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jonathan posted:I ignored a bunch of good advice from respected people in this thread and got a couple foscam fi9900p Cameras. So this brings up things that affect image quality beyond just simple resolution. The Nest Cam, along with Dropcam, and all of the other cloud based cameras tend to use very aggressive quantization settings. Which means they are more aggressive about compressing the video than you'd find in an IP camera that is designed for be paired with an NVR or DVR. Part of this is scaling on the cloud side, and part of it is that it would eat up a very large chunk of a lot of home users upstream bandwidth. So with all other things being the same, the cloud based cameras will look worse. But they include the ability to be stored to the cloud, and that's the trade off you're making. As for Foscam, there will generally be a modest improvement if you spend the extra $10 and get the grey market Hikvision or Dahua cameras. Part of this is at the chipset level. Foscam uses HiSilicon as their chipset manufacturer. HiSilicon's niche in for security cameras is providing some extremely low cost chips. They tend to be as bare bones as possible. Which tends to mean that Foscam is pushing those chipsets hard. Which results in a lot of potentially flaky behavior. Camera streams stopping, camera side motion detection stopping, errors in encoding and a volume of other issues. Other manufacturers use Ambrella and their lower end chipsets have a bit more room to work with, so they tend to be less flaky in fun ways. On the less tangible side, they used to have a US distributor that had an exclusivity agreement. Because of that agreement the US distributor built up a better than you'd expect support, with an Indian call center and forums. But with that exclusivity agreement expiring and Foscam choosing not to renew it, the support level has dropped off to nothing and the distributor has changed names and become yet another Dahua OEM. Hikvision and Dahua maintain US based support. It's not amazing but you aren't paying enough to expect amazing. And you have other things like the absolute dogshit that Foscam calls an SDK. I mean a lot of camera manufacturers have poorly documented SDKs but they are like well done steak with ketchup. You may not want to eat it but most people would still acknowledge it as food. The Foscam SDK is just bad. At first we thought it was translation issues but apparently it doesn't make a lot of sense in Chinese either. The Blue Iris devs are saints for not hunting the Foscam engineers and killing them. Foscam tends to get recommendations because people buy it and it didn't catch fire, and the video looks better than what I used to see on America's Most Wanted. So they assume it's good but it tends to just not be a very good camera. For something like a real time trail cam, or a doggie cam it's fine. But as a security camera you're rolling the dice, and the one thing it did have going for it is gone.
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Mar 17, 2017 03:11
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I 100% agree with the above. I feel I'm in a special position because my yard and house entryway has very narrow choke points. It has a 200' driveway that forces anyone coming to the house to pass by one camera and a wide angle view isn't needed. So you can watch them from 200' away until right up to the cam. The other cam is for wildlife spotting. I get a family of deer including babies that nest in the front yard under shelter of a tree, and I've had several moose make homes in the back yard when the snow is deep and it's very cold. I will post some examples of text etc once they're permanently mounted.
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Mar 17, 2017 06:20
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Subjunctive posted:With my Z-wave switches I had to put the hub into exclusion mode via the app, then press the switch until the app said that something was excluded. It then paired. Ok so I got them paired. One of them works fine, and the other only works sometimes. It won't allow me to control it remotely, and if I hit the physical switch, it works. Also, the little light on the switch is supposed to be on when the switch is off, and off when the switch is one. Well right now the switch is off (exterior light off) yet the indicator light on the switch is also off. I also can't control it via the SmartThings app, but if I mess with it a bit I will regain control for a short period.
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Mar 17, 2017 06:35
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jonathan posted:Ok so I got them paired. One of them works fine, and the other only works sometimes. It won't allow me to control it remotely, and if I hit the physical switch, it works. Also, the little light on the switch is supposed to be on when the switch is off, and off when the switch is one. That doesn't sound like anything I've encountered, sorry.  You might ask on the ST forums?
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Mar 17, 2017 13:07
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Hue is announcing E14 bulbs today 
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Mar 17, 2017 13:17
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Camera chat. My dad wants a couple of cameras to watch a couple areas at some rental property he owns. I don't really want to set up some system with Blue Iris or zoneminder and I don't think they'd be user-friendly enough for him anyway. So I guess this leaves me with one of the consumer-ish options like Nest or Arlo. He doesn't really want to pay monthly (who does, right?) and it looks like the Arlo stuff has the best free plan. The one downside is that he already has an Arlo elsewhere and it basically just sits there only used 50% of the time because the batteries only last like a week and no one ever has time to go change them. Obviously, there's the Arlo Q, but he needs something for outside, and as far as I can tell there's not an easy way of mounting an Arlo Q outside. He wants motion alerts, and something where you can define an area of the image would be great. Also, at least a couple of days of video history. So, I guess my questions are: 1. Any other options to consider in these consumer-focused cameras? 2. Any options for a more serious camera system that will be easy for a technologically-illterate guy to use? Thermopyle fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 15:24
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Thermopyle posted:Camera chat. My dad wants a couple of cameras to watch a couple areas at some rental property he owns. I don't really want to set up some system with Blue Iris or zoneminder and I don't think they'd be user-friendly enough for him anyway. I have a canary camera for my house that has been pretty easy for my wife and I to use. Its free plan includes saving clips of whatever triggers the camera for 24 hours (30 days with the paid version) which you can download if you want to keep. We basically get clips of what the dog does throughout the day. They recently introduced an outdoor version of their camera which you can wall mount. Not sure it would necessarily fit his needs but it might be worth looking into.
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Mar 17, 2017 17:44
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I have a bunch of small lamps with LED E12 candelabra bulbs. Is there a way to make them smart? They bulbs are dimmable, but I can't find a dimmable zwave bulb or outlet for LEDs.
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Mar 17, 2017 18:40
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Jerk McJerkface posted:I have a bunch of small lamps with LED E12 candelabra bulbs. Is there a way to make them smart? They bulbs are dimmable, but I can't find a dimmable zwave bulb or outlet for LEDs. http://www.leviton.com/en/products/dzpd3-1lw I've used that with several LED bulbs, including right now on the desk next to me. Dims dimmable LED bulbs just fine as far as I can tell.
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Mar 17, 2017 19:49
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Thermopyle posted:Camera chat. My dad wants a couple of cameras to watch a couple areas at some rental property he owns. I don't really want to set up some system with Blue Iris or zoneminder and I don't think they'd be user-friendly enough for him anyway. Arlo pro? It's at least rechargeable, and has slightly better battery life. And if it's under soffit or something he can leave em plugged in, but obviously that doesn't work as well at keeping them weather proof. Canary's monthly fees would probably turn him off, as would nest and ring's.
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Mar 18, 2017 23:51
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Recently my house was broken into and I'm looking into getting a pair of cameras that I can access through my phone. It doesn't need to be especially fancy, I live right next to my job so I can sprint back home in under a minute if something happens. Any opinions on this Yi brand camera? https://www.amazon.com/YI-Camera-Wireless-Security-Surveillance/dp/B01CW4BG4K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 The negative reviews seem to be about people having problems with their phone privacy rather then the camera itself.
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Mar 19, 2017 22:37
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Leal posted:Recently my house was broken into and I'm looking into getting a pair of cameras that I can access through my phone. It doesn't need to be especially fancy, I live right next to my job so I can sprint back home in under a minute if something happens. Any opinions on this Yi brand camera? Are you planning them for indoor or outdoor use? They don't appear to be outdoor rated at all, so keep that in mind. Storage to an SD card can work, but you will need to periodically check the SD card in a different reader. You can do edge storage to an SD card but they really aren't designed with the kind of constant writes that security cameras subject them to. So they tend to have a lifespan of months. The really serious review I've seen of the camera indicated that the motion detection is wonky at best. The Yi 2 stuff tests better but costs more. They don't support an RTSP stream so you're stuck with their cloud service.
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Mar 20, 2017 02:35
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They're going to be indoor, I'm gonna point them out a window. I know it can be obvious but there are 2 windows close to one another, and one of them is near an "inside" corner of the walls. I don't think a camera in that window would be noticed as the other window is more accessible for a break in. The longevity of the SD card is worrisome though, but hopefully we'll be out of this house in a month. I'm hoping the motion detection isn't that wonky, I want to be notified so I can run back home and yell at the guy to gently caress off.
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Mar 20, 2017 02:57
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Leal posted:They're going to be indoor, I'm gonna point them out a window. I know it can be obvious but there are 2 windows close to one another, and one of them is near an "inside" corner of the walls. I don't think a camera in that window would be noticed as the other window is more accessible for a break in. The longevity of the SD card is worrisome though, but hopefully we'll be out of this house in a month. I'm hoping the motion detection isn't that wonky, I want to be notified so I can run back home and yell at the guy to gently caress off. You will have issues with that camera at night. If you're going to aim it out a window then you need to use a camera without any IR LEDs and accept it won't see poo poo at night, or put it outside. Most windows for houses have been treated since the 60's to reduce the amount of IR light they let in. This creates an effect where it looks like the light is being reflected back at the camera. So the camera doesn't see anything. Disabling the IR LEDs won't help much. Security cameras remove an IR cut filter at night to increase the amount of light the camera gets. With that blocked by the window, you won't see much in most residential areas. What you will likely get is an increase in false positives and negatives at night. I would make sure you can disable it at night unless you want your phone blowing up.
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Mar 20, 2017 06:39
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Thomamelas posted:You will have issues with that camera at night. If you're going to aim it out a window then you need to use a camera without any IR LEDs and accept it won't see poo poo at night, or put it outside. Most windows for houses have been treated since the 60's to reduce the amount of IR light they let in. This creates an effect where it looks like the light is being reflected back at the camera. So the camera doesn't see anything. Disabling the IR LEDs won't help much. Security cameras remove an IR cut filter at night to increase the amount of light the camera gets. With that blocked by the window, you won't see much in most residential areas. What you will likely get is an increase in false positives and negatives at night. I would make sure you can disable it at night unless you want your phone blowing up. Ah yeah this is currently the issue. It aint seeing poo poo at night, and when cars drive by for the front camera it gets set off. Also unless I'm missing something the app doesn't actually notify my phone, I have to manually check on it. Can I get a recommendation for a pair of outdoor cams that I can check on my phone and has an app that actually rings my phone when it detects a person? E: And something a bit on the cheaper side...
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Mar 22, 2017 04:42
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Leal posted:Ah yeah this is currently the issue. It aint seeing poo poo at night, and when cars drive by for the front camera it gets set off. Also unless I'm missing something the app doesn't actually notify my phone, I have to manually check on it. Can I get a recommendation for a pair of outdoor cams that I can check on my phone and has an app that actually rings my phone when it detects a person? When asking for info like this, you should probably not say cheaper side but give a budget range. My idea of cheap and yours are likely very different since I usually work with enterprise grade stuff. Dropcam and Nest have outdoor rated cameras that claim people detection. In an indoor environment they do well but I've never seen an outdoor test and analytics outdoors tends to be trickier. Cammy has a similar claim for their cameras. But for this to work, the cameras will have to be mounted outside. Not looking through a window.
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Mar 22, 2017 05:08
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I'm thinking something at $250 max, cash is rather tight at the moment.
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Mar 22, 2017 05:25
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Leal posted:cash is rather tight at the moment. Well yeah, you just got robbed.
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Mar 22, 2017 06:09
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My launch Echo randomly died the other night which was great because it's my alarm and I ended up sleeping in an extra hour.
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Mar 22, 2017 13:48
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Leal posted:I'm thinking something at $250 max, cash is rather tight at the moment. The Dropcam and Nest options are in that price range. But my opinion is if you are just gonna be there for less than a month to not spend the money.
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Mar 22, 2017 16:10
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Thomamelas posted:The Dropcam and Nest options are in that price range. But my opinion is if you are just gonna be there for less than a month to not spend the money. Hm.. well I figure, even if I move it wont hurt to have a camera to keep an eye on thing at home. I'm kinda interested in this guy https://www.amazon.com/Nest-Cam-Outdoor-Security-Camera/dp/B01I3I9L8M/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6F84V4MD0FE6H76S5RMQ Everything about it looks perfect, my only real concern is it looks like it can be very easily knocked off with a stick and I figure I can fix that problem by securing it with a metal band. LastInLine posted:Well yeah, you just got robbed. 
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Mar 23, 2017 06:02
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Leal posted:I'm thinking something at $250 max, cash is rather tight at the moment. You can get a 4K hikvision camera, a small PoE router, and Blue Iris for just about $250 if you already have a PC you leave on 24/7 - it would be a good way to start while leaving room to expand to 4/8 cameras in the future.
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Mar 23, 2017 06:14
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Anyone used zoneminder and blue iris and have anything to say about one vs the other? I've been using zoneminder for a couple years and I've been happy enough. Any other options? What I would really like is something with good mobile apps, but I don't really expect that to happen.
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Mar 23, 2017 21:04
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Well update Busted, the Yi camera isn't too bad when the loving idiot decides to try it in the middle of the afternoon.
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Mar 24, 2017 02:03
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Can anybody point me in the direction of some info on home audio/intercoms? I bought a model home that came with a multi zone audio system installed. I believe the model is myq "linq". Each controller is light switch sized and has a cat5e cable going to the hub in the basement and 2 sets of speaker wires going to the speakers in the ceiling. The inputs are all line level on a double sized plate in the living room, which also connects to the hub via cat5e. It does not have intercom, which my wife is disappointed about. I'd like to take the bones of this system and update it to add some sort of intercom, even if it involves replacing everything but the wiring and speakers. I figure I could recoup a decent bit of the cost selling the existing system.
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Mar 24, 2017 17:49
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e: oh wait maybe it's more complicated than I thought on re-read. Still, probably ask at crutchfield.com and they might can steer you in the right direction, if there are any units compatible with what may be proprietary cat5e connections
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Mar 24, 2017 18:02
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The cat5e connections aren't proprietary. That is the standard these days. There are many whole home audio solutions but I don't have experience with them. Many have intercom and a connection for doorbell interrupt. Not sure what your budget is but you can quickly get into high dollars with WHA complete solutions.
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Mar 24, 2017 23:08
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kmcormick9 posted:Can anybody point me in the direction of some info on home audio/intercoms? I don't know anything about your particular system and couldn't find it on the internet. I have an old htd whole home audio system, and to upgrade mine would simply require replacing the faceplates and audio controller. It would pretty much be as simple as swapping them out for newer models. The wiring and amp could stay as is.
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Mar 25, 2017 03:54
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It seems like it took forever but Google Home now has native Wink and Harmony integration, no more IFTT workarounds.
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Mar 28, 2017 18:44
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Three Olives posted:It seems like it took forever but Google Home now has native Wink and Harmony integration, no more IFTT workarounds. Cool. Just got my home today so this is good news
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Mar 28, 2017 19:23
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So are there any wifi relays controllable from google home (assistant) yet? I can't find poo poo.
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Mar 28, 2017 20:33
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Google home trip report. Real good. Biggest take away is that response times on commands are very quick and the language to trigger a command is very loose so you don't need to memorize anything to make things work. My biggest complaint at the moment is therw didn't seem to be Any way to chain statements together for things like dimming individual lights to different levels
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Mar 29, 2017 05:51
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w00tmonger posted:My biggest complaint at the moment is therw didn't seem to be Any way to chain statements together for things like dimming individual lights to different levels Besides the limitation to a single account, this is the most irritating thing about Home (and probably every other assistant, I've never used any). I want to be able to say the trigger word then issue a command and follow up without having to say the trigger at the beginning of each sentence. I wish you could begin the next sentence with "Okay" to indicate you want to keep interacting with the assistant (and if you needed a way to end a conversation with an assistant say "Thanks" maybe idk). Like: "Okay Google, turn on the living room." Turning living room lights on. "Okay, turn the floor lamp to 40%" Saying the trigger every time on a multi-step process gets old fast.
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Mar 29, 2017 06:54
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So I have a Samsung Smartthings hub and a multipurpose sensor, but since they added Google Home support to Wink I want to to switch to it. I've had the Samsung stuff for about 20 days, so I'm just outside of the Best Buy return window. Anyone want them? I can make an SAMart thread of anyone does.
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Mar 29, 2017 15:11
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Jerk McJerkface posted:So I have a Samsung Smartthings hub and a multipurpose sensor, but since they added Google Home support to Wink I want to to switch to it. I've had the Samsung stuff for about 20 days, so I'm just outside of the Best Buy return window. Anyone want them? I can make an SAMart thread of anyone does. Why are you switching?
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Mar 29, 2017 15:39
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Thermopyle posted:Why are you switching? Because they added Google Home support to Wink, and I really like the Wink Relay control panel. I labored over choosing between them and decided on the Smartthings because I already had the Home, and I didn't want to have to configure IFTTT to make a Wink work with it. Also the Wink Hub 2 has WiFi, which is worth the premium over the Smartthings since I won't have to pull a wire to the center of my house. EDIT: To clarify, it works fine and I'm happy with it, but I want to play with the Wink Relay. Super-NintendoUser fucked around with this message at 15:49 on Mar 29, 2017 |
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Mar 29, 2017 15:47
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Looking to set up a pretty basic monitoring system with a few decent IP cameras and an NVR. - I have network cable so POE would be best - I have a Ubiquiti system so I can segregate my networks and have the cameras on a separate network - I don't need 4k or anything, 1080p should be fine, with good night vision. - I have a server that I am going to end up with Linux and Samba, I can throw another drive in dedicated to the NVR storage. - I would prefer something I can put together piece by piece if necessary. If a straight NVR would be better, are there decent ones? I remember all sub-$300 cameras were complete poo poo (Is that shirt black, purple or blue?), but it looks like Amazon has been flooded with them. Has the quality risen on them as a general rule or are they still trash? Are there good brands to watch for? I want two, basically to monitor my front and back doors for now (Possibly more down the road). No more than 50ft. Would like outdoor with mixed lighting. I might do IoT on down the line, but that will be under a separate subnet as well. Any suggestions?
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Apr 1, 2017 01:29
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If you already have Ubiquiti gear, why not go with Ubiquiti's cameras and NVR?
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Apr 1, 2017 17:16
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Gothmog1065 posted:Looking to set up a pretty basic monitoring system with a few decent IP cameras and an NVR. The grey market Hikvision or Dauha cameras are generally fine and in the sub-$200 range. But you don't seem to have put very much thought into camera placement and objectives. And that's the most first thing to focus on. A camera placed to for facial identification at a door isn't going to do a great job of capturing stuff 50 ft out. A camera set up to do an overview shot of say a yard, is generally going to be looking at a wider field of view and higher resolution. So it might help if you explain a little bit more about what your goals with the cameras are. CloFan posted:If you already have Ubiquiti gear, why not go with Ubiquiti's cameras and NVR? Ubiquiti deliberately broke RTSP support in their cameras to prevent people from using them with other VMSes. Nor does their VMS support other camera manufacturers. So that takes away a lot of flexibility for no upside.
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Apr 1, 2017 17:55
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Ah, I didn't realize that. That kinda sucks :-/
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Apr 1, 2017 22:33
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