CheapSecurity - Privacy-first self-hosted CCTV for Linux SBCs
Show HN: CheapSecurity – Lightweight, Self-Hosted CCTV for Linux SBCs
CheapSecurity is a lightweight, open-source CCTV solution designed for Linux single-board computers like Raspberry Pi and Orange Pi. It transforms standard USB webcams into a fully functional surveillance system without recurring cloud fees. The software prioritizes data sovereignty by storing all footage locally, offering features like motion detection, live MJPEG streaming, and automated alerts via Telegram and email. Optimized for low-power hardware, it provides a cost-effective, privacy-focused alternative to commercial security systems, giving users complete control over their home monitoring infrastructure.
By storing all footage locally, this system eliminates the need for third-party cloud subscriptions and ensures your data never leaves your network.
- lormayna
What are the difference with systems like Motion
- synergy20
V4L2 (MJPG) -> cap.read() -> CLAHE(night) -> imencode -> _current_frame (web MJPEG)
-> resize .25 -> gray -> blur -> absdiff -> contours -> motion?
-> motion? VideoWriter.write() : pre_buffer.append(jpeg)
-> on stop: ffmpeg remux fps fix -> Telegram/email
a mjpeg system basically, all in python but does need opencv
- kube-system
My question about this project and the numerous similar projects: where do I get a usb camera suitable for this? Webcams typically have unsuitable enclosures, focus behavior, and low light performance.
- drnick1
What is the difference between this and Frigate? Before clicking the link, I thought this would be a hardware solution (build you own camera from open components).
- mattlondon
How does this handle motion detection? Anyone tried it?
I have a bunch of Nest cameras and some cheaper Tapo cameras.
The "motion detection" is night and day different. The Tapo does some basic frame-diffing and it's awful. Shadows? DING DING DiNG MOTION DETECTED! gust of wind made some blades of grass move? Motion! Spider? Motion motion motion! Turn down the sensitivity a notch or two and it won't notice a human walk across the frame 2 meters away. The Tapo ones claim to be smart but twigs and leaves still trigger pet/person/motion alerts. It makes them essentially useless.
The Nest cameras are so much better and their "human" detected is usually zero-false-negatives at the cost of one or two false-positives perhaps once every 3 or 4 months, and their app is superior (tapo one frequently needs to be false-killed to load clips). Yes I am aware that the nest ones are streaming back to google 24/7.
Tldr: naive frame-diffing sucks for this sort of thing if used outside. An open source implementation that has accurate and reliable "human detection" would be amazing. Doesn't need to be "AI" - I would hope that there is some sort of computationally reasonable OpenCV way of doing person detection. Perhaps wait for frame-diffing to flag motion then feed it to a more expensive algorithm?