They’ve answered some of the questions, but not the important ones about where the images go, can they be managed, and if they get deleted when the DH/SmartApp is removed.
Here are the answers that I’ve received:
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Can you save an image to state using base64 encoding and display it with the Carousel Tile without using storeImage?
No, state is not designed to accommodate that. -
Can you use multiple carouselTiles that display different images?
Unknown if this is supported currently, easiest path is to hack an existing device type handler -
When the carouselTile has multiple images, can you programmatically change which image is displayed?
No, we’d need to add support for this -
When you overwrite an image that the Carousel Tile is using, it doesn’t display the new image until you re-open the device. Is there a way to force the Carousel Tile to refresh?
No, we’d need to add support for this -
It looks like there’s a file size limit of a little over 1MB for storing images which is a problem for a lot of cameras. Are there any conversion commands that allow you to resize the image before storing it?
At the moment we do not have conversion commands for image. We are looking at various options on best to covert image files, and the timing of this feature is still needs to be worked out. -
Since ST supported cameras no long do images and only support live feed, is that something we can do in our own device handlers? If so, can you provide an example of how this can be done?
It’s not clear if we can support this, the Product Manager for video is going to bring this up with the team for discussion.
I personally think they’re not responding to the image management questions because they’re concerned that users will be upset if they confirm that all the images stored are floating around out there and there’s no way to see what’s been stored or remove them.
@RBoy came up with the idea to use base64 encoding and store the image in an attribute called “imageDataJpeg”. It’s not an official attribute of the “Image Capture” capability, but we’ve both been including it in our DH’s that support images. If enough developers start using the attribute, we’re hoping that SmartTiles will support it.
I’ve stopped using the carouselTile and storeImage command and I’ve been using the custom attribute mentioned above and the htmlTile to display the encoded images. If you decide to do this, be aware that the htmlTile is not officially supported yet so the way it works could change at any time.
If you want to see how to implement that, see my Blink Camera DH and SmartApp. It’s open source and provides basic functionality, but if you want a fully featured DH for Blink Camera, it’s probably worth purchasing rboys.