/homebridge-camera-ffmpeg

ffmpeg plugin for homebridge.

Primary LanguageJavaScriptApache License 2.0Apache-2.0

homebridge-camera-ffmpeg

ffmpeg plugin for Homebridge

Installation

  1. Install ffmpeg on your computer (note that in some cases, this requires compiling ffmpeg from scratch due to the use of rstp, namely for pi configurations)
  2. Install this plugin using: npm install -g homebridge-camera-ffmpeg
  3. Edit config.json and add the camera.
  4. Run Homebridge
  5. Add extra camera accessories in Home app. The setup code is the same as homebridge.

Config.json Example

{
  "platform": "Camera-ffmpeg",
  "cameras": [
    {
      "name": "Camera Name",
      "videoConfig": {
        "source": "-re -i rtsp://myfancy_rtsp_stream",
        "stillImageSource": "-i http://faster_still_image_grab_url/this_is_optional.jpg",
        "maxStreams": 2,
        "maxWidth": 1280,
        "maxHeight": 720,
        "maxFPS": 30
      }
    }
  ]
}

Optional Parameters

  • uploader enable uploading of snapshots to Google Drive, defaults to false. See wiki for more detailed instructions.
  • motion enable a dummy switch and motion sensor to trigger picture notifications in iOS 13, defaults to false. See wiki for more detailed instructions.
  • manufacturer set manufacturer name for display in the Home app
  • model set model for display in the Home app
  • serialNumber set serial number for display in the Home app
  • firmwareRevision set firmware revision for display in the Home app

Example with manufacturer, model, serial number and firmware set:

{
  "platform": "Camera-ffmpeg",
  "cameras": [
    {
      "name": "Camera Name",
      "manufacturer": "ACME, Inc.",
      "model": "ABC-123",
      "serialNumber": "1234567890",
      "firmwareRevision": "1.0",
      "videoConfig": {
        "source": "-re -i rtsp://myfancy_rtsp_stream",
        "stillImageSource": "-i http://faster_still_image_grab_url/this_is_optional.jpg",
        "maxStreams": 2,
        "maxWidth": 1280,
        "maxHeight": 720,
        "maxFPS": 30
      }
    }
  ]
}

Optional videoConfig Parameters

  • maxStreams is the maximum number of streams that will be generated for this camera, default 2
  • maxWidth is the maximum width reported to HomeKit, default 1280
  • maxHeight is the maximum height reported to HomeKit, default 720
  • maxFPS is the maximum frame rate of the stream, default 10
  • maxBitrate is the maximum bit rate of the stream in kbit/s, default 300
  • vcodec If you're running on a RPi with the omx version of ffmpeg installed, you can change to the hardware accelerated video codec with this option, default libx264
  • audio can be set to true to enable audio streaming from camera. To use audio ffmpeg must be compiled with --enable-libfdk-aac, see https://github.com/KhaosT/homebridge-camera-ffmpeg/wiki, default false. Many ffmpeg binaries are not compiled with libfdk-aac, and to work around this issue, force the OPUS codec: "acodec": "libopus"
  • packetSize If audio or video is choppy try a smaller value, set to a multiple of 188, default 1316
  • vflip Flips the stream vertically, default false
  • hflip Flips the stream horizontally, default false
  • mapvideo Select the stream used for video, default 0:0
  • mapaudio Select the stream used for audio, default 0:1
  • videoFilter Allows a custom video filter to be passed to FFmpeg via -vf, defaults to scale=1280:720
  • additionalCommandline Allows additional of extra command line options to FFmpeg, for example '-loglevel verbose'
  • debug Show the output of ffmpeg in the log, default false

A somewhat complicated example:

{
  "platform": "Camera-ffmpeg",
  "cameras": [
    {
      "name": "Camera Name",
      "videoConfig": {
        "source": "-re -i rtsp://myfancy_rtsp_stream",
        "stillImageSource": "-i http://faster_still_image_grab_url/this_is_optional.jpg",
        "maxStreams": 2,
        "maxWidth": 1280,
        "maxHeight": 720,
        "maxFPS": 30,
        "maxBitrate": 200,
        "vcodec": "h264_omx",
        "audio": false,
        "packetSize": 188,
        "hflip": true,
        "additionalCommandline": "-x264-params intra-refresh=1:bframes=0",
        "debug": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

Using another Video Processor

  • videoProcessor is the video processor used to manage videos. eg: ffmpeg (by default) or avconv or /a/path/to/another/ffmpeg. Need to use the same parameters than ffmpeg.
{
  "platform": "Camera-ffmpeg",
  "videoProcessor": "avconv",
  "cameras": [
    ...
  ]
}
{
  "platform": "Camera-ffmpeg",
  "videoProcessor": "/my/own/compiled/ffmpeg",
  "cameras": [
    ...
  ]
}

Setting a source interface, or IP address

  • interfaceName selects the IP address of a given network interface. The default is to select the first available, and that may not be the same IP address that ffmpeg will use. A mismatch will cause the iOS device to discard the video stream.
{
  "platform": "Camera-ffmpeg",
  "interfaceName": "bond0",
  "cameras": [
    ...
  ]
}

Tested configurations

We have started collecting tested configurations in the wiki, so please before raising an issue with your configuration, please check the wiki. Also if you have a working configuration that you would like to share, please add it to the wiki.

https://github.com/KhaosT/homebridge-camera-ffmpeg/wiki