YooSee SD-M5 doorbell: 1080p, PoE, RTSP, Onvif, only $66

[texasranger556]

This thread came up when I was searching for a wired POE ONVIF doorbell camera, so I ordered one and ran Ethernet to my front door doorbell location which was a project in itself. Now I'm trying to get the thing working on my camera LAN (a separate switch isolated from the internet and everything except the 2nd NIC on my BI server). I quickly found out this thing doesn't want to work without internet access. All I want is to set an IP and enable the RTSP stream for BI. Has anyone managed to set a static IP or have it request one via DHCP so I can set a static lease?

I've managed to connect through wifi using the Android app after breaking down and hotspotting it to my phone so I could set the RTSP password, but once I set the network connection to "wired" I lose connection and I don't see it requesting an IP from the DHCP server on my camera LAN.

My other cameras are Amcrest/Dahua cameras and simple to get going. Watch for a DHCP server for a request, use that IP to log in and configure a static IP and password via the web GUI, auto detect in BI, done.

 

[Noppesnada]

I have been using this doorbell for 2 months nw and added it to my NVR, no problem.

Since a while i do not get notified on my phone of ipad wit Yoosee App when the bell is rung.

Is there a setting that i am overlooking ?

 

[Elton Noway]

This thread came up when I was searching for a wired POE ONVIF doorbell camera, so I ordered one and ran Ethernet to my front door doorbell location which was a project in itself. Now I'm trying to get the thing working on my camera LAN (a separate switch isolated from the internet and everything except the 2nd NIC on my BI server). I quickly found out this thing doesn't want to work without internet access. All I want is to set an IP and enable the RTSP stream for BI. Has anyone managed to set a static IP or have it request one via DHCP so I can set a static lease?

I've managed to connect through wifi using the Android app after breaking down and hotspotting it to my phone so I could set the RTSP password, but once I set the network connection to "wired" I lose connection and I don't see it requesting an IP from the DHCP server on my camera LAN.

My other cameras are Amcrest/Dahua cameras and simple to get going. Watch for a DHCP server for a request, use that IP to log in and configure a static IP and password via the web GUI, auto detect in BI, done.

To be fair... "if" you install this doorbell as advertized with no modifications or attempts to make it work Blue Iris, Raspberry Pi, a PC or Mac, NVR or DVR and use a smartphone or computer via the internet to set it up and control it, then it works okay. However, like you, I also discovered an internet connection is required for many of the advertised features to work. As a POE video camera only... it works without internet access... but that's where the handshake ends. Its the rest of the features that seem to need the internet. FYI: I have mine connected to one of those questionable Lorex Home Security "kits" (like they well at Sams or Costco). With my installation I do not use the included doorbell 12V power adapter. Mine is connected to the using a single Ethernet cable, from the doorbell, thru a Ubiquiti INS-3AF-I-G adapter , and into a port on the NVR. This gives me 24/7 video captured by my NVR... but thats where my install goes downhill. The date, time, motion alerts, doorbell notifications, 2-way intercom etc etc... do not work without internet access. When connected to the internet via my router, and using the Android app, I am able to set all sorts of features, access, time zones, RTSP etc. , and they work as advertised... but as soon as I disconnect from the router and switch to my wired configuration... all settings and changes I made are "cleared". Even the date time reverts back to 1970/01/01. I can't help but wonder if that disconnect might be the issue when you set the RTSP password. Hopefully another BI user can come to the rescue.

In the meantime... if you haven't already:
Verify you are running the most current version of BI.
When in the Android app... make sure to use the same RTSP password as in BI.
Disable hardware acceleration for the camera.

 

[silencery]

Oh, BI hardware acceleration doesn't work for the RTSP stream? Interesting. That's similar to the wyze cams.

 

[Elton Noway]

I have successfully hacked the SD-M5 into working with my mechanical chime.
I found a connection on the USB chime that received power when the chime was triggered. I originally thought it wasn't getting a consistent 4.98v (5v DC) but it turns out that the signal is so fast my multi-meter was unable to read it reliably. So long story short I did not need the 5v step up I ordered. I ended up buying a 5v relay and 5v step up from a company called Pololu. I came to the conclusion their products were more reliable than the average Amazon Chinese stuff. @Elton Norway is NOT joking when he said soldering these tiny joints is complicated. I had to use my cell phone camera and zoom in to make sure I didn't have any solder creating a short between joints. I know my soldering looks like $#!%.... But it works. I guess now Im going to either 3D print a box with standoffs, or make one to hold the components. Then I'm going to hard wire the USB receiver and relay on the other side of the wall from my doorbell in the electrical box in the wall that the 16v transformer for the chime is mounted to. Here's some pics to better explain how I accomplished this. Yes the pics are big, sorry, not going to resize them, I think I did enough work on this already and I should get a hall pass. FYI the doorbell wires go in the relay slots for common and NO (normally open). The NC is for normally closed.

Link to 5v relay: Pololu Basic SPDT Relay Carrier with 5VDC Relay (Assembled)

1st pic: Left wire = PWR (VDD) / Right = GND
2nd pic: Trigger wire = EN

Hey @whoami Congrats! Very impressive R&D. Now I'm a little bummed. If I hadn't already given up and finished my installation I would have definitely gone with your design (especially since you' did all the heavy lifting). I checked the specs and everything looks good. Like the 5v relay you found. Nice detective work. Just a heads up... make sure to tuck in these few loose wires (or just clip them off) so they don't short a nearby circuit...


If I had been able to adopt your design, for the install rather than trying to mount the assembly on the other side of the doorbell, I would have taken advantage of the crawlspace under the house and mounted the power adapter and USB chime it the crawlspace directly below the door where the doorbell wiring runs up thru the wall to the doorbell. That way I wouldn't have to do anything fancy to make it look nice.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I decided to give up on figuring out how to wire the SD-M5 into my existing doorbell circuit and simply mounted the unit as a stand alone front door camera "above" my existing doorbell button. I did it this way for several reasons.
1) Primary only wanted a video at the door to capture doorbell activity and 24/7 video.
2) Didn't like the "recommended" SD-M5 mounting height. (with practice placement, wife and i felt it was too high to be practical. Reaching the button would have been a stretch for kids and if moving it lower... the camera cut off the heads of taller people)
3) An existing porch camera captures activity but from an off angle, however my system alerts me of people approaching the door before they reach the doorbell.
3) Got annoyed with the SD-M5 after discovering the majority of features (including time and date) needed internet access to function or stay set. (i.e. lost interest)
4) Already spent too much time the project especially after I discovered - (due to my shaded entrance facing a lighted open area) that the SD-M5 produces silhouettes during all daytime hours (as would almost any camera). Night time images are great!

Anyway... To eliminate confusion for any visitors, I removed the doorbell button from the SD-M5, filled in the hole with epoxy, disconnected the internal speaker wire, and painted it to match my house trim. The exiting doorbell button is illuminated and stands out quite well.

Sorry for the poor quality screen captures.... (pics were taken of my NVR monitor with a cell phone)
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... .... .... SD-M5 mounted at recommended height


Amazon Prime making a delivery today...


Recommended mounting height for SD-M5 (crazy high) .......................................... Amazon Prime driver at the doorbell

 

[mattTHEbastard]

i appreciate the posts everyone. im in the same boat as most of you. i have wired the front with cat 6 but my wife will kill me if i buy a ring elite. i have message yoosee after reading all posts to try and get them on board. but i spoke in words business people understand. explaining attracting a larger demo graph and mentioned north american doorbell wiring. hopefully someone fluent in english sees dollar signs and helps us out. thank you to the chime hacker. at least if i settle i can still get it to work

 

[SecuritySeeker]

I discovered - (due to my shaded entrance facing a lighted open area) that the SD-M5 produces silhouettes during all daytime hours (as would almost any camera).

A possible solution in general for your situation might be to put the camera in IR mode all the time and make sure there's enough IR light coming from either the camera itself or some auxiliary IR light to compensate for the backlight situation. Of course that requires at least that the camera in question can be forced to go into IR mode since otherwise the IR cut filter (if it has one) would prevent this from working. I don't think you can force the YooSee into IR mode but you can do it for example with the Dahua wedge mini dome.

Ideally there would be a filter in front of the camera/sensor that only lets through IR and not the visible spectrum (the sort of filter you might find in IR remote controls although those may not be of high enough quality to give a clear image). If you can do a physical modification to insert such a filter it doesn't really matter anymore if you can put the camera in IR mode through software.

 

[SecuritySeeker]

Has anyone tried to set the YooSee RTSP/admin password without using their app? I finally have some time to install this thing but, believe it or not, I don't have a smartphone (by choice).

Here's what I tried:

• Run the YooSee app under BlueStacks android emulator (also tried MEmu)
  Doesn't work, the App does not see the camera at all
• Run the CMSClient software from YooSee
  Doesn't work, the software does not see the camera at all
  I also tried adding the device manually by specifying its ID, IP etc but then it give an error 'password error' if I go to IPC Config. So it does seem to connect to it but it's unable to login.

Now the IPCTestTool Windows software does see the YooSee camera. It even streams live video from it. They state that "IPCTestTool is the mass production tool enables OEM partners to produce and config Yoosee security cameras easily.".

According to this forum post over at support.yooseecamera.com this software should allow one to:

• View multiple cameras on computers
• Manually flush/downgrade/upgrade firmware
• Control (pan/tilt/zoom) camera
• Record video on computer
• Config camera and tweak each settings
• Set/modify camera admin and RTSP password
• Pair 433/868MHz wireless security sensors
• Turn on/off white light
• Correct panoramic image

So that's promising. Only problem is, the software is in Chinese. There is a partially translated version available which I downloaded but I'm still not certain how to use it to modify the password:

If you right-click the ID you get a popup menu with the following choices:

时 间 同 步 (Time synchronization)
检 查 更 新 (Check for updates)
制 作 烧 录 文 件 (Burn-in documentation according to Yandex, Produce burning files according to Google Translate)

if you select 制 作 烧 录 文 件 (Burn-in documentation) a Yes/No messagebox appears:

您确定在设备########上制作烧录文件吗? (Are you sure you want to make a burn file on device ########?)

I have a feeling that this might be the option to write the Admin PWD and RTSP PWD to the device (and possibly also the ID) but I don't really want to risk bricking my camera.

Is there anyone here who knows Chinese and can give a better assessment of what this function is likely to do?

Also, for those of you with a YooSee doorbell, could you try running this tool and check what it says under the column 密 码 (password). Does it display the actual password of your YooSee doorbell, or does it say Yes/No in Chinese or something? The easiest way to identify the column is to go to menu List View Options and uncheck all entries except Has Password? .

You can download the English version of IPCTestTool from CloudatCost Free Cloud Storage

 

[Ryco]

Anyone else having issues with connecting with rtsp to these cameras?

I just received Sd-m5 that I ordered off of eBay, it is running software version 13.1.1.34. it is giving out the rtsp info from onvif, rtsp:/192.168.1.139:554/onvif1 but I am unable to connect to this and receive video. Have tried on vlc for windows and on tinyCam pro for Android. On the Yoosee app rtsp has been enabled and it forced me to set a password.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Ryco]

Figured it out, was missing the "admin" user name. VLC will normally prompt you for a user name/password when connecting to a rtsp stream that needs one. To make it work on VLC input as follows:

rtsp:/admin:yourpassword@your-IP:554/onvif1

Has anyone figured out the admin password for the device settings? I think this would allow you to change some settings in using the CMS software and maybe do some changes in the IPCTestTool software that was posted earlier in this thread.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Ryco]

Has anyone tried to set the YooSee RTSP/admin password without using their app? I finally have some time to install this thing but, believe it or not, I don't have a smartphone (by choice).

Here's what I tried:

• Run the YooSee app under BlueStacks android emulator (also tried MEmu)
  Doesn't work, the App does not see the camera at all
• Run the CMSClient software from YooSee
  Doesn't work, the software does not see the camera at all
  I also tried adding the device manually by specifying its ID, IP etc but then it give an error 'password error' if I go to IPC Config. So it does seem to connect to it but it's unable to login.

Now the IPCTestTool Windows software does see the YooSee camera. It even streams live video from it. They state that "IPCTestTool is the mass production tool enables OEM partners to produce and config Yoosee security cameras easily.".

According to this forum post over at support.yooseecamera.com this software should allow one to:

• View multiple cameras on computers
• Manually flush/downgrade/upgrade firmware
• Control (pan/tilt/zoom) camera
• Record video on computer
• Config camera and tweak each settings
• Set/modify camera admin and RTSP password
• Pair 433/868MHz wireless security sensors
• Turn on/off white light
• Correct panoramic image

So that's promising. Only problem is, the software is in Chinese. There is a partially translated version available which I downloaded but I'm still not certain how to use it to modify the password:

If you right-click the ID you get a popup menu with the following choices:

时 间 同 步 (Time synchronization)
检 查 更 新 (Check for updates)
制 作 烧 录 文 件 (Burn-in documentation according to Yandex, Produce burning files according to Google Translate)

if you select 制 作 烧 录 文 件 (Burn-in documentation) a Yes/No messagebox appears:

您确定在设备########上制作烧录文件吗? (Are you sure you want to make a burn file on device ########?)

I have a feeling that this might be the option to write the Admin PWD and RTSP PWD to the device (and possibly also the ID) but I don't really want to risk bricking my camera.

Is there anyone here who knows Chinese and can give a better assessment of what this function is likely to do?

Also, for those of you with a YooSee doorbell, could you try running this tool and check what it says under the column 密 码 (password). Does it display the actual password of your YooSee doorbell, or does it say Yes/No in Chinese or something? The easiest way to identify the column is to go to menu List View Options and uncheck all entries except Has Password? .

You can download the English version of IPCTestTool from CloudatCost Free Cloud Storage

This is what I had in the password box:



Can you translate that, does that just say yes?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[alastairstevenson]

Can you translate that, does that just say yes?

It doesn't look like it.
是的

Paste it in to Bing translate to see.

 

[SecuritySeeker]

This is what I had in the password box:

View attachment 50404

Can you translate that, does that just say yes?

Thank you. It's 有 and it means 'have'.

The strangest thing happened yesterday: whenever I start the CMSClient software and try to obtain the IP config it always comes back with 'password error' but one time, and one time, it suddenly did return the IP config and I was also able to click the Password button and set a new password. After that the IPCTestTool showed the same Chinese character as in your screenshot.

Not that it made any difference. I was still unable to see any of the ONVIF details in ONVIF Device Manager (v 2.2.250) for instance. At some point I rebooted the camera in IPCTestTool and it wouldn't come back on so I did a hard reset on the device itself. After the 'hass password' column in IPCTestTool was empty again.

Anyway, it looks as if I can get the videostream from the device without setting a password. This works in BlueIris, IPCTestTool and contrary to what I said before also in CMSClient because I found out that if I double-click the manually added camera it does show the video stream from it.

I also tried setting the password today from IPCTestTool with the 制 作 烧 录 文 件 popup menu entry but that doesn't seem to work.

I did capture the network traffic when I was setting the password with CMSClient but it's not easily decodable. At the moment I cannot do any further experiments because CMSClient is refusing to start and I don't want to reboot the PC remotely (it's at the office).

When I get back there I will reboot and continue my experiments. One thing I want to do is setup a mirror port on my switch and capture all traffic between the camera and everything else to see if there is something it tries to connect to when pressing the doorbell, although it's quite possible it will only try to do that after setting a password or after it has already connected to the cloud server.

 

[flashg]

(due to my shaded entrance facing a lighted open area) that the SD-M5 produces silhouettes during all daytime hours (as would almost any camera).

I think it depends on the camera settings, e.g. white balance?

1) May be you can try manually adjusting the white balance to see if it make any difference?

2) Or if you walk right in front of the camera blocking out the bright background, does that make a difference?

 

[silencery]

制作烧录文件 refers to firmware updates, so it doesn't seem related to password settings.

 

[silencery]

4) Already spent too much time the project especially after I discovered - (due to my shaded entrance facing a lighted open area) that the SD-M5 produces silhouettes during all daytime hours (as would almost any camera). Night time images are great!

This is a good point and highlights an important tradeoff for the SD-M5 compared to the Hikvision and Dahua doorbells. The affordability of the SD-M5 is great, but the higher price of the other two models also means they come with good quality exposure correction like HLC, WDR, and BLC to help counter severe imbalances in lighting. These advanced functions aren't perfect, but they do help.

Ultimately, it seems the suitability of the SD-M5 will depend on everyone's performance expectations and installation environment.

That said, are there any utilities out there to adjust light balancing features on the SD-M5?

 

[whoami ™]

I ended up buying a USB power outlet and two metal single gang boxes to mount and power the wireless chime & relay. All I did for a case was use a dremel to make a hole in back of the existing chime case for the wires to come out of and electric taped the relay to it. I don't trust it 100% hints the metal box I mounted it in.

 

[SecuritySeeker]

制作烧录文件 refers to firmware updates, so it doesn't seem related to password settings.

That makes sense given the entry above it (Check for updates). I wonder then where the option to set the password is hidden, if it's really there.

 

[SecuritySeeker]

Figured it out, was missing the "admin" user name. VLC will normally prompt you for a user name/password when connecting to a rtsp stream that needs one. To make it work on VLC input as follows:

rtsp:/admin:yourpassword@your-IP:554/onvif1

Funny thing is, I can get it to display in VLC with just this:

rtsp:/your-IP:554/onvif1

so without a username or password. Maybe that only works if you haven't set a password yet.

If you haven't done so yet you might want to download the ONVIF Device Manager software.

 

[Ryco]

Funny thing is, I can get it to display in VLC with just this:

rtsp:/your-IP:554/onvif1

so without a username or password. Maybe that only works if you haven't set a password yet.

If you haven't done so yet you might want to download the ONVIF Device Manager software.

Yes probably. Once you use the Yoosee app, in the RTSP setting it forces you to set a password. You can not leave it blank.