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Let's Build a Network Video Recorder in Python

8fingerlouie 5y ago
I built my own NVR a half a decade ago, using motion detection on nodes (RPi Zero W), recording to a NFS share, and a object detection program running on the server using Pyionotify to detect new files. When it detected a person it sent a notification with Pushover, including a screenshot of whatever was detected, and uploaded the file to a remote server as well. Local NVR isn't worth much if people know where it is. It went through several iterations and "i wonder if" branches, including offloading object detection to Azure ML, and using Azure IOT Hub. While it generally worked well, i've since replaced it with mainstream NVR. UniFi protect for home and HomeKit Secure Video for my summerhouse. Less maintenance, same or better functionality :)
- eternityforest 5y ago
  I definitely see a lot of value in just using the commercial solutions. The ML algorithms seem to have improved a bit, so doing everything on a Pi is more reasonable(Or was, before they became unobtainium), but there's still the issue of... it's a DIY project you have to build. On the other hand, the good mainstream solutions cost actual money, and everything seems to be moving to subscription models, and being able to use a $30 unmodified Amcrest is pretty nice.
  - 8fingerlouie 5y ago
    > the good mainstream solutions cost actual money They do, though a lot can be had "relatively cheap" depending on your needs. In my summerhouse i just want to keep an eye on things when i'm not there, and a dirt cheap Eufy Pan & Tilt [1] camera costs around $50, does object classifcation on board, and has HomeKit Secure Video built in, and if you subscribe to iCloud+, it supports from 5 to unlimited cameras. As it were, we already had an iCloud+ subscription, so the camera operates "for free". It uses very little power, and integrates with my HomeKit bridge in the summerhouse, so no additional infrastructure was needed. Total power consumption for camera + bridge is around 7W, meaning it uses around 62 kwh / year, which matters with european energy prices going through the roof currently. Haven't seen electricity at below €0.5/kwh for a few weeks, and have seen peaks of €0.9/kwh. [1]: https://eu.eufylife.com/products/t8410 https://eu.eufylife.com/products/t8410
    - eternityforest 5y ago
      Wow, that's a lot more expensive than our power. Of course a lot of us don't make very much either. That's a pretty good price for a camera, if you've already got iCloud, but doesn't seem totally practical if you don't already have any Apple gear.
bradknowles 5y ago
Regarding camera brands, I would recommend you see my post at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30550975 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30550975 Unfortunately, many well known brands are actually made by just two different Chinese companies, and are implicated in the subjugation of the Uighur people. Check out the lists that I link to in that message.
- eternityforest 5y ago
  If it weren't for the subjugation and labor rights issues, I really wouldn't care, but that is a pretty serious issue and seems like there's pretty deep involvement there. PineCube plus a 3DP case would seem to be perfect, but it's not PTZ. What about Reolink? Nobody seems to have anything linking them to the Uighur issue, and they are affordable with good features. Do they support multicast DNS or any kind of discovery, or ONVIF? It's not easy to fond out how well that works just from the internet. Another possibility is the ESP32. There are lots of camera capable modules there, but again no PTZ. This is an important issue and I'm glad you brought it up! One feature I'd like to add to my system is an RTSP server, so it can act as an easy web-configurable firmware for a Pi Zero W 2 or the like to act as a camera itself, or for putting analog cameras on the network with capture cards. I also don't see the Yi cams on the list, I wonder how well those can integrate.
  - bradknowles 5y ago
    The issues that I've heard about Reolink have more to do with the equipment just not working well, as opposed to being involved in Uighur suppression. I don't know if Reolink does ONVIF or not, however. And I'm not sure about many other brands. After checking to see if they are a brand owned by HikVision or Dahua, I would check the hardware compatibility lists of software like SecuritySpy (on the Mac) or Blue Iris (on Windows) to see what they say about the camera(s) in question, and also what they recommend.
    - eternityforest 5y ago
      There seems to be vauge rumors about them being bad for some reason, but the reviews all seem good. Maybe they're heavy users of fake reviews. It looks like Huawei has some of the same issues too, but one exec resigned, so maybe things will improve. Xiaomi seems to have slave labor problems too.

I built my own NVR a half a decade ago, using motion detection on nodes (RPi Zero W), recording to a NFS share, and a object detection program running on the server using Pyionotify to detect new files. When it detected a person it sent a notification with Pushover, including a screenshot of whatever was detected, and uploaded the file to a remote server as well. Local NVR isn't worth much if people know where it is. It went through several iterations and "i wonder if" branches, including offloading object detection to Azure ML, and using Azure IOT Hub. While it generally worked well, i've since replaced it with mainstream NVR. UniFi protect for home and HomeKit Secure Video for my summerhouse. Less maintenance, same or better functionality :)

eternityforest 5y ago
I definitely see a lot of value in just using the commercial solutions. The ML algorithms seem to have improved a bit, so doing everything on a Pi is more reasonable(Or was, before they became unobtainium), but there's still the issue of... it's a DIY project you have to build. On the other hand, the good mainstream solutions cost actual money, and everything seems to be moving to subscription models, and being able to use a $30 unmodified Amcrest is pretty nice.
- 8fingerlouie 5y ago
  > the good mainstream solutions cost actual money They do, though a lot can be had "relatively cheap" depending on your needs. In my summerhouse i just want to keep an eye on things when i'm not there, and a dirt cheap Eufy Pan & Tilt [1] camera costs around $50, does object classifcation on board, and has HomeKit Secure Video built in, and if you subscribe to iCloud+, it supports from 5 to unlimited cameras. As it were, we already had an iCloud+ subscription, so the camera operates "for free". It uses very little power, and integrates with my HomeKit bridge in the summerhouse, so no additional infrastructure was needed. Total power consumption for camera + bridge is around 7W, meaning it uses around 62 kwh / year, which matters with european energy prices going through the roof currently. Haven't seen electricity at below €0.5/kwh for a few weeks, and have seen peaks of €0.9/kwh. [1]: https://eu.eufylife.com/products/t8410 https://eu.eufylife.com/products/t8410
  - eternityforest 5y ago
    Wow, that's a lot more expensive than our power. Of course a lot of us don't make very much either. That's a pretty good price for a camera, if you've already got iCloud, but doesn't seem totally practical if you don't already have any Apple gear.

bradknowles 5y ago

Regarding camera brands, I would recommend you see my post at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30550975 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30550975 Unfortunately, many well known brands are actually made by just two different Chinese companies, and are implicated in the subjugation of the Uighur people. Check out the lists that I link to in that message.

eternityforest 5y ago
If it weren't for the subjugation and labor rights issues, I really wouldn't care, but that is a pretty serious issue and seems like there's pretty deep involvement there. PineCube plus a 3DP case would seem to be perfect, but it's not PTZ. What about Reolink? Nobody seems to have anything linking them to the Uighur issue, and they are affordable with good features. Do they support multicast DNS or any kind of discovery, or ONVIF? It's not easy to fond out how well that works just from the internet. Another possibility is the ESP32. There are lots of camera capable modules there, but again no PTZ. This is an important issue and I'm glad you brought it up! One feature I'd like to add to my system is an RTSP server, so it can act as an easy web-configurable firmware for a Pi Zero W 2 or the like to act as a camera itself, or for putting analog cameras on the network with capture cards. I also don't see the Yi cams on the list, I wonder how well those can integrate.
- bradknowles 5y ago
  The issues that I've heard about Reolink have more to do with the equipment just not working well, as opposed to being involved in Uighur suppression. I don't know if Reolink does ONVIF or not, however. And I'm not sure about many other brands. After checking to see if they are a brand owned by HikVision or Dahua, I would check the hardware compatibility lists of software like SecuritySpy (on the Mac) or Blue Iris (on Windows) to see what they say about the camera(s) in question, and also what they recommend.
  - eternityforest 5y ago
    There seems to be vauge rumors about them being bad for some reason, but the reviews all seem good. Maybe they're heavy users of fake reviews. It looks like Huawei has some of the same issues too, but one exec resigned, so maybe things will improve. Xiaomi seems to have slave labor problems too.