Smarthome Wireless IP Camera

[wpmjones]

Hey all - Smarthome is advertising this bad boy for free shipping this week. I'm thinking about getting it because we've wanted to have a camera in the home for a while. It mentions Insteon compatibility. I'm wondering if it will work with my ISY99 and if it can act as a controller. i.e. motion sensed, program fires.

 

It seems to have motion capability because it talks about sending you a photo of the motion it senses. I'm just wondering that can be used to trigger a program on the ISY. That would be awesome!

 

Thank in advance for sharing your knowledge!

 

Link: http://www.smarthome.com/75790/Smarthom ... ion/p.aspx

[Xathros]

I'm afraid that the "Insteon Compatability" is referring to HouseLinc's ability to view and manipulate the IP camera over the IP network. I don't believe there is any actual Insteon Power Line or RF capabilities in this unit. I skimmed the PDF manual and saw nothing at all indicating real Insteon features.

 

I'd be very happy to be wrong as I had similar thoughts to yours when I read that bullet point. Regardless, I will be getting one of these soon and will update here if nobody else confirms this before then.

 

-Xathros

[wpmjones]

I was thinking about getting one either way as well, but it'd be sweet if they played nice together. I chatted with a guy at Smarthome after I posted here and he said he was "pretty sure" it would not work with an ISY but he wasn't positive.

 

Let me know once you get how you like it. And thanks for the quick response!

[Xathros]

I was thinking about getting one either way as well, but it'd be sweet if they played nice together. I chatted with a guy at Smarthome after I posted here and he said he was "pretty sure" it would not work with an ISY but he wasn't positive.

 

Let me know once you get how you like it. And thanks for the quick response!

 

 

Wes, the creator of Mobilinc, was telling me that these were just re-branded Foscam cams. They do appear to be the same from the pictures and specs.

 

-Xathros

[Teken]

Any network IP camera can provide you the same access and capability to take snap shots of a moving object. This is native to all CCTV camera systems in the market. Please adjust your expectations accordingly if you require true video security.

 

There is a reason they are under $200.00 as the optics and sensors are rather poor.

 

Teken . . .

[ISYhbsh01]

These cameras are re-branded by several companies. The last time I checked you could get on Amazon similar cameras in the range of $50.

[C Martin]

I am considering a Camera. What choices are there that are compatible with ISY and have a HD resolution, PTZ and Night vision?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Clarence,

 

Since ISY does not do anything with cameras, thus everything is compatible! Do you have MobiLinc? If so, I think it would be best to pose this question to MobiLinc forum.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[C Martin]

Thanks Michel.

[Xathros]

Hi Clarence,

 

Since ISY does not do anything with cameras, thus everything is compatible! Do you have MobiLinc? If so, I think it would be best to pose this question to MobiLinc forum.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Clarence, Michel-

 

There may be a bit more to compatibility than that. None of the IP cameras that I have seen speak Insteon and are therfore not really Insteon compatible contrary to Smarthome's marketing fluff. They claim compatibilty based on the fact that their SmartLinc/Software package has IP Cam support for their cams over ethernet (Not insteon).

 

All of that said, If using the ISY's Network Resources module, some camera interfaces may be friendlier than others. I wonder if Wes (of MobiLinc) could comment on this since he has some recent experience with a large number of cams.

 

I worked on beta testing the MobilInc IP Cam plug in for Wes. He indicated that the Smarthome cams were rebranded Foscam cams which he uses and was happy with. My Smarthome cams arrived yesterday but I haven't had an opportunity to install and test them yet. I will follow up in a day or two.

 

-Xathros

[C Martin]

Xathros,

 

Thanks for your input.

I'll be waiting to hear from you on your progress with the camera that you bought.

[InsteonNut]

Hi All,

 

Xathros asked me to pop over and chime in with my thoughts.

 

- The Smarthome cameras are rebranded Foscam cameras. Many camera manufactures re-brand other's OEM cameras. Foscam seems to quite popular for re-branding.

- The camera that Smarthome re-branded is a slightly older version of the Foscam line that is missing some of the more advanced optics like an IR CUT filter to improve color image quality. At their price it makes for a descent camera, but we opted to sell the latest version of the Foscam cameras on the MobiLinc Store that includes the IR CUT Filter for better image quality.

- There are no INSTEON compatible cameras. No camera today has an INSTEON module installed in the camera for control. Everything is still IP or closed-circuit based.

- The ISY's Network Resource module is quite advanced and could be used to control the pan/tilt motion of really any IP based camera. The trick is discovering what network command to use that the camera will accept.

- Some cameras are much better about documenting the cameras interface than others. The best I've seen is Panasonic. The information found in their API docs far exceed any other camera manufacture in terms of 3rd party quality documentation support for their cameras.

- We wrote the IP Camera plug-in for MobiLinc so that you can see your IP Cameras on a screen with your devices, scenes, and programs tagged to that camera. An example is a garage door camera. Watch the garage door as you tap to open or close it all on one screen.

 

How do you want to integrate IP cameras into your ISY setup using Network Resources or otherwise?

 

Wes

[Xathros]

Thanks so much Wes. That is exactly the kind of info I hoped you would provide.

 

-Xathros

[C Martin]

Wes,

I would like to do several things.

I want to be informed when the camera is activated by either text message as my ISY does now or via email.

I would also like the video stream to be uploaded to the cloud for further retrieval. My thought is, someone may be bold enough to steal the camera as well and then no picture. Most thieves these days will take everything, especially if they think they are being videoed, that gives them real incentive to break in and take computers and all.

Are these cameras HD and do they have night vision?

Thanks for the that you have provided.

[InsteonNut]

Hi Clarence,

 

The Foscam camera we sell has a resolution of 640x480 and does have night vision in black and white. Once there is enough light in the room it kicks off the IR emitters and switches back to color.

 

These Foscam cameras can record to an FTP server (offsite) on motion alarm and/or send you an email directly on motion alarm. These Foscam cameras nor most entry level cameras can record live video to an offsite location. I have an outdoor Sharx camera that has a feature like this as well as digital IO that triggers on motion. You could use a mid-range camera like the Sharx or Y-Cam to hook up to an IO Linc to the Digital I/O that the ISY could then watch to send an email or txt on motion detection from the Sharx camera.

 

Wes

[C Martin]

Are they outdoor Cameras?

[InsteonNut]

Hi Clarence,

 

The Foscam model available on our store: http://mobilincstore.com/cameras.html are really meant for indoor use. However, they can take the outside temp if it's shielded from the elements like rain or snow and direct sunlight. We know of several users who mount these under their porch.

 

The Sharx camera I personally have installed is a true outdoor camera. (Weatherproof)

 

I hope this helps,

Wes

[Xathros]

Clarance, Wes-

 

I have some similar desires for my new cams but with a slightly different need for network resources. Since the cams can trigger and record/alert on motion by themselves, I don't need the ISY to respond to that but rather I would like to have the ISY force the cams to record (to FTP) in certain situations. So I'd be looking for network resource configuration(s) to start and stop recording based on other conditions that the ISY already monitors and also, the ability to call a camera PTZ stored position as well. This way if my ISY is in Away mode and an outside door is opened I can point the cams in the appropriate direction and begin recording before someone walks into the view of a cam.

 

-Xathros

[InsteonNut]

Xathros,

 

What you'll want to look for is an IP Pan/Tilt camera that has an Input/Output (IO) option. What you would do is hook an IO Linc relay to the IO block of the camera and tell the camera to start recording based on the input state of the IO Block. Then you can use the ISY to do your monitoring of your system. When the conditions are right to start recording, tell the IO Linc to turn the relay ON which triggers the camera to start recording.

 

Network resources could be used to tell the camera to move to one of it's preset locations. Again, the trick here is to find a camera that has a documented API or you'll have to capture network traffic from your computer to see what HTTP commands are being sent to the camera. Panasonic has some of the best documentation I've ever seen from an IP Camera manufacture. Their high-end camera: http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/BB-HCM581A-W?t=overview supports IO but the camera is pricey.

 

Wes

[Xathros]

Thanks Wes.

 

I have a few old Trendnet fixed position cams with IO that I attempted to do that with. Turns out the IO was more "O" than "I" and I couldn't trigger uploading with an input. The IOLincs on my garage doors were originally purchased for triggering the cams.

 

The new PTZ cams with IR night vision should be much more functional and better looking. I'm confident that I can accomplish what I want without the IO as long as I can figure out the commands to send via network resources. I'll have to start capturing and analyzing some traffic.

 

I'll take a closer look at the Panasonic cams. Maybe I'll have to trade up.

 

-Xathros

[Xathros]

I got my new cams configured yesterday and so far I'm quite happy with them. The image quality is much better than my old Trendnet cams though still only 640x480, The PTZ motors are almost silent. They seem to respond faster to PTZ commands via the web interface or Mobilinc and they certainly work better over a 3G connection than my older cams. I have not yet had an opportunity to test the 2way audio feature nor have I investigated any deeper integration using network resources yet.

 

-Xathros