Ava streams live camera video and snapshots directly to Home Assistant via the native ESPHome protocol. No intermediate server, no HTTP bridge, no browser rendering — just a direct binary stream from the Android camera to HA.

Compatible with Android 5-16.

0.6.6 fixed a bug where devices with only a rear camera stayed black forever because the app locked onto a missing front camera (PR #163 by @gilcu2). 0.6.9 added the ability to display a camera feed on the screensaver layer, triggered by Home Assistant. 0.7.3 fixed RTSP camera resource ordering and added bounded HLS startup waits for more reliable camera streaming.

WallPanel is a popular Android kiosk app that also streams camera to Home Assistant. But users consistently report lag, stuttering, and frame accumulation on WallPanel. Here is why Ava does not have these problems:

WallPanel and similar apps stream camera frames over HTTP. This approach has a fundamental flaw:

1. HTTP buffering — Each frame is sent as an HTTP response. Both the server and HA's client buffer the data. When the network is slow, frames queue up in multiple buffers
2. No backpressure — The camera produces frames at a fixed rate. If the network cannot keep up, frames accumulate in memory. The stream falls further and further behind real-time
3. Multiple layers of latency — The frame passes through HTTP, TCP, HA's HTTP client, HA's camera component, and the browser canvas. Each step adds delay
4. Result — After a few minutes, the "live" stream is showing frames from 10-30 seconds ago. The only fix is to restart the stream

Ava uses a fundamentally different streaming architecture:

The key difference: Ava never lets frames accumulate. If the network is slow, the frame rate drops gracefully, but the frames you see are always current — never seconds behind. The stream self-corrects automatically. There is no growing delay, no need to restart.

Capture single photos on demand from Home Assistant.

• Configurable image size (Original, 500px, 720px, 1080px square crop)
• Auto rotation correction based on device orientation
• Manual orientation override (Portrait, Portrait Flipped, Landscape, Landscape Flipped)
• Front or back camera selection
• Works on old devices with legacy camera hardware

Live video streaming via native ESPHome protocol.

• Frame rate: 1-15 FPS (configurable)
• Resolution: 240p-720p (configurable)
• Smart frame dropping — never accumulates lag
• Automatic orientation handling with manual override
• Video recording state persists across app restarts

On-device face detection. No cloud, no external API — all processing happens locally on the Android device.

• Draws bounding boxes around detected faces on the video stream
• Reports person detected as a binary sensor to HA
• Smoothing algorithm for stable detection (no flickering)

On-device gender classification for each detected face.

• Counts male and female faces separately
• Reports as separate sensors to HA
• Smoothing to prevent flickering
• Only runs when face detection is enabled

Go to Settings -> Advanced

Actual bandwidth depends on resolution, scene complexity, and JPEG compression. These are estimates for 480p.

Ava's camera works across a wide range of Android devices, from modern flagships to decade-old tablets.

Full CameraX support with hardware-accelerated JPEG encoding. Works on:

• Google Pixel (all generations)
• Samsung Galaxy (all generations)
• Xiaomi / Redmi / Poco
• OnePlus / Oppo / Vivo
• Most modern Android devices

Devices with older camera hardware are automatically detected and handled with special care:

• Retry logic for camera initialization failures
• Automatic fallback to closest available resolution

Tested on:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S2
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016)
• Amazon Fire Tablet (5th gen+)
• Various Android 5-6 era tablets

Some kiosk devices block background camera access. Ava automatically handles these restrictions:

• Meta Portal (all models)
• Other kiosk devices with similar camera restrictions
• Automatically detected — no manual configuration needed

Ava auto-detects camera availability. If no camera is present, camera entities are not created in HA.

type: picture-entity
entity: camera.your_device_name_video_camera
camera_view: live
show_name: false
show_state: false

type: picture-glance
entity: camera.your_device_name_video_camera
camera_view: live
entities:
 - entity: switch.your_device_name_video_recording
 name: Recording
 - entity: binary_sensor.your_device_name_face_detected
 name: Person

service: camera.snapshot
target:
 entity_id: camera.your_device_name_camera_snapshot
data:
 filename: /config/www/snapshots/front_door_{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S') }}.jpg

Combine video stream + face detection + notifications for a complete security camera:

automation:
 - alias: "Person Detected - Send Snapshot"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_face_detected
 to: "on"
 action:
 - service: camera.snapshot
 target:
 entity_id: camera.ava_camera_snapshot
 data:
 filename: /config/www/snapshots/detection_{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S') }}.jpg
 - service: notify.mobile_app
 data:
 message: "Person detected"
 data:
 image: /api/snapshot_proxy/camera.ava_camera_snapshot

Turn on lights when a person is detected on camera, turn off when no one is there:

automation:
 - alias: "Camera Occupancy - Lights On"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_face_detected
 to: "on"
 action:
 - service: light.turn_on
 target:
 entity_id: light.living_room
 - service: input_boolean.turn_on
 target:
 entity_id: input_boolean.room_occupied
 - alias: "Camera Occupancy - Lights Off"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_face_detected
 to: "off"
 for:
 minutes: 5
 action:
 - service: light.turn_off
 target:
 entity_id: light.living_room
 - service: input_boolean.turn_off
 target:
 entity_id: input_boolean.room_occupied

Use a physical button or HA dashboard button to simulate a doorbell — capture a snapshot and send it to your phone:

automation:
 - alias: "Doorbell Press"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: button.ava_take_snapshot
 to: "unavailable"
 action:
 - delay: 2
 - service: camera.snapshot
 target:
 entity_id: camera.ava_camera_snapshot
 data:
 filename: /config/www/doorbell.jpg
 - service: notify.mobile_app
 data:
 title: "Doorbell"
 message: "Someone is at the door"
 data:
 image: /local/doorbell.jpg

Start recording when motion is detected by a separate PIR sensor, stop after 5 minutes of no motion:

automation:
 - alias: "Motion - Start Recording"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.hallway_pir
 to: "on"
 action:
 - service: switch.turn_on
 target:
 entity_id: switch.ava_video_recording
 - alias: "No Motion - Stop Recording"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.hallway_pir
 to: "off"
 for:
 minutes: 5
 action:
 - service: switch.turn_off
 target:
 entity_id: switch.ava_video_recording

Take a snapshot every hour and store it for time-lapse:

automation:
 - alias: "Hourly Snapshot"
 trigger:
 - platform: time_pattern
 hours: "/1"
 action:
 - service: camera.snapshot
 target:
 entity_id: camera.ava_camera_snapshot
 data:
 filename: /config/www/timelapse/{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H') }}.jpg

When someone approaches (proximity), turn on the display and start the camera. When they leave, turn everything off:

automation:
 - alias: "Approach - Smart Display On"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_proximity
 to: "on"
 action:
 - service: switch.turn_on
 target:
 entity_id: switch.ava_display
 - service: switch.turn_on
 target:
 entity_id: switch.ava_video_recording
 - alias: "Leave - Smart Display Off"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_proximity
 to: "off"
 for:
 minutes: 2
 action:
 - service: switch.turn_off
 target:
 entity_id: switch.ava_video_recording
 - service: switch.turn_off
 target:
 entity_id: switch.ava_display

When Ava detects a wake word, capture a snapshot to see who is talking:

automation:
 - alias: "Wake Word Snapshot"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: assist_satellite.ava
 to: "listening"
 action:
 - service: camera.snapshot
 target:
 entity_id: camera.ava_camera_snapshot
 data:
 filename: /config/www/wake_{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S') }}.jpg

If Bluetooth presence shows a family member is home, suppress the person detection alert. If no one is home, treat it as an intruder:

automation:
 - alias: "Intruder Alert"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_face_detected
 to: "on"
 condition:
 - condition: state
 entity_id: binary_sensor.ava_bluetooth_presence
 state: "off"
 action:
 - service: camera.snapshot
 target:
 entity_id: camera.ava_camera_snapshot
 data:
 filename: /config/www/intruder_{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S') }}.jpg
 - service: notify.mobile_app
 data:
 title: "Intruder Alert"
 message: "Person detected but no family member is home"
 data:
 image: /local/intruder_latest.jpg
 priority: high

When an audio event (glass breaking, alarm, baby crying) is detected, capture a snapshot to see what happened:

automation:
 - alias: "Audio Event - Capture Camera"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: sensor.ava_audio_event
 to: "glass_breaking"
 action:
 - service: camera.snapshot
 target:
 entity_id: camera.ava_camera_snapshot
 data:
 filename: /config/www/audio_event_{{ now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S') }}.jpg
 - service: notify.mobile_app
 data:
 title: "Glass Breaking Detected"
 message: "Audio event triggered camera capture"
 data:
 image: /local/audio_event_latest.jpg

Count people by gender for analytics or adjust behavior:

automation:
 - alias: "Log Visitor Count"
 trigger:
 - platform: state
 entity_id: sensor.ava_male_count
 action:
 - service: input_number.set_value
 target:
 entity_id: input_number.male_visitors_today
 data:
 value: "{{ states('input_number.male_visitors_today') | int + 1 }}"

Place multiple Ava devices in different rooms and view all cameras on one dashboard:

type: grid
columns: 2
cards:
 - type: picture-entity
 entity: camera.living_room_ava_video_camera
 camera_view: live
 - type: picture-entity
 entity: camera.kitchen_ava_video_camera
 camera_view: live
 - type: picture-entity
 entity: camera.bedroom_ava_video_camera
 camera_view: live
 - type: picture-entity
 entity: camera.garage_ava_video_camera
 camera_view: live

Ava 0.7.3 fixed two long-standing issues with network camera streams:

RTSP resource ordering: RTSP cameras require a specific sequence of resource setup before video can flow. Previous versions could deadlock if the camera responded slowly to one step in the sequence — the stream would hang forever instead of timing out and retrying. The fix ensures resources are set up in the correct order with proper timeout handling at each step.

Bounded HLS startup: HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) cameras can take a variable amount of time to produce their first segment. Previous versions waited indefinitely, which could freeze the camera view if the stream never started. The fix adds a bounded startup wait — if the first segment doesn't arrive within a reasonable window, Ava reports the failure instead of hanging.

1. Use 5G WiFi if available
2. Keep device close to router
3. Start with 480p, increase if stable
4. Use 5 FPS for smooth motion, 2 FPS for static scenes
5. Keep the device plugged in — video streaming is CPU-intensive

1. Use 1-2 FPS frame rate
2. Use 240p resolution
3. Use snapshot mode instead of video stream
4. Only enable video recording when needed (use switch entity)

1. Use snapshot mode — camera only activates on demand
2. Lower FPS to 1-2
3. Lower resolution to 240p
4. Turn off face detection when not needed
5. Use proximity or Bluetooth presence to trigger recording only when someone is present

1. Check if camera permission is granted
2. Check if Remote Camera is enabled in Settings -> Advanced
3. Confirm Home Assistant is connected
4. Check if the device has a camera (Ava auto-detects)
5. For kiosk devices, ensure overlay permission is granted

Ava's stream should not accumulate lag. If you experience lag:

1. Lower frame rate (try 1-2 fps)
2. Lower resolution (try 240p)
3. Check WiFi signal strength
4. Check if another app is using the camera
5. Restart the Ava service — the stream will resume fresh

The video recording switch is off. Turn it on via:

• HA: switch.turn_on on the video_recording entity
• Ava app: Settings -> Advanced -> Camera Mode -> Video

1. Enable Face Detection in Settings -> Advanced
2. Ensure camera mode is Video (face detection only works on video stream)
3. Check lighting conditions — the TFLite model needs reasonable light
4. Ensure the face is clearly visible and not too small in the frame
5. Face detection runs on-device — no internet needed

Gender detection uses a 5-frame median smoothing window. If it still flickers:

1. Increase FPS to 5+ for more samples
2. Ensure good lighting
3. Faces at extreme angles may confuse the model

1. Ava has legacy HAL support with retry logic — it should work on Android 5-6 devices
2. If the camera still fails, try switching to the front camera
3. Some very old devices may not support CameraX — try Snapshot mode instead of Video
4. Check if another app has exclusive camera access

1. This is normal on devices without auto-exposure in ImageAnalysis mode
2. Try a different camera (front vs back)
3. Ensure the scene is well-lit
4. Some devices limit exposure in background camera mode

Yes. Camera streaming and voice satellite run independently. The camera uses ImageAnalysis which does not conflict with audio recording.

On most devices, yes. Camera and Bluetooth audio use different hardware paths. On some very low-end devices, heavy camera usage may cause Bluetooth audio stuttering.

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