If you can attach directly to the camera's video feeds, you could run something like ZoneMinder on a local machine.
this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025
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What do you mean by "if I can attach directly to the cameras video feeds"?
Hey, could you please explain how it works for a non-tech person? I couldn't find an API app on their website, only the code. How am i supposed to use it?
OK, I'll try.
It works best with IP cameras, but each camera is actively recording video. Zoneminder logs into the camera and downloads the footage directly, analyzes the frames for changes (like movement) and saves footage based on criteria you set.
The trickiest part is typically adding the cameras to Zoneminder.
So, for your current setup, how do you 'connect' to the cameras to view anything? Can you get a make and model of the camera?
It's this piece of garbage:
https://ivms-4500.en.softonic.com/android
Apparently there actually is an alarm feature, but it says I don't have the permissions to use it.
The only thing it says on my app is the IP address.
OK, does that app only work if you're on the wifi?
If yes, what IP address does it tell you the camera has?
It works remotely when I'm on data too.
It doesn't give me any IP addresses for the cameras, it only shows one IP address which I am assuming is the one for the internet they use but not sure
Then yeah, they probably have a camera system, and the owner set up port forwarding to the DVR so it can be viewed remotely.
In which case, you're probably out of luck for doing something on your own using the camera feeds.
Check out: https://frigate.video/
Hey sorry could you please explain how this works for a non-tech person?
Is the free version enough for my needs?
It's open source, so free. There is a cloud offering that is not needed.
This is an NVR (network video recorder). If you have a bunch of cameras, you set this up, point it to your cameras, and it grabs and records all the feeds for you, eliminating the need to watch each camera individually.
This will eliminate the issues with the junky interface you have on the cameras. It also gives you the ability to track objects and create alerts and notifications. It integrates with Home Assistant like a dream as well.
What do you mean by "point it to your cameras"?
Like I don't understand how it will get access to the video footage
Each camera has an IP address. This software lets you create a point and click configuration for each camera where it will constantly get the video feed from the IP where each camera is and then monitor that feed for events you create, which will then notify you however you want.
They have videos online you can watch as well if that's more helpful. It's a very popular piece of software.
What if it doesn't work for my cameras and can't find their IP address?
How does your app connect to the cameras?
I don't know, through the wifi network specific for the cameras I'm pretty sure
Record it to local storage and use VLC?
What do you mean by this? How would VLC help?
Yeah he can be fixed