Best Accessory for Apple Home: Raspberry Pi and Homebridge (2020)

[@tech_craft]

The video showing how to configure security cameras in HOOBS is now live: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpXGgWOgbtGsqNk

[@andrewboggis3174]

Tech Craft looking to do this.. I’m a novice using a complete UniFi system. Set up all on lan works 👍🏼 now moved the pi to IOT vlan and now broke! Struggling with the firewall? A video on this would be good.. fellow Suffolk tractor boy..👍🏼

[@OtRatsaphong]

Thanks so much for producing this video. Have been thinking of home automation but wasn’t sure where to start. This video has been very informative. 👍👍👍

[@tech_craft]

Let me know if you'd like to see more home automation content and what smart devices you're interested in.

[@b_1337]

Tech Craft I loved this content

[@sethrice9939]

GPIO devices, legacy hardwired home security sensors, integration between different hubs like SmartThings, hue, and others that have the radios zwave or zigbee require, but maybe could be better controlled via ITTT or home bridge. Lights, blinds, switches, and plugs

[@Travis2L]

Yes!! This is gold! Homekit plug-ins! I’m about to erase HASSIO/Home assistant for this I think. What’s your opinion on that?

[@zachzockoll3450]

would really love your thought on using the half a dozen google homes i have. I love apple hardware devices but the homepod was just too pricey compared to the google home products. So i have 4 mini's one max and one display hub. Would prefer to run it all through apple home software but talk to the google home devices. Might not be possible but figured i'd ask. Ty for great content

[@Mehmehx]

Unifi Cameras! Also I did not manage to get Xiomi Air Purifyers to work.

[@originalmagneto]

Can you share a LGTV tutorial for configuring hoobs 3? And the cameras too 😬 you are great at explaining man, kudos!

[@tech_craft]

Thanks. I certainly can. I have both of those on my list for the near future.

[@buildthehousech]

On HOOBS v3.1.20 ffmpeg is preinstalled, so for adding cameras just add the camera-ffmpeg plugin amd teak it in the config

[@razorlens]

I too would be interested.

[@jonstacchio]

@@tech_craft I'm a Hoobs noob and struggling to get s Sony Bravia TV working. My issue is authenticating Hoobs/Homebridge with the TV - specifically getting the TVs 4-digit PIN in to the config.json file. Just curious if you encountered something similar during your LGTV configuration? Fantastic content in all your videos btw!

[@tech_craft]

Jon Stacey ah yes. I have a Bravia too. Getting this right involved basically getting the PIN to show up and then editing the config file really quickly. If you miss it, you can restart the Homebridge and have another pass.

[@tonyhe2k]

love your Rob Johnson bubblehead on the desk :)

[@tech_craft]

Tony He you’re the first person to comment on that amazing piece of coding history!

[@buildthehousech]

You‘re running the old User interface install v3.1.20 with the new User Interface. Greetings Bobby from HOOBs

[@buildthehousech]

Please contact me on [e-mail] then we can provide more info

[@tech_craft]

Tom Credible Email on the way.

[@MichaelAlderete]

I noticed this, too, and was going to ask about it, why this version?

[@pieterjlansbergen6988]

Not only is the shown GUI interface different, digging into the filesystem via Terminal to look at a config file I found the whole /var directory is missing hence, no chance to go look into /var/lib/homebridge. Can somebody explain? Please note, I am on Raspberrypi zero w, it's a different .img download and install albeit still v3.1.20 Thank you

[@tech_craft]

Pieterjan Lansbergen On 3.1.20 you’ll find config in /home/hoobs/.hoobs/etc

[@Travis2L]

Think I just struck gold with your channel. I look forward to learning more about this and HomeKit plugins!

[@M44D1]

Hello rob, do you need a home hub for this setup to work ? For instance, can I look at my camera feed outside of my house without a home hub ? This would imply always having a second iPad/tv/HomePod at home

[@evanmann92]

great video, thanks! Mine is not finding the nginx file on the latest Hoobs. Everything else was found fine. Made sure I typed it exactly as you did. Any ideas?

[@stumpybloke]

same here. Did you ever manage to resolve/find it?

[@gerst73ify]

Please create a video on setting up cameras

[@ErikRijpkema]

you can give an explanation once about adding a camera. greetings from the Netherlands

[@magicmanchloe]

Please do a video on getting the security cameras working!!!

[@chrislucas4406]

If you are using raspberry cameras it would be cool

[@amaclellan3]

Zeros are great for that

[@geewiz70]

Thanks for the great introduction! I installed Homebridge on my Mac Mini home server and can finally control the non-Homekit devices in our house from the Home app.

[@floyd1963]

Great video. Please keep the Raspberry Pi videos coming.

[@kennethcoulter791]

Hello. Just added Ring to my HomeKit with hoobs. All is working well except for my ring doorbell. I can get the live feed and I can hear the sounds surrounding the doorbell but I can not talk through it. I can talk through my indoor ring camera but not my doorbell. Please advise. Thanks, Ken

[@rugburnman]

Would love to have a video of Homebridge and video camera's especially Unifi Video/Unifi Protect

[@MichaelAlderete]

+1 on the cameras, I’ve been reading up, and it seems complicated...

[@labalo5]

Same here. Need a KZbin vid with homebridge with UniFi protect

[@robsondias258]

Yes plz Can you do a video on the Cctv plugin I’ve been trying to get it working for ages but failed every time

[@rugburnman]

+1 very interested in a plug in for Unifi video/Unifi Protect products. Thanks!!

[@tech_craft]

I use that at home so happy to cover that one for sure!

[@LrgPicture]

Hello there .... I’m new to all of this but i just purchased the raspberry pi 4. It comes pre installed with homebridge i think (32g min sd). It seems as though Hoobs is pretty nice and easy to follow. Which one would you recommend? Also am I connecting my raspberry to my router via Ethernet? Again I’m a noob....

[@PhG1961]

Nice video ! I'm also interested in how to retrieve the IP address of a Sonoff cam and access the cam directly from the browser and/or VLC. Can you advise on this please ?

[@PhG1961]

Now this is a really interesting video ! Great job ! Show us more of home automation please.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

I ended up doing regular homebridge on a small Windows 10 PC. Works great it became our home server, in our all Mac /Apple household otherwise.

[@perutherford]

Excellent! Please more on security camera setup!

[@mariopandza]

Fantastic channel, thank you for sharing the knowledge, much appreciated!

[@motoninja2747]

this is good video thank you im interested in setting up APPLE based smart home but many componants are not compatable .... this seems a bit advanced but i will try and give it a go....

[@richiewoodward6301]

Once you add these to homekit. Can you then turn them on and off with Siri?

[@islandsnow]

If a device is HomeKit certified should you still add it via hoobs?

[@shargeforce]

Really interesting stuff. Found your channel two days ago and I love it. The videos are so clear and good to understand. Keep going. Greetings from Switzerland ✌🏻

[@bkib]

Thank you for this contribution! Very helpful!

[@timfischer]

I just spun up Homebridge on my Synology NAS about a week ago. Can't believe I didn't try this sooner... almost all of my smart home devices are not HomeKit compatible. Now I can actually use the Home app, Siri, my watch, etc to control everything.

[@aoalr]

You don't need a Home Hub like Apple TV or HomePod. You can just hook up your non-HomeKit devices to Homebridge on Raspberry Pi and it'll work through all Apple devices. However, a Home Hub is required to enable automations and for remote access.

[@michaelyoung4056]

Useful and entertaining! I’m going to try and install this.

[@russellmasters5764]

Good vid, how do you setup your WiFi details if you use the downloadable image file from HOOBS? I’m guessing there is a step where you do this so your HOOBS Pi can connect to your network?

[@Taxedo1221]

Hi i have old smart LG tv and the plugins dont work on it can you please give me advice what to do ? Its with webos and it is smart !

[@ReidMewborne]

I’m having trouble with Ubuntu on my raspberry pi running stupid slow. I have the 4GB version. What do you recommend, new OS, overclock?

[@greekindiegamers56]

I installed HOOBS on my raspberry pi 0. It is positioned a few cm away from the router and yet on the WiFi network picker my network is not shown. What gives? I tried it with 2 different raspberry pi 0s. I even re-downloaded and re flashed the OS with no avail.

[@TILR]

Dang at first I thought you were green-screen/blue-screen or remotely streaming your iPad to a monitor, but it is the iPad. Love the setup

[@tech_craft]

Heh. I do green screen the iPad screen recording on to the iPad so that I don't have to worry about where the iPad is when I'm filming.

[@skulio]

@@tech_craft Pretty cool idea. I wonder if you could make branding out of this. I mean since it's already a huge part of your videos, the background image for your greenscreen starts to set up visual tone of all your content. I wonder if you could make a background corresponding to your logo/brand colors to make easier it recognisable. (Sorry if it sounds like visual design pish posh, I couldn't rephrase it any better)

[@tech_craft]

@@skulio I had been thinking along similar lines. I want to reshoot the background and start to bring more brand elements into the mix.

[@andrewcale6100]

Can you please do a video explaining the protected network (separation) for the smart devices. How do you control them, if your regular smartphone wifi does not content to the protected part?

[@tech_craft]

Sure thing. Mostly it just works. The only system I had real issues with was Sonos and that required a ton of dicking about with the network to get right. On the whole though, it’s a nice setup.

[@MichaelAlderete]

Tech Craft Would be interested in knowing more about the Sonos config. Might not be video-worthy, but if you had a place to describe the fiddle settings, like GitHub or a gist, that would be really helpful.

[@BadgerBob]

Thanks for this, great channel and well presented. I only set up Hoobs for the first time yesterday and some things are a bit slow. Your last tip (sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default) isn't working, it states the directory doesn't exist.

[@peligon1]

Thank you for your time, efforts and talent... If it's possible to do a tutorial on Harmony setup that would be wonderful! cheers!!

[@brandonfitzpatrick1797]

I have a pi 3b+ i was wondering if there is a way to use usb instead of micro sd i am stuck in quarantine and I don't have a card reader.

[@craigrob11]

I started out using home bridge then switched over to Home assistant just seen your video I may switch back is there any benefits of using Home bridge over Home Assistant? Please can you do a video on cameras please

[@tech_craft]

Video cameras coming very soon. I used Home Assistant for a while and switched to Homebridge for a more Apple Home-centric solution. Because I’m sharing the end result with my family, I like being able to present everything to them through the familiar home app.

[@gar2k3]

Just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration, I ended up buying a Pi Zero and a few cheap WiFi lights that use the Tuya (status smart) protocol. Worked great - still having trouble with colours not being fully supported, but for lights on / off / brightness control they’re perfect!

[@tech_craft]

I'm going to cover Tuya compatible lights in an upcoming video. I'll pick up some colour ones and see how far I can get.

[@gar2k3]

Tech Craft that’s great! I look forward to seeing it!

[@RodrigoMMMRM]

Thank you for that awesome video. Is it possible with this setup to control my Samsung smart tv via HomeKit?

[@smabacon]

Great vid. Super helpful and well explained for this Pi first timer!

[@andrewboggis3174]

Just found your channel and what a find, I have set up a pi with hoobs worked fine although haven’t done the ipv6 out bit yet.. but I have now segregated the devices across my vlans and now it won’t work. I have ubiquiti usg pro switch 24 along with other UniFi bits. I’m guessing firewall and port?😞 could you help or produce a video on that? Thanks

[@kmengvik]

Thank you for this great video. I am on the verge to purchase the pi to install homebridge for the cause to relay my unsupported switches on to Homekit. But do you think I'll need heatsinks og fan for the cpu and ram? Or is that not at all neccesary?

[@devlily23]

Great video!! Will the 2 gb pi4 be enough for this setup?

[@tech_craft]

It depends a little on what plugins you use but you’ll be fine unless you have a gigantic setup.

[@youthflyer]

Could I make this work with MySmartBlinds? They are Alexa compatible but I would love to make them work with HomeKit as it is my preferred platform...

[@BoricuaFez]

Thank you for this insight about Homebridge. Been researching the idea when I saw the latest Apple products HomePod Mini.

[@planetmall2]

Great video. Do you have any experience with multiroom sound with the apple home/homebridge?

[@ruvas8451]

Please do the video about security cameras

[@amaclellan3]

Can you please show us the pi vpn home network setup. Your videos have really helped my learning with the pi and the ipad so far. Great content as usual. Thanks!

[@rpbrear]

Great video, thanks.

[@nathanlevigraves]

I’m experiencing about a 10-12 second delay on my magic home bulbs via Siri/homebridge. No delay when using the Home app. I previously had the bulbs running via the Alexa app with zero lag. Any ideas what could cause this? My pi 3b+ is connected via Ethernet

[@markrichards7533]

will sire be able to control the smart switches ,once configured .i use ewe link smart devices , will they work

[@vidi3266]

Cool video-thank you! Make a video on what you automated at your home and how

[@treforparr3995]

Hey mate I’m trying to find a plug-in for the hive thermostat I’m up for setting up my own home Bridge

[@JoseFos]

Great video!!! perfectly explained.

[@ParagOak]

Can we use old laptop instead of Rpi?

[@ahale1987]

Great video! Thank you! I’m planning on heavily leveraging Homebridge once I move this summer. Do you have any experience with the Ring and IFTTT plug-ins?

[@glenallan6279]

My curiosity is about better IOT security. Any concerns that should be transparently addressed?

[@glenallan6279]

I mean after watching it looks like you’ve bypassed a bunch of potential security protocols to get stuff to work? Question because no ipv6? Call me ignorant because I am, but is there not a concern about IOT in this regard and why Apple is a bit of a pain to integrate?

[@tech_craft]

There was the very recent announcement about all the major players starting to work together on a spec so that device support becomes more universal. That will be interesting to follow. The security issue is a big one, and part of why I prefer - where possible - to control devices locally rather than through the cloud. Apple Home and Homebridge make this a possibility and other than my Nest I've got everything controlled over a local connection with devices on a separate network than my main home network.

[@glenallan6279]

Tech Craft ahh, I see the distinction! Yeah that’s good. I’m getting more and more interested in getting a Pi because of your videos, so good to nail down the concerns. And yeah, here’s hoping the new arrangement for a standard works out well!

[@treforparr3995]

Could you try the Hive I really wanna get the Hive working but I can’t get my head around it

[@iPokeYou3ye]

What happens if there is no WiFi in the house? Does it stops me from turning off and on the lights?

[@SteveHinrichs]

What was the software to burn Hoobs to the SD card?

[@tmj893]

After following your instructions on disabling ipv6 through the HOOBS terminal interface I can no longer log into hoobs.local or by typing to IP address in How do I fix this?

[@BlazDGuitar]

Brilliant content! Thanks!

[@henryoen191]

The HOOBS download from your link above worked! However, pi install stopped at a login prompt. The admin password and admin user name does not work (; I’m stuck (; HELP!!!!

[@Lifein-tt3km]

i am weak in English, May I ask you that I still have to have Apple TV or Homepod for being HUB?

[@JulianLoperaR]

yeah to make scenes and automations, or accessories remotely.

[@Toolman93]

Interesting stuff. Add my +1 on an additional video explaining camera config.

[@josuealbertoluna]

Toolman93 +1

[@buildthehousech]

Toolman93 on HOOBS v3.1.20 ffmpeg is preinstalled, you just need to add the camera ffmpeg plugin and tweak the config to your cameras needs

[@razorlens]

Count me in.

[@MichaelAlderete]

@Tom Credible That _sounds_ easy, but there’s a lot hidden behind that “tweak your config” part. Do y’all have a guide?

[@buildthehousech]

Michael Alderete each camera is different so i cant give you and all for one solution. You need to figure out the rtsp stream an add that to the config.

[@MrSchnitzengiggles]

Is the build process finally open sourced? I wanted to try hoobs but I don't trust the prebuilt image

[@tech_craft]

There's hoobs-gen: github.com/hoobs-org/hoobs-gen.

[@Nabilsc]

Have a look at home assistant as well, so much more versatile

[@markrussell1170]

Today all cameras have stopped working. Error is Error: spawn /home/hoobs/.hoobs/node_modules/ffmpeg-for-homebridge/ffmpeg EACCES for sending snapshots and starting Video. Any ideas?

[@muziekkamer]

Wow 🤩 super video😎

[@chompsr2752]

Can I use a Raspberry Pi Zero to install the Homebridge?

[@FriendlyNeighborhoodBlindKiid]

Yes you can although I would not recommend doing it with security cameras because it will make the video super lag he or it may just crash the system. Only do this if you’re automating things like smart switches or plugs.

[@ndcoach29]

It’s be great to see how to install Black Label cameras and Zmodo doorbell!

[@5STARRating]

❤️❤️❤️ I really like this compilation but it is missing ( Legrand, Smart Light Switch) in my compilation the number is included. Nr1 Note that these products were ranked “best seller” at the time this article was written. Amazon’s Best Seller list is updated hourly, so for the most current list. ❤️❤️❤️

[@Abester1252]

Loved the video! Would love to see you go through adding security camera’s, we have ring camera’s at ours! Also where are you based are you in the UK too?

[@tech_craft]

I am in the UK, out in Suffolk.

[@BigMacBook1300]

Can you use this with nest and ring doorbell / spotlight cam thanks 🙏🏿

[@tech_craft]

Nest yes - with some hackery. I don’t have a Ring, but there is a plugin for the Ring system that’s seeing a lot of development activity so I suspect it’s doable: www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-ring

[@JJCoxUTube]

- Good stuff, I appreciate the video. Any additional Homebridge topics you would like to share would be greatly appreciated.

[@bm4122]

Great video! Thank you for spending the time explaining one question I have though, how is the response time compared to actual HomeKit devices? Like does it take 5 seconds from the time you click it on to go through home bridge and then finally turn on the light?

[@tech_craft]

For simple devices the response time is the same as native devices for pretty much everything. Lights and power sockets for example I cannot tell apart. My cameras have a small lag when loading, but that lag is also present in the camera native app so I don’t really think that’s an issue of Homebridge.

[@bm4122]

Tech Craft thank you for the response, as that was one of the main things stopping me from setting up a home bridge. Right now I only have a few smart devices (compatible with homekit) but I see if I wanted to buy all the switches in my house, I would save a ton of money setting up a home bridge!

[@MichaelAlderete]

B m Homebridge is super-easy to play with. You can even install it on a Mac, it you don’t already have a HOOBS-compatible Raspberry Pi. HOOBS is a better experience, but if free is important, it’s possible.

[@byrd203]

this WEMO is supported by default Wemo Mini Smart Plug

[@klmair7363]

byrd203 same question here

[@shannoncampbell]

This may be a dumb question as I am trying to decide between the prebuilt HOOBS and the way you have done above. I have a LG 5k monitor which I am sure wont work with the Raspberry PI. I am wondering once you have flashed the SD card, which I am comfortable with, on a raspberry pi, can I just plug the raspberry PI into my network and go to the hoops.local address? I am trying to build it on my own without the need of a monitor if possible? Thanks!!

[@tech_craft]

Both the pre-packaged SD card you can buy from Hoobs and the one you can flash yourself boot up with hoobs.local ready to go so you shouldn't need a monitor. If you're using Windows though, you'll need to install Bonjour for Windows so that your computer can see the .local addresses. support.apple.com/kb/dl999?locale=en_US I have an LG 5K - I can test out the Pi if needed to see if that setup is practical. I'm guessing you'll get at least HD on the monitor which will work even if it's a little fuzzy.

[@shannoncampbell]

@@tech_craft This is awesome!! Thank you, though I don't believe the 5k LG can take any other input than a thunderbolt 3, as I have the older 5k monitor.

[@impermanenthuman8427]

Interested to know why you prefer the Apple products and software over all others?(at least when supplemented with raspberry pi) Have you got any vids on your philosophy of preference already?

[@tech_craft]

A lot of the reasoning is historical. I have been considering a video on my choices and how I think about technical choices. I didn’t know if that would be of interest.

[@MichaelAlderete]

Tech Craft It would be of interest. It will also probably draw a lot of comments, good and bad. ;-)

[@impermanenthuman8427]

Michael Alderete I would have assumed a Windows:Ubuntu dual booted surface pro would have been the best combination of qualities as far as software variety is concerned for coding and also general computing with good portability Although there must be a good reason why highly skilled professionals tend to like Apple products even with their high price tags, they are highly tested and optimized pieces of hardware+OS+software options that seem to work well reliably and with good customer support However I think the best all-round combination of qualities in an OS is Windows+Ubuntu dualbooted on separate drives which can be separately encrypted if needed, best combo of affordability, usability, software variety and compatibility, privacy and security imo

[@jmichot1]

Love your videos ! Could you share your setup for filming those videos ? Thanks !

[@tech_craft]

Sure thing. Are you interested more in the cameras and shooting process, the editing process or both?

[@jmichot1]

@@tech_craft more in the cameras and shooting process. The image is clear and the sound good, I would be interested in the gear you use :)

[@zackhpittman]

was that Ubiquiti cams running in there? How did you get that going?

[@tech_craft]

It sure was. Video on that coming soon. It works really well.

[@LERobbo]

Think it's about time I look into getting a RBP. I've been expanding my smart home setup quite a bit lately and have been hitting bumps in terms of incompatibility. I'm a fan of Apple and its ecosystem, I'd like to stay there. Getting HomeBridge seems to be the way? And what model/RAM + accessoires do you recommend for the Pi?

[@JulianLoperaR]

with raspberry pi 4g its more than enough.

[@malcdickinson06]

Great video as always, I’m having trouble adding Blink cameras and hive thermostat to boobs, I copy the script and add it to HomeKit but nothing shows up in HomeKit, any ideas!

[@tech_craft]

Which plugin are you using? I seem to remember there being an issue with two factor auth on the Blink cameras

[@malcdickinson06]

@@tech_craft I’m trying the Blink for Home plug-in, it’s the only one that’s certified , each time you log in with 2 factor it gives you a different code each time, so the codes won’t match or am I missing something. Thanks for reply!!

[@tech_craft]

I don't have access to a camera to test any more, but from my notes I had to: 1) Configure with username/password (no pin). This forces a login attempt and should send you a PIN 2) Now add the PIN and restart, this time it should log in and you won't get sent another PIN. You shouldn't get asked again either.

[@malcdickinson06]

Yes did exactly this but still nothing, I’ll delete everything and start again hopefully this will sort it out. Thanks for your help much appreciated and good to have you back on KZbin!! Good luck!!

[@franzw70]

Spot on info sharing, thx m8

[@nicklaskarlsson7456]

I did all the last steps disable ipv6 since I have had some issues with accessories not responding. But now I cant access hoobs.local anymore. What to do?

[@tech_craft]

Which OS are you accessing from?

[@nicklaskarlsson7456]

Tech Craft IOS. But the problem seems to be that the change in ”nginx” stops the hoobs.local adress somehow. I can access it now via any browser with ”hoobs.local:8080”. Maybe put a notice on that if someone gets the same issue as I got.

[@tech_craft]

@@nicklaskarlsson7456 Interesting. I'll have to revisit that - the IPv4 configuration is still there so that _shouldn't_ happen but I can see why it might.

[@anymoustrend4074]

What is the difference between Hoobs and An already running Homebridge with config-ui-x ?

[@tech_craft]

Not a huge amount. The latest HOOBS comes with an ffmpeg setup that is ready for use with security cameras but you can produce the exact configuration by hand.

[@quarterswede]

In HOOBS v3 they use their own UI now.

[@jedwardoo]

Is Hoobs possible to be installed in a Mac Mini or is petitioning it needed?

[@tech_craft]

Not Hoobs directly but you can install Homebridge directly on the Mac Mini.

[@paavels]

Install Homebridge with UI-X, it’s very easy, but Linux is the preferred platform for Homebridge.

[@MichaelAlderete]

I started with installing Homebridge on a Mac mini, and it worked quite well. But updating Homebridge or your plug-ins is more work. I switched to HOOBS on a dedicated Raspberry Pi, and it’s just so clean and easy, I wouldn’t consider going back. And I have a couple of spare Mac minis laying around!

[@jedwardoo]

Michael Alderete thanks for your input. Raspberry pi with Hoobs is the way to go then.

[@MichaelAlderete]

Jason Ong I think it’s the best way, yes. But if you don’t mind doing a bit of work, you can try Homebridge for free, before committing funds to dedicated hardware.

[@YeboMate]

Is it possible to run Pi-Hole along with Hoobs?

[@tech_craft]

You can install Pihole and Homebridge side-by-side. I haven’t tried this with HOOBS specifically but I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t work

[@RuneVenes]

Do you know if i can get my Unify cameras to work?

[@tech_craft]

You definitely can. I use Unifi and the cameras glimpsed in the video are setup using UniFi.

[@thoschworks]

Take a look: www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-unifi-protect2

[@Dro_85]

Do these work with Siri when in home kit?

[@tech_craft]

Absolutely. They look like normal devices within Homebridge

[@michaeljarcher]

Great Video, have four Pi's always on the lookout for things to make their purchase justified to my wife! Home security cameras are very interesting, especially when using the like of Amazon Blink, and ring doorbell video speeds are just shite. Bridging closed platforms to each other looks great with Hoobs, something it looks like these big tech companies are going to attempt sometime in the future with a dumb specification. For now, I think to be interested in how the video feeds perform, and in event real-time notification would be nice to see. If work with just RTSP feeds, or even open platforms such as Onvif for more useful aspects like motion detection.

[@tech_craft]

That video is coming very soon. I’ve been away from home this weekend testing out how well the camera feeds work when streamed externally and how responsive the motion detection is. So far, so good.

[@GerardWassink]

Hi Rob, would you know whether there’s a possibility to download and install HOOBS on an already running Pi 4? (Couldn’t find it on their website)

[@GerardWassink]

Never mind, found it. I could just install Homebridge native...

[@tech_craft]

Yeah. Homebridge direct is the way forward for an already running Pi.

[@buildthehousech]

Heres the direct installation guide: github.com/hoobs-org/HOOBS/wiki/2.5.2-Debian-Installation

[@MichaelAlderete]

It’s great that there’s a way to install Homebridge / HOOBS as a direct install on an existing Pi, but the HOOBS “appliance” approach, where it manages the whole Pi, is just so easy and trouble-free, it’s worth dedicating a Pi to it. They’re cheap!

[@rcfourie4711]

Good morning, after i flash the hoobs img file to the raspberry pi sd card and insert back to raspberry and start up, the raspberry boots up and takes me to a hoobs network interface and i am unable to progress further or get into the raspberry window again. This takes me to a hoobs computer like log in screen (dos like). Advice please?

[@tech_craft]

Are you able to connect to hoobs.local from the browser on another machine?

[@rcfourie4711]

Tech Craft yes i can, the problem is when i run hoobs on raspberry the hoobs server screen does not disappear and let me go into raspberry pi desktop again

[@tech_craft]

I think that is intentional. The HOOBS setup is intended to be managed through the browser.

[@ThiagoBenedicto]

Hi Rob, taking advantage of his knowledge with Hoobs, would you tell me why when accessing hoobs.local on my machine it doesn't work? I already installed the bonjour apple but nothing has changed!

[@tech_craft]

What’s your setup? Is it MacOS accessing the Pi on the same router?

[@ThiagoBenedicto]

Tech Craft Windows 10 accessing the Pi on the same router. I can access only by IP :(

[@tech_craft]

Ah. Can you try accessing just ‘hoobs’ rather than ‘hoobs.local’? I forget exactly how Bonjour works on Win10 but I seem to recall the local prefixing not being used.

[@ThiagoBenedicto]

Thanks Rob!

[@paavels]

If you use “vcodec”: “copy” in the camera setup then stream will be not transcoded and even RPi Zero can pass it to HomeKit without lags and other issues, also set stream resolution to 720p, it’s a standard resolution for HomeKit. Not only HOOBS can be easily installed, check Config-UI-X plugin - you can install Homebridge with UI-X in minutes.

[@tech_craft]

I ended up patching the unifi video plugin to use copy since the unifi cameras supply h264 as standard. For cameras that don’t supply h264 video or don’t use AAC audio then you need to transcode either the video, audio or both. At that point, the stock FFMPEG install isn’t good enough because it doesn’t have hardware accelerated h264 and it doesn’t have AAC.

[@paavels]

Tech Craft probably wrong ffmpeg buid, you can compile ffmpeg with omx hardware acceleration and aac support. Also newer versions of camera-ffmpeg plugin supports “copy” parameters.

[@tech_craft]

Yeah. The APT installed ffmpeg has no omx or aac, so as you say, I had to compile myself.

[@paavels]

@@tech_craft compiling ffmpeg is recommended if you read camera-ffmpeg github page

[@mrhacker99999]

Trying to get nest working inputted my nest account but keep getting that the account is rejected even tho I logged in with the details

[@tech_craft]

Nest is a real pain. I'm working on some videos for the Nest accessories so hopefully they will help.

[@michaelbluecastlestudio665]

What is the different to MAKESMART wich is the same UI ?

[@tech_craft]

MakeSmart uses the same open source base software. I’m not completely sure what the simple and differences are beyond that.