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I was recently looking for some security cameras for my house. I was considering Nest, but the fact that they are owned by Google makes me a bit weary, privacy-

I was recently looking for some security cameras for my house. I was considering Nest, but the fact that they are owned by Google makes me a bit weary, privacy-wise. Does anyone have experience with other brands that you might recommend?

slantyyz 8y ago
I recently installed a Ubiquiti Unifi Video system and am happy with the product so far. It is a walled garden, but it was easy to set up and the NVR software is better than most of the others I've tried.
CaptSpify 8y ago
I personally looked around and couldn't find much, so I built my own with a raspberry pi running Motion. It cost ~$100 iirc.
twinge 8y ago
Ubiquiti's cameras are rock solid, both in terms of hardware and software. And if you don't like their software, the cameras provide a raw RTSP feed you can integrate with other open source alternatives. They're not too hard to hack on (official API docs are lacking but their forums are quite vibrant); I've integrated mine with my OpenHab control/display. I've got a couple cameras that have been running outdoors for years in rain, snow, and heat. At this point I'm just waiting for them to die so I can finally upgrade to the latest and greatest models.
- collias 8y ago
  Interesting! I wasn't aware that Ubiquiti even made cameras. I'll check them out. Thanks!
- xoa 8y ago
  This post is late, but I definitely do not recommend Ubiquiti cameras following their decision to go back on their promise (and previous company focus) of having end user flexibility and instead tying their UniFi Protect offering exclusively to their own proprietary cloud key. They made it worse by having a marketer PR guy come in to a thread of the community offering concerns and spouting a bunch of transparently garbage excuses. UniFi Video is basically in maintenance mode at this point and will probably be EOL'd soon, Protect was what everyone was expecting (and has mostly been positioned as) the successor. And nobody objects to the existence of support in "Cloud Keys" (Ubiquiti's own little all in one computer/controller offering, think like a POE raspberry pi type deal) of course. But making something like this exclusive to CKs is a new and extremely unwelcome thing for them, and should be a real red flag even if it's not tied to the cloud.
brownbat 8y ago
I've been using Wyze cameras. They're notable for being very inexpensive but still including high quality cameras. The tech in home security cameras is basically a lens and a cable, usually some software with questionable UI. I'm really skeptical of companies that manage to take that commodity hardware and ask for hundreds of dollars. It's also a field that's still iterating pretty rapidly, so tech that's priced at near disposable levels is extra appealing to me. With most home devices I'm assuming there will be security issues, so the fact the Wyze team is at least transparent when they are working on a vulnerability (and hint at how they prioritize) seems above average to me: https://support.wyzecam.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009314072-Security-Privacy- https://support.wyzecam.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009314072-S...
- Forge36 8y ago
  How is Wyze's compatibility? I was looking at the hardware however I couldn't determine if I could connect it to my NAS. It looks as if ONVIF support isn't high on their priority list (see recent Reddit AMA)
  - fightorflight 8y ago
    It's non-existent. If you consider them disposable cameras with local storage and minimal functionality, they're great for the price. Wyzecam is considering adding 'RTSP' protocol to allow other devices to retrieve the video stream. Doubtful that it will be implemented as it directly impacts their business model. From WyzeCam subreddit: "We want to create an ecosystem of products that work through our app. If people stop using our app, what are we providing (given that we don't make the hardware ourselves)? We don't have a specific plan for subscriptions at this point but we are considering it so that we could provide cloud storage options beyond our baseline. We might enable RTSP (still working on deciding that). We also may add features to our app that would reduce the need for RTSP by making things work through the app itself. It's a bit up in the air right now." [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/comments/973bv8/wyze_cam_feature_requests_2nd_round/ https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/comments/973bv8/wyze_cam_fe...
Forge36 8y ago
I have a Synology NAS (I wanted an always on network backup for 3 PCs) it came with 2 free security camera licenses. The standard I found is ONVIF, my first camera arrives tomorrow (the software looks good, online support looks promising). Depending on features cameras are ~$25-$50 with the heavier duty hardware being ~$100 (there is also commerical grear you could easily spend $500 a camera) Here are the questions I'd ask in making your choice. 1) device storage vs onsite storage vs hosted remote (my dad wants to setup a system, I'm hoping we can share an off-site backup solution) 2) internet required vs CCTV (local lan only) 3) WiFi vs wired vs Power Over Ethernet (I'd prefer wired PoE, but I don't want to run cable at this time, I went wireless, this requires a phone app to setup in my case) 4) fixed camera vs pan/tilt (I'm planning a mixed system, pan/tilt for living room with fixed cameras looking at doors) Obviously this is putting most of the setup/maintenance onto you. If you're comfortable with that and setting up a network I believe this is the most privacy-wise solution as the data should never leave your house
- imglorp 8y ago
  Synology has been getting wierd, also, with privacy. A few updates ago, my private fileserver asked me to agree to a privacy terms of service. I'm considering airgapping it and ending updates.
  - imglorp 8y ago
    I'm providing a source to above claim since it appears someone is skeptical. Reddit thought to take a screenshot. https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/8mdioc/device_analytics_whats_this_and_how_can_i_disable/ https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/8mdioc/device_ana...
- dmckeon 8y ago
  Here’s a resource for research - questions like yours come up about twice a week. NAS/NVR & wired/PoE are the typical suggestions. edit: also, BlueIris software for an NVR https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking+Ubiquiti+homeautomation+homedefense+networking/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking+Ubiquiti+homeautomat...
- 8y ago

slantyyz 8y ago

I recently installed a Ubiquiti Unifi Video system and am happy with the product so far. It is a walled garden, but it was easy to set up and the NVR software is better than most of the others I've tried.

CaptSpify 8y ago

I personally looked around and couldn't find much, so I built my own with a raspberry pi running Motion. It cost ~$100 iirc.

twinge 8y ago

Ubiquiti's cameras are rock solid, both in terms of hardware and software. And if you don't like their software, the cameras provide a raw RTSP feed you can integrate with other open source alternatives. They're not too hard to hack on (official API docs are lacking but their forums are quite vibrant); I've integrated mine with my OpenHab control/display. I've got a couple cameras that have been running outdoors for years in rain, snow, and heat. At this point I'm just waiting for them to die so I can finally upgrade to the latest and greatest models.

collias 8y ago
Interesting! I wasn't aware that Ubiquiti even made cameras. I'll check them out. Thanks!
xoa 8y ago
This post is late, but I definitely do not recommend Ubiquiti cameras following their decision to go back on their promise (and previous company focus) of having end user flexibility and instead tying their UniFi Protect offering exclusively to their own proprietary cloud key. They made it worse by having a marketer PR guy come in to a thread of the community offering concerns and spouting a bunch of transparently garbage excuses. UniFi Video is basically in maintenance mode at this point and will probably be EOL'd soon, Protect was what everyone was expecting (and has mostly been positioned as) the successor. And nobody objects to the existence of support in "Cloud Keys" (Ubiquiti's own little all in one computer/controller offering, think like a POE raspberry pi type deal) of course. But making something like this exclusive to CKs is a new and extremely unwelcome thing for them, and should be a real red flag even if it's not tied to the cloud.

brownbat 8y ago

I've been using Wyze cameras. They're notable for being very inexpensive but still including high quality cameras. The tech in home security cameras is basically a lens and a cable, usually some software with questionable UI. I'm really skeptical of companies that manage to take that commodity hardware and ask for hundreds of dollars. It's also a field that's still iterating pretty rapidly, so tech that's priced at near disposable levels is extra appealing to me. With most home devices I'm assuming there will be security issues, so the fact the Wyze team is at least transparent when they are working on a vulnerability (and hint at how they prioritize) seems above average to me: https://support.wyzecam.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009314072-Security-Privacy- https://support.wyzecam.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009314072-S...

Forge36 8y ago
How is Wyze's compatibility? I was looking at the hardware however I couldn't determine if I could connect it to my NAS. It looks as if ONVIF support isn't high on their priority list (see recent Reddit AMA)
- fightorflight 8y ago
  It's non-existent. If you consider them disposable cameras with local storage and minimal functionality, they're great for the price. Wyzecam is considering adding 'RTSP' protocol to allow other devices to retrieve the video stream. Doubtful that it will be implemented as it directly impacts their business model. From WyzeCam subreddit: "We want to create an ecosystem of products that work through our app. If people stop using our app, what are we providing (given that we don't make the hardware ourselves)? We don't have a specific plan for subscriptions at this point but we are considering it so that we could provide cloud storage options beyond our baseline. We might enable RTSP (still working on deciding that). We also may add features to our app that would reduce the need for RTSP by making things work through the app itself. It's a bit up in the air right now." [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/comments/973bv8/wyze_cam_feature_requests_2nd_round/ https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/comments/973bv8/wyze_cam_fe...

Forge36 8y ago

I have a Synology NAS (I wanted an always on network backup for 3 PCs) it came with 2 free security camera licenses. The standard I found is ONVIF, my first camera arrives tomorrow (the software looks good, online support looks promising). Depending on features cameras are ~$25-$50 with the heavier duty hardware being ~$100 (there is also commerical grear you could easily spend $500 a camera) Here are the questions I'd ask in making your choice. 1) device storage vs onsite storage vs hosted remote (my dad wants to setup a system, I'm hoping we can share an off-site backup solution) 2) internet required vs CCTV (local lan only) 3) WiFi vs wired vs Power Over Ethernet (I'd prefer wired PoE, but I don't want to run cable at this time, I went wireless, this requires a phone app to setup in my case) 4) fixed camera vs pan/tilt (I'm planning a mixed system, pan/tilt for living room with fixed cameras looking at doors) Obviously this is putting most of the setup/maintenance onto you. If you're comfortable with that and setting up a network I believe this is the most privacy-wise solution as the data should never leave your house

imglorp 8y ago
Synology has been getting wierd, also, with privacy. A few updates ago, my private fileserver asked me to agree to a privacy terms of service. I'm considering airgapping it and ending updates.
- imglorp 8y ago
  I'm providing a source to above claim since it appears someone is skeptical. Reddit thought to take a screenshot. https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/8mdioc/device_analytics_whats_this_and_how_can_i_disable/ https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/8mdioc/device_ana...
dmckeon 8y ago
Here’s a resource for research - questions like yours come up about twice a week. NAS/NVR & wired/PoE are the typical suggestions. edit: also, BlueIris software for an NVR https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking+Ubiquiti+homeautomation+homedefense+networking/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking+Ubiquiti+homeautomat...
8y ago