That sounded a bit harsh but I’m afraid I tend to agree with the reasoning.
If your kids are stealing from you (and it sounds like you know they’re both doing it?), showing them video evidence to prove exactly which one did it in a particular instance seems to me like it won’t be particularly effective at solving the underlying problems that have led to this behavior.
Just my opinion.
question @jeubanks How did you integrate ezviz cameras with action tiles? Have been trying to do that for ages
Well first I had to get the feed from the rtsp URL and serve that up through an HTTP interface. I first started with Blue Iris and using the Blue Iris built in web server. That worked fine. Then I tried Xeoma and that also worked well. Both of those options cost money, and well I’m a cheap Linux user so I found another option and now I’m running Kerberos.io in two separate docker containers. They serve the RTSP video feed through an integrated web server to my local network. Then in actiontiles in the media section I put in the URL (my local network URL) and save that. From inside my network (computers, tablets, etc) I can see all of my video just fine. From outside my network I have two options. One I can just open the ezviz app which is the easy option. Alternative is if I need to do anything with them I can then go through my VPN to get remote access to my systems.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of using docker you can also run Kerberos.io on a raspberry pi just fine. The limitation with Kerberos.io is that each “instance” is for 1 camera as provided by them. You can hack around that, but it was just really easy to launch two docker images and change the port statement.
BTW helpful item and save you time trying to figure it out. The ezviz RTSP URL follows this format:
rtsp://username:password@internal_IP:554
The username is always “admin” and the password is on the sticker on the side of the camera. It was used when you initially setup the camera. You will also have to go in and disable “secure mode” but you have to do that to use the cameras with Alexa also which is what allows access to the remote viewing without using their app.
Hope that helps.
Thanks I will give a look into the pi solution.
Don’t worry – I was not offended or scared away by the parenting comments. It’s human nature to assume that when kids misbehave, it’s the parents’ fault. And it probably usually is.
My kids, who both steal often and have done so most of their lives, struggle with many behavioral issues. We adopted them from Eastern European orphanages. We have always sought out the best help for them, and they have been seeing expert therapists and psychiatrists for most of their lives, and continue to do so.
We have taught them all the reasons why it’s wrong to steal. (Including the laws against stealing, the Ten Commandments, and how stealing hurts others and themselves.) In our home, it’s not a lack of knowledge, or lack of consequences, or lack of ‘the right treatment’, or lack of solid happily-married highly-ethical parents, or lack of a stable home, or lack of good parenting.
Institutions are very bad places for babies and kids, and the harm that they endure in these places often causes many challenges that are extremely difficult to overcome.
I’m not saying that we’re perfect parents (we aren’t) but we are regularly praised (by their therapy teams, and our family and friends) for the love we give and the sacrifices that we make for these kids. And our kids love us, though they sometimes act the opposite.
Now that I’ve been a parent for about 15 years, I no longer look at other peoples’ kids’ misbehaviors and silently blame the parents. Instead I think … maybe those kids are in the foster care system … maybe their birth parents were too strung out on drugs or alcohol and badly neglected them, and these parents they’re currently with are fostering them. Maybe those kids are adopted from orphanages, like ours are. Maybe those kids have somewhat-hidden health issues, such as autism, that make it extra challenging for them to behave themselves.
For our kids … it not our parenting, or bad relationships, or the neighborhood or their peers. They are very challenged, and we are giving them all the love and help that we possibly can give.
We don’t expect a video system, or SmartThings, or showing them video evidence as proof, to fix our kids’ behaviors or solve the underlying problems that have led to habitual stealing. My hopes are that the security system as a whole will 1) help boost their own sense of self-control (knowing that they will likely get caught); and 2) help us get back the stuff that they steal from us sooner – before they have time to break it, throw it away or sell it.
I continue to learn from and appreciate all of the wonderful advice - especially the advice about camera systems.
As parents we have a tremendous responsibility to try to help our kids turn out alright, and hopefully the capacity to greatly influence them to become better humans.
But I agree with you we should always avoid judging others about whether they “messed up” with their kids. Especially based on what we think we know, which is never the whole story and often relies on our own preconceived notions.
Thanks for sharing about your family. Hopefully this great community can help you find some solutions (among the many others you’re obviously pursuing).
If the security camera has an SD card, and the NVR has battery backup (a UPS), and if I can access the video via the Internet (meaning, via my cell phone) – is all that enough redundancy and backup to keep 7 days of video recordings safe? Or do I also HAVE to use cloud storage as well?
Those questions are have the same answer: It depends.
A lot of questions can’t be answered until the hardware has been chosen and then those questions are answered based upon the requirements of the hardware and the user. Such as 7 days of recording. Is this 7 days of active recording? Meaning record when motion is detected and idle the rest of the time? Or 24/7 record EVERYTHING. That will determine sizing for storage. Then the UPS for the NVR. Depending on which solution you chose you may not need/use an NVR.
Narrow things down a bit to what you like and want and then we can help with the specifics. Or at least ask more questions to get to the specifics.
You are correct. I chose the hardware (I went with Amcrest, thanks in large part to suggestions here at the SmartThings community), and the questions are answered. Thanks again for everyone’s help! I’ll mark this as “solved.”
Hi folks, sadly, the security camera system I ordered, has been discontinued so the seller suggested that I cancel the order. It was an NVR with POE cameras. 
Maybe this was a blessing in disguise though. Maybe the system I bought was overkill.
Goal: To have POE cameras with redundancy, meaning, plug the recorder into a battery backup UPS. So that the cameras keep working during a power outtage or an Internet signal outtage. The video recordings need to automatically send to the cloud + my cell phone, as well as record to a physical recording device.
Question: If I buy POE cameras, do I HAVE to also buy an NVR to reach the goal? Or can I just buy a DVR. In other words, is there any way that I can have video sent to the cloud + my cell phone, by using a DVR? Or do I HAVE to use an NVR?
I am down this road as well. The goal being a NVR 16 channels wifi, POE that can integrate with ST. Say there is camera motion I want light switch to go on during certain times/days.
ONVIF and/or IFTTT would be a huge bonus. I have USB controller on my Shield now and whenever ST goes down, you cant control anything… Wanting a backup to receive alerts and still have some sort of automation when ST goes down.
NVR vs DVR speaks primarily to how the cameras connect to the system. NVR is Network Video Record and uses IP cameras via Cat5/6. DVR is Digital Video Recorder and uses Coax/Siamese cable (one Coax one power). Both can meet your goal but in different ways. Beware IP cameras may NOT work with DVR systems.
NVR, almost all support some cloud based solution, or you need to open ports on your firewall to allow the app to talk to the NVR directly. Dynamic DNS may also need to be configured. Putting a UPS on the NVR (providing it is large enough) will keep the NVR and the cameras running via POE.
DVR, not all support offsite viewing, but most newer ones do. You almost always need to do port forwarding and configure DDNS. As for power, you will need to have the UPS connected to the DVR and to the main power convertor box that the cameras plug into for DC power.
See Security NVR vs DVR. Whats the difference and which do I purchase? for more details about differences.
What did you end up going with and are you happy with the results? I’m also in the market for an security camera system for my place and leaning on a 16 CH NVR with POE setup.