Stacey on IoT | Internet of Things news and analysis

Internet of Things

  • Home
  • Analysis
  • Startups
  • How-To
  • News
  • Podcast
  • About
  • Speaking
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

What local alternatives are there to cloud-based Nest Cams?

September 18, 2021 by Kevin C. Tofel 1 Comment

On our most recent IoT Podcast episode, Paul called in with a question about his smart home. He currently uses indoor Nest Cams pointing outside, along with Ubiquiti UniFi routers and they work fine, as expected. However, he’s thinking about replacing his Nest Cams with different devices so that he can keep his video files locally instead of relying on the cloud. Paul also has video server capabilities with his UniFi system and another video storage appliance from Synology, although he’s never used either of those.

Stacey thinks there’s another local video storage option to consider here. It’s called Camect and it aggregates local webcam video feeds much like the options Paul is considering. However, Camect adds Artificial Intelligence for package delivery detection, animals, people, and other objects. This is worth considering because if Paul’s Nest Cams go away, so too could Google’s AI for these detection types.

Image courtesy Camect

Camect offers continuous recording, local storage, and those nifty AI features. Although Camect recommends certain cameras in its store, it works with any webcam that supports either the Onvif or RTSP network control protocols. It’s also worth noting that Nest Cams do have developer support for RTSP video, so it’s possible that Paul could keep using his current webcams but use them with a local storage solution like Camect, such as his existing UniFi, or Synology video appliance.

Paul could always opt for Ubiquity UniFi webcams and use the UniFi system he already has. These aren’t cheap, ranging from $79 to $449,  but they’ll surely be compatible with his existing router and storage hardware.

Image credit Ubiquity

Since I’m concerned that Paul could lose some smart home integrations if he does ditch the Nest Cams, I have one more low-cost option. In fact, I’ve used it myself: WyzeCams.

These would only cost $30 each, plus shipping to purchase, so there isn’t a large investment required. And, each of these can be equipped with a microSD card for local video storage. Rather than aggregating the video feeds on a single server, these would be viewable within the Wyze app. That may not be ideal, but the cameras are compatible with Amazon Alexa and IFTTT, in case that’s important.

To hear Paul’s question in full, along with our discussion on the topic, tune in to the IoT Podcast below:

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Featured, How-To Tagged With: Camect, cloud services, local storage, Nest Cam, RTSP, smart home, smart home video, Synology, Ubiquity, UniFi, webcams

Sponsors



Become a sponsor

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Comments

  1. Steve says

    September 19, 2021 at 4:58 am

    We’ve used Ubiquiti UniFi for a few years now and love the universal WiFi coverage. Recently, in response to the lack of 4k in the new Nest range, we installed a G4-Pro camera. Compared with our existing Nest Cam Iq Outdoor, the G4-Pro is miles better. Color saturation is spot on, responsiveness is very fast, it’s accessible from but not dependent on the Internet.

    In summary, if you have or are planning a UniFi network then the Ubiquiti Protect range is an excellent choice. It’s high quality, high functionality at a cost-effective price.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

IoT Podcast

Listen to the latest episode of the Internet of Things Podcast. Just press play!

Sponsors

Become a sponsor







Get Stacey’s free weekly Internet of Things newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Comments

  • YYTT on So long, and thanks for all the insights
  • Stacey Higginbotham on Matter is now official!
  • Kevin Wirick on Matter is now official!
  • John on Episode 437: Goodbye and good luck

Stacey on Twitter

Tweets by gigastacey
Copyright © 2023 SKT Labs, LLC · Privacy Policy