Are camera control apps interchangeable?

If I get a wifi camera for my home, do I have to use the adroid app that
comes with it, or is it likely, or very likely, that I can find another
one I might like better.

Right now I know about Vicohome and Camhipro. Neither gives a lot of
detail in the app listing. Camhipro doesn't even mention motion
detection, iirc.

If an app does have motion detection, does that mean it will beep on the
phone to get my attention? Surely they all do that????

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On Sat, 26 Apr 2025 20:28:17 -0400, micky wrote :

Are camera control apps interchangeable?

If I get a wifi camera for my home, do I have to use the adroid app that comes with it, or is it likely, or very likely, that I can find another
one I might like better.

Right now I know about Vicohome and Camhipro. Neither gives a lot of
detail in the app listing. Camhipro doesn't even mention motion
detection, iirc.

I am NOT an expert so take EVERYTHING below with a grain of salt.

I only have a few 'Wi-Fi cameras' where they're all the inexpensive ones
(i.e., not hundreds of dollars each) where those cheap ones are like drugs.

IMHO, the cheap ones are *designed* to get you to purchase cloud storage.

AFAIK, the camera's video signal goes from:
Camera -> your router -> Internet -> cloud -> Internet -> your phone

Since the cheap ones are designed to get you to buy their cloud storage, in
my experience, the few cameras I have (all of which were free) will require
a specific (but free) app & an account on the Internet for that app.

If an app does have motion detection, does that mean it will beep on the phone to get my attention? Surely they all do that????

Mine give me 3 days of free cloud monitoring where they capture 'events'
which are all motion related - & yes - they can auto-notify you of events.

The AI is surprisingly good. Which is kind'a scary when you think about it. They recognize faces. And they differentiate animals from humans.

With that having been said, since I got all mine for free, I don't really
know much about them other than they definitely need the Internet to work.

Someone else who knows more than I do will be more useful than I can be.

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micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

Are camera control apps interchangeable?

In general terms, no.

If I get a wifi camera for my home, do I have to use the adroid app that comes with it, or is it likely, or very likely, that I can find another
one I might like better.

Typically you need to use the vendor's app.

In some cases the camera may present as some kind of generic IP camera and there may be apps that can talk to those, but a lot of the consumer wifi cameras are proprietary and need to use the vendor's app. The camera may
also offer a web interface you can use without an app.

More commercial/industrial grade systems tend to be more generic than the consumer ones which are locked into the vendor's ecosystem (Ring, Nest, etc)

Right now I know about Vicohome and Camhipro. Neither gives a lot of
detail in the app listing. Camhipro doesn't even mention motion
detection, iirc.

I think Vicohome is the app used by Vicosafe branded cameras: https://vicosafe.com/collections/smart-vicohome-cameras-doorbells

and similarly Camhipro is the app for CamHi cameras:
https://camhi.pro/camera/

If an app does have motion detection, does that mean it will beep on the phone to get my attention? Surely they all do that????

Usually the motion detection is on the camera, which sends a message to the
app which generates a notification (if you enable that). The more
industrial ones may not do it on the camera but leave that to a centralised camera controller box, perhaps located in the security guard's office.

Theo

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In comp.mobile.android, on Sun, 27 Apr 2025 06:00:04 -0000 (UTC), Marion <marion@facts.com> wrote:

On Sat, 26 Apr 2025 20:28:17 -0400, micky wrote :

Are camera control apps interchangeable?

If I get a wifi camera for my home, do I have to use the adroid app that
comes with it, or is it likely, or very likely, that I can find another
one I might like better.

Right now I know about Vicohome and Camhipro. Neither gives a lot of
detail in the app listing. Camhipro doesn't even mention motion
detection, iirc.

I am NOT an expert so take EVERYTHING below with a grain of salt.

I only have a few 'Wi-Fi cameras' where they're all the inexpensive ones >(i.e., not hundreds of dollars each) where those cheap ones are like drugs.

Sorry it's taken so long to answer.

IMHO, the cheap ones are *designed* to get you to purchase cloud storage.

Well, I hope it doesn't succeed. All I expct is 166 hours of nothing a
week, with maybe 1 or 2 hours of a deer, and the deer will not do
anything unusual or worth saving. But I know people record all day and
they probably do need storage somewhere.

AFAIK, the camera's video signal goes from:
Camera -> your router -> Internet -> cloud -> Internet -> your phone

Since the cheap ones are designed to get you to buy their cloud storage, in >my experience, the few cameras I have (all of which were free) will require
a specific (but free) app & an account on the Internet for that app.

I'm figuring you're right. This make shopping hard, because there are
iirc at least 5 brands, and if I find a camera on Amazon, I have to find
its own webpage or seomtthing to find out, if I'm lucky, which app it
uses, then look up the app and, I hope, learn enough about it. In fact
the first 2 such apps I looked up had very little to say about
themselves. Maybe they don't have to because people don't pick which
app to install.

If an app does have motion detection, does that mean it will beep on the
phone to get my attention? Surely they all do that????

Mine give me 3 days of free cloud monitoring where they capture 'events' >which are all motion related - & yes - they can auto-notify you of events.

Good. That is important. The ad for the cameras ay they have motion detection.

The AI is surprisingly good. Which is kind'a scary when you think about it. >They recognize faces. And they differentiate animals from humans.

It doesnt' mention tracking, but I figured it might not track a dear or
a robin even if it tracks people.

With that having been said, since I got all mine for free, I don't really >know much about them other than they definitely need the Internet to work.

Someone else who knows more than I do will be more useful than I can be.

Thanks.

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In comp.mobile.android, on 27 Apr 2025 10:58:17 +0100 (BST), Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

Are camera control apps interchangeable?

In general terms, no.

If I get a wifi camera for my home, do I have to use the adroid app that
comes with it, or is it likely, or very likely, that I can find another
one I might like better.

Typically you need to use the vendor's app.

I foresee the app being more important than the camera, at least for me.
So I decided what to buy based on the app.

In some cases the camera may present as some kind of generic IP camera and >there may be apps that can talk to those, but a lot of the consumer wifi >cameras are proprietary and need to use the vendor's app. The camera may >also offer a web interface you can use without an app.

More commercial/industrial grade systems tend to be more generic than the >consumer ones which are locked into the vendor's ecosystem (Ring, Nest, etc)

Right now I know about Vicohome and Camhipro. Neither gives a lot of
detail in the app listing. Camhipro doesn't even mention motion
detection, iirc.

I think Vicohome is the app used by Vicosafe branded cameras: >https://vicosafe.com/collections/smart-vicohome-cameras-doorbells

I had started with a camera that uses Camipro, but it turns out that
Vicohome's rating in the play store is has 4.7 stars (on 32000 reviews)
While Camhipro has 3.1 stars (on 7000 reviews). Quite a difference.
4.7 is really good. 3.1 is pretty bad.

Darn. I bought it yesterday and didn't see how to read individual
reviews until just now. The playstore has again changed its format and I
didnt' t hink to click on the logo to get to the next page. I don't feel
like reading them now. But 4.7 to 3.1 must mean 4.7 is better. So the
camera should come in a few days, and I plan to post back with results.
It will take a couple days to bench test and 3 or 4 more days befcre I
mount it, and a couple days after that to see results, so in 2 or 3
weeks. :-)

and similarly Camhipro is the app for CamHi cameras: >https://camhi.pro/camera/

If an app does have motion detection, does that mean it will beep on the
phone to get my attention? Surely they all do that????

Usually the motion detection is on the camera, which sends a message to the >app which generates a notification (if you enable that). The more
industrial ones may not do it on the camera but leave that to a centralised >camera controller box, perhaps located in the security guard's office.

Theo

Thanks and thanks to both of you. I was stalled for weeks and you
definitely helped me make my mind up.

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