Video summary
The video addresses a viewer's inquiry regarding outdoor security cameras that function without mandatory subscription fees, specifically focusing on compatibility with Apple HomeKit or Homebridge. The host highlights the Ubiquiti (UI) ecosystem as a primary recommendation for those seeking local storage and control. In his personal setup, he utilizes a UI Solo Cam in Florida connected to a Home Base unit that resides inside his living room, which records all footage locally to a hard drive rather than relying on cloud services. This approach ensures that video data remains accessible indefinitely unless manually deleted, offering a cost-effective solution where users pay for the hardware once and retain ownership of their recordings forever. Additionally, he employs a solar-powered UI camera in the same location, which maintains continuous power while connecting via Wi-Fi to the central recording box, demonstrating a flexible setup that can adapt to various power needs.
When discussing specific brands and models, the host notes his positive experiences with Ubiquiti cameras, which offer advanced features like RTSP endpoints for integration with third-party systems such as Synology Surveillance Station. He contrasts this with Ring cameras, acknowledging their reliability but pointing out their heavy reliance on subscription services for full functionality, particularly regarding historical video playback. While Ring devices can be made visible in HomeKit through Homebridge, the host clarifies that recording capabilities are limited within that bridge setup. For users strictly wanting to leverage Apple's iCloud Plus storage instead of local drives, he mentions that Ubiquiti cameras do support this option, allowing users to choose between streaming only or streaming with recording to either a local device or the cloud, providing flexibility based on individual preferences for data privacy and storage location.
Power options for these devices are also explored, with the host explaining that doorbell cameras can be either wired or battery-operated depending on the installation site. His experience shows that while his New Hampshire doorbell is hardwired, the Florida unit runs on batteries, providing over three months of operation per charge. The conversation expands to include other HomeKit-compatible outdoor options like Eve (formerly Elgato) cameras, though these typically require iCloud Plus for storage, keeping data in Apple's cloud rather than locally. The host emphasizes that while many brands exist, he has primarily tested and validated Ubiquiti and Ring, suggesting that the community should share experiences with other models to broaden the list of reliable, non-subscription alternatives.
Ultimately, the video concludes with a strong advocacy for local storage solutions and the use of open-source or locally accessible platforms like Home Assistant to avoid vendor lock-in and cloud dependencies. The host shares his personal journey of migrating smart home devices from manufacturer apps and Homebridge to Home Assistant, citing its superior scripting capabilities and direct device communication that eliminates internet latency. He illustrates this with an example of a mosquito protection system, where he successfully integrated the device into Home Assistant to create custom automations, such as automatically turning off the device after four hours, which was not possible with the manufacturer's app alone. This shift underscores the video's main conclusion: for maximum flexibility, privacy, and control over security footage, setting up a local recording system with compatible hardware like Ubiquiti is the most robust strategy for avoiding subscriptions.
Read the full video transcript
Howdy from Texas. Love it. Uh, I was
wondering if you could provide some
information on outdoor security cameras.
What brands, models do you recommend? I
don't want a subscription system. I
would like something that's HomeKit
compatible or compatible via Homebridge.
I'm also interested in your recommend
recommended setup, solar, wired, etc. Do
you save video to a local drive? Is it
worth doing that? Have a great show,
Mike.
Uh, you want me to take this one, Pete?
You want to take it?
>> Um, well, I can I can start. Yeah. So,
I've got a Yui Solo Cam, which is Wi-Fi,
and I I did not look it up beforehand.
There's a It comes with a box that's uh
about the size of um
a bag of chips. And uh it it lives
inside this. This is it in my place in
Florida. And I have the UI doorbell cam
here in New Hampshire, but in Florida,
I've got a UI doorbell. And in the back,
I have a solar camera that stays because
of the solar, it stays powered all the
time, but it connects Wi-Fi to a box
that sits underneath the television in
my living room and records all the video
and sends me notifications. So, I can
and I can go live or I can get
notifications when people wander through
my carport. Uh, usually it's the guys
doing the the mowing and that sort of
thing, but every now and then we
actually had people set up a photo shoot
in my carport one time and watch the
entire thing. But uh, the beauty of it
is no subscription. You you pay for it
once and uh, and you get it forever and
that and that video uh, stays. It's it's
there on that box in my living room
until I go back and delete it. Uh, and
that's the UI solar powered. I'll I'll
look that up while while you talk about
what you have, Dave.
>> Yeah. Well, it's it it what you're
talking about is the Yuthi Home Base. Um
>> Home Base. Thank you. Yes, sir.
>> Yep. And there there have been different
models of it over the years. I I too
have had great luck have great luck with
the Yui cameras. Um they do also allow
you to turn on, if you want to get
nerdy, the RTSP endpoint on it. So you
could point your uh like Synology
surveillance station at it which is you
know yet another thing that you can run
locally and keep all your data there. Um
I I you know in terms of your question
Mike it like I don't have a lot of
hands-on experience with different
models. I haven't reviewed a ton of
them. I like like I've said I've got the
Yuthi ones. I also have several Ring
cameras. mostly the ring cameras that
are attached to like flood lights and
those are fine too. Um they're a little
less flexible than they are very
subscriptionoriented
is maybe the right way to say it. Uh you
can you can get around that to a degree.
Um certainly without a subscription you
can see your camera live if you want to
see previous things. That's where a
subscription comes into play. Again,
unless you're like, you know, streaming
everything and recording it to like, you
know, something that maybe Home
Assistant links you to and all of that
stuff. But they're fine. They work well
and all of that good stuff. They're
just, you know, they're very
subscriptionoriented. But I I don't I I
know we're ruling out consideration even
of a lot of brands here simply because I
haven't tested them and I don't think
Pete has. I don't think any of us have.
So, this is one of those questions where
I I I would love to hear what all of you
are using and we'll try and sort of
aggregate the answers and and highlight
the brands that that come to the surface
and then maybe even check them out and
and kind of give you our thoughts on
those too. But there's lots and lots and
lots of them. I've got actually and I've
got some Synology cameras as well that
again are, you know, built to be sort of
open source and work with Synology
Surveillance Station. Um, I've tested
some UniFi cameras,
you know, also kind of their own nerdy
thing. But in terms of like the home
stuff really, it's it's Ring a long time
ago and I still have some and Yuthi are
the the two that that I've tested and
had good luck with with the the caveats
I've already explained.
Um,
so question, what about
if it's HomeKit compatible, right? Uh,
does the Yuthi take advantage of the
Apple stuff, the iCloud Plus storage,
can you leverage that? And I know
there's other cameras that maybe don't
have local storage, but will use iCloud
Plus storage. So, I don't know how much
he wants. Absolutely. I only want local
storage versus are you willing to accept
like an iCloud plus storage plan?
>> That's a fair question. Let me pull up
uh
>> and I'm thinking specifically
I mean I don't again I don't have any of
these outdoor cameras. The other Yui
would be the first one that would come
to my mind because I know they have
great support on the Mac uh with HomeKit
and and Apple technologies. The other
company that I'm aware of is Eve, which
I think used to be Elgat Elgato if I'm
not mistaken.
>> Yep.
>> Um, so I think Eve has some outdoor
cameras, but I think there's require
they use iCloud Plus that, you know, the
iCloud Plus that Apple provides where
you can use your iCloud storage to store
your video, but then it's than it is in
the cloud. I mean, it's in Apple's
cloud, which is a little different, but
>> No, you're you're spot on. With the um
with the UI cameras, you can um you can
choose to record to in in I mean in in
the home app to the iCloud storage, you
can you can choose to do that. So yeah.
Uh and you've got the standard settings.
You know what? When I'm home, do X, when
I'm away, do Y or whatever. And you can
set them to stream or stream and record
and all of that good stuff. So, yeah, I
should um I should enable that for one
of mine. In fact, I'm going to do that.
Let's see. Why not?
>> While you're doing that, let me add that
uh the doorbell cameras can be either
wired or battery operated for power.
Here in New Hampshire, I have wired. In
Florida, it's battery operated. I kind
of wish it was the other way around, but
uh I I get better than three months out
of a battery charge on our doorbell
camera in Florida. So,
>> interesting. Yeah. And I is your
doorbell because I'm I'm going to look
at mine here. I don't think my doorbell
Oh, no. My doorbell is HomeKit
compatible, too. Yeah. Yeah. So, there
you go.
>> Yeah, mine are. Yeah.
>> Yep. Yep.
>> Um
>> So,
>> so the other question, just because you
mentioned the the Ring stuff, Dave, and
it relates back to Mike's question. Does
that is that have Homebridge options
with it? Because I'm pretty definitely
sure it doesn't do HomeKit. Yeah, Ring
does not is not natively HomeKit. That
is correct. Um, I have been using it
with Homebridge for ever. And that that
gets it in streaming mode into HomeKit,
but not record. I don't have the option
to record with the Homebridge Ring
plugin, which I believe is like their
certified, you know, plugin.
>> Got it. That said, I am slowly migrating
things from Homebridge to Home
Assistant. In fact, I'm migrating all of
my things. My my hope is that say a year
from now, I will have migrated
everything into Home Assistant simply
because the flexibility
of
scripting options of automation options
I should say with Home Assistant is
unmatched. And Home Assistant was kind
of the the first of of the platforms
that was really obsessed with local
access to the devices. So whenever
possible, it is bypassing
the cloud route for your device and
talking directly to it, which means that
it, you know, the latency is much lower.
You're not waiting for a round trip to
the internet uh to, you know, to control
things. And I've had
anytime I have a smart home device that
is that I want to do something with that
like the manufacturers's app sucks at,
right? You know, I adopt it into Home
Assistant and then I could just do
whatever I want. And the most recent one
and the thing that inspired me to be
like, okay, I really just need to put
all these things there. And I all of my
automations are in the Amazon, you know,
a lady ecosystem because that's the
first we had. I need to move all those
into to home assistant too. But I have
that thermosel live um the mosquito
protection system which in the summer
here in New Hampshire is like I don't I
don't know how people live without it,
but it's permanently installed. Uh I
mean you install it yourself, but you
know, you leave it out there and uh and
you just turn it on and within 15
minutes the mosquitoes just go away. And
when they first came out, they had a
lady and Google Assistant uh
integration. So I could, you know, use
the Sonos actually things to talk about
with Sonos. Um I could use the Sonos and
say you because they were a lady
devices. I could say, "Hey lady, turn on
thermostat or turn it off." And it was
great. And then they updated their app
platform last year, two years ago maybe,
and now you can't do that anymore. I'm
like, "This is dumb." And then the other
day I just had the thought. I'm like,
"Bait can Home Assistant do this?" I was
like, "Absolutely." So now, not only do
I have it in a lady, I have it in I can
talk to the s lady about it on my phone
and I have an automation in Home
Assistant that turns it off after 4
hours if I have forgotten. Like all of
those things just the world opened up
and it was like, "All right, this is it.
I need to move to Home Assistant." So
that's a long way of saying I haven't
moved Ring into Home Assistant yet. So,
I don't know if it appears more Apple
friendly once you do or not. That's the
thing. But stay tuned on that because
that's probably one of the next things
I'm going to