Best camera options for SmartThings integration

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42

Try the new Blink XT cameras

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43

Iā€™m new to ST, so hope question is not to dumb. I was wondering if anyone has written code to link Samsungā€™s Smart Home WiFi Camera SNH-E6440BN to ST. I thought I bought the one that did, but got this model in the mail instead.

44

So now with the problem with integration with blink and smarthings, any 2nd contender for a good wireless camera?

45

What is the issue with integration between Blink and ST?

Iā€™m trying to find a good wireless camera for my home. I was leaning towards Blink even though I dont like that it doesnā€™t have IR/nightvision. I looked at Arlo but Iā€™ve read a few things about it having a really bad lag between real-time and replay time.

46

The new Blink XT has IR/night vision instead of white LEDs

47

How does integration of Surveillance Station work with ST? What kind of benefits do you get with the integration? Thanks!

48

The ST hub talks directly to the diskstation (SS) on your local network using the HubAction API that ST supports. SS talk to the ST cloud for events. SS uses the ST URL callback notification API for motion alerts etc.

This way you get the features of a decent NVR and you can use much better cameras than anything that is officially supported. Thereā€™s some added complexity. And some API that you will rely on.

I get motion detection from the cameras. This is my main alert for front porch activity I can trigger whatever based on that. (I leave my front porch light on all night though.) I also can trigger snapshots (only viewable in the ST app) when, say, my mailbox opens. So, not much, but about all you can expect.

I wouldnā€™t bother trying to get streaming via ST. The official integration streaming is too indirect with the officially supported cameras. Arlo streaming, for example, was a joke with ST. . . . And I donā€™t bother on site streaming via the app for the SS cameras, though it can be done.

. . .

I pretty much just use the integration for notifications. I can see some snapshots in the ST app. Thatā€™s useful. . . . I use the Synology stuff to review timeline footage. But mostly, I just look at the videos on Amazon drive or the Amazon photos app. I have Synologyā€™s Cloud Sync copying all the videos to Amazon Drive. I have 1.2 TB in about 3 months. Weā€™ll see how long unlimited AMZ storage for $60/year lasts. . . . [Iā€™d pay $60 for a TB and just have it auto delete the old files, but I want to see if Amazon will stick to the deal. I canā€™t find any terms of service that Iā€™m violating. . . .]

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49

@asmuts What SS do you recommend for someone with 4 Hiks that just wants to use it for the motion sensing in ST?

50

What diskstation? The 216j is just fine. I have one doing motion detection
for 7 cameras.

https://www.amazon.com/Synology-DiskStation-3-5-Inches-1xGigabit-DS216J/dp/B01BNPT1EG/

You do have to buy licences for each additional camera. I bought mine
online from some chinese retailer.

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51

Remove Blink from this list. It is not ST compatible and theyā€™ve recently screwed their community of customers, out of the blue, yanking official support third party integration

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52

Whats recommended for exterior camera with pan, zoom, night vision and hd 1080p. that can be easily integrated with Smartthings Hub V2. Thanks.

53

Should I be able to see images and/or video from a camera thatā€™s working with my diskstation? The motion detection is working in Smartthings, but Iā€™m not seeing any imagery.

54

Hi asmuts, can you share how you use the HubAction API to have ST and SS talk to each other?

55

Or better yet, do you have any samples? :slight_smile:

56

Since I havenā€™t thought about this for several months, I canā€™t explain how itā€™s done off the top of my head. Check out the DiskStation connect smartapp. I have a fork somewhere on github.

Thereā€™s some documentation here, but I recall some things not working as described. And I really hated working with the API. There was no way to identify what callback call was a response to what request. It was a guess. They didnā€™t provide a way to include a request id. The api is asynchronous, but the work done by the hub is synchronous. It would have been easy to include some metadata . . . .

http://docs.smartthings.com/en/latest/ref-docs/hubaction-ref.html

sendHubCommand is a parent method, if I recall.

def sendDiskstationCommand(Map commandData) {
	def hubaction = createHubAction(commandData)
    if (hubaction) {
		sendHubCommand(hubaction)
    }
}

def createHubAction(Map commandData) {
    
    String deviceNetworkId = getDeviceId(userip, userport)
    String ip = userip + ":" + userport

    try {
        def url = createDiskstationURL(commandData)
        if (url != null) {
            def acceptType = "application/json, text/plain, text/html, */*"
            if (commandData.acceptType) {
                acceptType = commandData.acceptType
            }

            def hubaction = new physicalgraph.device.HubAction(
                """GET ${url} HTTP/1.1\r\nHOST: ${ip}\r\nAccept: ${acceptType}\r\n\r\n""", 
                physicalgraph.device.Protocol.LAN, "${deviceNetworkId}") //, [callback: testHandler]) <-- the callback doesn't work              
                
            if (getUniqueCommand("SYNO.SurveillanceStation.Camera", "GetSnapshot") == getUniqueCommand(commandData)) {
            	if (state.doSnapshotResend) {
                	state.doSnapshotResend = false
                } else {
                	hubaction.options = [outputMsgToS3:true]
                }
            }
            return hubaction   
        } else {
        	return null
        }
    }
    catch (Exception err) {
        log.debug "error sending message: " + err
    }
    return null
}
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57

Iā€™ve got a couple of the Samsung Smartcam HD Proā€™s (SNH-P6410BN/UK), and one of the Samsung Smartcam HD Plusā€™s (SNH-V6414BN/UK).
All of them are working very well with SHM and my Synology Diskstation NAS, using out of the box software and smartapps.
I use Samsung Smart Outlets to switch on the cameras when everyone leaves the house and they switch off as soon as someone returns,
The motion detection on the cameras isnā€™t supported by Smartthings, but it is with the surveillance station software that comes with the Synology NAS.
I use Samsung Smartthings motion sensors to trigger recording via SHM should there be any intrusion and this works well enough.
Streaming live video from any of the cameras works perfectly with the clunky and old Samsung/Techwin app and also with the badly designed smartthings classic app, which is only capable of displaying the video in a small window in portrait view (very poor integration from smartthings).
Iā€™d recommend disabling the microphone permission of the old Samsung/Techwin app because it opens the microphone to listen VERY often and thereā€™s no need for it to do this.
The app still works with microphone permission revoked but I guess that would prevent the two way audio feature of the cameras from working should you need this.
I can download the recordings of events via the apps, or view them on my PC via Synology.
Should there be any intrusion, Iā€™ll have recordings on the SD cards in the cameras. SHM will send one minute clips from each of the cameras to my mobile phone and Iā€™ll have a full backup on the Synology NAS.
Iā€™m quite pleased with this arrangement and it works very well usually.

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