Home Automation - Smartkit

xrapidx said:
What does the separate cable look like? Mine (non-Sonoff) have the same, its the IR receiver for the remote.
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Good point actually!

I've left already but will check this evening. It doesn't look like one at first glance, but it's the most logical thing!
 
Dolby said:
I haven't used the Xiaomi.

But in what way?

I've also already got Sonoff relays, plugs, PIR etc... So makes sense to get the same ecosystem.

The IFTTT thing - I hope - is temporary though. I've asked on their forum but no reply yet.
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Just seems much better integrated.

Also a lot cheaper.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Just seems much better integrated.

Also a lot cheaper.
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Ah yes - the Sonoff are pretty expensive.

But I really didn't want another app.


I have an EZVIZ (Cameras), Rainbird (Irrigation) and Sonoff (Lights) already. Plus, I often play with other brands and have another another two other lights / plugs as well. I'd also like to get a smart weather station and geyser control too. My ultimate wish?

ONE app that does lighting / cameras / irrigation / weather / geyser ....
 
Dolby said:
Ah yes - the Sonoff are pretty expensive.

But I really didn't want another app.


I have an EZVIZ (Cameras), Rainbird (Irrigation) and Sonoff (Lights) already. Plus, I often play with other brands and have another another two other lights / plugs as well. I'd also like to get a smart weather station and geyser control too. My ultimate wish?

ONE app that does lighting / cameras / irrigation / weather / geyser ....
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Could you not use Google home or Alexa for that, if they are compatible.
 
Dolby said:
Ah yes - the Sonoff are pretty expensive.

But I really didn't want another app.


I have an EZVIZ (Cameras), Rainbird (Irrigation) and Sonoff (Lights) already. Plus, I often play with other brands and have another another two other lights / plugs as well. I'd also like to get a smart weather station and geyser control too. My ultimate wish?

ONE app that does lighting / cameras / irrigation / weather / geyser ....
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I don’t use their app at all.

Everything is on Home Assistant.
 
So I am considering putting some cameras up. I would ideally like some integration with home assistant. My thought at the moment is to get an 8 channel HikVision POE NVR and grab a couple of IP cams to play around with, say 3. I don't believe I will need more than 8 in the long run, but would like to dip my toes first. Alternatively I forget about home assistant and go the DVR route for much less (at least as far as I can tell the DVR route wont work or work as well). Any guidance from anyone who has done this?
 
SukkaFoo said:
So I am considering putting some cameras up. I would ideally like some integration with home assistant. My thought at the moment is to get an 8 channel HikVision POE NVR and grab a couple of IP cams to play around with, say 3. I don't believe I will need more than 8 in the long run, but would like to dip my toes first. Alternatively I forget about home assistant and go the DVR route for much less (at least as far as I can tell the DVR route wont work or work as well). Any guidance from anyone who has done this?
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I'm pretty much in the same boat - considering IP camera's - but worried the effect on my home network - 16-29 4-5Mb camera's might put some strain on the network.
 
alqassam said:
Could you not use Google home or Alexa for that, if they are compatible.
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Yea I do ....

The only thing that's a bit iffy is the Rainbird, where I have to say 'Alexa, ask Rainbird to water ...'

But you're right - that is kinda the 'glue' that links everything together (though not sure what weather or geyser it can do)
 
Dolby said:
I just thought this was a very technical and time consuming thing ... I kinda liked the off the shelf solutions.

But investigate it more
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It's becoming easier as they progress... but - it will have a small learning curve.

I don't think you'll get an "all-in-one" app off the shelf anytime soon.
 
Dolby said:
I just thought this was a very technical and time consuming thing ... I kinda liked the off the shelf solutions.

But investigate it more
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Off the shelf is called Homekit...but you don't like that Apple thing for some bizarre reason even though it's perfect for you.
 
SauRoNZA said:
but you don't like that Apple thing for some bizarre reason even though it's perfect for you.
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.... usually, Apple lock you into some expensive and silly ecosystem - which is why I don't like them. I think my dislike of them started when I tried importing the same 3,000 library of movies into iTunes and Kodi.

Kodi accepted and played all 3,000 - while iTunes loaded just over a 1,000 ... it didn't like the containers and codecs and naming - so kinda disregarded it.

But on topic - Homekit is a bit more open ?
 
Dolby said:
Yea I do ....

The only thing that's a bit iffy is the Rainbird, where I have to say 'Alexa, ask Rainbird to water ...'

But you're right - that is kinda the 'glue' that links everything together (though not sure what weather or geyser it can do)
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You are able to let HA emulate a Hue , then Alexa will see the individual devices.
 
SukkaFoo said:
So I am considering putting some cameras up. I would ideally like some integration with home assistant. My thought at the moment is to get an 8 channel HikVision POE NVR and grab a couple of IP cams to play around with, say 3. I don't believe I will need more than 8 in the long run, but would like to dip my toes first. Alternatively I forget about home assistant and go the DVR route for much less (at least as far as I can tell the DVR route wont work or work as well). Any guidance from anyone who has done this?
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xrapidx said:
I'm pretty much in the same boat - considering IP camera's - but worried the effect on my home network - 16-29 4-5Mb camera's might put some strain on the network.
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I've got a HikVision hybrid DVR. All the cameras are old school analogue cameras (and pretty cheap at about R400 each for 2MP I think). The DVR connects to the network, and I've got the cameras streaming onto my HA dashboard.

It meets my needs at a low cost, but the only downside is that the cabling is a bit of an issue since you need a power source for the camera too.

In terms of strain on the network for a NVR setup, I'm not sure if there would be strain, since the NVR connects to your switch, and the cameras connect to your NVR directly (well, some of them) so the traffic for the cameras and recording onto the NVR's harddrives doesn't go via your switch - only from the camera to your NVR. That's how I understand it. Unless of course you're streaming from your camera into HA, then that's a different story.
 
SAguy said:
In terms of strain on the network for a NVR setup, I'm not sure if there would be strain, since the NVR connects to your switch, and the cameras connect to your NVR directly (well, some of them) so the traffic for the cameras and recording onto the NVR's harddrives doesn't go via your switch - only from the camera to your NVR. That's how I understand it. Unless of course you're streaming from your camera into HA, then that's a different story.
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IP Camera's would be direct on your network - without a NVR.

Cabling in my place is a nightmare due to the shape of the house, and flat roof - it's easier for me to have switches in various points, and one or two cable "backbone" between the different switches.

It'd be near impossible for me to get all the camera's connected to a single NVR without having trunking running in along all the walls, inside and out.
 
xrapidx said:
IP Camera's would be direct on your network - without a NVR.

Cabling in my place is a nightmare due to the shape of the house, and flat roof - it's easier for me to have switches in various points, and one or two cable "backbone" between the different switches.

It'd be near impossible for me to get all the camera's connected to a single NVR without having trunking running in along all the walls, inside and out.
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Ah ok - in my case I have access to the roof, so was looking at the NVR route with all cameras connected to the NVR.
 
I have the analogue cheapies too, running to the DVR. I view directly off the DVR, whilst I have 2 RPI's displaying them at the old mans place. There is a single cat 6 "backbone" between the two houses that also delivers the internet, NAS, etc.

At first startup the feed's don't all start up, but after running for a while they settle down and show all the camera's. I have put it down to packet collisions as there is still more than enough capacity.

The reason I'm mentioning this is that if you are going to be running quite of few network cameras on the same cabling as your existing setup don't be to concerned right away if they misbehave when first plugged in.

One thing you do have to bear in mind is that most network cameras give you an awesome picture and high definition but do run at a high bit rate and are therefore usually on their own dedicated network when there are a lot of them.
 
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