Toggle entity options (Enable Preload stream option for camera entity)

Configuration
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Hi guys,

I am trying to figure out how to toggle an entites option/attribute via automation (not sure what the correct wording is).

Specifically, i want to enable the “preload stream” option on my camera entitiy when not at home.

I can see the toggle in the UI’s entitiy options, but I have no clue how to change the value via an automation/script. I can’t find any suitable service, i tried input boolean but can’t find a target.

camera_ha
camera_ha862×1155 50 KB

Many thanks in advance!

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I want to do something similar, where I turn on the “Preload camera stream” option for 2 cameras in the evening that I use to monitor my little ones when in bed. In the morning I can then turn that off. I don’t see the need to keep the streams alive all day long.

If you ever figure this out please post your solution (I will too if I figure out something).

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I’m also interested in this, so please do post a solution if you find it.

My problem is that the “lookback” option stops to work after awhile, and my only solution (I think) has been to toggle the preload_stream off and on in order to make it work again. Using Eufy cameras with the Eufy Security Add-on.

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Hi there; in my use case, i only power on my camera when away from home, and i want to use the lookback option (i.e. record 10 seconds before the actual recording startup timestamp).

I noticed that even if i ticked the preload_stream option, the stream must have been accessed once for the lookback to work.

To work around it, i created a script which

  • powers on the camera (smart outlet)
  • waits for it to power up (a fixed time)
  • calls homeassistant.reload_config_entry service on the camera device (this is an Axis camera and it won’t work if i don’t reload the integration after power on)
  • calls the camera.play_stream service onto one of my chromecast audio devices (even if they do not display the stream, it seems to initiate the stream)
  • waits a few seconds
  • stops playback on the chromecast audio device

From this point on, the lookback feature works.

I think that HA probably only starts the preload stream when it’s start up, and not when the camera comes back / powers up.

Anyone knows whether this is the problem ?

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5

I have the same question as @Morpheus90x. I only want the camera stream preloaded during bedtime, not running 24/7. It’s a boolean toggle that only seems to appear on the camera.baby_monitor_sub config popup. Which service would I call to update this “Preload camera stream” toggle?

In case it helps, here’s the entity’s state attributes:

{
  'entity_picture': '/api/camera_proxy/camera.baby_monitor_sub?token=abc123', 
  'friendly_name': 'Baby Monitor Live Feed', 
  'supported_features': <CameraEntityFeature.STREAM: 2>
}

Drilling deeper to {{ states.camera.baby_monitor_sub.attributes.supported_features }} simply returns the number 2. I’m guessing we’d need to update that CameraEntityFeature object, just can’t figure out how to do that via automation.

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This worked for me using an Chromecast Audio device and Reolink cameras.

Although what @Henke said was also true:

My problem is that the “lookback” option stops to work after awhile, and my only solution (I think) has been to toggle the preload_stream off and on in order to make it work again.