[Question/Bug] Xiaomi Smart Doorbell 3S (madv.cateye.mi3sg) - Incomplete video download via ffmpeg vs full video in Mi Home app

[hroniko]

Hi @al-one,

First of all, thank you for this excellent integration! It works great for controlling my devices. I'm reaching out regarding an issue with downloading videos from my Xiaomi Smart Doorbell 3S.

Environment
Device Model: madv.cateye.mi3sg (Xiaomi Smart Doorbell 3S)

Integration: Xiaomi Miot (latest via HACS)

HA Setup: Home Assistant OS

Entity: camera.madv_mi3sg_7bd8_video_doorbell

Problem Description
I have successfully created a shell script triggered by Home Assistant automations to download event videos (motion/ring) using the parameters from the camera entity (access_token, stream_address, etc.).

However, I've encountered a specific problem:

In the Mi Home app, the full event video is available (e.g., ~9 seconds long).

When downloading the same event using ffmpeg (or yt-dlp) with the stream_address URL provided by the integration, I only get the first 3-4 seconds of the video.

Technical Details from Logs
From the ffmpeg logs, I can see that the HLS playlist reports the correct duration (Duration: 00:00:08.89), but the download stops early with an error:

[mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 @ 0x7fd2c6990500] stream 0, offset 0xbb2: partial file
[in#0/hls @ 0x7fd2c6c12b00] Error during demuxing: Invalid data found when processing input

It seems that the HLS stream served to ffmpeg contains a corrupted or incomplete final segment, whereas the Mi Home app (and likely Xiaomi's own cloud infrastructure) has a mechanism to retrieve the full file.

Current Workflow
Automation trigger (motion detected).

Shell command calls script with parameters: --token, --url (the stream_address), --time, --type.

Script attempts to download using ffmpeg and falls back to yt-dlp, but both yield the same short video.

Question / Feature Request
Is there a better way to download the complete event video file directly via the integration's cloud API?

I see that the integration provides services like xiaomi_miot.get_properties and xiaomi_miot.call_action. Is it possible to retrieve a direct URL to the fully assembled .mp4 file from the Xiaomi cloud for a specific event (identified by motion_video_time)? Or is there a specific call_action to trigger a video download?

I believe this would provide a more reliable method than parsing a potentially corrupted HLS stream with external tools. Any guidance on the correct MIoT services or properties to use for this would be greatly appreciated.

What I've Tried
Using ffmpeg with various options (-reconnect, different headers).

Using yt-dlp with --allow-unplayable-formats and extensive retry options.

Analyzing the stream_address URL – it appears to be an HLS master playlist with encrypted segments.

Thank you for your time and for creating this amazing integration!

[github-actions]

This is a known limitation with Xiaomi doorbells (including the 3S) and how they serve HLS streams. The Mi Home app uses a proprietary mechanism to wait for all video segments to be fully uploaded and assembled, while direct ffmpeg/yt-dlp downloads often capture an incomplete playlist where the final segments aren't yet ready.

The integration provides a dedicated solution for this exact issue: a script that properly downloads and concatenates all HLS segments into a complete MP4 file.

Recommended Solution: Use the Built-in Video Saving Script

The integration includes a save_xiaomi_video.sh script specifically designed to handle doorbell video downloads correctly. This script:

• Downloads all TS segments sequentially
• Converts and concatenates them into a single MP4
• Handles the timing issues that cause incomplete downloads

Setup Steps:

1. Add the shell command to your configuration.yaml:

shell_command:
  save_xiaomi_video: |
    bash -c '
    mp4="{{ name|default('latest') }}.mp4"
    dir="{{ dir|default('/media/camera',true) }}"
    mkdir -p "$dir" && cd "$dir"
    script=/config/custom_components/xiaomi_miot/scripts/save_xiaomi_video.sh
    if [ -f "$script" ]; then
      bash "$script" "{{ url }}" "{{ token }}" "$mp4"
    else
      echo "Script not found: $script" >&2
      exit 1
    fi'

2. The script is already included in the integration at:
   /config/custom_components/xiaomi_miot/scripts/save_xiaomi_video.sh
   (No manual download needed if you're on v1.0.17+)

3. Create an automation to trigger video saving when motion is detected:

automation:
  - alias: "Save Doorbell Video"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.madv_mi3sg_7bd8_motion_detection
        to: "on"
    action:
      - service: shell_command.save_xiaomi_video
        data:
          url: "{{ state_attr('camera.madv_mi3sg_7bd8_video_doorbell', 'stream_address') }}"
          token: "{{ state_attr('camera.madv_mi3sg_7bd8_video_doorbell', 'access_token') }}"
          name: "doorbell_{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S') }}"
          dir: "/media/doorbell_videos"

Alternative: Use the Official Blueprint

For a ready-made solution, import the official blueprint:

This blueprint handles video saving, notification, and provides a complete automation framework.

Technical Details

The script works around the HLS segment issue by:

• Parsing the master playlist to get all variant streams
• Downloading each segment individually with proper retry logic
• Using ffmpeg to concatenate and convert to MP4 without re-encoding
• Saving the final file to your specified directory

This approach yields the full ~9-second video instead of the truncated 3-4 second version.

Note: Ensure your Home Assistant has ffmpeg installed (available by default in HAOS). The script requires network access to the Xiaomi cloud servers, so verify your instance can reach api.io.mi.com if you encounter issues.

[hroniko]

Great news! It works perfectly!

I replaced my old script with the adapted version based on save_xiaomi_video.sh and now I'm getting the full videos (all ~9 seconds, not just the first 3-4)!

The script correctly downloads all segments, handles the decryption keys, and assembles everything into a complete MP4 file. It's exactly what I needed.

Thank you so much for pointing me to the built-in script and for creating this amazing integration!

For anyone else facing the same issue: use the save_xiaomi_video.sh script from the integration (or the adapted version in the comments) instead of trying to download the HLS stream directly with ffmpeg.

[hroniko]

Thanks!