Expose animated gif URL in the events API

[Lindsey Chesnutt]

Please expose the animated GIF URL via the events API so that we can use it in Home Assistant notifications or anything else.

[Eric Meeson]

This would be useful. Also would it be possible to add that gif, or a still frame to the Android alerts? Many other camera systems push a still frame to the alert, which can help make quicker choices about what to do with the alert data.

[CamectArup]

Why do you prefer to use the android alerts rather than telegram? 

Adding that gif is not easy, because there's a limit of 4K on the size of the notification message -- i.e. it's unlikely that any gif sent under that size would be big enough to be useful. I think that systems that send a reasonably sized snapshot do so by using the notification to tell the app to pull the image from the cloud. For us, that would require putting your image into the cloud somewhere in the first place. 

[Brian Wilson]

For those of us who want to locally process the events, the ability to pull that image, store it locally or in the cloud, then selectively do other things with that event. Perhaps we want to leverage Pushover for alerting, or like the last 5 event animations on a self-hosted web page.

[Lindsey Chesnutt]

If the animated GIF isn't an option, a link to a still frame would suffice.

[Eric Meeson]

Agreed, a still frame of the detected object should work pretty well for me as well.

[CamectChao]

We cannot provide such a URL because Camect server don't store the image in any form, as part of our privacy first promise.

When an alert is generated by your device, it sends the alert to our server. Camect server then converts the alert to different formats and sends out email, telegram or web push. We don't store anything during this process. Once an alert is sent, we have no knowledge of it anymore.

[Lindsey Chesnutt]

Could the URL to the screenshot not be made available locally on the Camect server?

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[Brian Wilson]

I agree local copy would be ideal as it would be available via VPN or for a local API job.

[CamectArup]

A local url is technically possible and we'll add that to the list of feature requests. However, we do prioritize development work based on the the number of users that will benefit, and right now this is competing with many things that have broader applicability, so we are not promising a timeframe at the moment. 

[Arno Hautala]

Just wanted to add my vote to this.

Even if the image is only available for a limited amount of time to reduce the load on the Camect

[Rob Taft]

Adding a vote

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[Chris W]

+1 for me too.. 

[Matt Link]

+1 from me too

[Christopher Nickl]

Def a +1 here as well

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[Dale Coghlan]

+1 I would like this feature/ability too

[Jason Diegmueller]

+1

Have a great day everyone.

[Kane]

+1 for me too.   A local URL would be useful.

[Latinum]

+1 I use Home Assistant and it would be nice to be able to create a full integration with that system.

[Rob Taft]

Just want to echo my interest in this once again. Arup or Chao, any more thoughts on where this is on the priority list? 

By my estimation it’s probably the most asked for feature on this forum (though maybe for a vocal minority). I know you guys probably have many other priorities but would be good to get an update!

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[CamectArup]

As you know,  we do pay attention to what people would like and react to requests quite often, but realistically this feature is not likely to show up soon. There are a number of challenges in doing it that we're not even sure we want to get into, and addressing them is low priority compared to working on items with broader appeal or necessity, like working on an app, working on the new UI, video support for Google Home (not even started yet) and getting subscriptions actually launched. 

The main use case presented (ability to use the clip in alternative notification mechanisms) does not come across as something with widespread applicability, and I didn't see much in the way of explanation as to how/why our existing mechanisms are failing to meet people's needs. 

If you have compelling use cases that this would enable, please share. 

[Will Stillwell]

I have to agree with Arup on this.   I believe the use case of the GIF access via API should be very low priority.  How many use the API versus how many use the UI?  

I will say the UI is fine with me

Not having an app is fine with me The current method of the web app appears to be the way many are going these days.   

And I have to say I am in no hurry for Subscriptions to start, but from a financial position of the company and wanting to stick around I understand this 100%   

Is there a system for presenting the ideas you are "Working On" or would work on if enough people voted for them?

I know this is another item for the todo list but if you had that or even maybe just a link to the forum here somewhere in the UI right now that would draw more people.  Maybe a new link that shows up on the right on the home screen when opening up the home screen.  "We want to hear from you!  What feature are we missing or what would you change? Join our community forum here to give us what you see as important."  link to forum.   Or something about a poll or something.   

Just an idea. 

~Will

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[Rob Taft]

Arup, thanks for the response/update.  I won't pretend that this is a feature that will benefit everyone, but there's a decent chunk of people in the Hubitat/Home Assistant crowd that would like this, and maybe it draws in more customers from that user base.

My primary use case for this would be better notification and (more importantly) automation control.  I love the ability to use Camect as an AI filter for motion events that can then trigger other actions.  I think this is a very under-appreciated feature in terms of it's power and how unique it is.  For example, I want to have my lights turn on when there is any Camect alert at the Front Door camera.  I also want to have Alexa announce only when a person is detected by the Front Door camera.  I can do this right now, but in order to do so I have to be notified by Telegram of all alerts, when I just want to receive person alerts from Telegram.  The inability to control which alerts go to the API vs. Telegram vs. email limits the ability to do sophisticated automation because it means I just get spammed by Telegram alerts.  If the GIF url was accessible via API (or there was better alert customization) I could essentially disable Telegram and build my own notification system that works for me.

A second use case would be to link non-Camect triggers to Camect notifications.  I have a driveway gate with a contact sensor on it and I would like to be notified (with a GIF) only when the driveway gate is opened.  If I could access the GIF url, I could create a notification for the most recent alert on that camera when the gate is opened.

I support the priorities you mentioned, but with the caveat that some features are easier to implement than others.  I think an app should be a major priority in terms of broad adoption appeal but that is going to take a lot of work, as is UI and Google Home.  Without knowing the details, a local link to the GIF that is already being created seems like a much smaller task.

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[ar...@hautala.dev]

I'll echo the above and add the other use case I can think of is in an offline situation. The GIF being available locally would allow full featured notifications without requiring a connection to the cloud.

It could also enable building alternate alert interfaces such as a table of events with columns for objects, support for live filtering, etc. The interface could be updated directly in the Camect UI, but expanding the API features could open additional capability without putting the effort on the Camect team.

Actually, and hopefully not to derail this thread, another option would be if the API allowed for requesting a segment of video. This would shift creating the GIF to the client, but could open additional use cases as well.

- Creating a summary video programmatically every day

- Archiving alert video automatically

I think I recall that the video stream can be accessed by WebSocket or WebRTC? (Maybe I have that wrong.)

Is there already a way to start streaming from an arbitrary camera and timestamp?

[Michael H]

Hi Arup,

I second Rob’s use case as I also use Camect as an AI filter for motion events (but in my case with Hubitat). Although this may or may not help Rob (as I am not familiar with Home Assistant), JFYI and others, with a custom Hubitat App called Camect Connect, I am able to pull specific object recognition events from the Camect API and use them as triggers. Of course, no GIFs without access to the url. By combining these with other motion/contact sensors, this allows for some very complex (if desired) and detailed notifications which I use with Pushover notifications and Alexa integration. This allows for the customization that Rob mentions (i.e., specific or general Pushover mobile alerts in addition to Alexa announcing locally only when a person is detected at the front door). I still get hit with all the Telegram notices, but I don’t mind since I can easily delete the Camect Alerts as a group as they pile up, and rely primarily on my Pushover notifications (albeit without video clips - I can always check my Telegrams for the videos if I want). To control the volume of Telegram alerts, it would be nice if we could further customize what triggers Telegram.

I do not use any dashboards (everything is either fully automated or voice controlled) so access to the GIF url is not an issue in my case, but I can see how those of us in the community that are really into the home automation integration capabilities of Camect would find this to be a very useful feature, particularly those that use dashboards.

I also agree with Will that at least for me, the Web UI suffices and a Camect App is not so critical, particularly given the resources that it takes to develop. I suppose that an App with a really slick UI would make marketing easier though. 

Just my 2 cents for free even (and you get what you pay for! Lol).

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[Rob Taft]

Michael, I actually am on Hubitat and use the Camect Connect app and it’s fantastic (many thanks to Brian!)! Just would love to add in the GIF component. 

[JimBoCA]

I agree this would be very help for other integrations like explained for Hubitat, I've done the ISY994i integration and controlling alerts from that integration would allow much better options.  But, at the same time, I may rate Google Home video integration higher.

And it would be nice if a enhancement list with priorities was listed somewhere with the ability for users to up/down vote.

[Brian Wilson]

I originally suspected that exposing the animated gif might cut into the number of subscriptions if folks were doing their own back-end integrations and such, and then not necessarily needing internet-accessible cameras.  I for one would be glad to pay for access to extended features like this (exposed animated gif, etc) if the issue/concern is that adding this might cut into revenue. I want this to be successful and a long-term option for everyone. I rarely look at the cameras outside of the network beyond alerts in Telegram - this may change post-COVID - but if I could look at those in Pushover, or some other app, I'd be glad to "subscribe" for that feature. 

[Michael H]

Yes! Many thanks to Brian for his great work! 

[Wendell Morris]

I’ll add my 2 cents to this debate.  I am not currently using the API, but I do use custom home automation and at some point in the future I can see how the requested extension could be useful, but right now I would prefer they concentrate development resources on a revamped GUI.  I am generally extremely happy with Camect and its fantastic object recognition capabilities, but I find the current UI to be less than ideal.  Prior to Camect I was using Synology’s Surveillance Station, and the UI in their iOS app is substantially easier for me to use.  I like the concept of the progressive web app that Camect uses, but I find using the overlaid controls to be extremely frustrating.  Surveillance Station uses a menu bar anchored to the bottom of the screen, and I find it *much* easier to navigate through alerts with this style of UI. Scrolling through the timeline is quite a bit faster and smoother, and it uses the intuitive pinch-to-zoom technique to allow you to compress or expand the timeline.  Dragging the timeline is quick and precise, making it easy to get to a specific point in the playback.  With the overlaid controls in Camect’s current implementation I find that I’m constantly missing the target and ending up having to tap again to bring the controls back onto the screen before I can try again... or the overlaid controls are on top of something I want to see so I have to swipe them off the screen.  Consolidating the controls in a menu bar eliminates all of these problems at the slight expense of losing a little bit of screen real estate for the image.  I don’t know if their revamped UI is going to adopt a menu bar, but I would welcome any change that makes it easier to navigate through alerts.  I feel that a revamped UI will significantly benefit all users and increase the appeal of the entire product, and anything that makes Camect more popular is a benefit to us early adopters.

So to me, putting off API enhancements in favor of refining the UI is an absolute no-brainer.

[M O Hamada]

I’m going to backpedal a little regarding the UI. I agree with Wendell that the current Web UI is difficult to use with precision when trying to locate a specific point on the timeline. But, I’m not sure which (improving the Web UI or creating an App) is the best way to go for Camect. Only the developers can tell which is the best use of their limited resources and how much work is needed to accomplish each. I absolutely agree with Wendell however, that the current UI needs improvement regarding ease of use issues. I did not mean to imply in my previous post that API access should take precedence (only Camect can determine their priorities), only that I understood that many users would find this useful. Remember, in my own case, I do not have much immediate use for this. I do wish the UI was a little (lot?) easier/intuitive to use though.

~Mike

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 4, 2021, at 5:07 PM, Wendell Morris <wmo...@cincymorris.com> wrote:

I’ll add my 2 cents to this debate.  I am not currently using the API, but I do use custom home automation and at some point in the future I can see how the requested extension could be useful, but right now I would prefer they concentrate development resources on a revamped GUI.  I am generally extremely happy with Camect and its fantastic object recognition capabilities, but I find the current UI to be less than ideal.  Prior to Camect I was using Synology’s Surveillance Station, and the UI in their iOS app is substantially easier for me to use.  I like the concept of the progressive web app that Camect uses, but I find using the overlaid controls to be extremely frustrating.  Surveillance Station uses a menu bar anchored to the bottom of the screen, and I find it *much* easier to navigate through alerts with this style of UI. Scrolling through the timeline is quite a bit faster and smoother, and it uses the intuitive pinch-to-zoom technique to allow you to compress or expand the timeline.  Dragging the timeline is quick and precise, making it easy to get to a specific point in the playback.  With the overlaid controls in Camect’s current implementation I find that I’m constantly missing the target and ending up having to tap again to bring the controls back onto the screen before I can try again... or the overlaid controls are on top of something I want to see so I have to swipe them off the screen.  Consolidating the controls in a menu bar eliminates all of these problems at the slight expense of losing a little bit of screen real estate for the image.  I don’t know if their revamped UI is going to adopt a menu bar, but I would welcome any change that makes it easier to navigate through alerts.  I feel that a revamped UI will significantly benefit all users and increase the appeal of the entire product, and anything that makes Camect more popular is a benefit to us early adopters.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/camect.com/d/msgid/forum/cde1d693-8197-4667-8fd3-d5bb9b87632dn%40camect.com.

[Peter O]

When using the api, I have access to the snapshot method:
https://1.1.1.1/api/SnapshotCamera?CamId=dsfgsdfgs

From the event api we get the url with the timestamp information:
{"type": "alert", "desc": "Cam 2 just saw a car.", "url": "https://home.camect.com/home/kjhsdfglkjhsdfg/camera?id=ækjdsfgsdf&ts=1629971856819", "cam_id": "ækjdsfgsdf",..}

For my use case I could make it work with adding an extra variable to the snapshot url with the timestamp? however Ts=13123123 does not work.

Do any of you have a way to do this?

Regards

Peter

P.S.

I have integrated into OpenHab via a listener that publishes messages on MQTT.