Camera Notification Speed

Watercooler
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What are your recommendations for cameras that can notify you in near real time? There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot published on the subject. I’m very pleased with Wyze Alexa announcements but, like the notifications, they typically take around 30 seconds to arrive. This makes it completely impossible to use for a “person approaches the front door” situation.

Wyze, of course, is limited for such person detection because its “AI” analysis takes place in the “cloud”, guaranting that any such notifications will take at least 10 seconds or so.

However, @spamoni reported 5 second notifications back at Notification speed

But I have to assume that was without person detection?

The available “literature” is sparse on what competing cameras can do. The closet I can find after cursory searching is a Wirecutter review at

The times they report there (limited to doorbell cams) are:

  1. Arlo: 6 seconds
  2. Eufy: 3 seconds
  3. Ring: 2 seconds
  4. Nest: “a few” seconds
  5. Wyze: only noted “missed actions” and “far too many false alerts”

Another comparison at Popular Mechanics reports

  1. Nest: 2.3 seconds
  2. Ring Pro: 3 seconds
  3. Eufy: 7.4 seconds (possibly because they tested the battery powered version?)
  4. Wyze: 4 seconds
  5. Logitech Circle View: 1.21 seconds (yes you read that right)

Unfortunately neither of those reviews makes it particularly clear whether speed comparisons were apple to apple, included person detection, etc. (Motion-only detection is a no-go for my environment.)

Does anyone have any better data or recommendations for fast person notifications? Obviously on-board “AI” would be critical in producing faster results (and Wyze is still absent in this area) but it’s not the only factor. I also love the Wyze Alexa announcements, and as far as I’ve determined they are STILL the only non-Amazon producer to offer the feature in a camera. (I’m primarily interested in cameras, not doorbells, but would get something like the Eufy wired doorbell if it ticked all my boxes.) I’m also open to a Frigate Scenario (which sounds like a straight-to-streaming political thriller).

Thanks in advance, folks…

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I don’t use cameras for timely person detections. But a properly positioned PIR sensor does wonders. :slight_smile:

I have a ‘signal’ light in a 9" Edison Lantern under my TV stand, set to turn on if the front porch PIR motion sensor activates. The smart Bulb lights before the person has a chance to get to the doorbell!

I also threw in a backup that says if a person is detected on the Front Door camera, then light the light. But as you say, not as timely. I’d likely hear the doorbell first (if they planned to press it of course).

The sensor also triggers the Front Door camera, in case it wasn’t triggered already.

You must position the PIR sensor so it only sees people approaching, and not out on the sidewalk. Also you need to shelter the sensor from seeing passing cars, neighbor’s kids, pets, and lawn mowers, etc.

I put mine over my front door, where have an overhang sheltering it from seeing more than halfway down my driveway. I also turn it about 30 degrees to avoid picking up the neighbors.

The mount is a bent L-bracket with a 3M command strip on it.

The Bulb turns off once the motion sensor clears, or as in the case of Person detection (which doesn’t have a ‘clear’ signal), the light has been on for 1 minute.

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This is a thorough write-up. Here is my experience since updating my network. I have a V3 Driveway Camera, V3 Porch Camera, VDB v1, and 2 Motion sensors when someone enters the porch (1 v1 Motion and 1 V2 Motion - I was testing to see which is better). All except my Porch Camera is setup for Person and Package Detection Only. The Porch Camera is setup for Motion and Wyze AI.

UPS Delivery Today and Notifications - Truck Showed at 2:33:32 and departed 2:34:44

Alexa Notification - Note: I don’t have Alexa announcing on the Motion Sensors

  • Notified me of a person on the Driveway, looked out the window and saw the UPS guy walking up to the door
  • Notified me of Person on the Porch, which notified as the UPS guy turned towards the front door.

Wyze App Notification

  • No Notification about the driveway as I don’t have full motion on - will explain this later
  • Notified my of Person on the Porch Camera
  • Notified me of a Person on the VDB v1
  • Notified my that v1 Motion Sensor detected motion
  • Notified me that v2 Motion Sensor Detected Motion
  • The UPS guy rang the doorbell which also rang my phone via VoIP

Now that I look at this, I am being Alerted far too much :slight_smile:

In any event, When Alexa Announced, I started my Driveway Camera and could see the UPS Delivery gut walking up the driveway. Then Alexa and the Wyze App Alerted of a Person, on my Porch Camera, as the UPS guy turned towards my front door (or a little before). As I switched to the Porch Camera, I was alerted via the VDB v1 that there was a person detected and finally when he pushed the doorbell - Which Called my phone.

I got up, went to the door, opened the door, and was able to thank the UPS delivery guy before he got back to his truck.

Wyze Picked up the truck at 2:33:32. Alexa must have announced around 2:33:39 (ish) (About 7 Seconds) or sooner based on where I saw the UPS guy via the Camera. Remember, I had to start the app, tap on the Driveway cam to get the Live Stream. Looking at the location of where I saw the UPS guy in relation to the Time Stamp, this is my best estimate. However, The Porch Camera and Doorbell Camera alerted me quickly where I could tap on the Wyze Alert, Camera loaded and I could see the UPS guy walking onto my porch.

All of this to say, my experience has improved considerably. I used to get notified 30 seconds in and would always miss what the vent was. Now I can get an Alert, look out the window and see what is going on.

THIS IS MY EXPLANATION LATER FROM ABOVE

I Did not get a Wyze Notification from the Driveway, why? Well I was working with Wyze on this issue and here is what they said: First they are working on enhancing the AI detection process so some of this will go away. However, at this time, in order to eliminate multiple Alerts - One for Complete Motion followed by Person Detection they look at a number of seconds, from when the event started of the Video (not sure what the value is) to determine if there is any AI triggers found, if nothing is detected then they go down the path of normal motion and if you don’t want All Motion you will not be notified. If an AI trigger is found, you will be notified of the AI event. However, in all cases the video is interrogated for the AI triggers you selected and will tag the Video Appropriately. So in this case, enough time passed before the person was sensed in the AI processing and no notification was sent as I don’t want All Motion notifications. With that said. I have many cases when I am notified via the Wyze App that a Person has been detected on the Driveway Cam and I can look at the video and see when the vent started. On Windy Days, I get notified less about person in the Driveway cam, but I do get some.

Hope this makes sense.

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Thanks to both of you. Wow @spamoni you are getting person announced way, way, faster than I am. My ancient firmware may be part of the story but I’m thinking you may also have a much larger / longer driveway and entrance. I have a short walkway and stairs, and I have never gotten an alert while someone was still approaching. Shortest has been 19 or 20 seconds on a really good day. Most of the time the best I will catch on looking out the window is the delivery truck driving away.

I have avoided using my motion sensor, largely because of the overall bad reports on the V1 contact sensor batteries, so I’ve been down on the whole kit. I also get a lot of squirrels - do they trigger it?

I am also still hoping to hear someone say “yes Brand X camera can give you accurate person notifications/announcements in 2-3 seconds”.

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As long as you replace them when you get the low battery notification, you are fine. The old style sensors love an operational voltage or a zero voltage, they just don’t like neglect. I also saw a thread about a way to fix them somewhere, but I haven’t tried that procedure yet.

Yep. If they are close. Do they occupy your short walkway and stairs? Can you angle the sensor so it sees people, but not them?

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They sure do. :frowning:

They are all over both.

And so I don’t see how the sensor could avoid them.

I could use it and live with a half dozen furry false positives during the day I suppose… but the Wyze person detection has gotten nearly flawless for me.

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Yea, Driveway is large enough to have 2.5 or 3 cars end to end. But I also made sure my Camera’s were at a little angle to the Driveway and not straight on. They may help with the notifications as pixels change more frequently. I used to get 30 second announcements, but it turned out to be my Routers and getting things out and in, even though I have a Gigabit connection. I also have turned my sensitivity up on the Camera’s since I am only alerting on Person, Package, and Pet.

Funny thing is I had Amcrest with ISpy, Arlo, Ring, and Eufy. Arlo notifications degraded when they started to make changed, Ring just would not function for me, and Eufy actually worked well as it is local processing. However, My Porch setup started to Alert me before Eufy - not 100% of the time but it was a frequent. I recently took my Eufy down and loaned it to my neighbor to see if they want a Camera setup. I will be setting up Wyze for them as well so they can compare. :slight_smile:

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Well, as feared, the forced February 2022 firmware update has bricked one of my cameras in the middle of winter snow, squalls, and ice.

It has also not improved notification speeds at all. While others have reported 5 second person notifications, mine remain about 30 seconds on this newest firmware. Fine for delivery drops but completely unusable to greet guests or sign for anything (let alone security!).

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My dead camera recovered, thankfully. :slight_smile:

Meanwhile someone just left the house and I started timing. 19-20 full seconds to get the Alexa announcement. (So the same as my previous best times.) This is on the new firmware.

How the heck are you getting 5 second person notifications, @spamoni ?

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:slight_smile:

Might be my change in router, things got a lot better when I switched. With that said, Alexa has been an issue for the last couple of days. I will get Alexa notifications 5 minutes or so after something happened. Wyze Notification to the phone is much better for me.

I would say I have the same setup as most everyone else when it comes to the phones. Lets do a Comparison of a model of Camera you are using outdoors or in a garage. I will provide my setup to compare with yours. I can test with a Cam v2, Cam v3, Pan v2, VDB v1, or VDB Pro. I also have a WCO which we could test as well, but it is at my side yard and after the rain, it is a little damp there. :slight_smile:

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Thanks man! I have V2s outside that recently got the forced 4.9 upgrade. Streaming 24/7 to local TinyCam tablet. Getting about 70-120 KB/s. Maybe 20 feet from access point (Linksys EA7300) through 1 exterior wall. Minimal daytime bandwidth competition. Residential fiber, 100 or 200 Mbps duplex, I forget. Cameras are rebooted nightly via Wyze rule.

I rely almost entirely on TinyCam and Alexa, rarely accessing the Wyze app. (In the long ago past I found phone based notifications stopped working for long periods of time.)

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Any results, @spamoni ? I just did a stopwatch test today and got 19.5 seconds.

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After I get done with my daily job… :slight_smile: I will run a few timings and report back. I will try to do each of my products:

  • V2 Cam
  • V3 Cam
  • Cam Pan v2
  • WCO
  • VDB v1
  • VDB Pro

I am running Beta FW and Beta Apps. So will report what those are with the results. Would you like me to include Alexa Notifications as well? I am only going to do Camera’s and not Sensors - ok?

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Don’t go through all that on my account. My current use case is a V2 notifying via an Alexa announcement (timed to the first tone from the speaker) and that’s the only comparison I’d want at the moment…

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Will do. My Alexa has been delayed on notifications recently, The App has been notifying me faster than Alexa.

But will provide the results. Time to beat 19.5 seconds. :slight_smile:

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App notification time would be nice too. I should be using that but I gave up on it using my older phone.

I think I’ve heard the app notifications might be much faster because the newer builds don’t wait for the clip to be fully uploaded?

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One last question. What are your setting so I can do my test and then a test with your settings.

Please include if you are on CamPlus, CamPlus Lite, and 2hat you have set for notifications

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Did not want you to think I forgot about the test. :slight_smile:

Just did a quick test to see which is faster v2 or v3.

NOTE:

  • Controlled environment (In My Garage)
  • Cam Plus enabled with Person and Face Detection Only. No Cam Plus Lite on these Camera’s
  • All Motion Detection is off
  • Will Do Alexa Notification later today

RESULTS - TEST 1

Device Notification From Time
Cam V3 App Notification 5 seconds
Cam V2 App Notification 11 seconds

RESULTS - TEST 2

Device Notification From Time
Cam V3 App Notification 5.3 seconds
Cam V2 App Notification 11.1 seconds
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Testing two other camera’s in my office

  • Cam v2 - Cam Plus Lite
  • Cam v3 - Cam Plus

NOTE - All Motion are on for both Camera’s
 
RESULTS - TEST 1

Device Notification From Time
Cam V3 App Notification 4.38 seconds
Cam V2 App Notification N/A - Not Alerting

RESULTS - TEST 2

Device Notification From Time
Cam V3 App Notification 4.9 seconds
Cam V2 App Notification N/A not Alerting
 

NOTE - Person Detection are on for both Camera’s

RESULTS - TEST 3

Device Notification From Time
Cam V3 App Notification 5.13 seconds
Cam V2 App Notification 19.2 seconds

RESULTS - TEST 4

Device Notification From Time
Cam V3 App Notification 5.2 seconds
Cam V2 App Notification 18.5 seconds
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Hey there everyone!

I have recently completed a very long, drawn out DM exchange with one of the Wyze Devs in response to a post I left on the Fix it Friday thread wherein I posted many logs because I have been not only getting notifications delayed longer, but also missing many notifications for events that are populated to the Events cloud and tagged as AI Events. I was getting less than 50% of my notifications for CamV3 that had confirmed CamPlus with AI detection on and notifications on. The VDB1 was much worse.

At any rate, I found this reply interesting:
…,…,…,…

" This is what is happening for your notification issue.

Right now, for “Wyze AI notifications”:

1. The AI service first processes the AI information from the detected frames.
2. If the AI service is able to finish the processing within 3-6 secs then the AI push notification is sent.
3. If AI processing takes longer than 6 secs, a generic push notification is sent “Motion Detected”
4. Once the AI processing is complete the event still gets the AI tag (Person, Pet, vehicle, package etc).
5. Since “All other motion” notification is disabled those generic notifications won’t be sent.

For some of your events, the AI service took longer than 6 sec to process the frames coz of which you did not get notifications.

This is certainly something we can work on improving on our end so that it does not cause such confusions to the customers."
…,…,…,…

It seems to me that the slowdown in AI notifications as well as the loss in notifications is being directly affected by the AI Service interrogation speed and this magical 6 second time hurdle.

If the subscriber base grows faster than the processing capability of the AI Service Bot’s physical processing ability, wouldn’t it be logical to conclude that there is a logjam in the servers running the Bots? Thus delaying interrogation speed and notification speed.

And, why the arbitrary limit of 6 seconds and then a different type of notification that may not be delivered if you have your settings for “all other motion off”? If I turned that on I would have thousands of notifications a day. Why not an AI tagged notification regardless of how long it took?

It almost seems that Wyze anticipated the need for the generic push after 6 seconds with the knowledge that the Bots weren’t going to be able to keep it below 6 seconds.

At any rate, I am going to bring this up in the next Fix it Friday if someone doesn’t beat me to it. I am paying for a service that I am not getting and the time lags and missing notifications do not agree with the Wyze HMS model of threat assessment and prevention.

I welcome your thoughts on this. There are some of you who really get it and have helped me immensely. You know who you are :heart: Thx!

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