Nest multiple items - advice needed!!

nheav

Hi all,
Sorry for a new thread as there are already quite a few on Nest items, but I can't find the answers to most of the below handy, or in some cases I can find multiple contradictory answers on it (some are old threads so things may have changed on it)

So to start off, i'm moving into a new house in a few weeks and I'm looking at getting some nest items and just wondering if anyone has any practical experience with them:

1: Nest hello doorbell
2: Nest Cam outdoor (probably x 2)
3: Nest Hub Max
4: Nest Aware subscription

So 1 of the main questions are do people find these worth it?

I like the idea of all of the above but I do have a few reservations on it all....
Mainly on the subscription that seems good and quite reasonable, but can anyone confirm if 1 subscription covers all devices? From what I can see online it does, but I have read a lot on different boards talking about multiple subscriptions.

Also, does continuous recording eat up internet allowances, or more importantly does it use up a lot of bandwidth and therefore slow down other devices like laptop and phone etc?

Also have a few reservations about the Camera since it's only Wifi, as it's a new build it's going to be an A rated house which I assume means high grade insulation etc. would this impact on the Wifi signal getting to the cameras?

Any practical advice would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

N

2011

nheav wrote: »

So 1 of the main questions are do people find these worth it?

I have:
- Google Home mini x 3
- Google Home x 1
- Google Hub
- Nest Hello Doorbell
- Nest smoke + CO detector x 2
- Nest Aware subscription, €50
- Nest Wifi x 2

Yes, I think they are worth it. IMHO it is best to get a Google Hub (or better still a Google Hub Max) if you are getting a Nest Hello so that it can automatically display who is at the door. I would also strongly recommend the Nest smoke + CO detectors.

can anyone confirm if 1 subscription covers all devices?

Correct, one subscription.

Also, does continuous recording eat up internet allowances

For a new customer it will only record "events" such as movement within a zone.

does it use up a lot of bandwidth and therefore slow down other devices like laptop and phone etc?

Depends on the speed / quality of your connection.

Also have a few reservations about the Camera since it's only Wifi, as it's a new build it's going to be an A rated house which I assume means high grade insulation etc. would this impact on the Wifi signal getting to the cameras?

You need strong wifi. This may mean upgrading and multiple routers, once you do that you are fine. I find the Nest Wifi to be great, have a look at this thread.

Kintarō Hattori

Hi nheav,

I have 3 Nest camera's in the house. An outdoor front and back with an indoor to monitor our toddler at night using a Hub Max. The camera's are very good with a slick interface which maks watching back clips really very easy to do. I've found with the front camera and the indoor the signal was fine but the back of the house really seems to struggle with a good Wi-Fi signal and so I have experienced dropouts with the rear camera. An extender fixed the problem for a time but was only a stop gap, I need to find a way of improving the signal properly. The Mesh system I have installed hasn't helped in that regard. The other two camera's though, fantastic.

They will of course use up a lot of bandwidth as on the high setting they use about 300GB per month- each. Depending on your provider that doesn't necessarily have an impact on the speed of your other devices.

I also have the Home Max and that's excellent, I really can't fault it. It's very slick and it's great being able to switch between camera's so easily as well as using it for all its other features.

Clareman

Hi Op,

I have something similar to your setup, I think they are worth it but I guess that's up to yourself to decide but the 1 thing is that you'll need decent WiFi to each of the cameras and it takes up a lot of bandwidth, doorbell is about 300GB a month and each of the cameras are about 400GB a month each, I'm not 100% on the "recording", I know it will only save events but I think everything is uploaded first before it's decided whether to keep it or not so even if you aren't using continous recording I think there'll still be an upload, I'm not 100% sure on that though.

1 thing that I find surprisingly handy is a Google Hub in the bedroom, I've 1 my side of the bed and it's awful handy if there's someone at the door when you are still in bed, when it's not used for that it's a nice digital photoframe as well as an ok music player.

nheav

Thank you all very much for the help.

Think that settles it so!

My shopping list will have

- Google Hub Max
- Google Home mini x 1 (already have 1, so 2 in total should do it for the time being)
- Nest Hello Doorbell
- Nest cam Outdoor x 2
- Nest Aware subscription


Nice to haves if budget allows:
- Nest Wifi x 2 (I actually didn't realise how good this was until researching from this thread, will definitely invest if I can afford it!!)
- Nest smoke + CO detector x 2

Has anyone come across anywhere doing this kind of stuff in bundles etc?
Or any good deals going anywhere?

Lastly, any issues with installation of any of this? The doorbell and outdoor cameras obviously being the ones that might have a little more to it!

Thanks again for the help,

N

Clareman

There's often 3 packs of the smoke/cameras on offer from time to time, I'd say keep an eye on https://www.hotukdeals.com/ for deals.

The cameras are fine to install, there's 1 USB cable that's really long, personally I ran the cable alongside a vent and got some silicon to cover everything up, it was surprisingly easy to do but I had a plug in a very good spot. Having seen the doorbell installed I think I would have the confidence to do it myself but I think I'd do it one someone else's house rather than mine If you have to change a transformer you definitely have to get a sparky to do it. Saying that, I'd say the wired smoke was more difficult to install than the doorbell but I'd a weird setup with my old smoke alarms.

nheav

Great info there.
Much appreciated!

jonnybravo

nheav wrote: »

Great info there.
Much appreciated!

Let us know how you get on. I'm planning on doing something similar but will have wired external camera's with cat 6 connections (part of an overall rewire).

Kintarō Hattori

jonnybravo wrote: »

Let us know how you get on. I'm planning on doing something similar but will have wired external camera's with cat 6 connections (part of an overall rewire).

May I ask what sort of camera's you've gone for?

jonnybravo

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

May I ask what sort of camera's you've gone for?

I haven't bought anything yet but planning on buying NEST external cameras wired with external cat 6 cables. I don't need them for another couple of months so I am still researching.

2011

jonnybravo wrote: »

I haven't bought anything yet but planning on buying NEST external cameras wired with external cat 6 cables. I don't need them for another couple of months so I am still researching.

I think the Nest outdoor cameras only work on WiFi. I also think they are vastly over priced.

irishgeo

anyone care to give me a honest review of the nest wifi, the VM wifi is driving me mad lately?

beveragelady

I have two nest cameras in the house and unfortunately I have found that I don't have the wifi speeds to run them both. I suspect it's the upload speed that really scuppers us. While I find the cameras themselves, the app and the subscription just fine I can only ever have one camera on at a time, and even that is not 100% reliable.
Speeds at my house usually hover around 1.6mbps download and about 0.2mbps upload. The joys of living in a rural idyll.

2011

irishgeo wrote: »

anyone care to give me a honest review of the nest wifi

I find it excellent. I have one Nest WiFi router and one Nest WiFi point (with Google assistant).

irishgeo

2011 wrote: »

I find it excellent. I have one Nest WiFi router and one Nest WiFi point (with Google assistant).

thats all i will be getting.

Clareman

irishgeo wrote: »

anyone care to give me a honest review of the nest wifi, the VM wifi is driving me mad lately?

I find it brilliant, I've 3 points, 1 by the back door which covers the garden, 1 the front door and 1 upstairs, i dont need them all but they are perfect and haven't had a moments issue since i got it installed.

Clareman

beveragelady wrote: »

I have two nest cameras in the house and unfortunately I have found that I don't have the wifi speeds to run them both. I suspect it's the upload speed that really scuppers us. While I find the cameras themselves, the app and the subscription just fine I can only ever have one camera on at a time, and even that is not 100% reliable.
Speeds at my house usually hover around 1.6mbps download and about 0.2mbps upload. The joys of living in a rural idyll.

.2mbps upload just won't cut it I'd imagine, at the lowest setting the camera will up about 100gb a month, thats too much for .2mb unfortunately I'd say

beveragelady

Clareman wrote: »

.2mbps upload just won't cut it I'd imagine, at the lowest setting the camera will up about 100gb a month, thats too much for .2mb unfortunately I'd say

As I said I can just about run one but it's not fully reliable.

Edit to add: When it's working it's brilliant, obviously, or I'd have given up by now.

Kintarō Hattori

2011 wrote: »

I think the Nest outdoor cameras only work on WiFi. I also think they are vastly over priced.

That they do.

Clareman

nheav wrote: »

Great info there.
Much appreciated!

Just spotted that the protects are up on HUKD at the moment, the discount code is PANORAMA.

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nest-protect-2nd-generation-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-battery-operated-3486234#comments

towger

Clareman wrote: »

I find it brilliant, I've 3 points, 1 by the back door which covers the garden, 1 the front door and 1 upstairs, i dont need them all but they are perfect and haven't had a moments issue since i got it installed.

I’ve almost the exact same setup except router is in sitting room instead of hallway. I’m with VM 360 via the hub.
Fantastic since getting the Nest. No more random reboots of router and excellent speed, getting the full 360 even in rooms without a point. Over 50 devices connected.

Sheep Shagger

I find the UK is almost always cheaper than Ireland for any nest stuff.

While Amazon don't sell all the Google home stuff (competitor to Alexa) it does sell a lot of the Nest cameras and smoke alarms etc.

Every now and again you get a deal here like this which is about the same as Amazon.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/smart-tech/smart-tech/smart-home/smart-home-cameras-and-cctv/google-nest-cam-outdoor-smart-security-camera-10155605-pdt.html

nheav

Thanks for all the help on this one.

I have just 1 questions left........

Does anyone have a outdoor Cam and an outdoor cam IQ?
In which case is it worth the difference?

I am getting 3 Outdoor Cams, and the budget won't allow for 3 IQs, so I was considering getting 2 standard and 1 IQ (for the back garden area most likely)
But does anyone have any info on them, or if they are worth the extra etc?
Also, unlikely I would think, but would I have any issues having 2 cams and 1 cam IQ when it comes to system setup etc?

Thanks in advance.

N

Clareman

I think the IQ has microphones in it so it's handy for noise cancellation and for interacting with people, never use it myself. I think the IQ has a higher spec feed as well (4K vs HD) but HD is more that good enough for an outdoor camera in my opinion, if you're broadband isn't top notch your upload will probably be limited to HD anyway.

Personally I don't think there is value for the upgrade at the moment but each to their own.

Sheep Shagger

nheav wrote: »

Thanks for all the help on this one.

I have just 1 questions left........

Does anyone have a outdoor Cam and an outdoor cam IQ?
In which case is it worth the difference?

I am getting 3 Outdoor Cams, and the budget won't allow for 3 IQs, so I was considering getting 2 standard and 1 IQ (for the back garden area most likely)
But does anyone have any info on them, or if they are worth the extra etc?
Also, unlikely I would think, but would I have any issues having 2 cams and 1 cam IQ when it comes to system setup etc?

Thanks in advance.

N

Am comparing at the moment too and found these:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidcentral.com/nest-cam-vs-nest-cam-iq%3famp

https://youtu.be/WA_e7-94Qyk

Think we'll go for the cheaper one.

nheav

Thanks Clareman and Sheep_Shagger,

I think i'm in agreement and while the IQ would be nice, I don't think the modest improvements to features justify the more than modest increase in price!

Clareman

If I was recommending something for a professsional setup or a sporting ground I'd say stump up for the IQ but for a domestic setup I don't think I could justify it.

Sheep Shagger

Clareman wrote: »

If I was recommending something for a professsional setup or a sporting ground I'd say stump up for the IQ but for a domestic setup I don't think I could justify it.

Ours is for the back door/ garden and just don't think we can justify the extra spend. In saying that I wonder how far they drop in price on black Friday......although don't really want to wait until then, anyway the basic model will drop in price too, there will always be a price difference.

Have a nest hello in the front and hub max inside.

Clareman

Mine it out the back as well, I don't think I've ever used the microphone in it and I normally only use it when I'm working and the kids are playing out the back and I want to keep an eye on them, even at that it's normally as a small window. I have the hello and hub max as well and to be honest I struggle to see the difference in picture quality between the 3 devices, well apart from the fisheye effect on the hello of course

nheav

Yea in the same situation myself - I am moving in soon so just want it all sorted ideally, so black friday is out!

Also getting a Hello for the door, and a Hub Max.

Last question on this one.......

Does anyone know anywhere where you can simulate the field of view (130 degree I think on both)
I have done a sketchup model of the house, and think 3 Cameras will do, but want to be sure!
I will need one at the front because the door doesn't face out - so the hello cam won't be on the cars even which isn't ideal! But was thinking there must be something somewhere that can let you do a rough layout of the house and will show what areas the camera will or won't pick up!

Surprised it's not in Sketchup as I think that is also owned by Google/Alphabet (maybe it is in there, but I wasn't able to find it!) but has anyone ever come across anything similar?

2011

nheav wrote: »

Does anyone know anywhere where you can simulate the field of view (130 degree I think on both)
I have done a sketchup model of the house, and think 3 Cameras will do, but want to be sure!

Surly it is just a matter of drawing a cone with a 130 degree angle at the top to represent the field of view in Sketchup?

Clareman

nheav wrote: »

Yea in the same situation myself - I am moving in soon so just want it all sorted ideally, so black friday is out!

Also getting a Hello for the door, and a Hub Max.

Last question on this one.......

Does anyone know anywhere where you can simulate the field of view (130 degree I think on both)
I have done a sketchup model of the house, and think 3 Cameras will do, but want to be sure!
I will need one at the front because the door doesn't face out - so the hello cam won't be on the cars even which isn't ideal! But was thinking there must be something somewhere that can let you do a rough layout of the house and will show what areas the camera will or won't pick up!

Surprised it's not in Sketchup as I think that is also owned by Google/Alphabet (maybe it is in there, but I wasn't able to find it!) but has anyone ever come across anything similar?

I used visio when i was doing it

2011

If I was installing 3 or more cameras it reaches a tipping point for me. I would no longer consider Nest. I don't want to be at the mercy of Nest subscription price increases and I certainly don't want to use all of that bandwidth of streaming so many cameras to the cloud in 4K or 1080.

In my opinion it would be far better to go for a professional CCTV system using cameras such as HIKVision.

Advantages:

-All cameras record locally to a hard drive (far less bandwidth being used) yet you can stream any camera live
- Additional cameras are very cheap (compared to Nest). The largest part of the cost is the hard drive.
- No subscription costs
- No dependancy on Wifi
- No mains voltage supply required to cameras - A CAT5 to each camera will be suffice for domestic install. This reduces the cost of the install.
- Can integrate with HKC alarm systems.
- Not dependant on an internet connection to record footage.
- Will always record high quality images even if the internet is slow.
- Will record 24/7, not just "events"

I think that the capital cost of the Nest cameras is far to high. I can justify it for one camera, but that is about it. When it is 3 or more cameras it is too close to the cost of a hard disc recorder for a professional system.

Also if you spend a small fortune on Nest cameras and the subscription fee goes through the roof in a few years time what do you do??

Edit: Before anyone tells me that you need a PSA license to install a professional CCTV system my answer is that this applies equally to all CCTV systems including the Nest.

Clareman

1 of the reasons I went with Nest because I'm trying to get rid of stuff in the house, having a CCTV box would have been another "thing" I'd have to have plugged in and supported, I've also replaced a fair few CCTV hard drives for people down through the years that I'd consider the price of a hard drive almost a subscription cost at this stage. I also didn't want a "lot" of cameras, I initially just wanted a doorbell cause of my kids getting older and friends calling on an almost consistent basis (twice in the last 15 minutes for example), by having the camera I can just shout "Mini-Me it's for you", the Max Hub was a nice bonus camera, I'm not a fan of cameras in the house and it's not used much. The back garden camera was gotten because of WFH I want to be able to keep an eye on the kids, where I have it placed would have been a major pain in the arse to run a CCTV camera and cable to so I would have been looking at a WiFi solution anyway.

As I have 1Gb unlimited SIRO bandwidth isn't an issue for me either but I do agree that the annual subscription is a pain and you are at the risk of Google/Amazon upping the prices, this year I've gone for the €100 annual sub, at the moment I'm ok with that as an annual charge but having the option to drop down a level is an ok benefit. I also think that the investment that Google/Amazon are putting into their tech will mean that more and more services will be becoming available so the risk of a subscription increase is offset by the risk of service improvements.

2011

Clareman wrote: »

1 of the reasons I went with Nest because I'm trying to get rid of stuff in the house, having a CCTV box would have been another "thing" I'd have to have plugged in and supported

Agreed. If I had one I would place it in the attic as it can be accessed remotely.

You only have 2 cameras so I can see your point.

As I have 1Gb unlimited SIRO bandwidth isn't an issue for me either

Which is all well and good for you, but in Ireland many have less than 10Mb connections. I was stuck with 5Mb until 2 years ago.

this year I've gone for the €100 annual sub, at the moment I'm ok with that as an annual charge but having the option to drop down a level is an ok benefit.

Remember when college registration fees were €20 per annum in the nineties? Now they are over €3k. Remember when bin collection was free.... ?

These charges always start off at a reasonable point.


I also think that the investment that Google/Amazon are putting into their tech will mean that more and more services will be becoming available so the risk of a subscription increase is offset by the risk of service improvements.[/QUOTE]

Clareman

2011 wrote: »

Remember when college registration fees were €20 per annum in the nineties? Now they are over €3k. Remember when bin collection was free.... ?

These charges always start off at a reasonable point.

How there you think that I am old enough to remember college fees in the 90s, nevermind the fact that I was in college in the 90s and remember them well and I'm still in college now has nothing to do with it, how double dare you :pac::pac::pac:

At the moment there's a technology and price war between Amazon and Google, if 1 or the other takes over the sky is the limit for pricing of all of it, ffs, they are throwing in free mini speakers with almost everything at this stage.

2011

Clareman wrote: »

At the moment there's a technology and price war between Amazon and Google, if 1 or the other takes over the sky is the limit for pricing of all of it, ffs, they are throwing in free mini speakers with almost everything at this stage.

I have a Nest Hello doorbell so I hope you are correct and the price does not creep up like it does for everything else. Let’s see and fingers crossed.

Clareman

My mother liked the idea of getting a Nest Hello and I told her I'd get it for her and install it, she asked how much it cost, told her, she was grand, then told her she'd need an annual subscription to view it, she was HORRIFIED at the thought of paying for a doorbell service, I can see her point

Sheep Shagger

Clareman wrote: »

My mother liked the idea of getting a Nest Hello and I told her I'd get it for her and install it, she asked how much it cost, told her, she was grand, then told her she'd need an annual subscription to view it, she was HORRIFIED at the thought of paying for a doorbell service, I can see her point

In fairness it is optional to pay the sub and it works perfectly fine without it.

If someone rings the doorbell and we want to record an image, just do a screenshot of the nest app. Is date stamped in phone etc.

As we install more nest cameras think we'll pay the €50 sub, wish I'd done it when they were giving away a mini, made it nearly free for the first year.

Clareman

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

In fairness it is optional to pay the sub and it works perfectly fine without it.

If someone rings the doorbell and we want to record an image, just do a screenshot of the nest app. Is date stamped in phone etc.

As we install more nest cameras think we'll pay the €50 sub, wish I'd done it when they were giving away a mini, made it nearly free for the first year.

It's still coming with the free mini

https://store.google.com/ie/product/nest_aware

Sheep Shagger

What Nest aware plans have pepple signed up to, the standard for €50 or the one with 24/7 rolling video for €100

Not sure I need rolling video given it starts recording when there is an 'event?

Clareman

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

What Nest aware plans have pepple signed up to, the standard for €50 or the one with 24/7 rolling video for €100

Not sure I need rolling video given it starts recording when there is an 'event?

I went for the €100 plan, with the free month and free mini its a great deal in my opinion, even if the mini is still in the box. I've 3 cameras though so well worth it

Sheep Shagger

Clareman wrote: »

I went for the €100 plan, with the free month and free mini its a great deal in my opinion, even if the mini is still in the box. I've 3 cameras though so well worth it

Have 2 cameras and will probably add a third to the bsck butvgave not yet decided if it will be nest (probably will be).

Trying to work out if its worth the extra €50, no point paying it if I don't have too..am on the free trial at the moment until end of the month and tbe events based recording seems to be sufficient.

Any reason you did not go for the cheaper plan?

Clareman

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Have 2 cameras and will probably add a third to the bsck butvgave not yet decided if it will be nest (probably will be).

Trying to work out if its worth the extra €50, no point paying it if I don't have too..am on the free trial at the moment until end of the month and tbe events based recording seems to be sufficient.

Any reason you did not go for the cheaper plan?

I figured with the money I'm saving not going to the pub i might as well pay the 50 extra

kmart6

2011 wrote: »

I have:
- Nest smoke + CO detector x 2

Deciding what I'm going to go with and have been looking at these. How do you find the pathway feature? How bright is it? Would it guide your way as the only light in darkness? Realistically I don't need these but this feature is something that seems interesting but can't really find any examples showing how bright it is.

Clareman

kmart6 wrote: »

Deciding what I'm going to go with and have been looking at these. How do you find the pathway feature? How bright is it? Would it guide your way as the only light in darkness? Realistically I don't need these but this feature is something that seems interesting but can't really find any examples showing how bright it is.

I find them great, bright enough to guide you but not bright enough to dazzle you or wake someone

kmart6

That's good to know, will probably keep an eye out and pick a few up at some stage.

vicM

Hi all, I've had a nest outdoor cam for over 2 years now, we changed our door recently and decided to get a nest hello, as I have a hub, 3x smoke detectors and Google home
Install was a breeze as the transformer could support 12v.
The issue is that the pic quality vs the outdoor cam is not as good. Is it due to the wider FOV or is the sensor in the outdoor cam just better?

Clareman

vicM wrote: »

Hi all, I've had a nest outdoor cam for over 2 years now, we changed our door recently and decided to get a nest hello, as I have a hub, 3x smoke detectors and Google home
Install was a breeze as the transformer could support 12v.
The issue is that the pic quality vs the outdoor cam is not as good. Is it due to the wider FOV or is the sensor in the outdoor cam just better?

The hello camera is a slightly lower resolution, 1600x1200 vs 1920x1080

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1383154-REG/nest_nc5100us_hello_video_doorbell.html/amp

https://store.google.com/ie/product/nest_cam_outdoor_specs

Clareman

Clareman wrote: »

The hello camera is a slightly lower resolution, 1600x1200 vs 1920x1080

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1383154-REG/nest_nc5100us_hello_video_doorbell.html/amp

https://store.google.com/ie/product/nest_cam_outdoor_specs

On the phone so awkward to post, also the doorbell is designed just to capture around the door whereas the camera as you say has a much higher FOV

vicM

Clareman wrote: »

On the phone so awkward to post, also the doorbell is designed just to capture around the door whereas the camera as you say has a much higher FOV

Was planning to let the Doorbell cover camera duties as well for the front of the house, not so sure now