Open IP Camera Firmware
25 comments
·August 1, 2025roacato
Despite the name, openipc isn't fully open - the main recorder/encoder app (majestic) is closed source. Many openipc developers have moved to an alternative project named "thingino" which has a fully open source recorder/encoder/streamer.
cnst
> https://github.com/themactep/thingino-firmware
Nice, it actually supports several popular Amazon US "no-name" brands, including Imou and Wansview! (Plus, several mainstream Eufy, TP-Link and Wyze cameras are supported by thingino as well.) Seems to be more user-friendly than OpenIPC, too.
wltechblog
I'm generally the guy making "easy installers" for Thingino cams. The default way to install on a cam is to use a flash programmer, some devices you can use a uart adapter.. I try to find opportunities in the factory firmware that allow you to flash using just a SD card when possible, and publish walkthrough videos on my channel. Some other devices you can flash with a flash glitch trick at boot, which I have several devices documented for that method as well. I'm a huge proponent of privacy and security being available to everyone and not just the technically minded user, and being able to get a commodity priced camera to faithfully serve a non-technical user is my goal!
More info is at my installers repo https://github.com/wltechblog/thingino-installers or my YT channel (WLTechBlog)
skywal_l
I wonder if there is business in buying those cameras in bulk, flash them with thingio and resell them as "open" camera. Not sure if it's even legal. I guess flashing the camera probably void the warranty and the margin would be razor thin anyway.
cnst
Thanks for doing that! And welcome to HN!
Do you know if Wansview Q5 can be installed easily or not? I think it's one of the only cams on the thingino list that's available in the US with super-fast Amazon FBA shipping for under $20 USD and with lots of stock.
crazysim
I love how the front page doesn't scream SOCs/SOMs to you and is just straight up here's the compatible cameras with pictures (with some SOM info below).
cnst
Yup. And these cameras supported by thingino are also available on Amazon for under $30, too, some as low as $20 or below!
stragies
This project only seems to support Ingenic SOCs (as per https://github.com/themactep/thingino-firmware). A far cry from the list supported by openipcam.
Edit: But they have a list of product names, where they support installation of Thingino: https://github.com/themactep/thingino-firmware/blob/master/d...
wltechblog
The ING in Thingino stands for Ingenic. The Ingenic chips are MIPS, all the other cams are ARM. Focusing on these chips allows us to produce a firmware that actually works (not my experience with openipc) and is already configured for a specific product so you don't have to spend hours figuring out specifics for your camera to enable the hardware features!
cnst
> https://github.com/themactep/thingino-firmware/blob/master/d...
Good list. Happy to see Imou and Wansview on the list, these "unknown" brands have been selling directly on Amazon US for a while now:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Wansview/page/1E1F86AB-C01A-45...
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Imou/page/73EC8A3D-1E78-42C5-8...
asveikau
I guess encoder app is separate from encoder proper, because I have to assume the bulk of the encoder is done in hardware. I mean, those things can do realtime h265 in 4k without a beefy CPU or getting hot.
wltechblog
Most of the image/video related stuff is done in the hardware, as well as a bunch of other functionality that would be hard to do on a 1 watt cpu. Check out the block diagram of the T31 processor: https://en.ingenic.com.cn/products-detail/id-21.html
Our streamer (prudynt-t) communicates with those blocks to handle settings, overlays, etc and receives the pre-processed image/video/audio data, packages it up for rtsp//mjpeg/etc, and handles client connections, motion sending, day/night vision, etc.
This is the status quo for ip cameras regardless of vendor!
roscas
We need more projects like this. I have a tp-link "tapo" home "security" camera.
Setup is made online. Then try to use that without a permanent internet connection... it turns itself off.
It needs a permament connection to tp-link. Now you imagine why.
Sanzig
I have two Tapo units at home, they seem to be working fine without an internet connection.
I created a new subnet and an associated WiFi SSID for it, connected the Tapo cameras, and set them up to act as RTSP cams. I then firewalled the subnet off from anything other than my Frigate NVR server and gateway. They still work fine, they are streaming video to Frigate without complaint. Maybe because they have DNS from my gateway still? (I should probably block that off, it's a common data exfil vector).
Very annoying that internet connectivity is required for initial setup, I'll agree there. They could have just had a bare bones web interface.
cnst
Yup, requiring permanent internet connection is such BS.
I had one of these "no-brand" cameras that had an integrated MicroSD card, which would make you think that it'd work just fine even without the internet.
We had no power in Austin for several days, but I kept my camera on a portable battery, because, why not?
After the power and the internet were restored and I checked the app, turns out, nothing was recorded! Even though it was online the whole time.
Such a major disappointment.
happyPersonR
Is there a list of camera models that are known compatible? I took a quick glance, this looks really cool!
cure
There seem to be a few camera manufacturers listed under "Supporters" on the introduction page, namely Goodcam and RunCam.
cnst
It'd be really nice if any of the $15 cams on Amazon were supported.
efrecon
Link from the homepage: https://openipc.org/supported-hardware/featured
stragies
This is a list of SOCs, not a list of devices containing these SOCs.
And for most cameras sold, you'll have a hard time figuring out pre-buy, what SOC it contains.
cnst
I'm happy for anyone who can make a use out of it, and it's nice to see one of the only examples where non-US users are ahead of the US, but…
Do you have any Amazon ASIN for any of these products, available for sale in the US?
There's a whole bunch of random no-name IP cameras available on Amazon US, often costing as low as $15 USD, possibly because some of them are subsidised by their cloud offerings, but I've never seen any of these brands listed on OpenIPC. I'm sure some of the brands we see, are simply whitelabels, but, how do you figure these things out, without a disassembly to look at the boards?
cnst
I've looked into it a few years ago when I was shopping and setting up my security cams. Super cool!
But, unfortunately, I wasn't able to translate any supported devices into an Amazon ASIN in the US.
Normally, many services on the internet only work in America. With OSS security cams, it seems to be the exact opposite. Eastern Europe and China are way ahead here.
systemswizard
This is great
I looked at the list on https://thingino.com/ , and one of the cheapest cameras supported by thingino is Wansview Q5.
I'm NOT exactly sure on the exact version, because 2 different versions exist on Amazon, 3MP and 5MP, in 2 colors each, but the older version is available for under $20.00 USD with FBA:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Wansview/page/1E1F86AB-C01A-45...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKXM2D3 — $16.14 FBA for black 3MP Q5 Wansview
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKWPT8J — $19.78 FBA for white 3MP Q5 Wansview
It's also been on sale at $9.99 on Woot a few months ago, but sold out.
https://electronics.woot.com/offers/wansview-2k-ip-security-...