"cloud"less ip cameras?

[mechanicalfluff]

Not too sure where to post this, but it kinda seems like a home theater thing.

been messing around with a webcam in motioneye and a raspberry pi, it's pretty neat. But after looking for actual cameras to use wirelessly 80% of them say they need a subscription or offer "cloud" storage (last thing i want someone to have for "security"). Also, i don't really want to end up buying something that just didn't say you need a 'hub' or subscription until you get it

 

Wish i could use the wyze cams or similar to flash new firmware, but they're not weatherproof/resistant.
Anyone have any suggestions? Been down that road too?

 

[dj_ripcord]

What you would probably be looking for is a basic, run of the mill (probably Chinese) wireless IP cam. All these name brand companies want to 'improve the user experience' by forcing them to be used with the cloud. Doing this, they can 1. make money from the cost of a subscription, and 2. give the user features that they would have to know how to set up on their own in order to use.

 

So, with that said, just be aware that if you want things like remote-viewing capabilities and recording, you need to set up your own NVR at your home.

 

I personally have used this camera.

 

It used to be the cheapest PTZ wifi IP camera on the market, not sure if it is now. But the built-in software is kinda limited. There is a hacked firmware buy the name of Dafeng Hacks that really opens it up to do whatever you want. Gives it things like ONVIF and an HTTP server.

 

It's 1080, has night vision, and really looks no different than a standard NEST cam. AND it has PTZ.

 

Edit: just read the part about weatherproofness. There's plenty of options on Ebay, take a look around!

[tylerjd]

Ubiquiti's line of cameras don't require a cloud setup to work, only a server under your control and their software. https://www.ui.com/products/#unifivideo

While they advertise a "hybrid cloud" setup, the feature that lets you stream using their website has to be specifically enabled (I double checked the documentation before recommending them). Otherwise, it just uses their controller software which is a Java based server that you install on a Windows desktop or Linux server

[mechanicalfluff]

2 minutes ago, dj_ripcord said:

What you would probably be looking for is a basic, run of the mill (probably Chinese) wireless IP cam. All these name brand companies want to 'improve the user experience' by forcing them to be used with the cloud. Doing this, they can 1. make money from the cost of a subscription, and 2. give the user features that they would have to know how to set up on their own in order to use.

 

So, with that said, just be aware that if you want things like remote-viewing capabilities and recording, you need to set up your own NVR at your home.

 

I personally have used this camera.

 

It used to be the cheapest PTZ wifi IP camera on the market, not sure if it is now. But the built-in software is kinda limited. There is a hacked firmware buy the name of Dafeng Hacks that really opens it up to do whatever you want. Gives it things like ONVIF and an HTTP server.

 

It's 1080, has night vision, and really looks no different than a standard NEST cam. AND it has PTZ.

I was figuring that the chinese cams would be where i was headed - i like that camera you used, but it's not outdoor friendly (currently well below freezing here). But if i could find a water/freeze resistant version, that might be the way i go for sure.

I'm just going to run motioneye or something similar in unraid with it's own vlan. If i really needed to watch it i could vpn into it. More of a case of people running my mailbox over and walking in my yard in the snow  -- been costing me a fortune

 

Very good writeup btw, thank you  

[mechanicalfluff]

1 minute ago, tylerjd said:

Ubiquiti's line of cameras don't require a cloud setup to work, only a server under your control and their software. https://www.ui.com/products/#unifivideo

While they advertise a "hybrid cloud" setup, the feature that lets you stream using their website has to be specifically enabled (I double checked the documentation before recommending them). Otherwise, it just uses their controller software which is a Java based server that you install on a Windows desktop or Linux server

i'd really like to do that, but that's a whole lot of money for a camera. I love the way ubiquiti does their stuff, if it were affordable they could totally destroy the mainstream netgear/belkin area