Double/Triple Duty Cameras with ST Hub

Simple or Complex…

I want to purchase four IP Cameras that include “quality” 2-way audio.

Hold on . . . I’m not finished yet.

I also want these four IP cameras to behave as a "SmartThings"motion-sensor so that they tell the SmartThings Hub that they have detected movement.
I, then, want the ST Hub to activate multiple dimmer switches to turn on lights at a selected dimmer level for a certain amount of time during motion activation. I know that I could do this with motion sensors and dimmer switches, but I want to be able to do this with ST cameras and dimmer switches alone (no separate motion sensors).

What would you suggest?

Thanks!!

P.S. I have my eye on the D-Link DCS-2630L, but right now there is no indication of their support for the SmartThings Hub. :confused:

They won’t work as you envision.

At present, I believe no camera reports motion detection directly to SmartThings, not even the Samsung ones on the official compatibility list.

If this has changed recently, hopefully someone will let us know.

Here’s the list of officially compatible cameras, but that doesn’t mean all camera features are available to ST, only that video clips can be viewed in SmartHome Monitor.

My Diskstation cameras show up as motion detectors and can trigger events within ST like sending out notifications and the like.

Unless I’m misunderstanding what the OP wants.

What are your DiskStation Cameras - ie: the cameras that “show up as motion detectors and can trigger events within ST” ?!?
That’s what I’m looking for.
Please give me (give us ALL) the make and model number of these cameras.

… or is it DiskStation, itself, that can trigger the SmartThings hub. I just want a solution. Please let us know.

Thanks!

I have a bunch of Foscam cameras (some exterior, some interior) connected to my Synology DiskStation. These in turn are visible to ST via the DiskStation Connect app from @swanny

There’s a whole thread on implementing that solution somewhere around here. It’s a bit cumbersome, but if you’re using the DiskStation / Surveillance Station software then you can certainly get ST to react to motion alerts from the cameras.

Although I’m fairly sure if that’s all you want there are probably other ways to achieve that.

If you do it with Synology, though, the video clips don’t show up in Smart Home Monitor, right?

Here’s the topic thread for the Synology disk station.

Note that this does not connect the camera directly to SmartThings. You buy the additional device, the Synology Diskstation ( typically between $140 and $200), you set it up with the cameras, then you use Swanny’s code to integrate the Synology device with SmartThings.

2 Likes

I already have a fairly recent DiskStation (DS214play). I just don’t have surveillance cameras yet because I thought I needed to hook them up directly with ST.

Currently, the only thing I have working effectively with ST are my four Schlage door locks (and they work like magic, I should say.)

So . . . both Viguera and JDRoberts, you suggest that I can purchase any camera that works with Synology DiskStation and use the info derived from the DS cameras to talk to the “Swanny’s code” to allow me to use the SmartThings Hub to control other ST switches like a switch that will turn lights on or off a specific ST compatible switch/dimmer . . . right? Am I getting close to understanding the solution??

Thanks, again.

You might be able to use the DCS-2132L but there is a huge caveat to that. You will need to use the integrated I/O port to wire a z-wave door sensor which allows for external inputs. I believe the monoprice one allows it, but I’m not sure. Once you do this you’ll need to set your desired behavior within the D-Link camera local settings.

Now for another issue, SmartThings cannot currently turn on/off motion detection on the cameras. I don’t know if this is a problem for you or not but if it is a motion detector you only want active while you’re away then you’ll need to create your own custom devicetype to take advantage of the REST commands for the camera. There are several examples of D-Link camera devicetypes on the forum (I created 4 different ones myself). I believe your camera will use the same commands as the DCS-5020L (minus the pan/tilt commands of course).

1 Like

Well… a couple of things… because nothing is just easy… :smile:

If you’re going with the DiskStation, you can use pretty much any camera from the extensive list that they support. The biggest caveat about going that route is that they give you a couple of camera “licenses” for free with the Surveillance Station software, but anything after that you would have to buy additional licenses. So if you have 10 cameras, that can add up quickly. They don’t charge you a monthly fee or anything of the sort, but you have to basically pay up front to be able to hook up the cameras to the DiskStation.

That other thread has all the info that you would need to get the cameras connected to ST. As I said, it’s not the only way to tackle that particular problem, so look around and see… particularly if you’re unhappy about the idea of paying for camera licenses.

With that said, this is what I’m doing with my setup:

  • The interior cameras have “monitor” and “ignore” presets that I created, which was an idea I got a while back from someone else here.
  • The exterior cameras are just configured to record on motion. I used to have them set up to “notify” me but that can old fast so I turned that off… :slight_smile:
  • When the house is in “Away” mode, the interior cameras switch to the “monitor” preset, which points the cameras into the living areas. If there’s motion detected while away, I get a notification.
  • When the house is in “At Home” mode (which happens when a presence sensor is detected), the interior cameras are set to “ignore” mode, which points them upwards towards the ceiling.

You could take the motion alert from any of the cameras and set them up to do whatever you want… turn on a switch, unlock a door, etc. I personally don’t have any routines that do this, but I could set it up to unlock the interior garage door if a presence sensor arrives, followed by motion detected by the camera inside the garage, or something to that effect.

2 Likes

Hmmmm, so much to learn, so many potential paths, so little brain space left. :pensive:

Thank you, Viguera, JDRoberts and Blebson for the direction you have given me. :grinning:

1 Like