Security Camera Setup

 I have had a security camera system in place for over 4 years, but I have never fully utilized it. My current 8 camera system is an integrated system by ZMODO. While it had good performance when first installed the image quality in a couple of the cameras has dropped off significantly in the last couple years.

Unfortunately the existing cameras are not compatible with anything other than the ZMODO base station that came in the original set. So I can't test new software solutions with the old hardware.  The other factor driving this update is the fact that ZMODO doesn't integrate with Home Assistant. It doesn't allow for imbedding image feeds or feeding motion alerts/object detection into automations.

To start this project I replaced the main camera that overlooks my front door. Luckily the cables run for the old cameras are power over ethernet cables that can be adapted for use with standard cameras by just clipping off the proprietary connector and installing a RJ45 connector.  So I have installed a generic 1080P RTSP camera using the old cable. 

Zone Minder, Frigate, and Blue Iris were all tested before I finally decided to use Blue Iris. This was selected due to the ease of setup and integration with Home Assistant via the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS).  This update required 3 software components be setup: Blue Iris, an MQTT server, and the Home Assistant Integration. 

I chose to make use of the convenient Unraid Community Applications store add on for Blue Iris that only requires selecting the data storage location to setup the docker image. Once the Blue Iris docker instance booted setup was very straight forward. The camera is added using the  RTSP url/port/credentials that are unique based on the specific camera. Additionally a user account needs to be setup to allow access via Home Assistant.

Adding the Home Assistant integration is as simple as adding it using HAC. All that needed to be set was the IP address, port, username, and password of the account setup in Blue Iris. 

At this point the camera is exposed to Home Assistant and the entities for motion alerts and connectivity.  The next task is actually feeding the motion sensors with data. To do this an MQTT server has to be setup. I chose to setup the MQTT server available in the official Home Assistant add on store. The tricky thing here is both the Add-On and the integration it adds has to be configured. The configuration is very straight forward to just set a username and password for the MQTT broker. 

The last step is configuring Blue Iris to feed the MQTT server the data. This is done by adjusting the server level configuration under Digital IO and IOT.  The MQTT server credentials need to be set and tested to ensure the MQTT sever is properly connected. 

At this point I added a new Camera page to my dashboard to add the new camera and sensor.  I was also able to create a basic motion activated alert to my phone. The final step of this setup is the same as all new Home Assistant changes, create a backup and securely store it on another system.

I will continue to monitor how this performs over the next week before I purchase a license for Blue Iris. So far it seems like it will be well worth the $60 license fee. If they happen to have a Black Friday sale I might make that decision sooner. I will be monitoring Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales for new camera to replace the remaining ZMODO cameras.