With my limited knowledge of network technologies, I still found it relatively easy to setup a Pi Zero + Raspberry Pi Camera Module system to stream video over RTSP to VLC software on my desktop or phone. The stream quality is pretty crappy, but I am hoping that, at least, this would not send my video to some Chinese servers. Anybody else experimented with such setup?
Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
61–70 of 109 posts
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
1. Uniview [told me] they are NDAA compliant. Most (not all) of their NVRs and cameras are compliant. I was not aware of their involvement in the genocide, but I do see mentions of their facial recognition tech potentially being used. I don't know enough to comment. This is their formal statement regarding their NDAA status: https://www.uniview.com/us/About_Us/Legal_Notice/Notice/2020... 2. we are now working in a ne…
Man, so close. Your prices sound really reasonable to me, it's nice to hear that you're preparing for direct sales and for a larger-sensor line. But this does not look good: https://ipvm.com/reports/uniview-uyghur
That's horrible if true.
Perhaps for the new line, we should consider making our own instead of OEM. I appreciate your input.
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#63A new-ish project for a replacement firmware for Ingenic based cameras is here https://thingino.com/ . The developers are super active and very responsive.
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#64With my limited knowledge of network technologies, I still found it relatively easy to setup a Pi Zero + Raspberry Pi Camera Module system to stream video over RTSP to VLC software on my desktop or phone. The stream quality is pretty crappy, but I am hoping that, at least, this would not send my video to some Chinese servers. Anybody else experimented with such setup?
Yes, most of our early product prototyping was Pi-based. I've experimented with cameras, parallel stream processing, opencv, even voice assistants. It's a great platform. Happy to answer any questions. Also, lots of tutorials (on Medium and YT) for your exact setup.
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#65Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#66With my limited knowledge of network technologies, I still found it relatively easy to setup a Pi Zero + Raspberry Pi Camera Module system to stream video over RTSP to VLC software on my desktop or phone. The stream quality is pretty crappy, but I am hoping that, at least, this would not send my video to some Chinese servers. Anybody else experimented with such setup?
I've been playing for a while with various *Pi like boards (mostly Orange Pis) and the ustreamer software which is very light and well suited for small boards like those.
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#67Only thing I'd mention is that the old school "web server runs on camera" model is really dodgy when the average user just plugs it in, fires up a mobile app, and sees their camera - then assumes all is well. So many security issues and exploits for those things. Hardcoded passwords, backdoors, and loads of exploits for gaining SSH or telnet access on very common models. As much as I hate the current shift toward cam…
When I had my first child a decade ago, someone gifted me a PTZ camera that was viewable through a smartphone app. I set it up, connected it to wifi, and it worked... for about 4 days. Resetting it didn't work. Called the company and they sent a replacement. Same thing happened. I noticed that it had used UPnP to map a public port to itself. I never tried hitting it with anything, but I made the assumption that it wa…
One piece of advice - when it comes to privacy and security, wired > wifi. I always recommend wiring (PoE). Jammers have recently become cheap and accessible, and burglars can now turn off whole neighborhoods.
[1] https://ktla.com/news/local-news/police-warn-of-thieves-usin... [2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2024/0...
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#68The telltale sign of the ipc binary suggests this is probably one of the SoCs looked at in https://openipc.org/ I tore down an ankya brand device which had some fun features like setting up the wifi password by showing the camera a QR code
I was just testing a Roku camera (was on sale for $23 from roku.com, I think) and it had the same feature (setting up wifi by showing it a QR code), which I thought was neat. However, it doesn't look like it exposes RTSP and works with the Roku app only (even Wyze, seemingly using the same OEM hardware, has a way to enable RTSP).
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Man, so close. Your prices sound really reasonable to me, it's nice to hear that you're preparing for direct sales and for a larger-sensor line. But this does not look good: https://ipvm.com/reports/uniview-uyghur
That's horrible if true. Perhaps for the new line, we should consider making our own instead of OEM. I appreciate your input.
> Perhaps for the new line, we should consider making our own instead of OEM.
I'd love that. I would buy and recommend these.
The big Chinese companies have good hardware and prices but as you can see I'm not a fan of their ethics. There are a few companies (e.g. GeoVision, and seemingly Reolink even though they're also Chinese) that at least don't seem genocidal but don't offer the good low-light performance. Axis hardware looks really nice but just doesn't seem within the realm of hobbyists price-wise. And then there are the various cloud options.
Re: Reverse-Engineering an IP Camera (2019)
#70A new-ish project for a replacement firmware for Ingenic based cameras is here https://thingino.com/ . The developers are super active and very responsive.
I love firmware projects. It's not just about the security. Manufacturer's own software is often clunky, slow, and sometimes requires browser plugins (!!!). The hardware is usually OK, it's the software that makes these products horrible.