Technology

I have some amcrest cameras that are on PoE, save data to an SD card and aren't connected to any amcrest cloud services. They work great. They have a viewer app that I remote into my network to review, but has no cloud connectivity outside of that. I have the switch and modem (and router) on a battery backup for the rare times I lose power.

As far as I can tell this is a minimally viable passably secure system that "just works", requires no other hardware, and has local storage.

A few more steps such as a (edit: dedicated) hard drive backup, nvr and so on would be great, but my needs are currently met.

This or something like this might be of interest for someone trying to move away from highly cloud connected subscription services but who aren't ready for a more "hobbyist" setup.

It took me longer to research a quality sd card (so many fucking acronyms) than it did to install and test my 4 camera system.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9257288?hl=en

Not only are they dropping support for it and unless someone figures out how to hack you just throw it away. But don't worry, they won't automatically cancel your subscription.... that function keeps working.

Google is giving Dropcam owners 50% off on Nest Cams, but that was a hard pass from me.

Only 1 hour or local storage, cloud backups are not end to end encrypted, and you have to use Google’s services / app.

I ended up buying a little Aqara camera. Video can be stored locally on SD card or NAS, and if you’re in Apple’s ecosystem, it supports HSV. So E2EE cloud storage + no need for the manufacturer’s app.

And to shut down the day of a total solar eclipse? That's extra mean.

Just returned 2 Eufy cameras because the company claims ownership of my video streams and won't allow me access to those streams. Their website conveniently hides the fact that almost all of their cameras are locked to their base station or their cloud, and makes it look like the streams are readily accessible. Ultimately that means Eufy can pull the plug at any time.

Many people got wise to the printer ink racket, they'll eventually figure out these cloud services are to be avoided too.

c/internetofshit material

It looks like you can trade up to a newer supported device, or get a 50% off coupon, depending on whether you’re a subscriber or not.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/7/23673165/google-nest-dropcam-nest-secure-eol

To soften the blow, Google’s offering a free indoor wired Nest Cam to Dropcam owners who subscribe to Nest Aware. Nonsubscribers will get a 50 percent-off coupon. The promotion runs until May 7, 2024, so you can keep using your Dropcam until it stops working.

Still sucks, but it’s better than having a paperweight in your hands. Also note:

Google will ship you a prepaid recycling box if you ask.

Never buy a cloud-enabled device.

Non-cloud cams with an nvr all the way. I won’t touch the cloud based services. My go to is currently Reolink.

Perhaps it should be mandatory when selling a paired hardware/software product that the user can unlock it to install their own software, and that the manufacturer provide enough basic hardware documentation for a third party to develop software that can run on it.