Feature Request - Suggestions to improve web interface - sorry long list...
In general, Security Spy is superb, but you can always try to leave a few personal requests for future updates, just so Ben doesn't have to think too long about how to make the perfect software even more perfect...
I use Security Spy "headless" and access the recordings with several computers and tablets using various browsers and special home automation apps. Overall, this works well—better than all other solutions I know—but I actually still have a few requests. Maybe others will agree:
1. Touch/Tablet Accessibility
It would be great if the playback of recordings, in particular, could be made more accessible for operation with a touch panel/iPad. For example, the controls could be made a bit bigger and the progress bar could be "scrollbar-enabled" so you could "scrub" with your finger.
2. Streamlined Navigation Between Recordings
It would also be practical if you could jump directly from one recording to the next/previous recording, meaning either to the next/previous recording in time for that specific camera or to the next/previous recording in time across all cameras. Currently, it’s a bit cumbersome to follow a specific event because you have to jump back to the list of recordings every time.
I know there is a specific iOS app for Security Spy, but I don't use apps because my home control system allows me to control various devices from a single app. For example, I can manually switch on the garden light, open the garage door, or unlock the front door while looking at the live feed. In some cases, the "software" on the iPads also runs in "Guided Access" mode, meaning I couldn't even switch to another app. That’s why I am so focused on the web interface.
3. Direct Navigation Links (Aesthetic Request)
A bit more specific: In my use case, it would be handy if one could jump directly to the recordings in general, continuous recordings, motion recordings, live cameras, and settings (and so on...) using a link, and have the left selection menu remain collapsed.
For example, something like this: http://192.xyz.y.z:8000/recordings/frontdoor/humans
This is more of an aesthetic preference, though.
4. Day-Based Timeline Overview
Probably very difficult:
In the current Axis Companion Edge App, there is a handy overview of the day's recordings per camera:
A long scrollbar marks the entire day's recording (similar to Security Spy). Motion-triggered recordings are highlighted with color. In addition you can jump with forward/back buttons from one event to the next/previous event. It looks like this:
This could be specially enhanced by leveraging Security Spy's specialty: additionally showing an icon to indicate whether the recording was triggered by a car, a person, or an animal. This allows for a very quick grasp of the day's events. With "Continuous Recording," this is currently quite tedious and, on the iPad, only really possible with a stylus.
5. Advanced (Non-Web Interface) - Face Recognition/Access Control
Generally, not related to the web interface:
Presumably, everyone wants face recognition. For data protection reasons, this will certainly be critical in Europe. But given Security Spy's super-advanced technology, couldn't one simply store a few different shots of faces and then have Security Spy perform a comparison to trigger an action? I'm not thinking about identifying neighbors from 100 meters away in a passing car in the rain at night. My example is more related to something like access control, where one must deliberately look into the camera for a moment to trigger the action.
I know, many wishes and ideas at once, and some may be very tailored to my specific needs. But I think many Security Spy users aren't even aware of this: The web interface and the simple access to recordings via any computer is generally totally practical and already very well implemented. With a few adjustments, a separate app could be completely avoided this way. Maybe a few other users feel the same way, and perhaps one or two of my requests could be implemented relatively easily? That would be great!
Please keep up the fantastic work; I'm having a lot of fun with it...
Nocko
By the way: Naturally, I would be the first person to volunteer as a beta tester...😀
Comments
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Hi Nocko, thank you for these suggestions.
1 & 2 - For better scrubbing and navigation between recordings, you'll need to use the SecuritySpy iOS app, which has good functionality for both. Even though the web interface works on iOS, it isn't designed for it. Since the vast majority of iOS users are using the app and not the web interface, it doesn't really make sense for us to invest development time improving the web interface specifically for iOS.
In a Desktop web browser, you can easily scrub via the movie playback controls, and the down/up arrow keys move to the next/previous recording.
3 - I can understand the utility here, and we'll consider this for the future. On the one hand, it will allow for better integration into other systems, but on the other hand, it would be a very niche feature that will probably be used by only a handful of users.
4 - I agree that this would be nice. This functionality is already in the Browser feature, but that's in the macOS interface, not the iOS/web interface. We'll see what we can do but as this would be a big new addition, it won't happen in the immediate future. At the moment, we're actively working on improving playback in the iOS app.
5 - We do get this suggestion from time to time, and we're always unsure about it. The main issue is that accuracy is never very good for these algorithms, and matching people's faces in a security context, with an algorithm with a high failure rate, is not ideal. For identifying perpetrators, it would risk false accusation, and for identifying approved people for access, it would lead to erroneous access allowance.
Thanks for the suggestions, and we're always grateful for anyone who can beta test!
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Hello Ben,
I see you understood my post exactly as intended—not as criticism, but purely as suggestions. I completely understand that development time is precious, and my specific needs might be very niche.
And yes, navigating the recordings in a desktop browser works wonderfully. I particularly love using the cursor keys on my MacBook to quickly scrub through them. This feature especially makes me wish for a similar navigation system within the iOS browser.
Unfortunately, I have no idea which of my wishes are nearly impossible to realize and which are relatively simple. So please, never take my posts as anything negative. I'm truly excited for the next innovations and improvements, and I would be extremely grateful if maybe just one or two of my suggestions could eventually be implemented for the iOS browser some day.
Keep up the great work on this app, and thank you for all your efforts!
Nocko
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Your suggestions are definitely taken in the spirit they are intended. Customer feedback is extremely important to us - it's the main way that we decide and plan future features - so thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback here!
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Hi Ben, thanks for your support so far. As I wrote above I’d love to customize the SecuritySpy web interface a bit to suit my needs, so I’ve made some changes to the .js and .css files in the
...resources/web/cssand/jsfolders. Everything is working great so far!However, I’m concerned that these changes will likely be overwritten during an upgrade. Is there a specific way or a particular folder where I can store my modified files so that they survive an update?
Happy Easter!
Nocko
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Hi Nocko, I'd advise agains making such changes - the web interface is officially not customisable because:
- It's a complex machine of HTML, JavaScript and CSS; any user changes may be incompatible with changes we make in the future.
- While making changes to the files in the app bundle will work, this also breaks app codesigning (Apple's way to detect whether an app has been tampered with), so macOS may complain.
- Since these files are in the app bundle, they will be overwritten upon the next update.
We have been considering adding some degree of customisation via some settings, but this would have to be just cosmetic items like fonts, colours and suchlike. And it's not a feature that is requested very often by users, so I can't say if this will happen.
