HomeAutomationNerd Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 What is the groupthink for an NVR? I’ve been using QNAP for years, but their security exploits recently- and relative silence around them - has me looking for something different. (Last night was painful - my QNAP was totally compromised and the attack vector is unknown.) My ~15 cameras cameras are all Lilin. I’m not a big fan of Lilin, as their software update process doesn’t seem to exist (“release camera. Never update.”) cameras are all running ancient Linux versions and are likely easy to root. A deep C4 integration, and high reliability, are the primary features I’m looking for. Toying with moving over to the Unifi Protect system, as they at least have good software update & management practices. I’ve already got Unifi throughout the house, so adding seems reasonable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomgordon Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 unifi protect doesn’t have ONVIF support so my understanding was integration with C4 with full functionality is limited. Interested in what others have to say Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk HomeAutomationNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Luma 510 nvr and Luma cams work seamlessly. Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk GregCAMS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomgordon Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Can the Luma be controlled (e.g. PTZ or live rewind/pause etc) from C4 interface ?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopedogg88 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 ptz can be controlled, yes. from the C4 interface you can only get live views (with any camera system). if you want to view recordings, you can connect the NVR hdmi output to your TV or video matrix switch and Control4 can control the NVR over IP so you can use the remote to rewind etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomgordon Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 ptz can be controlled, yes. from the C4 interface you can only get live views (with any camera system). if you want to view recordings, you can connect the NVR hdmi output to your TV or video matrix switch and Control4 can control the NVR over IP so you can use the remote to rewind etc.Is there anyway to access the video via an IP stream? Like H.265/ H.264 and web or mobile app? Using your approach, you need a lot of heavy and $$ matrix switching or expensive SDVoE equipment, baluns etc. And it wouldn’t work over mobile. Savant does something like this (I think) with its Apple TV app and their integration with ICRealtime. Users can view and interact with video all over IP (not just NVR control) as opposed to your approach. Your comment is very helpful and I suspect you’re solution is the only one. Just thought I’d askSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk HomeAutomationNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAutomationNerd Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 unifi protect doesn’t have ONVIF support so my understanding was integration with C4There is a rich featured Unifi Protect driver someone has written for C4. I wonder if that would do the trick? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomgordon Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 There is a rich featured Unifi Protect driver someone has written for C4. I wonder if that would do the trick? Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkInteresting. Do you have a link to it?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAutomationNerd Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 This thread has details:UniFi Protect and Video/Legacy Camera Drivershttps://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?share_fid=76380&share_tid=34841&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ec4forums%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%3F%2Ftopic%2F34841-UniFi-Protect-and-Video-Legacy-Camera-Drivers&share_type=t&link_source=appSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 except it's not rich featured. Meaning that it can't display snapshots due to how unified built to protect. The snapshot comes off the camera and the video comes off the NVR which control 4 doesn't support HomeAutomationNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 And as Ari already said there is no playback in any driver for control 4. It just isn't possible with the current APIs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAutomationNerd Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 Yea, more walled gardens. I’m Open to suggestions for a great solution. There’s gotta be something that works well.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanDad Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Even after all this time (and OS3), security cameras remain one of the weakest pieces of C4 integration. Surprising that so many third party solutions for cameras and doorbells have appeared while C4 has barely moved forward at all. Or perhaps that's the reason. Discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Curious, outside of playing your video streams in C4 touchpanels and TVs, what are the primary use cases of integrating an NVR into C4? I would think the native app for NVR, recording, video scrolling/searching etc would always trump what a system NVR would do with C4 but I'm sure I'm missing some other critical use cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Blue Iris? build your own PC or buy a Dell Business Outlet refurb job for a few hundred bucks. 1 time software fee for the PC and another 1 time fee per mobile device user. There is a free driver plus a paid driver with extra features. Can easily work with Lilin cameras. Its pretty much as feature rich and camera agnostic as it comes. https://blueirissoftware.com/ I see all of my live camera streams in C4. The BI App is great for reviewing stored content so I do not use C4 to review archived clips. I do have a video distribution system (Netplay by Video Storm) that allows IP cameras to be seen on TV (live feed not recordings). so live feed I can see on tvs or C4 interfaces. recordings I pull off the BI app (on my phone, the desktop app or even any web browser). Never tried to see how I could pull recordings through C4 but never had that need. HomeAutomationNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 49 minutes ago, eggzlot said: Blue Iris? build your own PC or buy a Dell Business Outlet refurb job for a few hundred bucks. 1 time software fee for the PC and another 1 time fee per mobile device user. There is a free driver plus a paid driver with extra features. Can easily work with Lilin cameras. Its pretty much as feature rich and camera agnostic as it comes. https://blueirissoftware.com/ I see all of my live camera streams in C4. The BI App is great for reviewing stored content so I do not use C4 to review archived clips. I do have a video distribution system (Netplay by Video Storm) that allows IP cameras to be seen on TV (live feed not recordings). so live feed I can see on tvs or C4 interfaces. recordings I pull off the BI app (on my phone, the desktop app or even any web browser). Never tried to see how I could pull recordings through C4 but never had that need. Yeah, I can view video streams via RTSP with the generic IP driver (Unifi in my case). Sure I would like thumbnails but that is just a cosmetic feature with no utility. I'm just not seeing why anyone would want to use the C4 interface to view recordings as the sytems main interface is likely to be far superior... HomeAutomationNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomgordon Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 If you have a touch screen or iPad in guided access/kiosk mode, you might want full control of cameras (quickly rewind backwards to see what happened a minute ago or pan a camera). One could say about almost all services with C4 integrations: why not just use native app? Ideally, C4 handles it so you don’t need lots of apps. That said, I understand the power of the native app and why a lot of people like it. Perhaps in my ideal world I have the option to do either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk HomeAutomationNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 3 minutes ago, ejn1 said: Yeah, I can view video streams via RTSP with the generic IP driver (Unifi in my case). Sure I would like thumbnails but that is just a cosmetic feature with no utility. I'm just not seeing why anyone would want to use the C4 interface to view recordings as the sytems main interface is likely to be far superior... I’d agree. Looking at a t3 to see what dog crapped on my yard would be uncomfortable. I do it on my tablet or Mac browser via Blue Iris . ejn1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 6 minutes ago, eggzlot said: I’d agree. Looking at a t3 to see what dog crapped on my yard would be uncomfortable. I do it on my tablet or Mac browser via Blue Iris . I use to like to watch the video stream on my TV's via the C4 navigator (eg if kids were swimming in pool to keep an eye on them). But it's slow and clunky and then I bought a $3 app for Apple TV and I can see all my video streams with thumbnails via Apple TV in a much slicker interface. Mayber there are other use cases for C4 but I'm drawing a blank and I'm a big fan of single intergration with C4. Just not so much on video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomgordon Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 What’s the app? It ties into your NVR?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejn1 Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 4 minutes ago, phantomgordon said: What’s the app? It ties into your NVR? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cctv-viewer/id1450658761 Yes it ties into your NVR (I think it does for Unifi, HIKvision, Swann and then you can link each camera via IP I think)... It doesnt show recordings but Unifi Protect works on Apple TV for me but I just use my phone or Ipad for that. As a pure viewer, I like this app the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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