$130–180
Per Camera
Reolink RLC-810A (4K PoE)
4–8
Cameras per Hub
Scalable PoE switch
~$600
Total (4-cam)
Pi 4 + switch + 4 cameras
1
Upload Pipeline
Single Pi handles all cameras
Upload Pipeline
IP Cameras
4–8x Reolink 4K PoE cameras on site
RTSP Pull
Pi 4 pulls snapshots via ffmpeg RTSP
Resize & ZIP
Sequential capture, resize, bundle per camera
Worker
Single upload pipeline to Cloudflare Worker
B2 → Wall
Backblaze B2 storage → Camera Wall display
Hardware
Controller
- SBC: Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB RAM)
- OS: Raspberry Pi OS Lite
- Network: PoE switch (8-port, managed)
- Storage: 128GB microSD or USB SSD
- VPN: ZeroTier One for remote access
Cameras
- Model: Reolink RLC-810A (4K, 8MP)
- Price: $80–120 each
- Interface: PoE (802.3af) + RTSP stream
- Features: IR night vision, IP66 rated
- Capture: ffmpeg RTSP snapshot per camera
Power & Network
- Power: Mains required (PoE switch + Pi)
- PoE budget: ~15W per camera (120W total for 8)
- Cabling: Cat5e/Cat6 to each camera position
- Internet: Site broadband or 4G router
- UPS: Recommended for Pi + switch
Enclosure
- Pi box: Weatherproof junction box for Pi + switch
- Cameras: IP66 rated (no extra housing needed)
- Mounting: Scaffold clamps or wall brackets
- Cable: Outdoor-rated Cat6 with weatherproof RJ45
- Max run: 100m per camera (PoE Cat6 limit)
Software Stack
Pi-Side (cron + ffmpeg)
- Capture: ffmpeg -rtsp_transport tcp -i rtsp://cam/stream -frames:v 1
- Schedule: cron every 5 min, sequential per camera
- Resize: ImageMagick — web + fullsize per camera
- Upload: curl POST per camera ZIP to Cloudflare Worker
- Heartbeat: Status ping every 15 min (all cameras)
Server-Side
- Upload Worker: Cloudflare Worker (TypeScript)
- Storage: Backblaze B2 (one bucket per camera angle)
- Database: Cloudflare D1 — camera settings, multi-cam groups
- Monitoring: PHP cron — per-camera heartbeat checks
- Display: Camera Wall with multi-angle grouping
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Multiple viewpoints at ~$130–180 per camera
- Reuses existing Cloudflare Worker upload pipeline
- Simple cron + ffmpeg approach — no custom software
- Pi 4 proven platform with full Linux control
- 4K resolution (8MP) per camera — better than Pi Camera
Weaknesses
- Requires mains power + PoE cabling infrastructure
- Complex physical install (Cat6 runs to each position)
- Single point of failure — Pi dies = all cameras offline
- Not suitable for remote/solar sites
- PoE switch adds cost and power draw
Comparison vs Production DSLR
| Attribute | Multi-Angle Site Hub | Production DSLR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per Camera | $130–180 | $600–800 |
| Image Quality | 8MP (Reolink 4K) | 18MP (Canon DSLR) |
| Viewpoints | 4–8 per site | 1 per unit |
| Power | Mains + PoE (required) | Solar or mains |
| Connectivity | Site broadband or 4G router | 4G modem per unit |
| Redundancy | Single Pi = single point of failure | Each camera independent |
| Upload Pipeline | Same (Cloudflare Worker → B2) | Same (Cloudflare Worker → B2) |