Hacker News Reader

Comment by codebeaker | Hacker News Reader

I guess it's totally unavoidable, but installing hard power lines (even if it's 12v PoE) for cameras is really a deal-breaker for DIY residential installations in countries with brick and mortar construction techniques.

Anecdotally, I've a Synology NAS and any* IP camera can be hooked up to it, and there are plenty with PoE, etc so what's stopping me having a camera system at home is figuring out how to drill through 60cm thick walls made of three layers of brick, insulation and render without compromising the weather seal of my house... not lack of smart features.

ps. does anyone trust wifi cameras?

(* not quite every camera is supported)

View on HN

Ease of installation matters most. Your current setup is way beyond what most consumers would bother doing on their own

Plugging this camera into a standard AC outlet and connecting to wifi is easier than it's ever been! I'm guessing you can stick it on with a strong sticker, epoxy, or something similarly easy. ADT built a $7B-valued business predicated on how hard this used to be for consumers to do. Maybe in the future these cameras will be cellular connected so no wifi setup needed.

EDIT: I originally said: "Nest is clearly cloning: https://ring.com/spotlight-cam-wired " But Nest launched first, as commenters point out below. HN crowdsourced knowledge based and fact checking FTW :)

EDIT2: original Nest outdoor cameras had a magnetic attach option -- even easier than the sticker/epoxy/etc path I mentioned.

> Ring Video Recording Plans: $30/yr | $100/yr

Aside: Ring seems like a really popular brand in my neighborhood. Can I use my own equipment for recording video from these or does it all get sent back exclusively to Ring HQ?

Unfortunately (at the moment) your only option is to use their recording services.

I don't know if the word cloning would be appropriate. Outdoor security cameras aren't really a new product and the features such as light and two way talk are pretty obvious.

Cloning? Nest has been shipping their basic outdoor camera since 2016 (which itself is not exactly innovative). The Ring device appears to have hit the market two months ago.

Agreed on the point that the deployment is only going to get easier over time.

Most houses around here (EU) don't really have AC power plugs on the outside. Which is what the OP is probably talking about.

If you have a garden, then yes, you absolutely have an AC power on the outside for things like lawnmowers. "Most houses" seems widely inaccurate.

A hammer drill (even a Harbor Freight one will do fine for a one time project) and masonry bit will drill through brick just fine. Put the line through, use raintight fittings, and then seal the hole with caulk. It's definitely not beyond DIY.

It definitely isn't beyond what normal people can do because I did exactly that (even bought a Harbor Freight hammer drill) and I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this kind of thing.

I ended up mounting it too high though. At the time I was a little afraid of somebody stealing or damaging the camera but now I realize I was being stupid.

The Netgear Arlo cameras include a battery so you don't need to run power. You do need to bring your cameras down and charge them once every few months though.

FYI, apparently all those Arlo cameras have a bug where they occasionally don't start recording video until a couple seconds after motion detection. So you basically just end up with a bunch of useless video where the thieves have already left the camera's view.

Been using Arlo cameras for years now. This only happens to me when the camera is misconfigured or the motion is directly toward the camera.

Is running out through your attic and eaves not an option? Assuming you would mount on the under eaves anyway.

This gets to be difficult on 2 (or more) story homes.

Also difficult on homes with vaulted ceilings / finished attics. I have about 6" of clearance between the insulation and the sheathing and zero inside access

How would you install a new service from the outside? Clearly you have some sort of power and data connection, how are those done?

I'm curious and I think it's interesting to see examples from other places.

The camera I installed uses power delivered over the ethernet cable. I had to buy a little POE switch, but it wasn't expensive.

>installing hard power lines (even if it's 12v PoE) for cameras is really a deal-breaker for DIY residential installations

Why?

>with brick and mortar construction techniques

Are there countries where houses are built using paper?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com