Matter 1.4 upgrades camera streaming
The Matter 1.4 update improves smart‑home camera streaming, multi‑device connectivity, and introduces platform‑neutral doorbell chime support — upgrades that should make cross‑vendor video integrations more reliable across HomeKit, Google and Amazon ecosystems. That opens simpler paths for camera and automation integrations in Home Assistant and similar platforms. (theverge.com) (makeuseof.com)
The Connectivity Standards Alliance published Matter 1.5.1 as a point release on March 31, 2026, explicitly framing it as a targeted refinement of camera and video‑doorbell functionality first added in Matter 1.5. (csa-iot.org) Matter 1.5.1 adds native multi‑stream video and audio delivery so a single camera can supply multiple optimized streams within the same session rather than spawning separate uncoordinated streams for each client. (homekitnews.com) The update formalizes support for HEIC snapshots and expands accepted media formats for camera devices, aligning Matter media handling with image codecs already prevalent on iOS devices. (theverge.com) Doorbell behavior was tightened in 1.5.1 with a platform‑neutral chime model that standardizes multiple chime events, allows distinct chime payloads per doorbell, and adds support for custom or seasonal audio playback. (makeuseof.com) Matter 1.5 — which officially introduced the Camera and Video Doorbell device types — was released on November 20, 2025, making 1.5.1 an incremental engineering patch that follows roughly four months after that major expansion. (csa-iot.org) The Camera device type in the spec is required to implement the Camera AV Stream Management application cluster for stream negotiation and capability advertisement, which firmware stacks and controller libraries must support to expose multi‑stream features. (matteralpha.com) Device makers and platform vendors will need firmware updates and Matter stack revisions to adopt 1.5.1, and the Alliance has published the updated specification documents and guidance on its website to support certification and implementation. (matterdevices.io)
