.
Perhaps you can post what cameras your able to get setup with HG so others may feel confident about using HG to monitor those.

[soxfan1966]

Good afternoon all.

OK, here's what I got.  I have 2 CamHi outdoor IP cameras setup and working and added to HomeGenie using the tool here:  https://www.ispyconnect.com/sources.aspx

I also have 1 indoor bullet cam that is a ICSee (or I Can See) model.  That one is connected in HomeGenie, but all I get is an empty jpeg image (which is the same thing I get using the same ip address in the browser from using the ispyconnect tool)

However, even if I use the option for the ip address in HomeGenie with the username and password (it gets generated for you) and / or if I use the separate User Password field in the camera setup, nothing shows up unless I first open a separate browser window and then login to the camera with the username and password.  Then the images show up - sometimes.  Not really sure what the deal is.

Also, one of the cameras appears in the android app (but with no image) and I cannot seem to get the second one to appear as a device in the android app - not entirely sure how I am supposed to synch up the android app with the info from the PiHub.

I attached 2 images - one that shows what the cameras show with no image, and then ones with an image:

[Tuicemen]

I couldn't get the authorization to work in the HG Generic Camera app.
However if you enter the username and password in as part of the Ip it connects so you might try that.
USERNAME:PASSWORD@YOUR_CAMERA_IP

[soxfan1966]

Is there a way to get the generic IP cameras to trigger another event when it senses motion?

[Tuicemen]

I've not even attempted to try that! I get far to many false emails from my camera on motion if setup so for me it is not even worth trying.

[bkenobi]

I don't have any cameras set up, but HG will require a trigger to do anything. Alternately, if the camera can perform an action on motion detection then you can use HG's API interface to trigger the event from the camera.  If the camera doesn't have a way to detect motion, you will need a software that can since HG does not have any component for this.