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Ask HN: DIY baby cams/monitor(s) with privacy?

12 points by leeoniya ↗ HN
Hey HN!

We're expecting soon, and I'm seeking the latest advice for setting up a multi-camera system. I'd like it to be secure (cameras should be dumb), always-on (so powered by USB, not battery), some kind of standard protocol (e.g. RTSP), good quality/dynamic range (doesnt need to be 1080p, even 720p is fine). General plan is to have a 1-3 VLANed cameras, preferably with safe/integrated auto-IR mode when dark and integrated mics. I'd like it to be remotely accessible/stream-able via a web ui/webrtc with auth.

I have Synology NAS, Asus/OpenWRT router, and an OPNSense device between modem and router.

The hardware landscape looks kinda crappy. I wanted to maybe do a camera module [1][2] with Pi Zero 2 W [3] but the latter is unavailable due to supply chain stuff and the former is either USB or lacks a built-in mic. Banana Pi M2 Zero [4] might be an alternative. Most of these modules don't support 5Ghz, but i guess that's fine. Seen some other mentions of open source firmware for Wyze cameras. In terms of software, https://zoneminder.com/ looks like the winner?

EDIT: This looked promising, but not made anymore? https://www.varia-store.com/en/produkt/97613-banana-pi-bpi-d1-open-source-ip-camera-board.html

Anyways, thanks for any advice :)

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Camera-Webcam-OV5647-Adjustment/dp/B08QFM8TVV/

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Arducam-Computer-Fisheye-Microphone-Windows/dp/B07ZRJDTBQ/

[3] https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w/

[4] https://www.amazon.com/WayPonDEV-Banana-Pi-M2-Zero/dp/B0B87F72B1/

17 comments

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bombcar
Setup a LAN with PoE and use whatever crappy PoE cameras are the current cheapness. Bonus if you find confirmation they zonemind.

Block that entire lan from accessing the Internet after its setup. If you need to get video out, use a bastion host to do so.

Homeassistant was able to make the cameras work with HomeKit somehow but i forget the details.

(For most of them I just RTSP direct with a password in VLC, and internal website links to them all and it works well enough for quick checks. You can make playlist, too)

qup
RTSP was how I got some video out on some crummy surveillance cameras I have. It was a quick and dirty option I could write a script for.
pro_zac
This is the route I went. I really like being able to pull the camera up on any device on my home wifi. The tricky part is finding PoE cameras with built in mics that don't require additional wiring. I returned multiple cams before I found a hikvision clone that met my needs.
gregjor
I have to ask, for what? I raised three kids without cameras. My wife and I used the time-tested "monitoring" technique: we kept our own eyes on the kids. It wouldn't have occurred to me to watch my kids on camera through a phone or laptop when I could just have them in the same room with one of us. Maybe we just got lucky, but in my experience babies and toddlers can sleep through almost anything if you hold them or keep them close by.

The questions seems to ask how to turn a very human activity into a technical problem.

brudgers
Like much with parenting I think it’s only people trying to do what they think they ought to do and the plan - like most - may not survive reality’s punch in the face.

Everyone learns parenting on the job.

gregjor
You're right about learning parenting on the job, and about the best-laid plans.
schwartzworld
This is such an annoying response. "How can I do X?" "Tsk tsk, I didn't have to/want to do X so don't waste your time.

> Maybe we just got lucky, but in my experience babies and toddlers can sleep through almost anything if you hold them or keep them close by.

You did just get lucky. Full stop. Some kids are bad sleepers and when they are, OP might want to be on a different floor. Maybe they want to hang out in the yard or on on the porch where they won't hear a child screaming. Maybe they are working from home and just want to be able to keep an eye on the child without needing to be in the same room.

No matter what the reason, responding to a request for advice on doing X with condescending tongue-clicking doesn't help with anything other than making yourself feel superior. Congrats!

leeoniya
indeed.

also knowing how/if your kid is climbing out of a crib, if their sleeping position is causing issues. it could prove to be really useful to assess these things early/passively rather than late/intrusively.

there's something to be said for not literally being present 24/7 with your child for various other reasons that can be found online and in books.

gregjor
I know the topic brings on a wave of heated opinions. Our kids all slept with us, or in a baby bed next to our bed, from birth until they wanted to sleep in their own bedroom, usually before two years old. No need for a crib or worry about sleeping positions.

I didn't suggest hovering over children 24/7. But consider that people have raised kids for millennia without cameras and monitors, more connected with the child and not remotely observing and assessing.

june_twenty
That goes against current guidelines on sleep for babies.. the risk of SIDS drops when the baby sleeps on their own rather than with their parents.

People existed for a long time without lots of things we have today. Should we stop using lots of stuff?

gregjor
> That goes against current guidelines on sleep for babies.. the risk of SIDS drops when the baby sleeps on their own rather than with their parents.

True, but if you look at the studies you see alcohol and drugs involved, parents who smoke, babies sleeping with parents on sofas, improper bedding, low birth weight and other risk factors, etc. A hard mattress, light bedding, and a baby bed that can go between the parents or on the side of the bed eliminates most of the risks. Pediatrician advice on this topic has gone from "never do it under any circumstances" to "don't smoke, drink, do drugs, or let babies sleep on soft mattresses with heavy bedding." Babies should not sleep prone. Parents all over the world routinely sleep with babies and young children with no increased SIDS rate, probably because they don't use padded soft mattresses and heavy bedding. Cribs and baby bedding and toys cause their own problems.

> People existed for a long time without lots of things we have today. Should we stop using lots of stuff?

Not really an argument, since I was referring to a single specific practice, not "lots of stuff." At one extreme you have Balinese mothers who carry their babies everywhere and sleep with them. At the other you have parents who hire nannies and keep their children in separate rooms under video surveillance. Because raising children is a very personal and human activity I don't get why people would introduce unnecessary distance or technology, but everyone can find their own way.

schwartzworld
So condescending. Parenting discussions bring out the worst in people.
june_twenty
Pediatrician advice is still that babies should sleep on their own - without toys and other objects in the crib.

Of course it's an argument. Why would you apply the logic to a single specific practice and hand wave away everything else? Makes no sense.

gregjor
I asked, "For what?" How will camera monitors help with bad sleeping or screaming? When my kids had those episodes we would hold them or lay down with them, maybe with earplugs. Monitoring an upset child through a camera just seems callous to me, but everyone does their own thing. My mom followed the "let them cry it out" school and thought I should do the same.

I worked from home most of the time when I had three kids growing up. Less than ideal sometimes but it wasn't so bad.

Call it condescending tsk-taking or annoying if you want. You asked for validation of an Amazon shopping list of hardware, I suggested an alternative approach to think about. Happy monitoring.

kleer001
That sounds like a fun rabbit hole.

You'll want to balance its upkeep with being sleep deprived for a year or so.

Wait, where are you located? The states? Are both of you taking parental leave?

Me, I'm mostly happy with the Wyze camera. It's not open, but it's security is good enough for me. The software is shite, but it's not owned by a foreign gov't.

june_twenty
I would assume most people buy a camera from a store and plug it in. Is there need for more security than strong passwords on the device and router?