This article was written in 2023, looking back at my previous home lab projects and where my journey into IT began.
This article is part of a series on Other Projects.
Open-source home camera system
The MotionEyeOS camera project was mostly a project of “what’s possible?” I took a couple of Raspberry Pi and deployed new software, turning them into a combination of a camera server and multiple wireless cameras. Being able to self-host software that was being sold commerically was really cool, because it meant that “my data” would stay “my data.”
This project also proved that self-hosting didn’t have to mean a loss of features – I had multiple cameras set up around the house, communicating wirelessly, live streaming video in decent quality, with the ability to do video capture when they sensed motion. This project was a demonstration that I didn’t have to trust some faceless corporation with my camera data, I could do it myself using free and open-source software (FOSS).
As I found out in 2023 when attempting to install MotionEyeOS into a Docker container, there are no images for MotionEyeOS that work on the x86 platform. Therefore, I was unable to test out the software again, as I did not have an interest in reinstalling the OS onto a Raspberry Pi.
The Build
Hardware stack:
- Raspberry Pi 4, 8GB (server)
- Raspberry Pi 4, 8GB (camera)
- Raspberry Pi Zero W (camera)
I remember having one issue with the web UI related to adding cameras. I think the issue was not including http://
in front of the camera’s IP address.
The issue -was- not including “http://” in front of the camera IP addresses. Image from MotionEye GitHub.
Fresh Install Bullet Points
Here’s how I would rebuild my camera system if I needed to:
- Follow the MotionEyeOS documentation to set up the server
- Then, use the same documentation to set up the cameras
Thanks to those who got me here!
- Tom from Lawrence Systems on Youtube for verification re adding cameras.
Helpful Videos
Home Lab