I want to mount my camera to notify when someone comes up my driveway, but the motion detection catches all the cars on the road (even on low sensitivity). This causes way too many false positives for the setup to be useful. Changing the placement is not a viable solution here.
I would like to see (and happy to pay for) the ability to set boundaries in the camera frame for the motion detection to monitor (or areas for it to ignore).
Thanks.
Hey @laurencehousehold,
Thank you so much for reaching out!
Motion Detection by zone is definitely something we have in mind for the future. Please continue to support Alfred and stay tuned!
Having similar issues here. I get notifications all day long of birds flying past the camera, but pedestrians seem to have top secret camera cloaking devices built into their clothing. NEEDS SOME TWEAKS!
I’m not paying for premium at this point, but I would happily do so if this issue can be adequately resolved. It is an absolute deal breaker!
A masking function would be a great asset for me also.
The remote camera phone is currently using a blank wall as a mask, leaving only half the usable frame for capture, otherwise vehicles and headlights at night cause continuous false triggers.
Also my camera phone does not have access to broadband and so uses telecom connection.
If I could increase the definition by subscribing - would I have difficulties with buffering (- I can get a 4G service if it helped)
Excellent concept - most impressed Thanks - RJ
Hi @kipcanderson,
Thank you so much for reaching out!
I am sorry to hear Alfred is not picking up on what matters more to you.
Here is a little explanation about how Alfred’s Motion Detection works:
https://alfred.camera/forum/t/alfreds-motion-detection-algorithm-explained/375413/1I am surprised to hear it captures birds flying past but not pedestrians tho! Could that be light/shadow changes instead?
If you want, you can always show us a photo of your setup as well as a couple of links to Motion Events. That way, we can give you more specific advice.
Hey @mr.r.c.james,
Thank you so much for reaching out!
Rapid light changes (for example headlights) will almost definitely trigger Alfred’s Motion Detection. Would you be able to set your Camera up in a different spot?
Also, IF you get a 4G connection for your Camera, would that be unlimited data? It could work, but Alfred Premium requires more data for the Events because the resolution is higher. If you don’t have unlimited data, it could end up being pricey.
Hope this helps!
It could be just shadows, however, whatever it is never seems to actually be captured.
Even so, I managed to drive by with my car on the way home from work without being detected, while people who left before and returned after were detected. I believe it’s a color issue, as the cloudy dusk lighting and grey color of my car were probably very similar looking to the software, but it didn’t pick up my headlights either.
Hey @kipcanderson,
Just from the screenshots, I think the color similarity could be a possibility. However, we took a look at your WiFi level (you can do this as well. Just go to camera settings and choose Camera Health Check) and realized it’s actually on the lower side. A closer look revealed that some of the Events indeed went missing because of this (ie Alfred captured the movement, but the clip failed to upload because of the weak connection). Not a lot, but some.
Moreover, I’m just making sure that you were not watching live sessions when these Events supposedly took place. For the moment, Motion Detection doesn’t work when there is a live-viewing session going on.
Let me know if this helps!
Many Thanks,
your reply confirmed my suspicions.
In order to estimate the appropriate data tariff required for free v’s upgraded Alfred for my needs,
do you have a guide to the total amount of data transfered per second of capture from the camera to moments via a phone link when broadband is unavailable ?
This would be most helpful.
Best regards.
Hey @mr.r.c.james,
Thanks for the reply!
We do have a rough estimate for data consumption here:
However, please bear in mind that this is a rough estimate. A lot depends on the light, the frequency of Motion Detection being triggered, and so on. The best thing to do is setting Alfred up and observe for a day or two.
If you don’t need Motion Detection all the time, you can also take advantage of Alfred’s Remote Switch. This will help you ration your data:
Hope this helps!
Thanks, but I do believe it is a pattern with similar colors and shading, as pedestrians and bicyclists passing by also do not register if their clothing is close to the background color. I’ve noted countless incidents of people passing by for certain while not utilizing live view. It has never missed a red car from my household every time it comes and goes, but is only about 1 for 4 when other family members pass by on bicycles, and misses my grey Miata about 1/3 of the time. The wireless signal isn’t that bad.
I understand it is a work in progress, but I clearly cannot rely on it 100% at this point at least for the current location. (But there really aren’t any better angles at my home to eliminate the background colors from the frame.)
It really is a terrific and very stable app otherwise!
Oh, but I have figured out that many of the non-event clips were the result of my dog bumping the couch near the window sill the camera sits on! So much for blaming the birds. 
Hey @kipcanderson,
Thank you so much for the reply!
Your theory sounds about right. We are sorry Alfred isn’t 100% reliable for you at the moment, but we will continue to try our best to optimize the Motion Detection algorithm. We hope it will soon become way more sophisticated!
Also, the dog part made me laugh! Would you consider setting Alfred up as a pet cam?
