Wife wants a Ring or Nest or other kind of doorbell camera. What does everyone like or dislike.
I’d like the ability to add a 2nd camera that watches the Driveway.
I’d like the ability to add a 2nd camera that watches the Driveway.
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Home security cameras?
- Thread starter Corbet
- Start date
KC Masterpiece
Hard Core 4+
- Joined
- May 4, 2019
- Messages
- 1,328
I use ring systems on 3 commercial properties and they are great. Easy to setup and I have had zero issues.
ccslider
Hard Core 4+
Nest.
gungriffin
Rising Sun Member
Aren't Ring and Nest essentially the same product any longer? Ring is Amazon. Nest is Google. The convenience is awesome. I installed a Ring system for my Mom. It was so easy to install using the provided setup software in the app and she loves it.
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DanInDenver
Trail Ready
I’ve been using Wyze cameras. Very inexpensive. The motion detection and save to the cloud is where the subscription kicks in.
Motion detection alerts on my phone and I can then access the feed anywhere I am.
Useful peace of mind when I’m away.
My preference would be non-lethal offensive tactics. Such as motion sensing high volume sprinkler heads.
Motion detection alerts on my phone and I can then access the feed anywhere I am.
Useful peace of mind when I’m away.
My preference would be non-lethal offensive tactics. Such as motion sensing high volume sprinkler heads.
AlpineAccess
Hard Core 4+
@DanInDenver we also use a combination of Wyze and Blink cameras as we were gifted the Wyze cams. Both good products, the Wyze stuff is amazing for the price. I think Blink integrates with Ring via alexa/amazon. Wyze is just cameras but they do have a full suite of stuff. Wyze's video quality is amazing on the new V3's. The blink is amazing as it can be put anywhere, battery operated. We consider our area very safe, and have still caught stuff happening that we certainly would never have known about if not for them.
Our Wyze cams have a very loud siren in them. They also have options to add spot lights and some other accessories that seem useful. Wyze also sells door/window sensors, etc. We caught two teens snooping around and peering in my garage window a few weeks back, our motion light turned on and they walked off casually. A siren option would have been nice (we had the blink's watching that area back then). They or someone else did break into an identical window down the street, stole my neighbors leaf blower as it must have been within easy reach.
Our Wyze cams have a very loud siren in them. They also have options to add spot lights and some other accessories that seem useful. Wyze also sells door/window sensors, etc. We caught two teens snooping around and peering in my garage window a few weeks back, our motion light turned on and they walked off casually. A siren option would have been nice (we had the blink's watching that area back then). They or someone else did break into an identical window down the street, stole my neighbors leaf blower as it must have been within easy reach.
J1000
Rising Sun Member
I have several Arlos. I chose them because it's just a one-time purchase of the camera and the cloud video storage is free for the previous rolling 30 days or something like that. Wifi cameras are sorta of bleh because it relies on your WiFi and motion detection so every once in awhile it won't capture what it should or you have hours of footage of leaves blowing around. Still way cheaper than a full DVR setup.
ScaldedDog
Hard Core 4+
Do any of you use the Ubiquiti cameras and NVR?
Mark
Mark
ccslider
Hard Core 4+
Nest does 24hr recording and the picture is better than blink. Nest also changed so it's a flat rate for multiple cameras. I will say that 2 nest cameras will eat about 600 gigs of data a month. The flaw with blink is that it only captured clips and has a delay before capturing the next clip.
If you have a nest thermostat it's all on one app.
If you have a nest thermostat it's all on one app.
Jenny Cruiser
Hard Core 4+
My brother got into the security cam business in Chicago. He did my dads system and It will automatically zoom in on license plates / faces and track them until they leave or the preset times out. No cloud and not cheap, but it’s pretty amazing. It’s like having robocop on duty. We have dogs for now, but I’ll be putting in the same system here one day.
Not exactly what you asked, but FWIW, we have a bunch of WYZE and Blink cameras over multiple buildings. They're toys, but they're great toys and provide a lot of utility for very little cost. Privacy is crap with both being that they store data in the cloud, but it's how they work.
The "outdoor"/non wired cameras are surprisingly okay but the wired cams are far better, but each generation improves on all points. We've had great luck running the non-outdoor rated WYZE cams outside protected from weather. Sometimes the app goes on the fritz with WYZE for some reason; unknown if it's the local network or the cloud. They both have modes to select areas on the screen that trigger motion/recording and areas you can ignore, which is super useful. As you'd expect, putting a camera in a window behind glass will be problematic for night vision outside. Audio is garbage, I'm surprised they include it, but the kids like messing with the grandparents with it, so that's always good for a laugh.
If you truly need a doorbell form factor, the traditional "doorbell cams" are probably better, but I like that you can buy a very cheap Blink or WYZE camera and put it in the window, set it up on wifi and the app in minutes, have alerts, and be up and running with no subscription or additional costs. Then it can be unplugged, moved, put elsewhere, etc. Flexible.... but again, still a toy.
The "outdoor"/non wired cameras are surprisingly okay but the wired cams are far better, but each generation improves on all points. We've had great luck running the non-outdoor rated WYZE cams outside protected from weather. Sometimes the app goes on the fritz with WYZE for some reason; unknown if it's the local network or the cloud. They both have modes to select areas on the screen that trigger motion/recording and areas you can ignore, which is super useful. As you'd expect, putting a camera in a window behind glass will be problematic for night vision outside. Audio is garbage, I'm surprised they include it, but the kids like messing with the grandparents with it, so that's always good for a laugh.
If you truly need a doorbell form factor, the traditional "doorbell cams" are probably better, but I like that you can buy a very cheap Blink or WYZE camera and put it in the window, set it up on wifi and the app in minutes, have alerts, and be up and running with no subscription or additional costs. Then it can be unplugged, moved, put elsewhere, etc. Flexible.... but again, still a toy.
nuclearlemon
Hard Core 4+
i have a wyze after a suggestion from our service manager who put one in the store. very pleased for the minimal money. worked great when i was in town. mine has a spot for an sd card. i don't have internet where i live now, so i haven't set it up since
mcgaskins
Rising Sun Member
I really like Ring a lot, especially because it's a modular system you can add to at any time. Costco usually has a solid base alarm system for a good price which you can run with or without cameras, but it also allows you to run sensors to windows and doors, motion sensors, flood/freeze sensors, CO2/smoke, etc. The best part is adding to the system is truly a minutes long affair, and if you pay the $100 a year for professional monitoring (which is an incredible value if you compare to traditional systems), you get extremely prompt and responsive service that ties into EMS.
When I added the flood/freeze sensor to our laundry room where our main line backed up a couple years ago to our clay pipes having issues, I tested it by pouring a little water nearby and instantly got a push notification to my phone, a text message, and a phone call asking if I was home and able to verify if there was a flood. Something else that's cool about the base system is that is has a battery and cellular backup (and most of the products like sensors have extremely long life batteries), so if you lose power and/or wifi, the alarm will still work. I was very impressed and feel their products are well worth the money.
When I added the flood/freeze sensor to our laundry room where our main line backed up a couple years ago to our clay pipes having issues, I tested it by pouring a little water nearby and instantly got a push notification to my phone, a text message, and a phone call asking if I was home and able to verify if there was a flood. Something else that's cool about the base system is that is has a battery and cellular backup (and most of the products like sensors have extremely long life batteries), so if you lose power and/or wifi, the alarm will still work. I was very impressed and feel their products are well worth the money.
He have ring
I have the udm pro and use their cameras and APs. I like the ecosystem quite a bit. The camera hardware seems quality to me and they have been reliable.
I've had Nest cams in the past, and really liked them, but we've since moved over to a Ring system - four outdoor cameras, a couple indoor cameras, sensors, keypads, smoke/CO detectors - the whole shebang. The system is exceptionally easy to set up and use, and I love the solar panels for all of the outdoor cameras (except for the Ring doorbell, which I have to charge manually about once every few months).
ScaldedDog
Hard Core 4+
Thanks Dan. I also have a UDMP, which prompted the ask. Can you view your footage remotely, or just view the live camera?
Mark
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
FWIW, I've got about a dozen Amcrest 4k outdoor bullet IP cameras deployed. They work fine. There are a variety of ways they can be used depending on how techie you are. I wrote some code that runs on a web server to access the latest uploaded still images: https://github.com/douglasvb/AmcrestWebView (oof I need to update the git repository with the more recent modifications I've made). Amcrest is just one of many companies that make bullet IP cameras.
If you want a really fancy setup, then you'll also be building your own NVR computer that can capture however many cameras worth of information, process it based on pre-set conditions, and then do whatever you want with the photos, videos, and sound. There are plenty of good guides online on how to do it and lots of free and not free software available. There are even apps that you can put on your phone to be notified when you're out and about, etc. With the DIY approach, you can have motion detection, identification of humans, cars, license plates, I've seen some examples of OCR so you can also get the software's best guess at a license plate. And there are ways to push the data up to a remote webserver, etc. It's pretty fun if you're a nerd like me 🤓
One thing that you'll want to think about is how much you trust the company that makes the camera with having access to your home network. I've got my cameras on their own VLAN that's isolated via software at the network switch and router level from the rest of the network. I also try and keep an eye on what ports the cameras are trying to use and who in the outside world they're trying to talk to. Doesn't matter if it's a sketchy Chinese IP camera or a fancy Nest camera -- they all try phoning home. Also it's a good idea to restrict incoming traffic to the cameras. If you're using a local NVR solution, there's no reason for the cameras to talk with an incoming connection from the outside world unless you specifically request them to do so.
Here's a photo from one of the cameras:
If you want a really fancy setup, then you'll also be building your own NVR computer that can capture however many cameras worth of information, process it based on pre-set conditions, and then do whatever you want with the photos, videos, and sound. There are plenty of good guides online on how to do it and lots of free and not free software available. There are even apps that you can put on your phone to be notified when you're out and about, etc. With the DIY approach, you can have motion detection, identification of humans, cars, license plates, I've seen some examples of OCR so you can also get the software's best guess at a license plate. And there are ways to push the data up to a remote webserver, etc. It's pretty fun if you're a nerd like me 🤓
One thing that you'll want to think about is how much you trust the company that makes the camera with having access to your home network. I've got my cameras on their own VLAN that's isolated via software at the network switch and router level from the rest of the network. I also try and keep an eye on what ports the cameras are trying to use and who in the outside world they're trying to talk to. Doesn't matter if it's a sketchy Chinese IP camera or a fancy Nest camera -- they all try phoning home. Also it's a good idea to restrict incoming traffic to the cameras. If you're using a local NVR solution, there's no reason for the cameras to talk with an incoming connection from the outside world unless you specifically request them to do so.
Here's a photo from one of the cameras:
@ScaldedDog you can view stored footage remotely over web or phone app