Info on camera audio support

[R Spivack]

Is there documentation or information on audio support for cameras in Camect?

I've enabled the record audio settings, but haven't seen how to use it.

Is audio available in live viewing from the web or mobile apps?

Is audio available in recorded footage or when downloaded?  

I haven't been able to get any audio yet, but not sure what is supported.

(Testing three types of cameras - Wysecam via RTSP, Eufy Indoor Cam via RTSP (regular and P&T model), and a few models of Unifi Protect cameras)

[CamectArup]

Yes, audio is available for both live viewing and for playback. For live viewing, you need to enable "fetch audio from camera" and for playback you need to enable "record audio" 

We support many common audio codecs, so it should work with most cameras that include the audio in the video stream. I don't know about Unifi Protect or Eufy, but Wyze should definitely work. The last I heard Eufy doesn't provide a continuous RTSP stream like others do, but rather a stream that's active only when the camera senses motion, or when someone is viewing live. That makes it relatively useless with Camect. 

If you record audio, it should be available both in playback and in downloaded clips.  I do recall someone reporting problems with live audio on iOS, but that audio was recorded properly and exported properly in clips. 

When audio is available (e.g. you have "fetch audio from camera" on and are viewing live), you'll see a little "speaker" icon at the top left of the camera's title bar. It's muted by default. You have to unmute to hear the audio. 

[R Spivack]

Thanks, got it working.

FYI - The new Eufy Indoor and Indoor P&T cameras are Wi-Fi and USB powered. Unlike all the existing Eufy cameras that are battery operated, these provide continuous RTSP streams if you enable (there is a setting where you choose either "on motion" or "continuous")

Unlike Wyze, where you must flash special firmware, the RTSP is standard feature.  Since these cameras cost only $40 or $50, and also have built-in microSD card for local recording, Eufy Cloud recording, and HomeKit compatibility, I'm switching to them instead of Wyze as general purpose test and toy cameras.

The only thing to be aware of - if used with HomeKit, the RTSP option and Eufy cloud recording are  disabled (but not the internal microSD). I assume this is an Apple-imposed restriction for Apple HSV (HomeKit Secure Video) integration.  By definition, if other recording options were allowed, then HSV would not be able to claim encrypted security within Apple's control only.

Buying tip: Download the Eufy app before buying any cameras, create an account, and inside the app there is a coupon for 15% off when ordering direct from Eufy. Be aware there may be a time limit, and return options buying direct are probably less flexible than buying from Amazon, so YMMV.

Also: passing along what I am testing/playing with now.  Not shilling for them or long-term endorsement, but they seem to be the ideal low-cost camera to play with.  Especially since the pan and tilt has object following mode that works with RTSP stream automatically even if the host does not have P&T specific support

[CamectArup]

Awesome ... Thanks for sharing the information about Eufy. We have not tested the indoor cameras, and will be interested to hear what you think. 

Btw, I would not expect the object detection to work very well if you have P&T automatically following movement. Our algorithms assume the camera is stationary, so I'm not sure what kind of results you'll get in that scenario. 

Also, another cheap camera you may be interested in that doesn't require flashing that people have had good experiences with is the Ezviz C1C ... a bit cheaper than Wyze on Amazon, and is better at staying connected to WiFi. 

[Jack 7]

Amcrest ASH21 camera seems to be similar to the indoor PT Eufy. I have used ASH21 with rtsp url in Camect for 4 months. When ASH21 is tracking, Camect seems to detect events and record fine.

[CamectArup]

Thanks for sharing. It's also useful to use to know that the ASH21 camera works at all. 

Was it detected and configured properly automatically, or did you manually have to put in an RTSP url?

Amcrest's current branding strategy is causing a lot of confusion as far as what works and what doesn't. All "Amcrest" branded cameras work, but of the "Amcrest SmartHome" ones we used to think none work because they don't mention RTSP in the specs. However, we now know that the doorbell does actually work (although it requires you to put in an RTSP url manually) and now we also know that the ASH21 works. 

[Jack 7]

Camect did not discover ASH21. I manually added RTSP url. ASH21 supports ONVIF in my tests, but I think Camect may do something in ONVIF discovery that causes non-discovery.
Android Onvifer and Tinycam Pro apps discover OK using ONVIF. I've found Onvifer to be a good way to explore ONVIF camera settings.
Amcrest forum posts say ASH21 currently has a wifi connection problem. I think it's the recent firmware. I use 11-2019 firmware.
Smart Home firmware is just partially like regular Amcrest firmware. I believe ASH21 is more like it than doorbell camera. I actually like the inexpensive ASH21.

[CamectArup]

Thanks ... For the sake of completeness, what RTSP url worked for you? 

[Jack 7]

url is rtsp://admin:pass...@192.168.0.125/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

[Alan Day]

Is it possible to send audio to be broadcast?

Something we would need as a monitoring Station / ARC if we are to adopt Camect as one of our platforms used for monitoring.

Currently testing a demo unit with the aim of getting integrated with the Sentinel platform.

[CamectArup]

What do you mean by "broadcast"? You can listen to live audio when viewing live if you have audio enabled. (It's off by default -- see the second message in this thread for how to enable it.) 

Exported video clips also have audio in them if you have audio recording enabled. 

 

[MJ]

I think he is talking about 2 way audio in broadcasting back to site to a onsite amp with external speakers around the site.

[Alan Day]

As a monitoring station we would generally issue an audio challenge (both live via microphone and pre recorded) to be broadcast onsite via a speaker/amp if it was determined there were intruders onsite.

[Trevor DeMartini]

I'm struggling to connect the ASH21 via any login method. It connects via the Amcrest Smart Home app but not via the Amcrest View Pro app.

I saw this manual stream link earlier, what am I missing? Does it use a different port?
rtsp://admin:pass...@192.168.0.125/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

[Robert Switala]

I use this with Camect to get to the 1080p stream - uses port 554:

rtsp://admin:<password>@<ip>:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 

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[CamectArup]

I think you probably posted your message on the wrong thread, since this one is about camera audio support. 

In any case, is the ASH21 being automatically detected at all? If so, what happens if you try to supply the username and password to that autodetected camera? 

Also, for the RTSP url that you tried to add manually, did you use type "Stream URL" (i.e. rather than Amcrest/Dahua)?  Did you change the IP address in the url to match the one for your own camera? 

[Steve Gibson]

Any luck getting the Eufy cameras setup with the Camect? I can get the stream to load in VLC but I can't seem to force the Camect to accept the cam stream. Am I doing something wrong? 

[Damon Sisola]

I got the Eufy Indoor 2K camera and it’s been working reliably for 3 weeks with the Camect. I used the Eufy app to enable RTSP and manually added the camera url in Camect since it didn’t find it automatically, didn’t take anything more than that in my case.

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[Trevor DeMartini]

Yes, I meant to post on the other thread but I saw someone post about this ASH21 model with a full rtsp link that I hoped would work. I'm not getting any automatic detection at all. When I try to force it with all of these settings in the rtsp stream url, I still cannot connect it. Do you think I might have better luck directly through Ethernet instead of Wifi?

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[CamectArup]

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at 11:49:22 AM UTC-7, Trevor DeMartini wrote:

Yes, I meant to post on the other thread but I saw someone post about this ASH21 model with a full rtsp link that I hoped would work. I'm not getting any automatic detection at all. When I try to force it with all of these settings in the rtsp stream url, I still cannot connect it. Do you think I might have better luck directly through Ethernet instead of Wifi?

I wonder if your ASH21 needs a firmware upgrade or something like that. The one I tested with worked out of the box after the initial setup.  

Have you tried an RTSP url that has the user name and password embedded in it, like Rob suggested?

I'd suggest installing VLC (available for all platforms from videolan.org) and checking to see if you can get it to fetch video from the RTSP url. If you can, you should be able to plug the same url into Camect with type "Stream URL" and have it work. 

[CamectArup]

When you take the RTSP url that works with VLC, and try to add it to Camect with type "Stream URL" what happens? 

[Trevor DeMartini]

I got it working by setting up via Ethernet instead of just pure Wifi setup. I saw someone approach it the same way here: https://amcrest.com/forum/amcrest-smart-home-f32/ash21-ports-closed-until-ethernet-plugged-in-bug--t14120.html

I'm not impressed with setup for this model but it's free to me since Amcrest is refunding it as a tester. The AI facial tracking is pretty cool though. The setup via "Amcrest/Dahua" or RTSP both fine now.

[CamectArup]

Interesting ... Thanks for sharing. I had only tested the ASH-21 on ethernet. 

After you got it set up, did it work on WiFi too, or is the RTSP support effectively ethernet-only? 

[Jack 7]

Wifi ASH21 has worked for me with rtsp url in Camect for many months. ASH21 wifi also works with Camect discovery after a recent Camect update. I have not had the wifi/wired problem discussed in the referenced Amcrest forum thread.