Ask HN: What's your favorite security cam system?

4 pointsSunshineTheCat25d ago6 comments

I've been doing some research on home security camera systems and they are either very expensive and/or have some pretty significant privacy concerns regarding how they transfer/store footage.

That said, has anyone found any solid, fairly privacy-friendly solutions to this?

It seems like all the "convenient" ones require some sort of "cloud" account with fuzzy details on how your info is stored.

I would really prefer something wifi-powered and peer-to-peer if something like that exists so that I don't have to worry about how my footage is being stored.

Probably a pipe dream, but if there was anywhere to check, I figured it would be here.

6 comments

remyp25d ago

I went with Reolink, but not the WiFi ones. The completely offline version has no privacy concerns, no cloud sync, no subscription. It just records to an SD card. They're great!

runjake25d ago

All the options suck or are crazy expensive or both, but I have a mix of Reolink, Annke (Hikvision rebrand), and Eufy RTSP-capable cameras. I have a PC with Blue Iris NVR on it. The cameras have SD cards as backups.

Nothing goes out to the cloud. The cameras are blocked from the Internet. I have an alert set up and I've never seen the Reolink or Annke units try and reach out.

If you have a lot of money to blow, buy a complete Ubiquiti setup. It is fairly set and forget. I got burned by Ubiquiti with a previous NVR setup and premature obsoletion so I refuse to use their cameras anymore.

giantg223d ago

PoE Reolinks with Zoneminder on a atom based mini PC. Add an external SSD for more storage if needed. Since you mentioned wifi then you could go with the wifi Reolink. Peer to peer might be more a a bespoke design. Closest commercial thing that comes to mind is cuddleback cuddlelink system.

RatchetWerks25d ago

I’ve landed on Ubiquiti NVR systems. I previously used Frigate and VLANd reolinks.

Having a phone app to instantly view the cameras quickly (late at night) made the difference.

elevation25d ago

I'll second Ubiquiti. I have 15 year old hardware from them that still gets security updates. Pricier than cheap chinese junk, but well architected (on-camera compression and motion analysis.) Their video system is rock solid and nothing goes to the cloud.

a_lifters_life24d ago

i built my own solution - mostly custom (aside from hardware), shut off from the internet. It has an option to sync to <cloud provider> but isnt required - have a fleet of (3) cameras at my house that i fully control and operate - have been running fully autonomous for the last month.

I did it because RING is too easy to setup and give your valuable footage and life to. I havent marketed it yet

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