Home automation

[Murf'n'surf]

Looks small. We have lotsa family and friends. Looking to upgrade to the double oven.

Yeah it’s no double oven but very smart

 

[AlphaKap]

I'm really liking this Ring doorbell i just put in. Caught the kids sneaking out one night. Then they got smart and went out the back so going to get the ring camera/light for the back of the house.

 

[Gym]

Has anyone used the Smart Switches by Martin Jerry on Amazon? Seems like a cost effective solution with no hub needed. Lots of good reviews

You can also go with Wemo or Kasa smart switches and outlets. No hub is required on either. Wemo also just came out with a 3 way smart switch. I've been using both products for a couple of years.

 

[Julian]

Very happy with our Ring Floodlight/camera

Are you still happy with your ring camera?

I'm considering getting a few.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Are you still happy with your ring camera?

I'm considering getting a few.

I put a few Ring Spotlights up and they work great with one exception. The wifi reception completely sucks if you have a concrete building. I had to place multiple wifi access points in the attic to get them to work. Its just silly that they don't have an rj45 port on these to hard wire them considering you have to run high voltage to them anyway.

 

[Julian]

I put a few Ring Spotlights up and they work great with one exception. The wifi reception completely sucks if you have a concrete building. I had to place multiple wifi access points in the attic to get them to work. Its just silly that they don't have an rj45 port on these to hard wire them considering you have to run high voltage to them anyway.

I would hope that my kickass Google Mesh Wifi would handle them without any issue! Do they have any local storage too or is it all cloud?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I would hope that my kickass Google Mesh Wifi would handle them without any issue! Do they have any local storage too or is it all cloud?

It is all cloud storage for the motion detection clips.

 

[Dean P]

I use Nest. Have 3 of them; 1 for viewing indoor looking at the front door, 1 looking thru front window (indoor) and 1 (indoor) looking at the backdoor and where I can see outside (stare at the boat) . Work pretty good.

 

[Julian]

I use Nest. Have 3 of them; 1 for viewing indoor looking at the front door, 1 looking thru front window (indoor) and 1 (indoor) looking at the backdoor and where I can see outside (stare at the boat) . Work pretty good.

I looked at Nest, but the outdoor cameras from Ring seem to be a lot more practical. Not sure I'd use the talk back feature, but who knows. I'm probably looking at getting 2 doorbell cameras and one floodlight camera to start off with.

I have a wired 16 camera security camera system, but 2 cameras recently went offline and I suspect critters have chewed the wires.....so I'm looking at wireless now.

Anyone with Ring use it on something other than a phone or tablet or Alexa type devices? IE--specifically do they have apps for smart TVs?

 

[JetPowered]

I’d stay away from Nest unless you are already invested into the ecosystem. Nest/Google has shut down their API that lets you connect into the nest devices from a third party integration from other software like Home Assistant.

 

[JetPowered]

Ring is supposed to integrate with FireTv devices to show the video output but I’ve never tested it. It does work on an Echo Dot.

 

[Dean P]

I’d stay away from Nest unless you are already invested into the ecosystem. Nest/Google has shut down their API that lets you connect into the nest devices from a third party integration from other software like Home Assistant.

I'm curious. What advantages do you gain from Home Assistance that you don't have using their app?

 

[JetPowered]

First not a Nest user, so my warning is more of a general warning to those looking to buy. By eliminating the API for the Works with Nest program, they are breaking all kinds of integrations like Crestron, Control4, Alexa skill (!), etc. Sure it still works in app, but now you might be largely locked into only that app. My goal is to always be able to view or interact with any device outside of it's "Walled Garden". Maybe I want to view the Nest camera feed next to a ring doorbell or a generic RTSP camera feed from a hardwired HikVision camera.

I have always tried to build my network to be platform/protocol agnostic. By this I mean HomeKit (Siri) and Alexa compatible. My goal is HomeKit since I primary use Apple products with a handful of Alexa devices built in. I have no interest in Google Home compatibility but most devices that support Alexa support Google Home.

Automation is always the big goal. I can do some automation in Homekit, some in Alexa, and some directly in the device or device bridge like Hue Lighting or Lutron RadioRA2 lighting, both of which I have. But all of these systems don't directly talk to each other. Using a home automation bridge like Home Assistant is allowing me to do a few different things:

Make HomeKit only devices available to Alexa for voice command control
Make non-homekit devices available to Siri for voice Homekit control and to build automations
To allow me to Dashboard all devices on a webpage that I can control from a PC!
Allow me to control my Hue lights using a physical button on my Lutron lighting keypad.
Setting a sonos station for the patio turns on the pool fountains.
Etc.

One of my goals is to get my Ring Pro doorbell into my HomeKit feed so I can view the video from there instead of just in the Ring app (which doesn't always work well). That way I can view it next to my Logitech Circle2 camera.

I'm pretty new to Home Assistant so I'm still just playing with it but I'm liking what I can do.

 

[Julian]

My finger is twitching next to an order for 2 Ring doorbells as they are on sale until the 9th.....

 

[mark_m]

My finger is twitching next to an order for 2 Ring doorbells as they are on sale until the 9th.....

Love the ring pro (wired) I bought a couple of motion cameras on prime day to look after the garage with the wife’s ‘75 vette and the beer fridge. (We have a freshman high school son.) The other for the slider in the back of the house. I didn’t want to deal with drilling and mounting a second ring in back.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

My finger is twitching next to an order for 2 Ring doorbells as they are on sale until the 9th.....

Which ring are you looking at? I might be able to get you better price through my security trade supplier.\

 

[Julian]

Which ring are you looking at? I might be able to get you better price through my security trade supplier.\

I'm looking at the Video Doorbell Pro - on sale for $169.
Also looking at the Ring Floodlight Cam - but not ready to part with $249 for that puppy yet. Have to assume that will come down in price....perhaps black Friday sale?

 

[mark_m]

I'm looking at the Video Doorbell Pro - on sale for $169.
Also looking at the Ring Floodlight Cam - but not ready to part with $249 for that puppy yet. Have to assume that will come down in price....perhaps black Friday sale?

I have the pro, it’s nice because it has a slimmer profile and it connects straight up to the existing hardwired bell wires.

 

[Seadoo challenger 180]

Are you aware and accepting of your automated home’s digital emissions?What your smart devices know (and share) about you

 

[Glen]

Are you still happy with your ring camera?

I'm considering getting a few.

Very happy-
We have. “Floodlight Cam” over our garage door, that simply replaced the simple flood light.

Also added a “Ring Chime Pro” that both extended our WiFi to the driveway & allowed a audible chime when movement detected on driveway. (Blindspot to our home.).