Monocle: View IP Cameras with Alexa (Echo Show, Echo Spot, Fire TV, Fire Tablet)

dambro · Nov 2, 2018

it is possible to have this skill in Italian or alternatively publish it on the amazon.it store? thanks

jgtoron · Nov 4, 2018

@Monocle Noob here! Trying to confirm whether there is a requirement to have a service running locally i.e. installing some Monocle software on a computer etc, ? I don't see it there listed on your website under instructions. I've a Monocle account setup and added to alexa etc. I can play the rtsp stream on VLC; but it doesn't work with my echo spot. The response from Alexa 'Hmmm camera isn't responding'. I feel like I'm missing something in the setup. Any help would be appreciated.
P.S. My camera model is Sercomm Icamera2.

GarryWMA · Nov 26, 2018

Has anyone actually got this working with Blue Iris? I've tried using the path @TonyR suggested and cannot get it to connect. When I try using the Monocle Gateway with @proxy it tells me that the file cannot be opened or is an unsupported format.

Monocle · Nov 26, 2018

dambro said:
it is possible to have this skill in Italian or alternatively publish it on the amazon.it store? thanks

We are working on adding support for Italian region/locale. Please contact us directly if you would like to be a BETA tester -- we will need your email address used with Alexa to add you to the beta group for the Alexa skill. Thanks, Robert

Monocle · Nov 26, 2018

jgtoron said:
@Monocle Noob here! Trying to confirm whether there is a requirement to have a service running locally i.e. installing some Monocle software on a computer etc, ? I don't see it there listed on your website under instructions. I've a Monocle account setup and added to alexa etc. I can play the rtsp stream on VLC; but it doesn't work with my echo spot. The response from Alexa 'Hmmm camera isn't responding'. I feel like I'm missing something in the setup. Any help would be appreciated.
P.S. My camera model is Sercomm Icamera2.

Some IP cameras (many Amcrest, Lorex, Unifi, HikVision, Dahua, etc) work out of the box without needing any intermediate service (proxy/gateway). However, many cameras (including Sercomm, ReoLink, Foscam, D-Link) do need an intermediate gateway for compatibility. Also if you are using any FireTV 4K and newer device, all these require using our Monocle Gateway service. (Monocle Gateway) This service does need to run inside your local network so that no audio/video traffic is routed across the Internet -- it all stays local/private.

Its unfortunate that this type of service is required in many cases, but Amazon does not seem interested in fixing compatibility issues for local IP cameras or supporting local IP camera connectivity on their FireTV 4K line of products. So we do our best to bridge the gap for a large percentage of cameras and keep things simple and private.

Thanks, Robert

Monocle · Nov 26, 2018

GarryWMA said:
Has anyone actually got this working with Blue Iris? I've tried using the path @TonyR suggested and cannot get it to connect. When I try using the Monocle Gateway with @proxy it tells me that the file cannot be opened or is an unsupported format.

Can you verify the RTSP URL coming from BlueIris works first using a tool like VLC? If its working, then try using the @tunnel tag and feel free to forward us a log from Monocle Gateway and we can try to see what's going on/wrong.

Thanks, Robert

GarryWMA · Nov 27, 2018

@Monocle Thanks Robert for the really quick reply, I think that has given me a pointer to something. I thought I had authentication turned off for local streams but VLC is prompting for User and Password. Will explore a bit more.

GarryWMA · Nov 27, 2018

@Monocle I've sorted my authentication issue and the stream is playing in VLC

I'm still getting the camera is not responding

Using @tunnel I get
-------------------------------------------------
INITIALIZE RTSP STREAM: Laptop Camera
-------------------------------------------------
- NAME : Laptop Camera
- LABEL : PRIMARY
- URL : http://192.168.18.13:81/h264/cam1/temp.h264
- UUID : STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58
- SESS : d2fd3144-47f1-4f95-937d-66b17affd6b5
- MODIF : Tue Nov 27 2018 13:56:26 GMT+0000 (GMT Standard Time)
- TAGS : @tunnel
-------------------------------------------------
2018-11-27T13:57:34.610Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET CONNECTED
2018-11-27T13:57:34.716Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP CLIENT ATTACHED TO STREAM: Laptop Camera (STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58)
2018-11-27T13:57:34.722Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET CONNECTED {192.168.18.13:81}
2018-11-27T13:57:34.727Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] [CLIENT REQUEST] --> [DESCRIBE] rtsp://3742c8fa-237d-4539-ac46-10abc59d7413.mproxy.io:443/STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58?session=d2fd3144-47f1-4f95-937d-66b17affd6b5
2018-11-27T13:57:34.730Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] [CLIENT REQUEST] --> [HEADERS] {
"accept": "application/sdp",
"user-agent": "stagefright/1.2 (Linux;Android 5.1.1)",
"cseq": "1"
}
2018-11-27T13:57:34.734Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] [ENDPOINT REQUEST] --> [DESCRIBE] http://192.168.18.13:81/h264/cam1/temp.h264
2018-11-27T13:57:34.735Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] [ENDPOINT REQUEST] --> [HEADERS] {
"accept": "application/sdp",
"user-agent": "stagefright/1.2 (Linux;Android 5.1.1)",
"cseq": "1"
}
2018-11-27T13:58:04.720Z [WARN] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET TIMEOUT
2018-11-27T13:58:04.738Z [WARN] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET TIMEOUT [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>]
2018-11-27T13:58:04.739Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET CLOSED [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>]
2018-11-27T13:58:04.811Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET CLOSED
2018-11-27T13:58:04.820Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37695 <rkwIap50X>] RTSP CLIENT DETACHED FROM STREAM: Laptop Camera (STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58)

Using @proxy I get
-------------------------------------------------
INITIALIZE RTSP STREAM: Laptop Camera
-------------------------------------------------
- NAME : Laptop Camera
- LABEL : PRIMARY
- URL : http://192.168.18.13:81/h264/cam1/temp.h264
- UUID : STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58
- SESS : 62a9cf9d-be74-417e-9daf-a2953f60b981
- MODIF : Tue Nov 27 2018 14:01:20 GMT+0000 (GMT Standard Time)
- TAGS : @proxy
-------------------------------------------------
2018-11-27T14:01:26.716Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET CONNECTED
2018-11-27T14:01:26.840Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP CLIENT ATTACHED TO STREAM: Laptop Camera (STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58)
2018-11-27T14:01:26.850Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET CONNECTED {127.0.0.1:8554}
2018-11-27T14:01:26.853Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [CLIENT REQUEST] --> [DESCRIBE] rtsp://3742c8fa-237d-4539-ac46-10abc59d7413.mproxy.io:443/STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58?session=62a9cf9d-be74-417e-9daf-a2953f60b981
2018-11-27T14:01:26.855Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [CLIENT REQUEST] --> [HEADERS] {
"accept": "application/sdp",
"user-agent": "stagefright/1.2 (Linux;Android 5.1.1)",
"cseq": "1"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:26.857Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [ENDPOINT REQUEST] --> [DESCRIBE] rtsp://3742c8fa-237d-4539-ac46-10abc59d7413.mproxy.io:443/STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58
2018-11-27T14:01:26.857Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [ENDPOINT REQUEST] --> [HEADERS] {
"accept": "application/sdp",
"user-agent": "stagefright/1.2 (Linux;Android 5.1.1)",
"cseq": "1"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:26.859Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [ENDPOINT RESPONSE] <-- [404 (File Not Found, Or In Incorrect Format)] <cseq=1> (session=undefined)
2018-11-27T14:01:26.862Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [ENDPOINT RESPONSE] <-- [HEADERS] {
"cseq": "1",
"date": "Tue, Nov 27 2018 14:01:26 GMT"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:26.864Z [WARN] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP ENDPOINT RESPONSE ERROR: [DESCRIBE] = 404 (File Not Found, Or In Incorrect Format)
2018-11-27T14:01:26.874Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [CLIENT RESPONSE] <-- [404 (File Not Found, Or In Incorrect Format)] <cseq=1> (session=undefined)
2018-11-27T14:01:26.875Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] [CLIENT RESPONSE] <-- [HEADERS] {
"cseq": "1",
"date": "Tue, Nov 27 2018 14:01:26 GMT"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:26.877Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET CLOSED [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>]
2018-11-27T14:01:26.913Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET CLOSED
2018-11-27T14:01:26.930Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37702 <Sk1rR65CX>] RTSP CLIENT DETACHED FROM STREAM: Laptop Camera (STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58)
-------------------------------------------------
INITIALIZE RTSP STREAM: Laptop Camera
-------------------------------------------------
- NAME : Laptop Camera
- LABEL : PRIMARY
- URL : http://192.168.18.13:81/h264/cam1/temp.h264
- UUID : STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58
- SESS : 4051a6b1-4728-4533-bb9b-99d25fb59d7a
- MODIF : Tue Nov 27 2018 14:01:20 GMT+0000 (GMT Standard Time)
- TAGS : @proxy
-------------------------------------------------
2018-11-27T14:01:27.758Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET CONNECTED
2018-11-27T14:01:27.885Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP CLIENT ATTACHED TO STREAM: Laptop Camera (STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58)
2018-11-27T14:01:27.888Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET CONNECTED {127.0.0.1:8554}
2018-11-27T14:01:27.890Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [CLIENT REQUEST] --> [DESCRIBE] rtsp://3742c8fa-237d-4539-ac46-10abc59d7413.mproxy.io:443/STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58?session=4051a6b1-4728-4533-bb9b-99d25fb59d7a
2018-11-27T14:01:27.892Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [CLIENT REQUEST] --> [HEADERS] {
"accept": "application/sdp",
"user-agent": "stagefright/1.2 (Linux;Android 5.1.1)",
"cseq": "1"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:27.894Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [ENDPOINT REQUEST] --> [DESCRIBE] rtsp://3742c8fa-237d-4539-ac46-10abc59d7413.mproxy.io:443/STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58
2018-11-27T14:01:27.896Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [ENDPOINT REQUEST] --> [HEADERS] {
"accept": "application/sdp",
"user-agent": "stagefright/1.2 (Linux;Android 5.1.1)",
"cseq": "1"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:27.902Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [ENDPOINT RESPONSE] <-- [404 (File Not Found, Or In Incorrect Format)] <cseq=1> (session=undefined)
2018-11-27T14:01:27.903Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [ENDPOINT RESPONSE] <-- [HEADERS] {
"cseq": "1",
"date": "Tue, Nov 27 2018 14:01:27 GMT"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:27.903Z [WARN] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP ENDPOINT RESPONSE ERROR: [DESCRIBE] = 404 (File Not Found, Or In Incorrect Format)
2018-11-27T14:01:27.904Z [DEBUG] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [CLIENT RESPONSE] <-- [404 (File Not Found, Or In Incorrect Format)] <cseq=1> (session=undefined)
2018-11-27T14:01:27.905Z [TRACE] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] [CLIENT RESPONSE] <-- [HEADERS] {
"cseq": "1",
"date": "Tue, Nov 27 2018 14:01:27 GMT"
}
2018-11-27T14:01:27.909Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP ENDPOINT SOCKET CLOSED [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>]
2018-11-27T14:01:27.920Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP CLIENT SOCKET CLOSED
2018-11-27T14:01:27.922Z [INFO] [192.168.18.7:37703 <HyerRTqCX>] RTSP CLIENT DETACHED FROM STREAM: Laptop Camera (STREAM:aee838fe-9c99-4445-a786-fb4aac95df58)

Monocle · Nov 27, 2018

GarryWMA said:
@Monocle I've sorted my authentication issue and the stream is playing in VLC
I'm still getting the camera is not responding
...

@GarryWMA,

Can you open a support ticket here for more one on one help:
Contact Support | Monocle

In the first attempt using @tunnel, its not returning anything on the DESCRIBE request. So its possible this is not a RTSP stream?
If you would like to temporarily expose the stream for us to look at, we could run some tests on it to see if its RTSP and if we can get it working.

Thanks, Robert

GarryWMA · Nov 27, 2018

@Monocle thanks I will do.

GarryWMA · Dec 3, 2018

To follow this up @Monocle kindly checked my Blue Iris stream which was using the URL @TonyR supplied above. Unfortunately they came to the conclusion that whist this was H.264 it was not an RTSP stream and they couldn't process it even using the Gateway. Which is a shame. I guess what is needed is to get BlueIris working with Monocle is for someone to work a way of encoding a raw H264 stream so it appears to be an RTSP one. In the meantime I have got one of my cameras working directly with Monocle which is a great product.

therealdeal74 · Dec 8, 2018

I got this working with my LTS camera finally. The problem I had getting the stream to load was finding the right URL and adding a user with a simple password as my password was too complex. I used basic authentication and the URL was rtsp://{IP_ADDRESS}:554/live.h264

dtm · Dec 20, 2018

I have been playing with Monocle and have discovered something that might help a few people get it working. I have several cameras all the same brand and model. Some of them worked with Monocle and some didn't. When I started comparing the settings in the cameras I discovered that the ones that failed had the audio stream turned off in the camera GUI setup. When I enabled the audio stream they all started working and displaying on my echo spot. It appears that if Monocle doesn't connect to both the video and audio streams it will not play the video and results in a "Camera is not responding" message. I have created a support ticket with the company and reported this. May be something to fix in a future update.
-
In the meantime, if you are getting a "camera not responding" message go into the camera settings and make sure your audio stream is enabled. It matters not whether your camera has a microphone/speaker. It also doesn't matter if you select the "None" codec in the Monocle setup.

Anyway, hope it helps someone. It worked for me.

TonyR · Dec 20, 2018

That little nugget earned you your first "LIKE", @dtm !

Rimantas · May 7, 2019

Hello, my friends,
I have 4 dahua ip cameras. And dont understand what i’m doing wrong. Please help.
I have fire tv stick 4k.

Monocle · May 7, 2019

dtm said:
I have been playing with Monocle and have discovered something that might help a few people get it working. .... It appears that if Monocle doesn't connect to both the video and audio streams it will not play the video and results in a "Camera is not responding" message. I have created a support ticket with the company and reported this. May be something to fix in a future update.

This would be an issue on the Alexa side. It's the Alexa device that is refusing the stream with the audio disabled. Monocle is simply a conduit between the IP cameras and Alexa devices. To be fair, I have seen several cameras continue to report an audio channel in the stream descriptor even when the audio feature is disabled on the camera. If this is the case, then that may explain why Alexa is failing, she is expecting an audio stream, but no audio data is actually present in the raw stream data. If you are using the Monocle Gateway service, you can tag you camera with "@noaudio" which will force the Monocle Gateway to strip out the audio channel from the stream descriptor. This seems to work for most cameras with this issue. You can read more about this special tag here: Tagging Cameras for Monocle Gateway | Monocle

Thanks, Robert

Monocle · May 7, 2019

Rimantas said:
Hello, my friends,
I have 4 dahua ip cameras. And dont understand what i’m doing wrong. Please help.
I have fire tv stick 4k.

Troubleshooting:
You can find some troubleshooting tips here: Additional Tips & Tricks | Monocle

FYI:
Using the FireTV 4K Stick will require also using our Monocle Gateway service:

Supported Alexa Devices: Supported Alexa Devices | Monocle
FireTV 4K Stick: Fire TV Stick 4K (3rd Generation) [2018]
Monocle Gateway service: Monocle Gateway | Monocle

willis.zion · Jul 26, 2019

I have one simple question, for my Foscam camera.
The RTSP way to get the camera's streaming is rtsp://username

wd@IP

ort/videoMain
But when I set it to Monocle, it gives me the error: RTSP URL should not contain any username or password?
What is the right URL should I input?

Monocle · Jul 26, 2019

willis.zion said:
I have one simple question, for my Foscam camera.
The RTSP way to get the camera's streaming is rtsp://usernamewd@IPort/videoMain
But when I set it to Monocle, it gives me the error: RTSP URL should not contain any username or password?
What is the right URL should I input?

Monocle provides separate username and password fields for the RTPS URL. We use separate fields because we store the access credentials as encrypted data in the backend. When we send the RTSP URL to Alexa, we send it in the exact same format as you described with the credentials included in the URL.
Just use those dedicated fields and then your RTPS URL would be:

Code:

rtsp://IP:port/videoMain

For Foscam cameras, please see this compatibility note ... you will need to use our Monocle Gateway software/service to get Foscams working:
----------FOSCAM COMPATIBILITY README----------

Thanks, Robert

willis.zion · Jul 29, 2019

Working now. Thanks.

Monocle said:
Monocle provides separate username and password fields for the RTPS URL. We use separate fields because we store the access credentials as encrypted data in the backend. When we send the RTSP URL to Alexa, we send it in the exact same format as you described with the credentials included in the URL.
Just use those dedicated fields and then your RTPS URL would be:

Code:

rtsp://IP:port/videoMain

For Foscam cameras, please see this compatibility note ... you will need to use our Monocle Gateway software/service to get Foscams working:
----------FOSCAM COMPATIBILITY README----------

Thanks, Robert

Monocle: View IP Cameras with Alexa (Echo Show, Echo Spot, Fire TV, Fire Tablet)

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Getting the hang of it

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Attachments

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