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All Things Smart Home related

ocnbrze

DON'T PANIC!!!!!!!!!
  • May 13, 2010
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    Los Angeles
    hey guys,

    so if you do not know, i just bought a Ring Floodlight camera......and i love it. this was my first purchase into "The Internet of Things".

    i really like the camera and its added sense of security. i am now looking into getting a ring doorbell.

    i was just at Best Buy and they have a smart home section. now what has caught my eye is Google's nest hub thermostat and i was looking for hub that will also work with my floodlight camera. i just learned that Google Hub does not work with ring well. it will not let you watch the video feed from the camera.....so that will not work. Amazon's Alexa has a hub that will work with both Ring and Google's nest thermostat.

    anybody here has them setup at their home?

    i would like to have a simple smart thermostat to control the heat and ac for my house. the nest thermostat looks simple enough to use and i love how you can control the temp and program it to go on and off according to the time of day.

    not sure if i want the lights to be controlled, but that would be cool to do at some point as well.

    thoughts?
     
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    I know this is of no use at all :), but my choice would be to go with a professional who knows/installs/configures/connects compatible devices. Done! That's my method, and it works very well.
    i might hire someone to install the nest thermostat.....but i really have not look into installation. one thing that google promotes is that it is very easy to install and set up....they claim an install time of 5 min.

    right now it is still a thought which may lead to action. and maybe soon would be a good time to get it as it starts to heat up and controlling temp will probably easier then what i have now.
     
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    I think you should really take care of the security of your smart home first. After all, the smarter your house is, the more attractive it is for thieves and scammers. So I suggest you find some modern security system, like ajax. You need such a smart security system, with which you can accurately monitor the entire situation at home, you can view the cameras through the app on your smartphone. I think you should look for something like this on the Internet. I'm sure you can find one for yourself. Good luck!
     
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    I think you should really take care of the security of your smart home first. After all, the smarter your house is, the more attractive it is for thieves and scammers. So I suggest you find some modern security system, like ajax. You need such a smart security system, with which you can accurately monitor the entire situation at home, you can view the cameras through the app on your smartphone. I think you should look for something like this on the Internet. I'm sure you can find one for yourself. Good luck!
    that's all well and done, but i do not see how a security company can protect against someone hacking your network of smart devices. if they can hack those then they should be able to hack into the alarm system as well......just saying.

    no i like my ring floodlight cam. it works really well. i can see the comings and goings of people on or near my property. plus when i'm away, my pitbull mix should scare most intruders away.

    the only things i'm considering adding would be smart bulbs and a smart thermostat. and maybe a 2nd floodlight cam on my backyard....or maybe a smaller ring camera.
     
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    I've tried a bunch of different products and settled on TP-Link since those work without the need of a hub. I tried the Nest with our HVAC system but even when they sent the Nest approved technician out (twice) it just wouldn't work reliably with our unit. We've since upgraded the house HAVC system to a Carrier with their own smart thermostat which works well enough. They've just recently added Google Assistant integration, but I haven't tried that yet.

    I've got several smart bulbs and smart switches as well as a garage door opener (which is a misnomer, because you can only use voice commands to close it :rolleyes: ). And 6 cameras.
     
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    Funny that this thread should pop up again, as I'm contemplating adding some more devices to my system. I have a problem, though.

    ADT tells me that it's impossible to do what I want, i.e., add two more Ring doorbells/cameras. Why? Because of my Internet speed, 70/6. For how we use the Internet in this house, those speeds are perfectly acceptable. But ADT tells me they have to factor in each camera using 2 of my 6 Mbps. They said that they have to consider each camera uploading video to the cloud--continuously, even though that's not how they work! The cameras are motion-activated, and only kick in when something triggers them. The likelihood of ALL THREE cameras kicking in and uploading at exactly the same time are similar to an ice cube's chance in hell. :eek: (The existing doorbell is on my front door; I want to add one to my side door (which opens out to the driveway) and my back door (sliding-glass patio doors). It's almost inconceivable that all three could be triggered at the same time, but they're not allowed to use up all of the allotted speed--even theoretically.)

    They said the only solution is to upgrade my Internet plan. But I don't want to! There's no need for it, other than what ADT says. I want ADT to choose and install and configure everything because of my existing ADT security system--everything needs to work together, and they're the best choice for accomplishing that. Thoughts on what I should do? I really want the cameras but I don't want to upgrade my speed....
     
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    Pretty sure ADT is trying to avoid service calls from you when the thing goes wonk with too much bandwidth usage.

    I agree with your assessment of the devices usage, seems to me it is your house and your money, they should honor your requests, take your money, and everyone has a good day.
    Exactly! At least try it, then if it truly bogs things down and causes problems, THEN I'll upgrade my speed.

    Maybe I'll have @ocnbrze drop by and install them for me. :D He'd do a good job, and we could thumb our respective noses at ADT's limits. :eek:
     
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    ADT tells me that it's impossible to do what I want

    Well, lawyers gonna lawyer. I would guess their hesitancy springs from liability in the event that three unconnected burglars showed up at your doors simultaneously and were able to break in and steal your priceless hand-painted walnut shell collection or some other treasure you have on premises. And, that because of your limited bandwidth, they weren't able to capture the video evidence to validate your insurance claim of $12.6M. You'd obviously then sue ADT for the value as well as pain, suffering and punitive damages totaling $48M, thus bankrupting the company. ;)

    Do you not have an on-premises NVR that captures video locally and then uploads it to ADT servers as bandwidth is available? Knowing Ring (aka Google) they probably don't offer a local network option.
     
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    Well, lawyers gonna lawyer. I would guess their hesitancy springs from liability in the event that three unconnected burglars showed up at your doors simultaneously and were able to break in and steal your priceless hand-painted walnut shell collection or some other treasure you have on premises. And, that because of your limited bandwidth, they weren't able to capture the video evidence to validate your insurance claim of $12.6M. You'd obviously then sue ADT for the value as well as pain, suffering and punitive damages totaling $48M, thus bankrupting the company. ;)
    This cracked me up! Thanks, buddy. :) But....how did you know about my priceless hand-painted walnut shell collection? :thinking:

    Do you not have an on-premises NVR that captures video locally and then uploads it to ADT servers as bandwidth is available? Knowing Ring (aka Google) they probably don't offer a local network option.
    Honestly, I have no idea. When we had the Ring doorbell/camera/door lock installed, they ran over various things about how it works, but I really don't recall much of what they said. It's all available online, like in the various apps, but I haven't done much reading! I just know that when I most recently spoke to an ADT tech, I pointed out that the uploading only happens when the camera is triggered--it's not continuous--but he said it didn't matter, they're not allowed to install more devices than their calculated figure allows. In my case, I could have two, but not three, as they're not allowed to use up ALL of the theoretical bandwidth.
     
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    Exactly! At least try it, then if it truly bogs things down and causes problems, THEN I'll upgrade my speed.

    Maybe I'll have @ocnbrze drop by and install them for me. :D He'd do a good job, and we could thumb our respective noses at ADT's limits. :eek:
    it will cost you a million dollars for the install:cool:

    i ain't doing it for free:p:cool::p:cool:
     
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    I just happened to be browsing Sotheby's auction catalog for the Rothchild estate and saw the private walnut shell collection was sold to an anonymous buyer on the west coast. I knew it had to be you. Who else would be that gulli ... sophisticated? :cool:

    Seriously, many of the home security (as well as home automation) brands require cloud accounts and many only support cloud storage. That's why I didn't go with any of them. I prefer a self-managed, independent option. That way, i am not tied to a vendor but still have cloud options available. I could even include central station triggers that would alert someone if I want that. Honestly, if a burglar breaks in, they can have everything but my dogs. The rest is just stuff. If they break in while I'm home, I promise to notify their next of kin.
     
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    I just happened to be browsing Sotheby's auction catalog for the Rothchild estate and saw the private walnut shell collection was sold to an anonymous buyer on the west coast. I knew it had to be you. Who else would be that gulli ... sophisticated? :cool:
    Ha ha ha ha ha! :D

    Seriously, many of the home security (as well as home automation) brands require cloud accounts and many only support cloud storage. That's why I didn't go with any of them. I prefer a self-managed, independent option. That way, i am not tied to a vendor but still have cloud options available. I could even include central station triggers that would alert someone if I want that. Honestly, if a burglar breaks in, they can have everything but my dogs. The rest is just stuff.
    That's exactly how I feel. Leave my pets safe and take the rest, I don't care.

    If they break in while I'm home, I promise to notify their next of kin.
    :eek: :eek:

    This *previously* gun-free home now has a gun in it. Turns out my live-in helper is quite the expert when it comes to guns and shooting. She grew up surrounded by guns AND the proper knowledge to safely keep and use them. Her father had a *BIG* collection; he died in July, and she's now taken her pick of which guns she wants to keep. The rifles and other handguns are being stored at her brother's house, but we have one revolver here in my house. It's in her room; the bullets are stored separately, since we don't have a gun safe. We've agreed that should a burglar get in, whichever one of us gets to the gun first will aim right.....smack........at his GROIN. :eek: I've always said I wouldn't shoot to kill, just to REALLY make an impression! (I'm not sure a man could do that to another man. :thinking:) I was a really good shot, back in the day. I haven't touched a gun in decades, but I think my aim would still be reasonably good. When I feel up to it, she and I are going to go to her favorite shooting range and do some practice.
     
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    Something to keep in mind... If a threat is detected there really is no good reason to wait until there is an actual confrontation. Most thieves are after goods they can easily liquidate. Not knowing what might be had for the taking at a given residence, they aren't likely to risk a gun wound for whatever. Shoot a hole in your floor. The gun report will most often be unexpected, respected, and send the bad guy scurrying.
    It's easier for most to pull the trigger when it's not pointed at someone. And with a revolver, you most likely have five more rounds for that groin shot if necessary.
     
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