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

fenderman

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In what sense? I Googled and searched the forum but couldn't find much, except for a problem with a PTZ camera having the controls mirrored and security issues with the YooSee app and the Gwell cloud infrastructure in general. At least it's not their first attempt at a doorbell, they also have for example the SD-M3 which already featured Onvif and PoE so hopefull they learned a bit from any mistakes they might have made with that.

What is slightly worrying is that this thing may not have a web interface but may only be configurable through their app. That would suck big time. But since it's one of very few doorbells with poe/onvif/rtsp I might just (have to) accept having to configure it through the app and then delete the app and block the device from the internet again after configuring. Or perhaps it can be fully configured through Onvif? I think I read on their website somewhere that they use port 5000 for Onvif btw.

@vandyman I hope you can let us know if this thing has a web interface to allow configuring it locally or if it can be configured fully through Onvif?
The sell low end junk, most of which is rebranded from the big china junk makers.
 

Cinnman

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I got one of these (yoosee 1080p poe rtsp onvif $66 cams) in the mail today. Haven't had time to figure it all out, but does work well with app. POE on a wired cat 6 connection. Image streams on IP Centcom onvif program just fine, but haven't yet got it working on BI.

I pulled as much info as could from the camera and posted it as 3 image media files for you tech genius types to figure out. (ok, I'm new, not a techie, and just an old retired guy enjoying learning things AND I haven't figured out how to post a picture here yet, so cut me some slack please). I just clicked on the "Media" button above and added 3 screen clippings.

I'll try to add more info when I get a chance to play with it this week.
 

SecuritySeeker

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I haven't figured out how to post a picture here yet, so cut me some slack please). I just clicked on the "Media" button above and added 3 screen clippings.
Here are the screenshots you added to the Media gallery:






Basically you just need to view these in the Media gallery in full size and then right click the image and select something like 'Copy image location' or whatever it's called in your browser of choice. Then in your post you can click the 'image' icon at the top of the message editor and then use ctrl-V to paste the image location (URL, URI) into the box and click OK. That's how I got the images above into my post.
 

SecuritySeeker

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You might want to check if there's a firmware update. According to the specs page it's supposed to be Onvif 2.5. Your screenshot mentions Onvif 2.0. Or this could just be typical of low budget stuff.

Hope you can get it to work with BI. I'm also sure that many here would love to see some actual footage from this thing, especially in low light conditions. Video with something or someone moving if possible but stills would be a good start.

Did you also get the wireless chime?
 

Cinnman

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Thanks for the image info, SecuritySeeker, always appreciate knowledge. I did not get the chime (yet). I went thru everything this morning to update, but am on latest version as far as I can tell. I still haven't gotten it to work in BI. I think that it has something to do with a RTSP password since the cam will not even connect locally to wired network until this password has been set in the app (and since I have only had BI for 2 weeks, I'm still finding my way around.
 

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I still haven't gotten it to work in BI.
I've never used BI myself yet (plan on getting it along with a bunch of cameras when our new home is finished) but does BI even support automatic discovery of cameras? It seems that IPCentcam does but if BI doesn't you would need to manually add the camera to BI. This seems like a good write up on how to do that in general:

How to Add a Camera Into Blue Iris 5

Replace the information from the above article with the information from your own screenshots (IP address, URL etc) and I think it should work.

Again I have zero experience with this so if I'm wrong hopefully others will be able to correct me.
 
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Cinnman

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SecuritySeeker, BI does support automatic configuration (to an extent as far as I can tell). I am really new with it as I have only used the evaluation for two weeks and then purchased a license (from IPCamTalk, actually) just this past weekend. Really fine program from what I have seen---set up a couple cams with a minimum of problem that I couldn't get into with a browser. At this point, I haven't seen a program that I could recommend more. But.....back to the Doorbell Cam.

I still have been unable to get a stream thru BI. I cannot connect to the camera at the ip address with any browser as of yet. And any attempt to explore configuration with Onvif Device Manager or Onvifer results in an immediate disconnect. About the only program that I can get information from the cam has been the IP Centcom pro version (which were the screenshots in the earlier post). And even with that program if I try to retrieve the Access Log or System Log, I get the message "Unable to retrieve the log. The device may not support the ONVIF access log retrieval command, or the credential does not have sufficient privileges to get the log." But at least, I can access the stream and view normally in the Centcom program. The cam does have a CMS program for computer viewing of the cam and, while it seems to work good, the interface isn't to my liking in appearance or being intuitive. I have emailed Blue Iris for possible help in making connection with the stream, but not heard back yet. Also emailed the "tech support" from cam requesting information, but really don't expect much---China site, but really nice translation page (帮助中心). We'll see.

As far as the android app---it does work and fairly well. But the permissions required for a phone are far too invasive right from the very start, so likely a huge thumbs down (I didn't bind mine to a phone number and using it in a test configuration with and email). The doorbell part worked pretty well with immediate notification---at least locally, to my phone. I haven't had a chance to test it out far from home yet. The video is NOT great but (maybe?) ok for the sole purpose of a doorbell "take a quick look". The audio seems full duplex (at least I assume that from the immediate feedback loop), but is barely usable and I have some "cricket" artifact periodically that is probably some interference on my network/testing desk.

I have a couple short videos captured that I will try to put up later today when I figure it out. So far, IMHO, not worth the (admittedly cheap) $ and definitely not a "security camera". I really don't have any plans for using this at my door. May set up and use at a gate location which had been my original thought.
 

Ford

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If CMS works you should be able to get BI working. But why would you want to?

The firmware on this is probably chock full of malware... be wary!

I am thankful I did not burn $66 on this experiment now.

The Fender said it best:

'The(y) sell low end junk, most of which is rebranded from the big china junk makers.'
 
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SecuritySeeker

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If CMS works you should be able to get BI working. But why would you want to?
Because it's the cam viewer of choice for many here?

The firmware on this is probably chock full of malware... be wary!
If you don't allow the cam to connect to the internet itself, if you don't make it accessible from the internet (no port forwarding) and put it on a separate VLAN, talking only to BI, does it really matter You should do all those things with all cams imho (regardless the brand), I don't trust any of them.
 

SecuritySeeker

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The video is NOT great but (maybe?) ok for the sole purpose of a doorbell "take a quick look".
Perhaps you're looking at a low-res stream instead of the full HD stream. I bet the Android app would use the low-res stream to save bandwidth on your mobile connection, its main purpose would indeed to 'take a quick look'.
 
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Ford

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Because it's the cam viewer of choice for many here?

My point is why would you ever want to connect this junk to your BI.

If you don't allow the cam to connect to the internet itself, if you don't make it accessible from the internet (no port forwarding) and put it on a separate VLAN, talking only to BI, does it really matter You should do all those things with all cams imho (regardless the brand), I don't trust any of them.
This is not a bad policy for devices that you may suspect nefariously contact their China headquarters (aka Dahua IPCs with international firmware), but I would never assume my (or any IT manager's) IT prowess is so awesome I can reduce the risk of having a malware bomb in the LAN to zero. The only safe way would be to air gap the device and this is totally too much effort for the benefits this gadget offers.
 

SecuritySeeker

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I work under the assumption that any IoT device is either nefarious or full of exploitable security leaks, again regardless of brand. I'll do my very best to isolate them, fully realizing that it's impossible to reduce risk to zero. I don't see any reason to treat this device any different from any other or attribute a greater risk to it. I already have zero trust in any of them so to me there's no difference.

No network is 100% safe, ever: How U.K. Spies Hacked a European Ally and Got Away With It
 

Cinnman

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Okayyyy....got it working with Blue Iris (thanks to Ken at BI). And the RTSP password is the key element along with a specific path. Stream is 1920x1080 but image is still only fair (haven't mounted it to a wall yet so I can simulate "doorbell" view of person, but as expected, fish eye appearance with a really soft focus. And no matter how smart we think we are, there are some genius level techs out there that can find a way into a connected network---so yeah, SecuritySeeker is right---assume someone can. As I'm learning, it becomes obvious that the VPN road for everything is a good target and virtual machines a plus.

Ford, (in my absolutely limited experience) I've found Blue Iris to be a really excellent program with a ton of power for actions on alerts and rock steady on monitoring (of course, I'm just playing around with 5 cameras now running on a powerful machine) but from comments I have read others praise the ability to VPN in to monitor and the program in general. Just my 2 cents of course.

And again, I'm just playing. This was $66 and maybe worth the educational value at least for me. I never intended to use it for my front door but maybe with the relay setup I might use it for a gate going to one of my children's yards (where a lock just means somebody has to jump the fence). I don't think it is a "security camera", maybe just another tool for access, monitoring, notification?
 

Ford

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Okayyyy....got it working with Blue Iris (thanks to Ken at BI). And the RTSP password is the key element along with a specific path.
This post is bordering on useless without the details on the configuration, please elaborate on the working setup in BI.

And I am not sure why you are telling me how great BI is. I am only second to Fendy in my appreciation and respect for BI and I am still blown away at the near-enterprise level app (I would say 100% enterprise if it could handle 100's of IPCs) for peanuts.
 

SecuritySeeker

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Stream is 1920x1080 but image is still only fair (haven't mounted it to a wall yet so I can simulate "doorbell" view of person, but as expected, fish eye appearance with a really soft focus.
Thanks for the update, good to know it works wit BI. As Ford said details about how to get it work in BI would be useful, as would an example of the image quality.

Please check if there is a protective film on the lens that needs to be removed. Even a cheap device like this should be able to deliver a fairly crisp image in good lighting conditions. The fish eye aspect is probably to be expected with a cheap wide angle lens.
 

Cinnman

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And that is why new people may be hesitant to post comments---Ford, you asked earlier why I would want to get it working in BI and I basically replied that IMHO it was a really good program and so I was just saying it probably will be what I want to use for all cameras which is why I praised the program...not questioning your allegiance or expertise. And I'm doing this as a hobby learning some things as I go. I'm an old retired (for 10 years now) medical specialist, not an engineer--and I had just gotten the stream a few minutes before and figured I would post a bit of update about the experience up to that point. At least in my mind what I would have liked to had read just in case I was searching around "doorbell cam" and would appreciate seeing. I figured once I get the rest worked out I could finish up with the info on what setting worked and probably some captures. Sorry for a worthless post, I'll be happy to bow out.

SecuritySeeker--thank you, good call but there was a film that I took off when I set it up. I just haven't had time to mess with it much since I got the stream in BI but it just seems that it somehow needs to focus a bit. (Maybe it's my old eyes or that it's blown up on a 32 in monitor--or it really is junk).
 

SecuritySeeker

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I'll be happy to bow out.
I hope you don't but I get it if you do.

SecuritySeeker--thank you, good call but there was a film that I took off when I set it up. I just haven't had time to mess with it much since I got the stream in BI but it just seems that it somehow needs to focus a bit. (Maybe it's my old eyes or that it's blown up on a 32 in monitor--or it really is junk).
Could perhaps be the upscaling that BI must be doing if you watch it fullscreen, that could cause a bit of fuzziness depending on what algorithm it uses for that. It would be interesting to see the original stream in it's original, native 1920x1080 resolution without any processing done to it.
 
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