Re: Are camera control apps interchangeable.

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.