Until recently I had been using an EZVIZ DB1C doorbell. I researched before I got it, and it worked immediately when bought. Then the company started playing dirty pool. Over the next two firmware updates (WIth nothing in the notes beyond “bugfixes and imrprovements”) they stripped out the ability to use a local RTSP stream then they stripped out the ability to use their Windows-only software to even re-enable any functionality. Then they jerked me around for over a month before they finally copped to what the company had done.
And of course there’s no way back to a working firmware.
I know people have mentioned Reolink and Amcrest before, but those models are no longer available.
Is there anything in the way of wired, mechanical-bell compatible doorbell cameras that work with HomeAssistant?
I’m so sick of companies that sell you one thing, then strip out the functionality that made it useful, shoving you into their cloud/app shit or leaving you stranded on whatever firmware the thing came with.
GRR
If you want something really really stable I can recommend 2N a lot. They cost a bit more,as they are mainly geared towards professional users,but they absolutely know what they are doing.
Whole thing works completely “off the cloud” and without any subscriptions (there is one available for their app - but that’s more a convenience feature, they literally tell you how to use other apps).
The whole environment is based on plain old SIP so it works with basically everything - I have an answering unit, but I also can use my snom phone or my SIP app to answer the door. The door unit can simultaneously be their own PBX and/or integrate in an external SIP environment.
The camera itself can also provide RTSP,ONVIF,etc. if needed and plays along with Fregate,etc. quite nicely.
And the automation interface(which requires a add-on licence, but single payment) is based on node red.
Integration in HA is a breeze due to that.
It works with PoE, but 2 wire conversion kits are available. And LTE.
I can absolutely recommend them. (And I do not sell them,don’t worry. Just a happy user who got screwed over by other manufacturers too often)
What’s the pricing like on these normally?
It does look a lot more solid, and less nickable!
A very quick glance at the internet put it around £700 for their home one, a fair chunk more than the Reolink one (£70 ish when I last looked).
If you install them inside the wall they are basically unnickable. Above the wall they are still fairly resistant,but someone with tools or a teenager with a good kick might get them off.
I looked them up, the 2N Solo which is their baseline variant (can do almost everything the big ones can but does not accept Extension modules) goes on sale here for around 600€.
Doorbirds goe for roughly the same,but are inferior technically.
Ubiquity is around 350€, but requires additional hardware for actual door operations beyond ringing.
Similar Dahuas go for 250€,roughly. Reolink PoE goes for 125€ here…but well,you get a reolink for that…
Both the Dahua and Reolink also require hardware that is included in the 2N and Doorbird.
But yeah, they are a different ballpark than the Reolink,as mentioned. But tbh, I had so many bad experiences with Reolink that I would never ever put them in a critical role (which doorbells are), and avoid everything to even have them on my network.
Thanks. I’m looking into this. Never heard of this company before, but that sounds pretty compelling.
Yeah,me neither. They once were known under the name Helios as well.
For a long time they focused on large residential buildings,doing elevator control stuff and everything,but they have expanded into the medium-upperclass private market as well. The IP Verso and the IP solo are definitely nice (I have the former). And the installation can absolutely be done by a prosumer - I found it far easier than doorbird or dahua, especially as their wiki is great. They document literally everything.