Home Automation and Security Systems

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mewse: May 2, 2006

enraged_camel posted:

So none of the windows in my house have blinds or curtains so far.

I feel like this gives me a nice blank slate in terms of home automation.

However, I can't find any automated blinds/curtains that are compatible with, say, SmartThings. Or even Alexa.

Is this just not a thing? I basically want to configure curtains/blinds to automatically open/close depending on time of day and the weather outside, and I specifically want to configure the ones in my bedroom to slowly open in the morning to simulate sunrise.

I don't think there's anything cheap. It's one of those things where it involves moving parts so there's a huge support burden and then anyone who devises a system thinks they deserve a patent etc etc

# ? May 18, 2018 08:07

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# ? May 26, 2024 08:31

Magnus Praeda: Jul 18, 2003; The largess in the land.

mewse posted:

I don't think there's anything cheap. It's one of those things where it involves moving parts so there's a huge support burden and then anyone who devises a system thinks they deserve a patent etc etc

Yeah, Lutron makes their Serena line but since each shade is custom it ends up being about $500 per window.

# ? May 18, 2018 11:50

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

enraged_camel posted:

So none of the windows in my house have blinds or curtains so far.

I feel like this gives me a nice blank slate in terms of home automation.

However, I can't find any automated blinds/curtains that are compatible with, say, SmartThings. Or even Alexa.

Is this just not a thing? I basically want to configure curtains/blinds to automatically open/close depending on time of day and the weather outside, and I specifically want to configure the ones in my bedroom to slowly open in the morning to simulate sunrise.

Are you looking for a controller that fits onto an existing blind (Movez or Somfy, for example), or a system integrated with a new blind (Zebra)?

# ? May 18, 2018 12:51

SpaceCadetBob: Dec 27, 2012

Hunter douglas also has alexa compatible motorized shades. Not sure they are any cheaper than lutron�s though.

# ? May 19, 2018 01:17

paternity suitor: Aug 2, 2016

Magnus Praeda posted:

Oh gently caress. I hadn't even thought about integration with Roombas or equivalent but it totally makes sense. My wife has wanted a robot vacuum for a while now and I was thinking about getting one for her birthday or xmas. Now I'll have to consider the integration question as wall. What model(s) do you use and do you like it?

TBH the SmartThings integration doesn't work for the model I got (Eufy 11c), but I can still control it from my phone from anywhere so I'm happy. It has a schedule so I don't ever need to think about it anyway, outside of making sure my shoes are off the floor when it cleans Monday while I'm at work. It's really crazy how well it works - people compliment on how clean my home is all the time, and I barely ever clean a thing. Regular air filter changing + a robot vacuum = clean house. It gets under coaches and beds and places that would normally never be cleaned, which I think makes a huge difference overall.

# ? May 19, 2018 19:27

Kalenden: Oct 30, 2012

I want to implement my own smart home solution in a home that is a bit atypical.

My background is computer engineering so I have some programming experience but the situation is as follows:

My parents live in a home where a Control4 solution existed but is being replaced by KNX / a Gira Homeserver / etc. This means they have a variety of connected devices already (lights, curtains, TV's, intercoms, music systems, etc) and an interest in getting more such as Google Assistant devices

They also currently have the basic Control4 access panels and the one used by KNX/Gira. So a heterogeneous bunch of technologies

We'd like more versatility and are looking into other home software solutions. Things we have looked at are Home Assistant, SmartThings, OpenHab, HomeSeer, Domoticz, ....

Now our basic lists of desirable traits are as follows:

Free and open-source with support for a lot of different technologies
Accessible for non-programmers aswell
Versatile and adjustable
Long-term robust in case I can't help out
None of these traits are dealbreakers, but given this list and the above description, what would you guys recommend and what tools/tutorials can you point me at?

Any other advice is welcome as well!

# ? May 21, 2018 05:45

Slow News Day: Jul 4, 2007

Are the Philips Hue bulbs compatible with built-in ceiling lights?

# ? May 21, 2018 18:55

Rick: Feb 23, 2004; When I was 17, my father was so stupid, I didn't want to be seen with him in public. When I was 24, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in just 7 years.

enraged_camel posted:

Are the Philips Hue bulbs compatible with built-in ceiling lights?

They make a bunch of different ones for different fixtures, included recessed ceiling lights, although some of these are pretty hard to find except on the Hue website.

# ? May 21, 2018 19:32

Frobbe: Jan 19, 2007; Calm Down

Are there any cheap battery operated surveillance cameras that only record when they detect movement? I need one for a shared space I suspect someone else has access to that shouldn't.

# ? May 26, 2018 18:18

ElCondemn: Aug 7, 2005

Frobbe posted:

Are there any cheap battery operated surveillance cameras that only record when they detect movement? I need one for a shared space I suspect someone else has access to that shouldn't.

They make hunting cameras for that kind of thing, they record to an SD card though so if you�re worried about the camera being taken it might not be a good option.

# ? May 27, 2018 01:39

Rexxed: May 1, 2010; Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Frobbe posted:

Are there any cheap battery operated surveillance cameras that only record when they detect movement? I need one for a shared space I suspect someone else has access to that shouldn't.

Just look for spy cam on amazon, there's a ton. Some look like water bottles, phone chargers, etc. Some nanny cams look like teddy bears or picture frames or whatever, too. There's definitely going to be quality differences in the super cheap ones but if you're just trying to see if person x is in area y then they might be sufficient.

# ? May 27, 2018 02:35

Rick: Feb 23, 2004; When I was 17, my father was so stupid, I didn't want to be seen with him in public. When I was 24, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in just 7 years.

At one of our office they have an analog camera system with a DVR with a bad HD, and the boss doesn't want to replace the HD, he wants to replace the whole DVR. It is true that it's about 10 years old. But if we keep the cameras, is there any realistic improvement that can be expected from a newer DVR?

I'm half thinking that we can almost just get a new digital system at the cost of an analog DVR but we also need way more cameras too within the next year so doing that while rendering the ones we have obsolete is a tough sell.

# ? May 27, 2018 02:39

Thomamelas: Mar 11, 2009

Rick posted:

At one of our office they have an analog camera system with a DVR with a bad HD, and the boss doesn't want to replace the HD, he wants to replace the whole DVR. It is true that it's about 10 years old. But if we keep the cameras, is there any realistic improvement that can be expected from a newer DVR?

I'm half thinking that we can almost just get a new digital system at the cost of an analog DVR but we also need way more cameras too within the next year so doing that while rendering the ones we have obsolete is a tough sell.

Short answer is no. The longer answer depends on just how old and poo poo the old DVR is. You might find some improvements in retention time with larger hard drive options. And you may find you have a large pool of framerate to play with. If it's really old and poo poo, you might see some improvements from the interlacing via hardware or the software onboard. But these tend to be really marginal improvements.

For future proofing you have two options. The first is to use an encoder for the existing analog cameras and use that to bring them into a NVR or VMS. The second option is to find one of the tribid DVR options. Those should support analog along with the two competing HD standards for CCTV. That gives some flexibility to add cameras that will be better in the future.

If you stick with Hikvision or Dahua for this, you'll find that most VMSes can treat their DVRs as encoders so you can backdoor into an IP system that way.

# ? May 27, 2018 06:11

Rick: Feb 23, 2004; When I was 17, my father was so stupid, I didn't want to be seen with him in public. When I was 24, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in just 7 years.

Thomamelas posted:

Short answer is no. The longer answer depends on just how old and poo poo the old DVR is. You might find some improvements in retention time with larger hard drive options. And you may find you have a large pool of framerate to play with. If it's really old and poo poo, you might see some improvements from the interlacing via hardware or the software onboard. But these tend to be really marginal improvements.

For future proofing you have two options. The first is to use an encoder for the existing analog cameras and use that to bring them into a NVR or VMS. The second option is to find one of the tribid DVR options. Those should support analog along with the two competing HD standards for CCTV. That gives some flexibility to add cameras that will be better in the future.

If you stick with Hikvision or Dahua for this, you'll find that most VMSes can treat their DVRs as encoders so you can backdoor into an IP system that way.

Thanks! This gives me a place to go. It's a little more than he thinks we should spend, but I think when I compare how the digital look at our main office and how the analog look at the site, it should be logical to see this is the way to go moving forward and if we can do it without tossing the old cameras, even better.

# ? May 27, 2018 09:34

Slow News Day: Jul 4, 2007

Thoughts on video doorbells? Useful tools or waste of money?

I�m single with no kids and my house is in a safe neighborhood, so I can�t think of any good applications. Do they integrate with home security systems?

# ? May 28, 2018 03:54

FCKGW: May 21, 2006

They�re great for neighbors to post videos to Nextdoor accusing solicitors of casing their home. Personally I never felt comfortable putting a $200 doorbell where it could be ripped of the wall easily.

# ? May 28, 2018 04:17

CheddarGoblin: Jan 12, 2005; oh

I'm still waiting for one that will let you record to a local DVR or at least access an RTSP stream or something.

# ? May 28, 2018 04:19

uPen: Jan 25, 2010; Zu Rodina!

enraged_camel posted:

Thoughts on video doorbells? Useful tools or waste of money?

I’m single with no kids and my house is in a safe neighborhood, so I can’t think of any good applications. Do they integrate with home security systems?

We once saw our indoor only cat trying to get inside after sneaking out when we left for lunch. Other than that I find it largely useless. It's good at catching people leaving for work or dropping off packages but ours missed a dude fleeing the cops through our yard because it was too dark.

# ? May 28, 2018 04:59

skipdogg: Nov 29, 2004; Resident SRT-4 Expert

n.. posted:

I'm still waiting for one that will let you record to a local DVR or at least access an RTSP stream or something.

They have a couple. The one I was looking at was like 350 bucks though. It was called the doorbird

# ? May 28, 2018 05:57

Pants Donkey: Nov 13, 2011

enraged_camel posted:

Thoughts on video doorbells? Useful tools or waste of money?

I�m single with no kids and my house is in a safe neighborhood, so I can�t think of any good applications. Do they integrate with home security systems?

I like my Nest Hello, as it�s nice to know when packages arrive or if my roommate/myself lock ourselves out. But I also got a massive discount on mine, and I absolutely would not have shelled out $200+ for one.

# ? May 28, 2018 08:50

Zero VGS: Aug 16, 2002; ASK ME ABOUT HOW HUMAN LIVES THAT MADE VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS ARE WORTH MORE; Lipstick Apathy

I got a SkyBell Trim six months ago, they're small and $200 and they ring my pre-existing 110 year old doorbell when you press the button, which is neat. Unlike Nest and Ring, SkyBell doesn't charge for monthly fees and there's no catch. Super handy for packages being delivered, and with my Schlage smart deadbolt, I can let friends or contractors into my house when I'm out.

# ? May 28, 2018 09:32

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

I just installed a Nest Hello a few days ago.

I really like it announcing the name of the person at my door over my Google Homes.

# ? May 28, 2018 18:21

redeyes: Sep 14, 2002; by Fluffdaddy

Anyone use Hikvision stuff around here?

# ? May 28, 2018 18:39

bobfather: Sep 20, 2001; I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

redeyes posted:

Anyone use Hikvision stuff around here?

I have extensively used their stuff. Any particular questions?

# ? May 28, 2018 18:48

bobfather: Sep 20, 2001; I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

n.. posted:

I'm still waiting for one that will let you record to a local DVR or at least access an RTSP stream or something.

This exists. It�s a Hikvision cam that�s rebranded by RCA, Nelly�s and many other companies. $100 or less is a good price for it.

# ? May 28, 2018 18:51

redeyes: Sep 14, 2002; by Fluffdaddy

bobfather posted:

I have extensively used their stuff. Any particular questions?

Whats the current hottness with their cameras? I have 4x 2.8mm for my own house security system. Using a Windows Pro PC for a DVR. I absolutely love them. Very reliable and excellent picture quality (1080P 30fps).

Any tips you might have? I am not super familiar with their product line.

Oh also, there is a thing about getting grey market cameras which Hikvision will not support. Actually from what I understand they wont support end users anymore at all.

# ? May 28, 2018 19:02

bobfather: Sep 20, 2001; I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

redeyes posted:

Whats the current hottness with their cameras? I have 4x 2.8mm for my own house security system. Using a Windows Pro PC for a DVR. I absolutely love them. Very reliable and excellent picture quality (1080P 30fps).

Any tips you might have? I am not super familiar with their product line.

Oh also, there is a thing about getting grey market cameras which Hikvision will not support. Actually from what I understand they wont support end users anymore at all.

Pretty much they�re just iterating the same cameras with higher resolutions. I think 4 MP is what they�re currently capped at with the same lenses as all the older models.

For Hiks I buy off Amazon where the sellers tend to be more transparent about whether it�s a US branded, international, Chinese, or hacked-firmware camera. And if the seller lies Amazon will always side with you.

For indoor stuff I really love their cube cameras. Annke sells 2 MP cube cams that take official firmware updates for like $60-70, which is a nice deal.

# ? May 28, 2018 19:57

skipdogg: Nov 29, 2004; Resident SRT-4 Expert

While on the subject of Hikvision, is rolling your own NVR based system worth it, or is it easier to grab a kit system from someone. Thinking a kit from Costco or Sams with the nvr and 4 cameras.

# ? May 28, 2018 22:19

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

I wish there was a self-hosted nvr solution that was as user friendly and machine-learning-featureful as you can get with Nest, Canary, etc.

I've tried most of the solutions and they all suck in some major way.

Writing something better has been on my list of projects to create one day (which grows longer and longer as time goes by).

# ? May 28, 2018 22:23

Thomamelas: Mar 11, 2009

Thermopyle posted:

I wish there was a self-hosted nvr solution that was as user friendly and machine-learning-featureful as you can get with Nest, Canary, etc.

I've tried most of the solutions and they all suck in some major way.

Writing something better has been on my list of projects to create one day (which grows longer and longer as time goes by).

On the enterprise side you're seeing some slow examination of machine learning stuff. But it's hampered by two things. Industry distrust of analytics is one factor. The start ups in that sector tended to vastly overhype their potential and ran into the issue that camera placement in the field wasn't the same as camera placement in their labs. And you had a couple of start ups like BRS labs that were well beyond shady and talking about looking for patterns of behavior as the other. While some of the simpler analytics work fairly well, the BRS labs stuff didn't even work a little bit.

People detection isn't too hard if you're working from a fixed configuration. If you only have a few resolution and lens options you can get that to work pretty easily. UDP has some cameras with their VCA that were doing a solid job of that six or seven years. It gets harder with varifocal lenses or situations where you don't know the lens size or focus. And at least some of the issues with a number of analytics deployments were people not calibrating them correctly. Which is time consuming as hell. But if you don't, the results tend to be pretty poo poo if you're using an algorithm or machine learning of some kind. Hikvision just had their Deep Learning product tested and it failed pretty miserably in testing. When you don't have tight control of the input the issues rise.

Here is a fun example from Amazon's facial recognition engine.

The other issue is that it tends to be processor heavy as gently caress. H.264 wasn't designed with the idea you'd be decoding multiple streams at a time. It's gotten a bit easier with the ability to offload some of the decoding to the GPU. And doing the analytics work in the GPU helps. But you end up with scaling issues when you're talking about locally hosted machines. This is one of those things that the cloud does better simply because it's much easier to scale up processing requirements when you're working in AWS/Azure/Google Cloud. In the case of Nest, it really helps when you are paying a deeply discounted rate for access to Google's Cloud.

# ? May 29, 2018 02:10

CheddarGoblin: Jan 12, 2005; oh

bobfather posted:

This exists. It�s a Hikvision cam that�s rebranded by RCA, Nelly�s and many other companies. $100 or less is a good price for it.

Oh nice. Have you used this thing personally? I'm wondering if it will record straight to an NFS or SMB share like my Dahua's will, I don't use any actual NVR software. It's not a question I see asked or answered on amazon unfortunately. If it's got Hikvision firmware under the hood I'd assume it would..

# ? May 29, 2018 02:56

bobfather: Sep 20, 2001; I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

n.. posted:

Oh nice. Have you used this thing personally? I'm wondering if it will record straight to an NFS or SMB share like my Dahua's will, I don't use any actual NVR software. It's not a question I see asked or answered on amazon unfortunately. If it's got Hikvision firmware under the hood I'd assume it would..

I have used them. Their largest fault is that they�re WiFi only (no PoE), and the WiFi isn�t great. A lot of people end up having to place access points close to the cameras.

I just checked the settings of the cam and it lets you specify an FTP share to upload to.

# ? May 29, 2018 04:12

CheddarGoblin: Jan 12, 2005; oh

bobfather posted:

I have used them. Their largest fault is that they�re WiFi only (no PoE), and the WiFi isn�t great. A lot of people end up having to place access points close to the cameras.

I just checked the settings of the cam and it lets you specify an FTP share to upload to.

Sweet, thanks for checking. FTP works for me, I'm gonna go ahead and try one. My AP is really close to the doorbell too so not really worried about the wifi signal.

# ? May 29, 2018 05:06

wolrah: May 8, 2006; what?

Thermopyle posted:

I wish there was a self-hosted nvr solution that was as user friendly and machine-learning-featureful as you can get with Nest, Canary, etc.

I've tried most of the solutions and they all suck in some major way.

Writing something better has been on my list of projects to create one day (which grows longer and longer as time goes by).

I like UniFi as far as a self-hosted solution, but there is definitely no machine learning there. It is easy and works well though.

If anyone is interested in it and wants an appliance rather than DIY, do NOT buy their current NVR appliance. It's just a kinda lovely Chinese micro-PC with a preinstalled Debian Linux system running the UniFi software. They're about to replace that with a new product (just hit their beta store) which is a lot better hardware.

wolrah fucked around with this message at 16:19 on May 29, 2018

# ? May 29, 2018 16:15

Slow News Day: Jul 4, 2007

I got a SmartThings Hub and it seems to connect directly to the router using a network cable.

Are you kidding me???

# ? May 29, 2018 23:27

WithoutTheFezOn: Aug 28, 2005; Oh no

I think the Philips Hue bridge is wired connection only, too.

# ? May 29, 2018 23:36

wolrah: May 8, 2006; what?

enraged_camel posted:

I got a SmartThings Hub and it seems to connect directly to the router using a network cable.

Are you kidding me???

It's a thing that basically never needs to move, and unlike something like a doorbell or smart speaker it doesn't need to be placed in specific locations that may not be convenient or practical to wire.

Even if you're one of those WiFi-only people that I don't understand surely wherever your router is located is relatively central, right? Why would it being wireless be a meaningful benefit?

# ? May 30, 2018 01:47

McPhearson: Aug 4, 2007; Hot Damn!

wolrah posted:

It's a thing that basically never needs to move, and unlike something like a doorbell or smart speaker it doesn't need to be placed in specific locations that may not be convenient or practical to wire.

Even if you're one of those WiFi-only people that I don't understand surely wherever your router is located is relatively central, right? Why would it being wireless be a meaningful benefit?

Not only that, it has to have an incredibly reliable connection or else you can't control anything. It would not be good if you cant control any of your lights because your WiFi started acting up. Wired is definitely the way to go with stuff like that.

# ? May 30, 2018 01:57

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

McPhearson posted:

Not only that, it has to have an incredibly reliable connection or else you can't control anything. It would not be good if you cant control any of your lights because your WiFi started acting up. Wired is definitely the way to go with stuff like that.

If my WiFi starts acting up, what�s going to send the commands to the ST hub?

# ? May 30, 2018 02:00

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# ? May 26, 2024 08:31

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

Subjunctive posted:

If my WiFi starts acting up, what�s going to send the commands to the ST hub?

Any zwave/zigbee switch or button or whatever.

# ? May 30, 2018 02:59

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