It’s a ST iPhone quirk, that’s because when you click on the full screen button ST closes the stream and then reopens it on the iPhone. Since blink live video URL’s are strictly one time use the next time ST tires to open it it won’t work. However the ST Android version seems to behave itself and doesn’t close the connection and instead just redirects the stream to the full screen video app and viola it works! @slagle some feedback for the phone product mgrs. For change the Android guys got something right.
Hey guys, I’ve just spent 30 minutes reading through this thread and couldn’t find the answer I was looking for. RBoy, this device handler is AWESOME. Thanks for all your work. I know this wasn’t a feature originally and it still might not be, but is motion detected by the native camera still the only trigger for recording clips? Or can you set different triggers for recording (either with rule machine or within the device handler?) Many reviews say there is a substantial lag between motion and recording within the camera itself, so this DH feature is a make or break for me. Thanks again!
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Yes motion sensor is the only trigger at this time. There is a hack
available. If you arm the system and then take a snapshot it can trigger a
video recording. But it’s not a 100% reliable way.
The better way would be to request Blink to provide a way to manually
trigger a recording.
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Thanks for the quick response. I went ahead and sent them a suggestion. For people that have the system, how long is the lag between actual motion and recording? Is it 2-3 seconds or less than 1 second. Would be nice to know before I invest.
@Rboy. Can you clarify your answer for FAQ #24 :
24 . Can I use the camera in Smart Home Monitor (SHM)
No, ST does not support third party cameras in SHM. You can however use it as a motion sensor in SHM.
I’m assessing Arlo vs Blink, and I have both setup on my ST hub and selected to record in SHM (Premium ST feature, but still free under beta). With the Arlo integration, when an intrusion is detected I get a video capture under SHM which I can play in the SHM intrusion report. However, for the Blink integration I get “Blink Camera is unavailable” msg. Clearly ST support 3rd party cameras in SHM (at least Arlo is supported). Will you consider enabling this feature for your Blink device handler too? tnx.
No ST does not support video recording from third party cameras. Arlo
integration is done by ST and is in BETA. We have been requesting ST to
allow third party video integration. Feel free to drop them a note.
Meanwhile when Blink detects motion it takes a video clip and uploads it to
its own cloud.
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It’s pretty much instantaneous, less than a second I’d say between motion detected and recording. It depends upon the sensitivity you’ve configured. Do NOTE that however the recording delay often impacted by the WiFi signal. The WiFi signal quality has the biggest impact on responsiveness of the camera and battery life. Some wifi router which aren’t totally spec can cause trouble when the camera wakes up and tries to connect to the WiFi causing it to retry which then causes delays and other issues. So definitely invest in a great wifi router for best performance.
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Ok good to know! I’ve got a pretty solid network setup here, so that shouldn’t be the bottleneck. Thanks again.
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Thanks for the hard work. I downloaded the app and DH from your premium website, and I have a couple of questions. Bear in mind, I haven’t yet had the chance to read the entire 1300 post thread.
Firstly, it seems the smart app created my 5 cameras correctly, though I cannot seem to find the connection status tiles.
More importantly, I am trying to figure out my best configuration settings for my cameras.
I would like to be able to use all of the cameras as motion detectors for various actions 24/7, but I would prefer that I only get alerts from either ST or the Blink app when away and at night. As it is set right now, if someone walks past one of my cameras my phone goes crazy. Is this possible?
I would suggest don’t use the notification option in the Smartapp, each camera acts like a motion sensor, just a simple rule or app from the marketplace to notify you when there is motion only when in XXX mode. The Smartapp is more geared towards a security setup rather than use towards a basic motion sensor.
I’m sorry, I’m confused. When you say “don’t use the notification option in the SmartApp” what do you mean? Toggling the walking man?
The issue isn’t so much with ST notifications, rather it is the blink app notifications. I do not mind if every motion event causes video to be stored, but every time someone walks past a camera my blink app beeps at me.
Also, did you see my question about the signal strength?
Thanks again!
Blink app notifications cannot be controlled AFAIK. You should contact
blink support and send them a feature request.
The only way I know is to turn off the whole app notifications from the OS.
Don’t see any signal question
I was under the impression that each camera ‘thing’ was able to display its wifi and sync signal strength.
With the old interface it would but we have simplified the UI and now it
doesn’t. Primarily because once it’s installed the signals don’t really
change.
I installed the device handler and smartapp last night, but cant get the smartpp configured within ST. I tried last night and i would get an error saying “there was a problem processing your request, please try again”. i read through part of the thread and saw that this might be a problem on the ST cloud side, so i left it alone for the night. Im getting the same error message this morning. Do i need to create a device in the IDE first, or should that automatically create the device after i get the smartapp configured? Im not sure where the problem is with the smartapp.
Hi @RBoy,
I agree on sending a feature request. I just sent one for this actual issue to Blink support.
Please Anyone who agrees with me, please copy my e-mail pasted below or create your own to Blink Support:
Good morning Blink,
I am in real need for the following urgent features implication:
- I and a lot of users from SmartThings need to be able to turn off the notifications in the Blink native app and have SmartThings integration send Push notification directly from the ST integration.
- We need to be able to have guest access account added to our main account and control thing access like (live stream view, push notification, temporary access, ability to change settings.)
The device is created automatically make sure you’ve installed the device handler, I would suggest delete it all and start over and check the installation steps again.
not sure why i didnt try that before asking for help. i remember getting an error when i installed the app last night, i somehow missed a small section of code (even with ctrl+a), i thought i fixed it since it installed after i added a } to the end because of what the error message said, but apparently not. after a reinstall of the device handler and smartapp, i think im in good shape! i get the stream in the app! thanks!
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Thanks for this awesome work! I just purchased access and installed the Blink Camera handler and manager. I’m trying to use the Blink Cameras as motion sensors to turn on lights while disarmed but seem to be having problems. I thought I read this was a supported feature - did I misunderstand? I’m using Core Pistons to setup the rules so maybe I’m not doing something right. But I also just tried setting up a simple motion alert that triggers a light via Smart Lighting. Is there some caveat I might be easily overlooking? It definitely works if the Blink system is active and the camera armed.
It needs to be armed for it to act as a motion sensor and send notifications.