Fine tuning the image in notification texts?

[WildDoktor]

I'm getting text alerts with images consistently on motion detection, but...the images never show the person or object that was detected; it's just a random snip out of the recorded stream, usually of my empty sidewalk.

Is there a way to specify that the alert image contain the person / object that was detected?

I'm running Blue Iris version: 5.3.2.9

 

[TonyR]

Is there a way to specify that the alert image contain the person / object that was detected?

As suggested by the developer, you may want to consider using Push Notifications instead of SMS or MMS texts. This is an excerpt found in BI's Help file under "Alerts & Actions" ==>> "Push Notification":

"The option to Send rich push (3D) notifications allows you to send a camera image along with the text. You may choose to send either the alert image (if this action is in response to a trigger) or the camera’s current image. Further with iOS (not Android at the time of this writing), it’s possible to send a short 10-image GIF movie instead of the JPEG."

 

[WildDoktor]

Being "required" to buy an additional app for full functionality is a little disappointing, honestly. That and the fact that the app gets pretty poor reviews means I won't be buying the extra app, and will have to settle for a) getting an alert and b) then logging in and looking at the latest clip to see what exactly I was alerted for. By that time, the bad guys will have already gotten away, but I guess at least I'll have a recording of them. :-(

 

[Old Timer]

You can have a txt of a JPG from the camera that was set off, or have a group of cameras all in one picture.
The picture is probably a few after the trigger, so you may not see what set it off.

I have a 9mm lens camera that triggers, then send a group of 4 cameras that includes that camera,
a wider area cam along with 2 over view cameras.

If you send an email. you can send a series of pictures and decide how far apart. So, if you get a txt
and can;t see what's up, check your email for more info. or log in and see real time.

 

[WildDoktor]

I only have a single camera for now, so I get what I get.

I'll give email a shot when I get home tonight; will be interesting to see if I'll get the actual subject of the alert in the pictures that come via email.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Another trick is to change the pre-trigger time, making it a little shorter as in three seconds or so. I use SMS to end notifications and haven't missed a target yet with well over a year of use.

 

[OICU2]

Adding to what @sebastiantombs said, you can set BI to send a video in an email alert and if you set your pre-trigger buffer to something like 10 seconds, you should see what you need to see right there in an MP4 attachment to the email. That is what I use. This is under the specific camera Settings>Alerts tab>Actions>On Alert button near the bottom.

 

[OICU2]

I just noticed there are even more options on the page when you add the email alert such as "Attach motion leading edge image" and "Attach trigger leading edge image"...

 

[WildDoktor]

Nice, thanks!

Maybe there's something wrong with (or I'm just not understanding) my pre-trigger timing. I've found that I have to set it to at least 15 seconds in order to get a recording with the actual subject in it. And then when I watch the recorded clip, the "subject" will show up at seriously random times...and sometimes, nothing shows up for the entire clip!

Let's say a person walks by the camera at actually 1:30:15pm and I watch the recorded clip. That person will show up at a random amount of time after the recording starts...could be 5 seconds after the start, 8 seconds, 20 seconds, or any time during the clip. I have a clip from this morning that's 22 seconds long, and nothing moves in during the entire 22 seconds.

So I'm guessing that could be affecting what's being sent as an alert image...

 

[OICU2]

......
So I'm guessing that could be affecting what's being sent as an alert image...

Definitely, sounds like a camera config issue if it's skipping around like that in the recording. Someone else with a little more knowledge can chime in but maybe provide your camera brand and a model for a start...

 

[DsineR]

Nice, thanks!

Maybe there's something wrong with (or I'm just not understanding) my pre-trigger timing. I've found that I have to set it to at least 15 seconds in order to get a recording with the actual subject in it. And then when I watch the recorded clip, the "subject" will show up at seriously random times...and sometimes, nothing shows up for the entire clip!

Let's say a person walks by the camera at actually 1:30:15pm and I watch the recorded clip. That person will show up at a random amount of time after the recording starts...could be 5 seconds after the start, 8 seconds, 20 seconds, or any time during the clip. I have a clip from this morning that's 22 seconds long, and nothing moves in during the entire 22 seconds.

So I'm guessing that could be affecting what's being sent as an alert image...

Check your iframe & codec settings in the cam & BI. Some good info in this thread.

 

[WildDoktor]

Check your iframe & codec settings in the cam & BI. Some good info in this thread.

Interesting; that could be part of my problem as I remember messing with the iframe settings a few weeks ago. After reading that thread, I'm pretty sure I made the wrong changes. Will check it tonight after work!

 

[OICU2]

Interesting; that could be part of my problem as I remember messing with the iframe settings a few weeks ago. After reading that thread, I'm pretty sure I made the wrong changes. Will check it tonight after work!

I believe at least one thing is to make sure your iframes match your FPS rate in the camera settings.