5 ms·

Say Hello to Nest Cam

42 points by rbritton 11y ago

amelius 11y ago
> Nest Cam has a beautiful, completely redesigned stand. I guess that depends on who you ask. I guess most non-technies would just find it ugly. Especially the cord that comes out of it.
MarkCole 11y ago
I'm not sure how useful this would be with regards to break-ins (one of their selling points it seems). Uploading/Streaming 1080p video on a slow to moderate connection? Plenty of time for the thief to unplug and take that nice shiny PC with the video stored, and the nest cam with it.
- roghummal 11y ago
  >Plenty of time for the thief to unplug and take that nice shiny PC with the video stored, and the nest cam with it. That's the awesome part! You don't even need a local PC to store the video. It all gets sent to a remote Secure Server where it gets stored (and is accessible, if you purchase that add-on) and streamed!
  - zeeed 11y ago
    most people I know would find the idea of their living room being streamed to a remote server "creepy" rather than "awesome".
    - roghummal 11y ago
      Me too.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
teh 11y ago
My gut reaction is that I'll be paying money to install my telescreen? I have this slightly panicky feeling that my perception of what's acceptable sharing of private data is so disconnected from current popular sentiment that I'm becoming a bitter outsider. I'm sure it's technically well executed as expected from Google management but I do hope it bombs as a product for (to me) obvious reasons.
- userbinator 11y ago
  It even has a mic. IP cameras in my house recording to in-house server = OK IP cameras uploading data to external "cloud" servers I don't own = do not want
  - ogrisel 11y ago
    We need a startup to build alternatives to nest products in the spirit of what lima [1] is as an alternative to dropbox & google drive. [1] https://meetlima.com/ https://meetlima.com/
    - userbinator 11y ago
      Do we? Nest Cam alternatives already exist - in the form of IP cameras and DVRs. Making it easier to setup one would be a good thing though.
      - soylentcola 11y ago
        I found the software that came with my Synology NAS to be pretty easy to set up. All GUI, does motion detection and recording, etc. The only real roadblock I could see for a tech-averse user would be having to buy the NAS enclosure and some hard drives, put it together, and make sure it's set up securely. Judging from the number of people who run their IP cameras with open ports to the WAN and no/default password, I could see people running into the same issues with a local solution. I think the big issue is that people say "oh cool, I can use this with my iPhone" and then just set up their camera, access it on their phone, and call it a day. They never set anything up or log in on their computer so they never see the "please change your password from the default" message you get on first access. But yeah, a package with one or two IP cameras that work with both wifi and ethernet, a modest NAS already configured with hard drives, and basic security settings in place would be nice. I just wonder how well it would sell since people seem to prefer "pay $200 now and then $10/mo with zero setup" over "pay $500 now and take 20 minutes to set things up".
cromwellian 11y ago
Continuous household video surveillance trips my creep meter. For my door/yard/exterior, yeah, but internally? (The issue of cloud uploads is of concern, but even non-Cloud WebCams have been owned or had backdoors in the past, and your home server could be hijacked -- there are hundreds of YouTube videos of people whose laptop webcams got hacked) I could see it being useful as a baby monitor inside.
yitchelle 11y ago
Do you really need 1080p for detecting that a breakin is in progress? By the way, as a geek, I am more interested in hearing more about the back end detection algorithm. I guess that the linked page is a marketing blub...
- userbinator 11y ago
  No, but the higher resolution is useful for seeing the details of the person doing it, like possibly the face.
  - kukkukb 11y ago
    Enhance!
junto 11y ago
Does it have a local, i.e. 'save to NAS' option? Are there ongoing costs like the Logitech Alert system?
- soylentcola 11y ago
  No and yes. Plenty of "buy once" IP cameras out there in prices ranging from $100 up to $500+ for the fancier Axis cameras and the like. They save to local storage like a NAS or an old PC in the closet running iSpy (and saving to Drive or Dropbox if you want online backups). And most importantly for me: they have no recurring costs other than electricity. I don't want online storage to be the only option because network connectivity drops sometimes. Not too often but more often than I lose power. And I certainly don't want yet another monthly bill. I understand that there are plenty of customers who would rather pay $10-15/mo for something they can just plug in rather than spending $300+ on a NAS or low powered PC. I'm just not one of them.
borplk 11y ago
Say hello to NSA
- roghummal 11y ago
  But the burglars!!!! And bad nannies!!!! And bad housekeepers!!!! And I have nothing to hide!!!!
weavie 11y ago
So I guess Nests servers will become a very interesting hacker target.
- hueving 11y ago
  I think Google's severs already are an interesting target.
iLoch 11y ago
I was half expecting to see a stream of a guy stuck in a cave.
liedra 11y ago
This is creepy as hell. Video saved to the cloud, owned/processed by Google? Yeah nope.
aluhut 11y ago
And there is https://github.com/ccrisan/motionPie https://github.com/ccrisan/motionPie Easy to install Cheap because the hardware you need for that is a RasPi ...and you are in control of your data. I'll stay with that. Even if the picture is not fullHD. I don't need that for the purposes described in the video.
StavrosK 11y ago
This is definitely a product there's a need for, but the creepy component is there for sure. Fortunately, there are cameras that run their own servers, without a cloud component. Plus, it's easy to firewall everything going in/out of their IP and put them behind a reverse proxy. I mean easy for me, not the general public.
- k-mcgrady 11y ago
  What is the need? I can only think of reasons it might be 'nice to have' if someone was giving me it for free - and even then I would think twice. What are the real broad needs it's solving for a lot of people? (serious question)
  - StavrosK 11y ago
    I like to monitor my house and yard when I'm not there, so I can see what's going on, if the dog is fine, if someone's in, etc.
    - k-mcgrady 11y ago
      Interesting but in all the years you haven't been able to monitor it has it been a problem not knowing who is home? Has your dog ever not been fine? It sounds like this product gives you information you want but don't actually need. Kind of one of those things you keep around in case of an emergency situation that never happens (or if it does the product doesn't really make any difference in the outcome).
      - StavrosK 11y ago
        No, but I've never needed to use my backups either.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
progdis 11y ago
You can get two Ubiquiti UniFi micro cameras for that price: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera-micro/ https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera-micro/
- joshu 11y ago
  What do they record to?
  - progdis 11y ago
    There's UniFi NVR for Linux and Windows [1] or you can buy preinstalled pc [2]. Cameras have an SD card slot, but with current firmware it's not used. Might be supported in future [3]. [1] https://www.ubnt.com/download/?group=unifi-nvr https://www.ubnt.com/download/?group=unifi-nvr [2] https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-nvr/ https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-nvr/ [3] https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Video/UVC-camera-sd-card/td-p/1131616 https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Video/UVC-camera-sd-card...
klkvsk 11y ago
$199? Wow. Xiaomi's IP cam costs around $30 and does all the same, except it's 720p.
seivan 11y ago
I'd buy this for my parents. Been looking for a software company that will do something like this instead of all the other crap that's out there. You won't believe the low quality crap my dad has been asking me to take a look at for their house. If people got alternatives (decent software startups/companies), please post them :)
- falkooo 11y ago
  That way my first reaction. My grandparents are very worried because of all the burglaries in their neighborhood. I know that cameras do not add security but they make them feel saver. This camera looks like the first simple solution which stores the records online and dont need any maintenance. If someone got an alternative. Post it please.
- akent 11y ago
  Check out Homeboy - https://www.homeboy.com https://www.homeboy.com - completely cordless (battery powered, rechargeable, lasts up to 3 months on a charge) - not continuously recording video but clip based, armed like a security alarm, video recordings are triggered by infrared motion sensor - intelligent automatic arm/disarm based on smartphone geofences - request a clip capture any time for peace of mind Disclaimer: I work at Homeboy :) We've just made our second batch of cameras so they're ready for shipping very soon!
  - rbritton 11y ago
    Is it indoor-only?
    - akent 11y ago
      For now yes it is indoor-only but we are working on plans for a weather-proof outdoor version.
jonheller 11y ago
Did they fix the issue I heard of where it uploaded those massive files to the cloud with no bandwidth limiting, effectively killing connections with a slower upstream?
santiagobasulto 11y ago
I remember seeing a really similar project a couple of weeks ago and I can't remember the name. Any help?
igravious 11y ago
Having bootstrapped Google seems unwilling to switch to a business model not predicated on storing personal/private user data. What's up with that? This business model _in the long run_ strikes me as untenable. Initially I thought that connecting search terms to ads was a viable model. Bootstrap with that, and sell software and hardware. I hate to say it but I think Apple's model is best. You get software tailored to your platform. Android and ChromeOS should cost a bit of money the same way Windows does. It was better when Apple charged 20/25 dollars or euros because it at least acknowledges that the software costs _something_. Microsoft has started making hardware. Or we should be paying for support. Basically, we should be paying somewhere in the software chain. You know? As software developers we should be encouraging people to not see bits when encoded as information (be they source, binary data (songs, movies), binary code) as free. What we need is an open-source Apple. I've been saying it for a while. You buy a nice piece of hardware (phone, laptop, desktop, server) and you get an open OS with it that works with the hardware out of the box. Crucially it comes with email software (and accounts) that are secure and private and lets you use your own domain. Social media and audio/video/messaging software needs to become federated ASAP. I know we have XMPP, how do we _force_ all comms/messaging platforms to support a minimum XMPP level?
dharma1 11y ago
http://www.mi.com/xiaoyi/param/ http://www.mi.com/xiaoyi/param/ $24 for the night vision edition

42 points by rbritton 11y ago

> Nest Cam has a beautiful, completely redesigned stand. I guess that depends on who you ask. I guess most non-technies would just find it ugly. Especially the cord that comes out of it.

MarkCole 11y ago

I'm not sure how useful this would be with regards to break-ins (one of their selling points it seems). Uploading/Streaming 1080p video on a slow to moderate connection? Plenty of time for the thief to unplug and take that nice shiny PC with the video stored, and the nest cam with it.

roghummal 11y ago
>Plenty of time for the thief to unplug and take that nice shiny PC with the video stored, and the nest cam with it. That's the awesome part! You don't even need a local PC to store the video. It all gets sent to a remote Secure Server where it gets stored (and is accessible, if you purchase that add-on) and streamed!
- zeeed 11y ago
  most people I know would find the idea of their living room being streamed to a remote server "creepy" rather than "awesome".
  - roghummal 11y ago
    Me too.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]

teh 11y ago

My gut reaction is that I'll be paying money to install my telescreen? I have this slightly panicky feeling that my perception of what's acceptable sharing of private data is so disconnected from current popular sentiment that I'm becoming a bitter outsider. I'm sure it's technically well executed as expected from Google management but I do hope it bombs as a product for (to me) obvious reasons.

userbinator 11y ago
It even has a mic. IP cameras in my house recording to in-house server = OK IP cameras uploading data to external "cloud" servers I don't own = do not want
- ogrisel 11y ago
  We need a startup to build alternatives to nest products in the spirit of what lima [1] is as an alternative to dropbox & google drive. [1] https://meetlima.com/ https://meetlima.com/
  - userbinator 11y ago
    Do we? Nest Cam alternatives already exist - in the form of IP cameras and DVRs. Making it easier to setup one would be a good thing though.
    - soylentcola 11y ago
      I found the software that came with my Synology NAS to be pretty easy to set up. All GUI, does motion detection and recording, etc. The only real roadblock I could see for a tech-averse user would be having to buy the NAS enclosure and some hard drives, put it together, and make sure it's set up securely. Judging from the number of people who run their IP cameras with open ports to the WAN and no/default password, I could see people running into the same issues with a local solution. I think the big issue is that people say "oh cool, I can use this with my iPhone" and then just set up their camera, access it on their phone, and call it a day. They never set anything up or log in on their computer so they never see the "please change your password from the default" message you get on first access. But yeah, a package with one or two IP cameras that work with both wifi and ethernet, a modest NAS already configured with hard drives, and basic security settings in place would be nice. I just wonder how well it would sell since people seem to prefer "pay $200 now and then $10/mo with zero setup" over "pay $500 now and take 20 minutes to set things up".

cromwellian 11y ago

Continuous household video surveillance trips my creep meter. For my door/yard/exterior, yeah, but internally? (The issue of cloud uploads is of concern, but even non-Cloud WebCams have been owned or had backdoors in the past, and your home server could be hijacked -- there are hundreds of YouTube videos of people whose laptop webcams got hacked) I could see it being useful as a baby monitor inside.

yitchelle 11y ago

Do you really need 1080p for detecting that a breakin is in progress? By the way, as a geek, I am more interested in hearing more about the back end detection algorithm. I guess that the linked page is a marketing blub...

userbinator 11y ago
No, but the higher resolution is useful for seeing the details of the person doing it, like possibly the face.
- kukkukb 11y ago
  Enhance!

junto 11y ago

Does it have a local, i.e. 'save to NAS' option? Are there ongoing costs like the Logitech Alert system?

soylentcola 11y ago
No and yes. Plenty of "buy once" IP cameras out there in prices ranging from $100 up to $500+ for the fancier Axis cameras and the like. They save to local storage like a NAS or an old PC in the closet running iSpy (and saving to Drive or Dropbox if you want online backups). And most importantly for me: they have no recurring costs other than electricity. I don't want online storage to be the only option because network connectivity drops sometimes. Not too often but more often than I lose power. And I certainly don't want yet another monthly bill. I understand that there are plenty of customers who would rather pay $10-15/mo for something they can just plug in rather than spending $300+ on a NAS or low powered PC. I'm just not one of them.

borplk 11y ago

Say hello to NSA

roghummal 11y ago
But the burglars!!!! And bad nannies!!!! And bad housekeepers!!!! And I have nothing to hide!!!!

weavie 11y ago

So I guess Nests servers will become a very interesting hacker target.

hueving 11y ago
I think Google's severs already are an interesting target.

iLoch 11y ago

I was half expecting to see a stream of a guy stuck in a cave.

liedra 11y ago

This is creepy as hell. Video saved to the cloud, owned/processed by Google? Yeah nope.

aluhut 11y ago

And there is https://github.com/ccrisan/motionPie https://github.com/ccrisan/motionPie Easy to install Cheap because the hardware you need for that is a RasPi ...and you are in control of your data. I'll stay with that. Even if the picture is not fullHD. I don't need that for the purposes described in the video.

StavrosK 11y ago

This is definitely a product there's a need for, but the creepy component is there for sure. Fortunately, there are cameras that run their own servers, without a cloud component. Plus, it's easy to firewall everything going in/out of their IP and put them behind a reverse proxy. I mean easy for me, not the general public.

k-mcgrady 11y ago
What is the need? I can only think of reasons it might be 'nice to have' if someone was giving me it for free - and even then I would think twice. What are the real broad needs it's solving for a lot of people? (serious question)
- StavrosK 11y ago
  I like to monitor my house and yard when I'm not there, so I can see what's going on, if the dog is fine, if someone's in, etc.
  - k-mcgrady 11y ago
    Interesting but in all the years you haven't been able to monitor it has it been a problem not knowing who is home? Has your dog ever not been fine? It sounds like this product gives you information you want but don't actually need. Kind of one of those things you keep around in case of an emergency situation that never happens (or if it does the product doesn't really make any difference in the outcome).
    - StavrosK 11y ago
      No, but I've never needed to use my backups either.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

progdis 11y ago

You can get two Ubiquiti UniFi micro cameras for that price: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera-micro/ https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera-micro/

joshu 11y ago
What do they record to?
- progdis 11y ago
  There's UniFi NVR for Linux and Windows [1] or you can buy preinstalled pc [2]. Cameras have an SD card slot, but with current firmware it's not used. Might be supported in future [3]. [1] https://www.ubnt.com/download/?group=unifi-nvr https://www.ubnt.com/download/?group=unifi-nvr [2] https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-nvr/ https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-nvr/ [3] https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Video/UVC-camera-sd-card/td-p/1131616 https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Video/UVC-camera-sd-card...

klkvsk 11y ago

$199? Wow. Xiaomi's IP cam costs around $30 and does all the same, except it's 720p.

seivan 11y ago

I'd buy this for my parents. Been looking for a software company that will do something like this instead of all the other crap that's out there. You won't believe the low quality crap my dad has been asking me to take a look at for their house. If people got alternatives (decent software startups/companies), please post them :)

falkooo 11y ago
That way my first reaction. My grandparents are very worried because of all the burglaries in their neighborhood. I know that cameras do not add security but they make them feel saver. This camera looks like the first simple solution which stores the records online and dont need any maintenance. If someone got an alternative. Post it please.
akent 11y ago
Check out Homeboy - https://www.homeboy.com https://www.homeboy.com - completely cordless (battery powered, rechargeable, lasts up to 3 months on a charge) - not continuously recording video but clip based, armed like a security alarm, video recordings are triggered by infrared motion sensor - intelligent automatic arm/disarm based on smartphone geofences - request a clip capture any time for peace of mind Disclaimer: I work at Homeboy :) We've just made our second batch of cameras so they're ready for shipping very soon!
- rbritton 11y ago
  Is it indoor-only?
  - akent 11y ago
    For now yes it is indoor-only but we are working on plans for a weather-proof outdoor version.

jonheller 11y ago

Did they fix the issue I heard of where it uploaded those massive files to the cloud with no bandwidth limiting, effectively killing connections with a slower upstream?

santiagobasulto 11y ago

I remember seeing a really similar project a couple of weeks ago and I can't remember the name. Any help?

igravious 11y ago

Having bootstrapped Google seems unwilling to switch to a business model not predicated on storing personal/private user data. What's up with that? This business model _in the long run_ strikes me as untenable. Initially I thought that connecting search terms to ads was a viable model. Bootstrap with that, and sell software and hardware. I hate to say it but I think Apple's model is best. You get software tailored to your platform. Android and ChromeOS should cost a bit of money the same way Windows does. It was better when Apple charged 20/25 dollars or euros because it at least acknowledges that the software costs _something_. Microsoft has started making hardware. Or we should be paying for support. Basically, we should be paying somewhere in the software chain. You know? As software developers we should be encouraging people to not see bits when encoded as information (be they source, binary data (songs, movies), binary code) as free. What we need is an open-source Apple. I've been saying it for a while. You buy a nice piece of hardware (phone, laptop, desktop, server) and you get an open OS with it that works with the hardware out of the box. Crucially it comes with email software (and accounts) that are secure and private and lets you use your own domain. Social media and audio/video/messaging software needs to become federated ASAP. I know we have XMPP, how do we _force_ all comms/messaging platforms to support a minimum XMPP level?

dharma1 11y ago

http://www.mi.com/xiaoyi/param/ http://www.mi.com/xiaoyi/param/ $24 for the night vision edition