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What does MT.net know about DIY Home Automation/Security Systems?
I'm looking more at Smart Hub solutions, Vera/Hubitat/etc, vs Nest/Ring/Simplisafe. No one manufacturer seems to have it "all." Well Nest/Ring are close, but there sensors/cameras/etc are HORIFFICALY expensive..............ADT levels of expensive. I've been wanting to do this for the 3 years since I bought this house, but haven't messed with it, so now I'm really digging into the research side of it so I can see the options, pro's and con's for different systems, etc.
About 6 weeks ago, my lady left for work and didn't realize the garage door didn't close. My "home office" is on the other side of the house so I had no idea it didn't either. Afternoon, I went to get a glass of water and noticed a lot more street noise, opened the door to the garage and noticed it was open. Closed it and didn't think anything of it. That weekend she asked "Hey, where is your toolbox?" Well it wasn't where it usually was. Got most of the tools I had in the garage, and two 80V batteries for the lawn equipment and both chargers. I figure the ******* got me for about $1600-1700 worth of stuff.
$2k deductible for any loss, so no point in putting a claim* on my record that will not get paid out.
* - Yes, if you make a claim on your HO policy, covered or not, it shows on your record and they will use it against you in the future. - Ex-State Farm claim rep.
If you're a privacy advocate, I know Ring owns all of the footage recorded by the device, despite the fact that you paid for it and it's on your property. They have and will provide footage to LEOs without informing you.
If you're a privacy advocate, I know Ring owns all of the footage recorded by the device, despite the fact that you paid for it and it's on your property. They have and will provide footage to LEOs without informing you.
Yeah, I forgot to point that out in my OP. Ring/Nest both have very serious privacy concerns. So I'm not looking to use any of their products.
For cheap, indoor motion/door/window sensors and indoor cameras, I was pretty happy with the Wyze bits I bought. Local SD backup for the video side, and the app works well, but it's cheap because it's a shenzen special so can't exactly be too certain about allll the data. A pihole might fix that though.
I use the Wyze cameras, without all the other stuff. If you don't use their cloud storage, it's cheap and works reasonably well. The cats tend to set it off pretty regularly, so I turned off notifications during the day.
BTW, in a semi-protected location (under eaves, porch, etc.) they are perfectly fine outside. At 20 bucks a pop, they are cheap and easy.
We've gone full-on Google/Nest in our house and it's all been rock-solid for a few years now. Bear in mind that there is a lot of cross-compatibility with this stuff - you can get most "smart" systems to work with each other. The only thing we don't have connected to our "smart home" is the CCTV which is handled as an isolated system.
As an example of cross-compatibility, in our old house we used to have a LogiCircle CCTV setup with three cameras. All we had to do to get it running as part of the "smart home" was to link the account into the Google Home app.
For a smart hub, I used to be big on SmartThings until the last few months when they decided to shake everything up and a "migration" to new SmartThings was necessary. I've since switched to Hubitat. While the UI isn't as clean as what ST was, having all local control is super nice. I have garage doors and door locks on it as well as lights and door/window sensors. Set up presence detection so if everyone leaves, things can be shut/locked automatically or just send a notification to your phone.
Camera system is isolated from everything else but can be tied into Hubitat if I wanted to. I run a SFF Windows PC with BlueIris software, having the PC dual NIC'd means the camera network is on a network but I can still remote onto the PC if needed. Example of tying Hubitat and BI together: automation of "If back gate opens while everyone away, trigger BI to send email with images from back gate camera".
I purchased some cameras from Amazon by the brand Zummimal. They were cheap. Around 90 a camera. Wireless, HD resolution with decent night vision. They all have slots for SD cards. So far they have been pretty good. Motion detection leaves a bit to be desired but if they are angled right it picks up a person right away. They also have an intercom feature.
The cameras use an app called Cloudedge. I can add users to the cameras easily. The cameras have a decent battery life. I have had one for 6 months and still haven't had to recharge it.
We've gone full-on Google/Nest in our house and it's all been rock-solid for a few years now. Bear in mind that there is a lot of cross-compatibility with this stuff - you can get most "smart" systems to work with each other. The only thing we don't have connected to our "smart home" is the CCTV which is handled as an isolated system.
As an example of cross-compatibility, in our old house we used to have a LogiCircle CCTV setup with three cameras. All we had to do to get it running as part of the "smart home" was to link the account into the Google Home app.
Yeah, but as I mentioned. Nest is CRAZY expensive and they have serious privacy concerns just like Ring does.
Originally Posted by zellers88
For a smart hub, I used to be big on SmartThings until the last few months when they decided to shake everything up and a "migration" to new SmartThings was necessary. I've since switched to Hubitat. While the UI isn't as clean as what ST was, having all local control is super nice. I have garage doors and door locks on it as well as lights and door/window sensors. Set up presence detection so if everyone leaves, things can be shut/locked automatically or just send a notification to your phone.
Camera system is isolated from everything else but can be tied into Hubitat if I wanted to. I run a SFF Windows PC with BlueIris software, having the PC dual NIC'd means the camera network is on a network but I can still remote onto the PC if needed. Example of tying Hubitat and BI together: automation of "If back gate opens while everyone away, trigger BI to send email with images from back gate camera".
Good to know. I've read the same thing about Hubitat having a steep learning curve, but also being very powerful once you figure it out. For exactly the reasons you just mentioned.
Lol If you think nest is expensive. Look into ubiquitys unify system. It's all top tier stuff that doesn't require a subscription.
From a quick glance, overkill doesn't even begin to explain how unnecessary this is in the context I'm talking about.
"Hey guys, I need a some tools so I can do basic maintenance on my main vehicle. I'm trying to keep it reasonable, any suggestion on which of the mechanics tool sets I should buy?"
"LOL if you think that's expensive, check out a full 84" wide box and setup from Snap-On."
While factually true, it's not even remotely relevant to the question asked.
Location: Detroit (the part with no rules or laws)
Posts: 5,680
Total Cats: 804
So, almost all CCTV systems suck. I've found this out through building multiple systems, i've come to regret spending the extra money for UniFy gear. Software is the biggest limitation.
Subscriptions suck. And keeping your video on the cloud is not something i would ever even consider. AT ALL.
What i've been doing at work, and what i have at home is the Q-See system. 16 channel DVR with 8 3mp cameras was about $1200. I've had an old Defender system before, it was decent.
It's hard to find GOOD systems online. They're all kind of "entry level" but it's not what people are buying / it's not what retailers are pushing. And software is always sub par.
What doesn't it have? Don't know, I'll have to check it out as I hadn't run across this brand yet. But I was talking about having door/window sensors, something to monitor if the garage door was left open, a few smart locks on the doors, thermostat, and some cameras that I can all control through the same App/Interface.
I'm not really worried about a company having access to camera data. There will be none inside the house. Just a few outside to watch the backyard/garage door, front door, down the other side of the house on the opposing street (I'm on a corner lot).
Location: Detroit (the part with no rules or laws)
Posts: 5,680
Total Cats: 804
You can use the cameras to trigger via motion. You can "lock" out certain areas to not trigger if there is motion in those zones. When the cameras trigger you get a notification(phone app). But again, this is all limited by the software. And this is just for the CCTV
This might be what you're looking for.
Edit* i have no idea how well this works, what the software is like, pros / cons, quirks and features. Something for you to chew through.
You can use the cameras to trigger via motion. You can "lock" out certain areas to not trigger if there is motion in those zones. When the cameras trigger you get a notification(phone app). But again, this is all limited by the software. And this is just for the CCTV
This might be what you're looking for.
Edit* i have no idea how well this works, what the software is like, pros / cons, quirks and features. Something for you to chew through.
Yeah, that's the type of thing I'm looking at. Comparing the different smarthubs now. It looks like Hubitat is the mt.net/MS style one. Steep learning curve, but lots of controllability, interfaces with all the current standards, except for Google's proprietary Thread interface.
I have Ubiquiti Unifi equipment. Both their camera and networking equipment. I absolutely love them. The big driving factor for me was their PoE capable equipment and speaker/microphone options. In my opinion, their stuff is reasonably priced for what they can do. I have the option of owning my own data and running their services locally on my own server.
here appears to be integration with Home Assistant but I personally don't have experience with that.
Here is what my setup looks like, the house is a mess as an 11-month-old will do that to you. I also need to adjust my backyard camera as it pointed too much at the house and the inferred reflects too much off the siding. For now, the inferred is off.
My house came with a HIKVision system (6 HD cameras, DVR) already installed by the previous owners. After downloading the manuals, I found that you can stream the cameras to your phone for free. Seems really good except that spiders keep building webs across three of the cameras so I can't see anything useful at night.
10-09-2020, 11:08 AM
What does MT.net know about DIY Home Automation/Security Systems?
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