Rhombus Camera Footage Backup System

Automatically download camera footage to local NAS storage using two modes: scheduled time-based backups or incident-driven alert-based downloads.

🎯 Overview

This Python script provides comprehensive backup capabilities for Rhombus camera systems, supporting both proactive scheduled backups and reactive incident response through policy alert integration.

Key Features

• 🚨 Alert-Based Downloads: Automatically capture footage when policy alerts are triggered
• 📅 Manual Time-Based Downloads: Schedule regular backups for specific time periods
• 🧵 Multi-threaded Processing: Concurrent downloads for improved performance
• 🎵 Audio Integration: Combines video and audio streams when available
• 📁 Smart File Naming: Organized output with metadata-rich filenames
• 🌐 Network Flexibility: Supports both LAN and WAN connections

🚀 Quick Start

1. Installation

# Clone or download the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd backup-alerts-local

# Install Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Install FFmpeg (system dependency)
# macOS: brew install ffmpeg
# Ubuntu: sudo apt install ffmpeg
# Windows: Download from https://ffmpeg.org/

2. Get API Credentials

1. Log into your Rhombus Console
2. Navigate to Settings → API Management
3. Create a new API key
4. Copy the API key for use in commands

3. Basic Usage

Download footage from recent alerts:

python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY --alerts

Download last hour of footage:

python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY

📋 Command Reference

Required Arguments

• -a, --api_key: Your Rhombus API key

Alert Mode Arguments

• --alerts, -al: Enable alert-based download mode
• --max_alerts, -ma: Maximum alerts to retrieve (default: 100)
• --alert_buffer, -ab: Buffer seconds before/after alert (default: 30)
• --before_time, -bt: Only get alerts before timestamp (epoch seconds)
• --after_time, -at: Only get alerts after timestamp (epoch seconds)

Manual Mode Arguments

• --start_time, -s: Start time in epoch seconds (default: 1 hour ago)
• --duration, -u: Duration in seconds (default: 3600)

Common Arguments

• --location_uuid, -loc: Filter by location UUID
• --camera_uuid, -cam: Filter by camera UUID
• --usewan, -w: Use WAN connection for remote access
• --debug, -g: Enable detailed debug logging

💡 Usage Examples

Alert Mode Examples

# Download all recent alerts
python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY --alerts

# Download alerts from last 24 hours with 1-minute buffer
python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY --alerts \
  --after_time $(date -d '24 hours ago' +%s) --alert_buffer 60

# Download alerts from specific camera
python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY --alerts \
  --camera_uuid CAMERA_UUID --debug

Manual Mode Examples

# Download last hour from all cameras
python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY

# Download 2-hour period from specific camera
python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY \
  -s 1672531200 -u 7200 -cam CAMERA_UUID

# Download from location via WAN
python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY \
  -loc LOCATION_UUID -w

📁 File Structure

backup-alerts-local/
├── copy_footage_script_threading.py  # Main script
├── rhombus_logging.py                # Custom logging
├── rhombus_mpd_info.py              # MPD parser
├── requirements.txt                  # Dependencies
├── README.md                        # This file
├── CLAUDE.md                        # Claude Code guidance
├── Copy_Footage_Notes.md            # Detailed implementation guide
└── knowledge/
    └── general-noates.md            # API endpoint info

🔧 System Requirements

Python Dependencies

requests>=2.25.1
urllib3>=1.26.0
ffmpeg-python>=0.2.0

System Requirements

• Python: 3.6 or higher
• FFmpeg: For audio/video processing
• Network: Stable connection to Rhombus API
• Storage: ~50MB per minute of HD footage

📊 Output Files

Manual Mode

CameraName_uuid123_1672531200_video.mp4           # Video only
CameraName_uuid123_1672531200_videoWithAudio.mp4  # Video + Audio

Alert Mode

CameraName_uuid123_20240101_143022_alert_motion_alert456_video.mp4     # Video only
CameraName_uuid123_20240101_143022_alert_motion_alert456_combined.mp4  # Video + Audio

Filename Components:

• CameraName: Sanitized camera name
• uuid123: Camera UUID
• 20240101_143022: Timestamp (YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS)
• motion: Alert type
• alert456: Alert ID

🚀 Production Deployment

Automated Scheduling

Add to crontab (crontab -e):

# Hourly alert check
0 * * * * cd /path/to/script && python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY --alerts

# Daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/script && python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY -s $(date -d 'yesterday 00:00:00' +%s) -u 86400

Monitoring

# Check recent downloads
ls -la *.mp4 | head -10

# Monitor disk usage
df -h .

# Check for errors
tail -f /var/log/rhombus-backup.log | grep -i error

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
"No policy alerts found"	Check time filters and alert policies
"Alert missing timestamp"	Enable debug mode to see malformed alerts
"Failed to retrieve alerts"	Verify API key permissions
FFmpeg errors	Install FFmpeg and ensure PATH access

Debug Mode

python3 copy_footage_script_threading.py -a YOUR_API_KEY --alerts --debug

Debug output includes:

• API response data
• Alert processing steps
• Download progress
• Detailed error messages

📖 Documentation

• Copy_Footage_Notes.md: Complete implementation guide
• CLAUDE.md: Claude Code development guidance
• Rhombus API Docs: Official API documentation

🎯 Use Cases

🏢 Corporate Security

Monitor business locations during operating hours with automatic incident capture.

🏪 Retail Loss Prevention

High-frequency monitoring for theft prevention with extended context buffers.

🏭 Manufacturing Compliance

Safety incident documentation with location-specific filtering.

🏠 Multi-site Management

Centralized footage backup across multiple locations.

📈 Performance

• Threading: 4 concurrent workers (configurable)
• Rate Limiting: 0.1s delay between requests
• Storage: ~50MB per minute (HD), ~150MB (4K)
• Bandwidth: Optimized for both LAN and WAN usage

🛡️ Security

• API key authentication
• HTTPS connections to Rhombus API
• Optional certificate-based authentication
• Secure federated session tokens

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📞 Support

Resources

• Rhombus API Documentation
• Epoch Time Converter
• Cron Expression Generator

Getting Help

1. Enable debug mode with --debug
2. Check the detailed implementation guide
3. Review API permissions and connectivity
4. Contact Rhombus support with debug logs

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💡 Pro Tip: Start with alert mode (--alerts) for automatic incident capture, then use manual mode for specific investigations. This combination provides comprehensive security coverage.

🔄 Recent Updates

• ✅ Added alert-based download functionality
• ✅ Implemented configurable buffer times
• ✅ Enhanced multi-threading support
• ✅ Improved error handling and logging
• ✅ Added production deployment guidance