Was going to create my own in Python on a RPi because I don’t trust “the cloud” with access to a camera in my house
Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
21–30 of 33 posts
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#22Just in case it needs to be said, I use Nest, and do not recommend.
Is there a reason beyond it’s owned by Google to not go with Nest?
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#23I use UniFi Protect but I wouldn’t recommend it. It took me multiple days to figure out how to give another person in my house access to the doorbell camera because the UI isn’t great and in a constant state of flux. ( https://community.ui.com/questions/Add-user-to-UniFi-Protect... ) Also, everything relies on enabling remote access to my UniFi router (a Dream Machine Pro) which I thought was something the on-premise…
UBNT is going downhill. They require the cloud login for most of their stuff now. :(
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#24Just in case it needs to be said, I use Nest, and do not recommend.
Is there a reason beyond it’s owned by Google to not go with Nest?
Beyond the whole Google thing...
Their free tier limitations bothers me. You only get image snapshots of events triggered within the last 24 hours or something. It's essentially useless for trying to establish any information from checking your event replays.
For a while, the premium subscription had to be added per camera, which added up quickly. I think they've since changed this, because I had cancelled for a while then signed up again recently, and got premium tier for all of my cameras with one fee (can't remember how much).
Even still with the premium tier, I'm personally just really not a fan of their UI. Scrubbing through event replays is not easy to do. I've had cameras randomly disconnect for no apparent reason while others kept functioning on the same network just fine. I have one that is pointing out of a window, and it performs really poorly in low-light conditions against the reflection in the glass in whatever position I try. Granted, I also have a set of the outdoor specific ones, and they have performed really well with no downtime that I can recall, even in strong weather.
Just not worth the money IMO, wish I had went for something more open and hackable to my liking.
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#25I use UniFi Protect but I wouldn’t recommend it. It took me multiple days to figure out how to give another person in my house access to the doorbell camera because the UI isn’t great and in a constant state of flux. ( https://community.ui.com/questions/Add-user-to-UniFi-Protect... ) Also, everything relies on enabling remote access to my UniFi router (a Dream Machine Pro) which I thought was something the on-premise…
Ubiquiti's software is just hideous, and their support is far too often clueless.
They told me my UniFi access point was bricked, which turned out to be absolute bullshit.
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#26I use Zoneminder currently with ~$50 PoE cameras (I have an assortment based on what was on sale but most are 4K with audio). I block the MAC addresses of the cameras so they have no internet access at all. You could accomplish this also by putting them on their on VLAN that doesn't have access but I didn't have a good way to do that when I first set it up. My plan is to switch to a Reolink NVR in the near future so…
> I abhor smart wifi devices (Z-wave and Zigbee only)
Are you saying you are only OK with Z-wave and Zigbee?
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#27I use Zoneminder currently with ~$50 PoE cameras (I have an assortment based on what was on sale but most are 4K with audio). I block the MAC addresses of the cameras so they have no internet access at all. You could accomplish this also by putting them on their on VLAN that doesn't have access but I didn't have a good way to do that when I first set it up. My plan is to switch to a Reolink NVR in the near future so…
> I abhor smart wifi devices (Z-wave and Zigbee only) Are you saying you are only OK with Z-wave and Zigbee?
Yes, I only use Z-wave and Zigbee. With the exception of my smart speakers which I see as a necessary evil to be able to control my house. I know smart speakers are a non-starter for some people but the added value and my tentative trust in the manufacturers have made them acceptable to me. An Echo from Amazon is a different story from the Alibaba or cheap Amazon (not made by Amazon but sold by them) wifi smart devices.
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I abhor smart wifi devices (Z-wave and Zigbee only) Are you saying you are only OK with Z-wave and Zigbee?
Yes, I only use Z-wave and Zigbee. With the exception of my smart speakers which I see as a necessary evil to be able to control my house. I know smart speakers are a non-starter for some people but the added value and my tentative trust in the manufacturers have made them acceptable to me. An Echo from Amazon is a different story from the Alibaba or cheap Amazon (not made by Amazon but sold by them) wifi smart devic…
I feel similarly, I have smart speakers and then all zwave. I even avoided zigbee because it uses the same frequencies as wifi. However, I have been a bit disappointed that zwave devices seem to continue to be expensive while zigbee and wifi devices continue to fall in price. I recently broke down and started making some wifi and bluetooth sensors flashed with esphome. So far they have been pretty stable. But I suspect that will change if I get too many.
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#29I have setup 4 (with 5 more in boxes waiting to be setup) cheap Chinese PoE cameras using a Mac nvr app called SecuritySpy to record + provide real-time streaming to companion iOS app. Also offers secure access over https when we’re not home, notifications for detections etc.
I wouldn’t go anything other than PoE these days. The benefits of single cable + the ability to run a ups so the cameras don’t go dark during power outages is a winning combo.
Re: Ask HN: What home security camera setup do you use?
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I only use Z-wave and Zigbee. With the exception of my smart speakers which I see as a necessary evil to be able to control my house. I know smart speakers are a non-starter for some people but the added value and my tentative trust in the manufacturers have made them acceptable to me. An Echo from Amazon is a different story from the Alibaba or cheap Amazon (not made by Amazon but sold by them) wifi smart devic…
I feel similarly, I have smart speakers and then all zwave. I even avoided zigbee because it uses the same frequencies as wifi. However, I have been a bit disappointed that zwave devices seem to continue to be expensive while zigbee and wifi devices continue to fall in price. I recently broke down and started making some wifi and bluetooth sensors flashed with esphome. So far they have been pretty stable. But I suspe…
Yeah, I hear you on the Z-wave costs. I only have like 4-5 zigbee things (mainly light bulbs for fans that don't have seperate fan/bulb switches and 1-2 old SmartThings devices I still use) for the same reasons you mention (WiFi) as well as better range (though less mesh hops). I now have 2 Z-wave bulbs but they were not cheap (like $25 vs $9 for zigbee), I only use bulbs for fans or lamps that aren't on a switch, having physical switch fallbacks is a high priority for me.
What home automation hub are you using? I'm on SmartThings right now (been with them since the Kickstarter) but I've been eyeing HomeAssistant. I have HA running on a Pi right now with the ST integration so that I can play with it without going "all in" and I'm liking it so far. That said it's way more hands-on than ST but also feels a little more stable. I have used SmartApps extensively but always hated how fragile they felt, in HA I might have to look at a YAML file or code but it does what I tell it to do without issue. WebCORE is cool but it also worries me when it comes to long term stability since I don't trust SmartThings/Samsung very much.