Nest Cams are a BIG SCAM

[jakkuh_t]

Say goodbye to expensive Nest Cam subscriptions with your own DIY WiFi security cameras.

 

 

Buy Raspberry Pi's:
On Amazon: http://geni.us/GV0C
On Newegg: http://geni.us/Xq0M

 

Buy Pi Cameras:
On Amazon: http://geni.us/g15PwOT
On Newegg: http://geni.us/b2FOm4h
 

How to: 

 

[samcool55]

Umm, 2 things.

I can't watch the embedded video (playback has been disabled by the video owner? O_o)

And the link to the guide is broken.

 

But it was actually surprisingly interesting. Can you guys insert a table or something with a breakdown of all the parts and how much they cost? It sounds a lot cheaper than a nest but i have no clue how much it actually costs

[egoon]

1 minute ago, samcool55 said:

Umm, 2 things.

I can't watch the embedded video (playback has been disabled by the video owner? O_o)

And the link to the guide is broken.

 

But it was actually surprisingly interesting. Can you guys insert a table or something with a breakdown of all the parts and how much they cost? It sounds a lot cheaper than a nest but i have no clue how much it actually costs

can confirm both the broken things and the need for a table

[3 Lions]

I know this is kinda off-topic but @LinusTech how did you rip your tee? 

[Razor512]

I currently use a number of IP cameras and record locally to a home server.

 

Best of all, I get more features than paid solutions, and I get better quality since unlike services like nest, I don't have to overly compress the footage.

 

I basically do 24/7 recording at 1080p 30FPS with motion highlights, thus if a motion event takes place but it does not quite catch everything, I can scrub through the footage.

 

Since many NVR applications now offer object detection (e.g., (vitaminD video, sighthound, zone minder, ispy connect, and many others)

 

If I really need cloud storage, I can get more cloud storage for less money though a storage VPS where content can be mirrored to, or you can do the friend/ family swap where you agree to reserve some space on each other's NAS for offsite backups.

 

Best of all, you never have to worry about the company deciding that your camera is now EOL and will no longer have access to the cloud servers, which tends to be very common with cloud reliant devices.

 

(look at skydog router, revolv, original dropcams, vuzone (they extended support for a while longer but the end is coming for it), and many more.

 

When you run your own recording setup, your camera will work at 100% regardless of what happens to the company that made the camera.

 

If you are willing to buy used hardware, you can build an NVR for pretty cheap (on average (before the DRAM price fixing), you could build an NVR and get enough storage for a 4 camera 1080p 30FPS 24/7, 30 day recording for less money than buying 4 nestcams and paying for a year of cloud storage, and your system will continue working for years to come.

 

 

----------

 

Beyond that, if you want a hybrid solution, there are many cheap IP cameras that combine the features of a traditional IP camera, with the cloud functions of something like the next cam, e.g., look at some of the newer amcrest IP cameras. you can do simultaneous local and remote recording using 2 different bit rate streams  to either your home NAS in addition to their cloud service, or your home NAS + a remote host of your choice.

[michielvdm]

13 hours ago, jakkuh_t said:

Say goodbye to expensive Nest Cam subscriptions with your own DIY WiFi security cameras.

 

 

Buy Raspberry Pi's:
On Amazon: http://geni.us/GV0C
On Newegg: http://geni.us/Xq0M

 

Buy Pi Cameras:
On Amazon: http://geni.us/g15PwOT
On Newegg: http://geni.us/b2FOm4h
 

Like already mentioned: the link to the written guide dous not work, I get the following error: 2F173

[General_Led]

Guide link can't be located.

 

Also couple questions that someone might be able to answer. 

1.At 720p 10fps, how much drive space would be consumed every 30 days?

2.Is there anyway to hook a microphone up to individual cameras for some kind of audio playback.

[LukeRulf]

Is there a way, how this approach can be used to create my own dash cam? I mean I get that I need to solve the packaging, but this way I dont need to care about any big camera body on my windshield, instead I would just place the camera module somewhere and run the cables somewhere into my dash.

 

But I wonder how it would work with the cars electrics and the local storage (microSD card most likely).

 

Any thoughts?

[ltguy]

I have some motioneye os pi cam setups but honeslty they aren't worth the trouble. Amazon has plenty of chinese pan tilt zoom audio ir wireless cameras for $40 that arent locked down and can be added to motioneye via rtsp streams. No worries though, plenty of other uses for my pi 3's.

[MinorTom]

7 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

Is there a way, how this approach can be used to create my own dash cam? I mean I get that I need to solve the packaging, but this way I dont need to care about any big camera body on my windshield, instead I would just place the camera module somewhere and run the cables somewhere into my dash.

Yes, although you can't expand the length of the camera wire and it is pretty limited.

7 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

But I wonder how it would work with the cars electrics

You can simply use a 5 volt Phone Charger.

7 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

and the local storage (microSD card most likely).

I don't know how the mentioned OS handles that, but in general it should be possible.

7 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

Any thoughts?

 

[Pixel5]

11 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

But I wonder how it would work with the cars electrics and the local storage (microSD card most likely).

 

Any thoughts?

this is totally possible but there are some things to consider.

 

Cars get insanely hot on the dash so you would have to mount the Pi somewhere out of that heat.

Local storage is possible but you should not store something on the SD card, use a usb stick or something instead because SD cards tend to wear out rather quick.

 

The power is no issue as any standard car phone charger will give you all you need.

[LukeRulf]

1 minute ago, MinorTom said:

Yes, although you can't expand the length of the camera wire and it is pretty limited.

You can simply use a 5 volt Phone Charger.

I don't know how the mentioned OS handles that, but in general it should be possible.

 

For the cable length, on amazon I've found 50cm extensions, so that should be enough..

[LukeRulf]

3 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

this is totally possible but there are some things to consider.

 

Cars get insanely hot on the dash so you would have to mount the Pi somewhere out of that heat.

Local storage is possible but you should not store something on the SD card, use a usb stick or something instead because SD cards tend to wear out rather quick.

 

The power is no issue as any standard car phone charger will give you all you need.

As I said, I would mount it inside the dash, so out of the main heat, maybe close to the vents. Whats the max temp for Pi to work?

 

EDIT: Also, I have limited idea about the data transfer, but aren't USB sticks little limited compared to the SD cards on the write speeds? Would it handle recording 1080 30-40fps?

Edited May 27, 2018 by LukeRulf

[TechyBen]

Nice! I literally actually did see a bird box "Next" camera today. Then Linus releases this? Lol!

[Pixel5]

2 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

As I said, I would mount it inside the dash, so out of the main heat, maybe close to the vents. Whats the max temp for Pi to work?

i dont know about the max temp but my Pi zero W is having some problems at about 70°C at the moment, keep in mind this is all heat is produced on its own while running in a regular room, you would be looking at 40-60°C + the heat the Pi produces.

 

your options to mount the Pi away from the dash are also limited by the camera cable which can get connection issues if its too long.

[MinorTom]

1 minute ago, LukeRulf said:

As I said, I would mount it inside the dash, so out of the main heat, maybe close to the vents. Whats the max temp for Pi to work?

There are no official ratings.

The problem is plastic, the electronics should be fine til 100°C (212°F), plastic only till 50-70°C (122-158°F).

While running: 70-80°C (158-176°F)

2 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

this is totally possible but there are some things to consider.

 

Cars get insanely hot on the dash so you would have to mount the Pi somewhere out of that heat.

Yes, I have forgotten that.

2 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

Local storage is possible but you should not store something on the SD card, use a usb stick or something instead because SD cards tend to wear out rather quick.

USB Sticks are even lower quality. What have I heard: The hierarchy of flash chips, from highest to lowest quality: SSD > SD > USB

2 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

The power is no issue as any standard car phone charger will give you all you need.

 

1 minute ago, LukeRulf said:

For the cable length, on amazon I've found 50cm extensions, so that should be enough..

Didn't know about these, but if it works it works

 

 

[Razor512]

Since the pi zero is rather low profile, would it be possible to just add a small copper shim in order to clear the HDMI port but still make contact with the SOC, and then mount a slightly better cooler, e.g., the NH-D15?

[Pixel5]

1 minute ago, MinorTom said:

USB Sticks are even lower quality. What have I heard: The hierarchy of flash chips, from highest to lowest quality: SSD > SD > USB

 

 

yes but this is not about the quality, the SD card is the boot medium and the whole OS runs on it and caches files to it, now combiner this with video files being written and deleted all day and its setup for disaster.

 

if your write to a USB drive it may also fail at some point but you keep the write operations away from the boot medium.

[LukeRulf]

1 minute ago, Razor512 said:

Since the pi zero is rather low profile, would it be possible to just add a small copper shim in order to clear the HDMI port but still make contact with the SOC, and then mount a slightly better cooler, e.g., the NH-D15?

..next on LTT: Watercooling the Pi! -> New Supercomputer?

[Pixel5]

3 minutes ago, Razor512 said:

Since the pi zero is rather low profile, would it be possible to just add a small copper shim in order to clear the HDMI port but still make contact with the SOC, and then mount a slightly better cooler, e.g., the NH-D15?

the problem with the pi zero is that cooling it is rather ineffective, according to some forum posts the memory chip is mounted on top of the SOC so the cooler would cool the memory which would then cool the SOC that makes it very ineffective.

 

i just ordered some small 30 and 40 mm fans and will to some tests with my Pi zero W cameras once i got them.

[darknessblade]

does anybody know where i can download the STL files??

 

i might be planning to build 1 myself.

and do some modding to improve the STL files.

[Pixel5]

14 minutes ago, LukeRulf said:

As I said, I would mount it inside the dash, so out of the main heat, maybe close to the vents. Whats the max temp for Pi to work?

 

EDIT: Also, I have limited idea about the data transfer, but aren't USB sticks little limited compared to the SD cards on the write speeds? Would it handle recording 1080 30-40fps?

USB 2.0 supports up to 480mbit/s that would be enough for even 4K 30 FPS but keep in mind on the Pi 3 the Network port shares the bandwidth with the USB controller.

[danwat1234]

How many cameras can the Pi 3+ server handle and such and such resolution, bitrate and FPS? Overclock it? Or emulate with an x86 computer?

Very intriguing project, and the nerd in me wants to do it. But keep in mind Ring's cloud storage plan is much cheaper than Nest, at $30 per year per camera or $100 per year unlimited cameras. https://shop.ring.com/pages/protect-plans Downside to Ring is that it seems it highly compresses the image quality so the stored result does not look like HD footage even though the camera has a 1080p sensor.

[AnonymousGuy]

As with most DIY things, the answer is to  go off and buy a China-made solution that costs less and has more features anyways than what you were planning on doing.  There is a metric fuckton of Chinese IPCams that will cost $35 or less and support pan/tilt.

 

Just block the damn things at the router level from accessing the internet and force them to connect thru a local server.

[Pixel5]

9 minutes ago, AnonymousGuy said:

As with most DIY things, the answer is to  go off and buy a China-made solution that costs less and has more features anyways than what you were planning on doing.  There is a metric fuckton of Chinese IPCams that will cost $35 or less and support pan/tilt.

 

Just block the damn things at the router level from accessing the internet and force them to connect thru a local server.

The problem us the Chinese get smarter, there are cameras that change their Mac address to force your router to assign them a new IP and get internet access.

 

I really wouldn't use any of them unless I can totally block it from connecting to somewhere and using my NAS to store the files where I want them