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What cameras and monitoring software do you use? I’ve been trying to put together a self-hosted surveillance situation to replace this Nest. So far I’ve got a

What cameras and monitoring software do you use? I’ve been trying to put together a self-hosted surveillance situation to replace this Nest. So far I’ve got a super cheap PoE camera from amazon and Zoneminder. The camera leaves a lot to be desired... and I’m still figuring out Zoneminder

Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
I use motionEye to monitor RTSP feed from two IP cameras (Generic) on RPi 3(SSD, btrfs, zswap, ArchLinux ARM - headless, passive cooling - heat sink case) the feed averages around 30fps(720p) with motion detection. I had a third logitech c720 via USB but removed it to get better frame rates for the former and make room(CPU) for a SDR setup(To receive 433Mhz from other sensors). Note: Generic IP cameras dial home for public identification on their apps and also would never receive security updates. I had to meticulously block all open ports using firewall. If you feel that's too much of risk, then I would suggest building a camera setup with RPi camera or ESP camera yourself to be used with motionEye.
- vcavallo 6y ago
  Thanks for the details! yea i picked up a generic chinese camera and did not at all like the required login to their servers... I’m not confident enough in my sysadmin skills to make sure this thing isn’t spying on me. I’m considering spending 4x-5x the amount on better hardware..
  - Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
    Just to understand the need gap, how much would you be willing to pay for a RPi nano/ESP camera setup with Motion Eye which allows you to store the data in your own NAS?
    - vcavallo 6y ago
      $300-$500 ballpark. especially if the pi is usable for other (relatively light) home server uses and the camera network is extensible
      - Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
        Thanks, not sure whether a Pi Nano can handle more than a feed from 1080p/60 camera 24/7 but I'll post the need gap of self hosted IP camera setup in my problem validation platform[1] to find existing solutions and to see if others want it. [1] https://needgap.com https://needgap.com
        vcavallo 6y ago
        interesting project! thanks for referencing it. how long have you been running it and what’s the experience been like?
        Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
        Thanks, I've been running it for a year. I have detailed, why I created it here[1]. Experience has been great, I has got me valuable insight in using language/grammar to differentiate problems vs startup ideas and issues in doing that. What I have learnt so far is that, It's easier to think what we come up with is a 'startup idea' than 'identifying a problem/need gap'. I'll be improving it in the coming years to study more on the topic. [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23939514 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23939514
colordrops 6y ago
I've tried motioneye and zone minder and they were too complicated or CPU intensive and didn't record audio, so I ended up writing a multiprocess python script with ffmpeg to directly write out raw video data. I've got months of continuous video from two cameras on a 1 TB SSD. I purchased ieGeek 1080p ip cams, but they were not PoE so I bought adapters. Might be easier to just get PoE cams directly. Camera: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QW73RJS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8LvqFbDHWPNZR https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QW73RJS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8L... Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LYW6D7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XPvqFbV6ZNNJ1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LYW6D7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XP... Here's the script: https://github.com/erahhal/ipcam-recorder https://github.com/erahhal/ipcam-recorder I added the script as a systemd service that starts up on its own.

Abishek_Muthian 6y ago

I use motionEye to monitor RTSP feed from two IP cameras (Generic) on RPi 3(SSD, btrfs, zswap, ArchLinux ARM - headless, passive cooling - heat sink case) the feed averages around 30fps(720p) with motion detection. I had a third logitech c720 via USB but removed it to get better frame rates for the former and make room(CPU) for a SDR setup(To receive 433Mhz from other sensors). Note: Generic IP cameras dial home for public identification on their apps and also would never receive security updates. I had to meticulously block all open ports using firewall. If you feel that's too much of risk, then I would suggest building a camera setup with RPi camera or ESP camera yourself to be used with motionEye.

vcavallo 6y ago
Thanks for the details! yea i picked up a generic chinese camera and did not at all like the required login to their servers... I’m not confident enough in my sysadmin skills to make sure this thing isn’t spying on me. I’m considering spending 4x-5x the amount on better hardware..
- Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
  Just to understand the need gap, how much would you be willing to pay for a RPi nano/ESP camera setup with Motion Eye which allows you to store the data in your own NAS?
  - vcavallo 6y ago
    $300-$500 ballpark. especially if the pi is usable for other (relatively light) home server uses and the camera network is extensible
    - Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
      Thanks, not sure whether a Pi Nano can handle more than a feed from 1080p/60 camera 24/7 but I'll post the need gap of self hosted IP camera setup in my problem validation platform[1] to find existing solutions and to see if others want it. [1] https://needgap.com https://needgap.com
      - vcavallo 6y ago
        interesting project! thanks for referencing it. how long have you been running it and what’s the experience been like?
        Abishek_Muthian 6y ago
        Thanks, I've been running it for a year. I have detailed, why I created it here[1]. Experience has been great, I has got me valuable insight in using language/grammar to differentiate problems vs startup ideas and issues in doing that. What I have learnt so far is that, It's easier to think what we come up with is a 'startup idea' than 'identifying a problem/need gap'. I'll be improving it in the coming years to study more on the topic. [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23939514 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23939514

colordrops 6y ago

I've tried motioneye and zone minder and they were too complicated or CPU intensive and didn't record audio, so I ended up writing a multiprocess python script with ffmpeg to directly write out raw video data. I've got months of continuous video from two cameras on a 1 TB SSD. I purchased ieGeek 1080p ip cams, but they were not PoE so I bought adapters. Might be easier to just get PoE cams directly. Camera: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QW73RJS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8LvqFbDHWPNZR https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QW73RJS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8L... Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LYW6D7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XPvqFbV6ZNNJ1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LYW6D7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XP... Here's the script: https://github.com/erahhal/ipcam-recorder https://github.com/erahhal/ipcam-recorder I added the script as a systemd service that starts up on its own.