180 degree WiFI Onvif camera

[marzian]

For the past months, I have been using Argus 4 Pro solar-power panorama camera.

Notwithstanding the overall consensus that this is not a reliable setup, I have been mightily impressed. Rock solid, excellent day-time picture.
The particular need calls for 180, solar and WiFi.

Is there an alternative that is Onvif-compliant, or at least is compatible with 3rd party software?

 

[TonyR]

FWIW, a excerpt from Reolink, the manufacturer of your Argus 4 Pro battery-powered, solar-charged camera:

When a battery-powered camera is used as a standalone device, due to hardware limitations, it does not support RTSP, RTMP, ONVIF and related communication protocols that third-party software requires. In addition, most third-party software doesn't have the battery management option that allows the camera to enter the power-saving standby mode when no motion is detected, thus they can't work together.​

​

IOW, constant video streaming via RTSP with no onboard management to determine when to record, like motion trigger, would drain the battery faster than could be re-charged, especially at night when no sunlight is present. There are commercial, non-consumer level systems available that employ battery and solar but they are VERY expensive.

Disregard the need for battery operation and your camera options increase exponentially.

 

[marzian]

FWIW, a excerpt from Reolink, the manufacturer of your Argus 4 Pro battery-powered, solar-charged camera:

When a battery-powered camera is used as a standalone device, due to hardware limitations, it does not support RTSP, RTMP, ONVIF and related communication protocols that third-party software requires. In addition, most third-party software doesn't have the battery management option that allows the camera to enter the power-saving standby mode when no motion is detected, thus they can't work together.​

​

IOW, constant video streaming via RTSP with no onboard management to determine when to record, like motion trigger, would drain the battery faster than could be re-charged, especially at night when no sunlight is present. There are commercial, non-consumer level systems available that employ battery and solar but they are VERY expensive.

Disregard the need for battery operation and your camera options increase exponentially.

I don't need constant streaming. What Reolink is claiming to be a hardware limitation, it is not. Their camera streams to the cloud currently. There is absolutely no reason why it couldn't do that a local server. As a matter of fact, it can- to a FTP server.
Unfortunately, the battery operation is a must for my needs.

 

[steve1225]

I don't need constant streaming. What Reolink is claiming to be a hardware limitation, it is not. Their camera streams to the cloud currently. There is absolutely no reason why it couldn't do that a local server. As a matter of fact, it can- to a FTP server.
Unfortunately, the battery operation is a must for my needs.

Yes, it is...
Classic POE powered cameras works 24/7... they non stop captures video, processing, analyzing, compressing and sending to client/NVR or writing to SD card... this require usually 5 to 12 watts of power..

All battery powered cams don't work at all for 99% time.. they have PIR sensor (like motion sensor in alarms systems), which have very low power usage (it can work full year on one AA battery) and when PIR sensor detect motion it wakes up full camera from sleep. Usually cams works for 30-60 seconds and then is going to sleep again.. So battery powered cams are using energy only when they are wake-up. And small solar panel and small batteries works for them.

If camera is sleeping it can't be accessible from internet. So this is way then don't have web service or RTSP service - you can't connect with camera for 99% of time - they sleep. They use private base or cloud protocol, which is initiated from camera when it wake-up.. other way don't work...

If you want battery powered camera with RTSP, then you must use classic POE powered cam or external powered WIFI one and connect to much bigger solar and much bigger battery.

 

[marzian]

Yes, it is...
Classic POE powered cameras works 24/7... they non stop captures video, processing, analyzing, compressing and sending to client/NVR or writing to SD card... this require usually 5 to 12 watts of power..

All battery powered cams don't work at all for 99% time.. they have PIR sensor (like motion sensor in alarms systems), which have very low power usage (it can work full year on one AA battery) and when PIR sensor detect motion it wakes up full camera from sleep. Usually cams works for 30-60 seconds and then is going to sleep again.. So battery powered cams are using energy only when they are wake-up. And small solar panel and small batteries works for them.

If camera is sleeping it can't be accessible from internet. So this is way then don't have web service or RTSP service - you can't connect with camera for 99% of time - they sleep. They use private base or cloud protocol, which is initiated from camera when it wake-up.. other way don't work...

If you want battery powered camera with RTSP, then you must use classic POE powered cam or external powered WIFI one and connect to much bigger solar and much bigger battery.

Sorry, but that's just not true. I use such a camera; it's accessible 24/7. The Wifi chip's standby consumption must be very low. It records only when triggered. It records to the cloud, a local server (as well as an SD card). Its battery is virtually always at 100%, maybe dropping into the 90's by the morning. True, it's summertime. There is no technical limitation to performing the same duties with an RTSP stream. It's Reolink's choice.

 

[steve1225]

Sorry, but that's just not true. I use such a camera; it's accessible 24/7. The Wifi chip's standby consumption must be very low. It records only when triggered. It records to the cloud, a local server (as well as an SD card). Its battery is virtually always at 100%, maybe dropping into the 90's by the morning. True, it's summertime. There is no technical limitation to performing the same duties with an RTSP stream. It's Reolink's choice.

one more time - this is how battery powered cams works. wifi can looks like connected for 24/7, but please believe me - the WIFI chip negotiates with the WIFI access point/router long sleep time and it sleeps for 99.9% of time.. it wake up every few second for very short time simply to send one acknowledge to wifi router that cam is online and then goes sleep again... main processor sleeps all that time - only PIR sensor with movement detection can wake it up...

If I may suggest - look for cameras that have base stations that support open protocols (RTSP) or have integration with open source project (home-assistant etc). In the case of a battery-powered camera, the only device you could connect to is its 24/7 powered base station. but if you even find one, you will not get 24/7 video transmission - only for events.

or take any external powered WIFI cam and connect it to bigger battery and bigger solar panel.

 

[steve1225]

ps. on the same page from Reolink you gived is information:

Working with Reolink Home Hub Series
As Reolink battery-powered cameras are integrated with the Reolink Home Hub Series, they now support third-party protocols. This enhancement is driven by advancements in technology and Reolink's proactive approach in understanding customer demands.

However, not all battery-powered cameras support integration with the Home Hub. Please read this article for further information and insights: Reolink Home Hub Compatibility

Also, upgrade your Home Hub to the latest firmware on the official website: Download Center – Reolink

 

[steve1225]

Introduction to RTSP

This article shares some basic knowledge about RTSP and the format of RTSP URL. Applies to: Which Reolink Products Support C...

support.reolink.com

 

[marzian]

Thank you. Just to avoid misleading other people, I will reiterate some facts. Camera in this context is Argus 4 Pro.

1. Camera works on its own without the need of a hub. I suppose the hub can be used for local recording, but it is not required.
2. Camera is accessible 24/7. It doesn't look as if it is. It is. I have been using camera for months, connecting daily day and night.
3. the battery never drops below 90%. BTW, it has a spotlight, which turns on every time recording is triggered or camera is connected to remotely. A fairly strong spotlight. With normal use, it doesn't even drop below 95.
4. It is motion triggered by PIR. It has "AI" and detects humans, cars and animals. It does a decent job doing that. I have a number of recordings of cats.
5. It records on an SD card, cloud or FTP server if needed. The cloud service is a paid service. I record to all 3 of them.

It's a very good to excellent piece of hardware with one major and one not-so-major deficiencies:
1. It does not provide RTSP and cannot be used with BI, Synology etc.
2. The nighttime video quality is average, not on par with ColorVu, for example.

This is a solar powered camera. Not to be confused with just a "battery-operated camera."

 

[TonyR]

What Reolink is claiming to be a hardware limitation, it is not.

Jeez...Reolink has a lot of nerve...pretending to know something about the cameras they make.

 

[steve1225]

1. It does not provide RTSP and cannot be used with BI, Synology etc.

it can provide RTSP and can be used with BI or Synology.
But this require using Reolink Home Series hub, which works as RTSP server..

everything is very well explained on reolink website..

 

[marzian]

Jeez...Reolink has a lot of nerve...pretending to know something about the cameras they make.

No number of smart-ass comments will change the facts. Reolink doesn't claim anything different. You do. This camera does not provide RTSP. The hub does.

 

[TonyR]

No number of smart-ass comments will change the facts. Reolink doesn't claim anything different. You do. This camera does not provide RTSP. The hub does.

That's why I sent you the link to Reolink in my 2nd post...it explains the use of their hub...and you can kiss my smart ass...you're the dumbass for using Reolink to begin with.

 

[marzian]

That's why I sent you the link to Reolink in my 2nd post...it explains the use of their hub...and you can kiss my smart ass...you're the dumbass for using Reolink to begin with.

View attachment 200837

Talking about dumbasses, the Reolink link says nothing about the claims that a battery-operated camera could not provide an RTP stream by default. It could. Neither does it claim that Argus 4 Pro provides that, which in and of itself would be a contradictory statement obviously. So thanks for trying to help, but feel free to kiss your own ass.

 

[TonyR]

So thanks for trying to help

You're welcome

... but feel free to kiss your own ass.

Uh oh...don't look now but your cam has been hacked and I can see you as you post.....

 

[marzian]

You're welcome

Uh oh...don't look now but your cam has been hacked and I can see you as you post.....

View attachment 200846

For a guy your age and a Vietnam veteran, you demonstrate an enviable maturity level.

 

[tangent]

Is there an alternative that is Onvif-compliant, or at least is compatible with 3rd party software?

Yes there are better camera that provide a 180 degree view, but they aren't solar powered or wifi based.

Camera is accessible 24/7. It doesn't look as if it is. It is. I have been using camera for months, connecting daily day and night.

Being "accessible" 24/7 is a very different thing from recording continuously 24/7. I haven't used this specific camera, but most battery powered or other cloud based cameras I've used have a limit on how long you can view live video form the camera. On many it's around 5 min, some also have a daily max. If the feed from this camera could be viewed non-stop, it would probably drain the battery within a couple of hours.

 

[marzian]

Yes there are better camera that provide a 180 degree view, but they aren't solar powered or wifi based.

Being "accessible" 24/7 is a very different thing from recording continuously 24/7. I haven't used this specific camera, but most battery powered or other cloud based cameras I've used have a limit on how long you can view live video form the camera. On many it's around 5 min, some also have a daily max. If the feed from this camera could be viewed non-stop, it would probably drain the battery within a couple of hours.

Of course, it's different. This is the whole point. Don't need continuous recording. There is no time limit but, of course, overdoing it would drain the battery. My usage has averaged 20 min by all users. As I mentioned, the battery never dropped below 95%. On a sunny day, the battery stays at 100% during continuous live stream. I will try letting it run for 2-3 continuous hours one day. I am fairly certain that it will be able to do it without a hiccup.
I don't need a better camera per se, just the ability to stream to Synology. Actually, even a piece of software that lets me use the recorded material via FTP in an organized manner would do.

 

[tangent]

I don't need a better camera per se, just the ability to stream to Synology. Actually, even a piece of software that lets me use the recorded material via FTP in an organized manner would do.

Find a way to get an ethernet cable to where you want the camera, and there are a number of cameras that can do that.

 

[marzian]

Find a way to get an ethernet cable to where you want the camera, and there are a number of cameras that can do that.

I run dozens of cameras at various locations, most PoE. Not an option here. Among other things, there is only 12V electricity. The camera does the job 100%, I just don't want to keep paying for cloud recording.