Controlling Foscam Camera Functions from ISY?

[klebel]

Has anyone figured out how to control their cameras from the ISY?  I have several Foscam camera around my house.  Here is the scenario I would like to build.

 

Geofence around my home created within Mobilinc.  When I leave the geofence area the ISY sets my Foscam cameras to send emails with snapshots if it senses movement or sound in the house.  When I arrive back within the geofence area I want the ISY to disable this function again so I am not constantly triggering it.  Is this even possible?

 

Thanks,

 

Kerry

[smokegrub]

There is perhaps a better solution, but I power my cameras with Insteon devices which I control using my ISY and MobiLinc. I simply power down my cameras when arriving and up when leaving. Of course, geofencing would be readily available using than approach.

[klebel]

Thanks.  I was thinking there had to be a way via web services to do it as well.  I would prefer to not have to power down the cameras if at all possible.  I would have to replace about 6 outlets to make that happen.

[KeviNH]

Yes, this usually can be accomplished with a Network Resource, not all cameras are identical.

 

On some FOSCAM models, you can make an HTTP "GET" call to the camera with a URL path of /set_alarm.cgi?motion_armed=0&mail=0 to disable motion detection and email out.  You'll need to supply administrator credentials as HTTP BASIC authentication (user and pwd).

[stusviews]

You can control nearly any aspect of Foscam camera with the Network Module. Here's an example

Edited December 26, 2016 by stusviews

[builderb]

I'm actually working on some of this now, although not with Foscams. I use the ISY's network module to access my surveillance software and make changes there. My exterior cameras record continuously, but my interior cameras are set to 'inactive' when I'm home (unless there's an alarm state) so they don't even show up in the NVR software for viewing. When I leave, they are activated and set to record motion events and alert me.

 

Added benefit is that only the NVR is exposed to the Internet, not individual cameras.

[PurdueGuy]

I'm actually working on some of this now, although not with Foscams. I use the ISY's network module to access my surveillance software and make changes there. My exterior cameras record continuously, but my interior cameras are set to 'inactive' when I'm home (unless there's an alarm state) so they don't even show up in the NVR software for viewing. When I leave, they are activated and set to record motion events and alert me.

 

Added benefit is that only the NVR is exposed to the Internet, not individual cameras.

Might I ask which brand/model NVR you have?   I've started to look into this, but haven't done a deep dive.

[builderb]

Might I ask which brand/model NVR you have? I've started to look into this, but haven't done a deep dive.

It's a software solution, Security Spy, it runs on a Mac mini server I have. I've also been running Zoneminder in a virtual Linux server on my iMac lately. My ultimate goal is to move away from Security Spy and run Zoneminder on a Raspberry Pi, or rather on an expandable group of Pis.

 

And it's not that I don't like Security Spy, it's great if you're on OS X. But it's pricy, whereas ZM is free. I have a 4-camera license for SS, and it's cost $125 so far. If I need a fifth camera, it's another $125 for the 8 camera license. And if you want or need to run it on a second computer, you need another license.

 

I like the software solution a lot because I want to be able to have my software run scripts on alerts, and so the software can respond to automation system commands, such as disabling cameras if I'm home. Looking through consumer-grade hardware NVRs, I was not confident I could do everything I wanted.

[PurdueGuy]

Great, that helps a lot!   I too wasn't happy with the commercial ones.  I will look into ZM over the weekend.

[builderb]

Great, that helps a lot! I too wasn't happy with the commercial ones. I will look into ZM over the weekend.

The hardest part of ZM is finding the stream addresses for your cameras, although if all your cameras are the same, if you do it once, you're good.

 

This was an invaluable resource in stream-hunting.

 

http://www.ispyconnect.com/sources.aspx

 

Let me know how it goes, and what hardware you end up using.

[PurdueGuy]

I already have 3 wireless Foscams, so I'm going to start with those.  I'd prefer a wired solution, but hey, these were easy and I got them cheap!  I'm planning to put them on a separate/isolated network, not accessible from the internet.

[Jimbo.Automates]

I have a working polyglot node server for older foscam's and currently working on adding newer HD foscam's which will hopefully use the onvif standard which will allow controlling many cameras. I hope to release the current version when I return from vacation.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[rehills]

I have had great success using the ISY and Network Resources to control my Insteon (Foscam) cameras.  For instance, when I say "Alexa, Set Home On" all of the cameras stop roaming and point to the ceiling.  When I say "Alexa, Set Away On", the cameras point to their preset positions.

 

Example:  Point to ceiling (predefined Foscam camera position #8

 

POST /decoder_control.cgi?command=45&user=xxxxx&pwd=xxxxx HTTP/1.1

 

See stuviews Foscam IP Camerca CGI Guide above for more details. 

 

Example: http://<IP_CAM>/decoder_control.cgi?command=30&user=<user>&pwd=<pass> = Set the preset 0

 

 

command values:

 

0 up

1 Stop up

2 down

3 Stop down

4 left

5 Stop left

6 right

7 Stop right ... Reserved

25 center

26 Vertical patrol

27 Stop vertical patrol

28 Horizon patrol

29 Stop horizon patrol

30 Set preset 0

31 Go preset 0

32 Set preset 1

33 Go preset 1

34 Set preset 2

35 Go preset 2 .... 62 Set preset 16

63 Go preset 16 And the list goes further until preset 16

94 IO output high

95 IO output low

Edited April 8, 2016 by rehills

[zerop]

Has anyone figured out how to control their cameras from the ISY?  I have several Foscam camera around my house.  Here is the scenario I would like to build.

 

Geofence around my home created within Mobilinc.  When I leave the geofence area the ISY sets my Foscam cameras to send emails with snapshots if it senses movement or sound in the house.  When I arrive back within the geofence area I want the ISY to disable this function again so I am not constantly triggering it.  Is this even possible?

 

Thanks,

 

Kerry

 

Yes, this can be done.  I spent a long time figuring it out.  I've figured out a portion of it and the Foscam CGI user manual just doesn't explain it all.  I've figured it out for my model FI9821E.  What model Foscam cameras do you have?

[jseay]

I'm in the market for cameras and have been looking at both the Foscam and Insteon cameras. I have read that comparable models are the same or almost the same, Smarthome just re-brands Foscam units.

1. Are they the same or is there a difference?
2. Are the SD and HD indoor and outdoor SmartHome Insteon cameras strictly IP H.264 cameras and don't actually have any Insteon functions?
   • Do they repeat Insteon RF signals?
   • Can they be polled for their status via Insteon?
   • Can they send Insteon commands when they sense motion?
   • Can any of their functions be controlled by Insteon commands?

My suspicion is that everyone (SmartHome, UD, etc) is controlling their cameras over the IP network. I do believe there are cameras that have Z-Wave functions integrated into them.

[stusviews]

Insteon cameras are Insteon in name only. They have absolutely no Insteon functions, none. They were originally branded Smarthome.

[KeviNH]

Not all cameras are readily controllable via TCP/IP, some cameras get into a weird state when you just push settings at them without actually going through their WebUI.

 

Some cameras can actually control the ISY994 -- I have IP cameras which can be make a HTTP call upon motion detection.   I configured the camera to send a REST "RunIf" command each time motion is detected.

 

My suspicion is that everyone (SmartHome, UD, etc) is controlling their cameras over the IP network. I do believe there are cameras that have Z-Wave functions integrated into them.

 

Agreed, seems like all cameras on the market today only use IP network, not other wireless protocols like Insteon/Z-Wave.  Even the Schlage "Z-wave" branded Nexia cameras don't actually use Z-Wave protocol.

[502ss]

Not all cameras are readily controllable via TCP/IP, some cameras get into a weird state when you just push settings at them without actually going through their WebUI.

 

Some cameras can actually control the ISY994 -- I have IP cameras which can be make a HTTP call upon motion detection.   I configured the camera to send a REST "RunIf" command each time motion is detected.

 

 

 

Agreed, seems like all cameras on the market today only use IP network, not other wireless protocols like Insteon/Z-Wave.  Even the Schlage "Z-wave" branded Nexia cameras don't actually use Z-Wave protocol.

Can you share which model camera you have that can send http to the isy? Does this same camera also accept input from http? This is exactly what I am looking for!

[KeviNH]

I think many of the AXIS cameras can do this, but it requires several extra steps to configure within ACAP.

 

 

Y-cam calls this feature "HTTP alarm sending", some of the Y-Cam clones call it "HTTP event alarm management".

 

Y-cam cameras are not easy to control from a Network Resource, they don't publish an API, and changing settings requires using POST, if the message isn't exactly the same as what the WebUI would send (all headers and parameters), weird things happen.  The other downside to Y-Cam is that they are currently focused on their cloud-tethered "HomeMonitor" product and service.

 

Of the Y-Cam clones, the best is Sharx.  Their SCN-3905 is particularly interesting because it has all the above HTTP features, and also hard-wired alarm input and output; you can forcibly trigger "motion", record based on input from an external signal source.

[Jimbo.Automates]

Thanks everyone for the info on other cameras. I wish there was a camera closer to exactly what is being asked for. I need to study this further before I buy another camera. But if you want to control some cameras I just released this and hopefully can add other cameras https://tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.universal-devices.com%2Findex.php?/topic/18810-Polyglot-Camera-NodeServer&share_tid=18810&share_fid=23986&share_type=t

Polyglot Camera NodeServer

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[PeterF]

Folks I'm finding that stusviews link above to "here's an example" results in an http "404" error".  Looked like a good resource - is this or something like it available elsewhere?

[cowinger]

Maybe this is the one you are looking for.

 

http://ipcamcontrol.net/files/Foscam%20IPCamera%20CGI%20User%20Guide-V1.0.4.pdf

 

Hope this helps.

[PeterF]

Thank you cowinger - that is a great start.  But there seems to be an important command missing for recording.  There is a command to snap a picture (works great), and there's a command to configure the alarm recording.  But I couldn't find anything to manually start or stop recording.  Did I somehow miss it?  Is anyone aware of the command to do this?

[cowinger]

Does this code help you?

 

 

Function: Set schedule recordconfig

Privilege: admin

Usage:  /cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=setScheduleRecordConfig

Param:  isEnable: Schedule-Record enable status, 0-disable,1-enable

        recordLevel: Level for drop frame,0-30/30,1-24/30,2-15/30,3-8/30,

                                          4-4/30,5-1/30;

        spaceFullMode: The process method when SD card is full,0-cover the

                                              oldest video and continue record,1-stop record

        isEnableAudio: Is recording include audio? 0-no,1-yes

        scheduleN: The motion alaram schedule of one week,

                                      N = 0(Monday) ~6(Sunday)

                                      For detail, see *1 bellow

 

/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=setScheduleRecordConfig&isEnable=1&recordLev

el=0&spaceFullMode=0&isEnableAudio=0&schedule0=1023&schedule1=1023&

schedule2=1023&schedule3=1023&schedule4=1023&schedule5=1023&sched

ule6=1023&usr=admin&pwd=

 

I also read where the CGI for foscam is now 1.0.10. Maybe that pdf is out there.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I just found this.

 

https://github.com/lightswitch05/foscam-client/blob/master/HD%20cameras%20SDK%20CGI%20(1)/Foscam%20IPCamera%20CGI%20User%20Guide-3518%20Ver.1.0.10.pdf

 

 

This pdf looks like it was done in 2015.

 

http://www.foscam.es/descarga/Foscam-IPCamera-CGI-User-Guide-AllPlatforms-2015.11.06.pdf

Edited December 26, 2016 by cowinger

[PeterF]

Thanks cowinger - you are way better than I in finding these things. 

 

The setScheduleRecordConfig that you suggested is not quite what I was hoping for.  Nor was I able to find the command I need in those newer pdf files.

 

What I'm effectively trying to do is "press" the Record button seen on the Live Video web page.  With my ISY994i I am sensing events where I want to record video on the Foscam camera.  So when such an event is triggered, I want to send a manual Record command to the camera for a recording to occur immediately at that moment.  I suppose I could use setScheduleRecordConfig to schedule a recording to occur at that moment, doing a painful calculation for the scheduleN parameter, and then delete that scheduled record when I'm done, and I guess I'll do that if there's no better way.  But since there's the command snapPicture (which manually snaps a picture) I would have thought there'd be commands perhaps like "startRecordVideo" and "stopRecordVideo" or something like that which simply causes a manual recording to start and stop.  Very strange that they would not include something like that.