Nest multiple items - advice needed!!

Clareman · 07-07-2020 8:50am

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

07-07-2020 1:24pm

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 · 07-07-2020 1:38pm

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.

07-07-2020 1:47pm

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 · 07-07-2020 4:50pm

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.

08-07-2020 10:15pm

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 · 08-07-2020 10:22pm

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 · 09-07-2020 8:35am

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 · 09-07-2020 11:45am

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 · 15-08-2020 7:28pm

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 · 15-08-2020 8:12pm

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 · 16-08-2020 2:20pm

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 · 16-08-2020 6:33pm

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 · 17-08-2020 12:44am

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 · 17-08-2020 8:36am

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 · 19-08-2020 1:11am

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

vicM · 10-10-2020 11:06am

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 · 10-10-2020 12:24pm

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 · 10-10-2020 12:25pm

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 · 10-10-2020 3:21pm

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

Clareman · 10-10-2020 3:37pm

vicM wrote: »

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

At top quality level there's a lot of video being captured but there isn't anywhere near as big a field of view as there is on other cameras.

Sheep Shagger · 12-10-2020 9:16pm

Halloween greeting now activated on nest hello

Clareman · 12-10-2020 9:51pm

How do you enable that??? Can't see themes in my app at all

Sheep Shagger · 12-10-2020 10:05pm

Clareman wrote: »

How do you enable that??? Can't see themes in my app at all

Doorbell themes in settings in the app, although it came as a pop up for me when I went into the app earlier.

nheav · 13-10-2020 1:55pm

Hey all!
Back to this thread!

So in the end I went with the
Doorbell (which I also got a pop up yesterday asking me if I wanted the Halloween theme!!)
3 x Nest Cams
Nest Wifi and 1 point
and a couple of Nest Minis

Overall I think they are all great, very happy so far.
I do have 1 issue though, which I asked in the networking thread, but no replies yet, but maybe someone here can help!
Apologies for the lazy way, but I'm just copy and paste the post and hope that someone on this thread can help!

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

Hoping someone here can suggest something better than my current setup please......

1. I have Virgin Media 250M internet
2. I have Google Wifi and 1 point
3, I have 3 Nest Cam outdoor setup outside the house.

The problem I am having is that it is a new house and A rated and the signal is struggling to get to the Cameras and 2 of them tend to lose connection quite a bit.

1 Solution I was thinking is there is a powersocket on the wall (inside the house) nearest the point where the 2 that lose connection are located. I have an Old TPLink Powerline adapter (Av600 - V1.2. TL-WPA4220) and I plugged it into the socket and it seems to have a stronger signal outside than my router where it is located.

For some reason however this will only let me connect to it, but won't let me log in to change any settings (keeps saying I am connected directly to the router, which isn't the case)
But before I spend time trying to get that sorted, does anyone think this is the best solution? The WiFi within the house is perfect, so I think I will just use something like the TP Link as a dedicated point for the cameras.
Also, looking it up it says it should be able to take up to 300Mb, however I was only getting about 30 when I was connected to it the other day?
Would anyone know if it is a case that this is just an older model? And I would need to upgrade it?
Or maybe I wasn't doing it right at all since it wouldn't let me connect to the TPLink?
Finally, which would be best in this situation:
1. Connect the TPLink to the Virgin router?
2. Connect the TPLink to the Google WiFi router (which is currently connected to the VM router)
3. Either, it doesn't make a difference!

Thanks in advance,
N

Clareman · 13-10-2020 2:09pm

I just go the theme pop up as well, the kids are going to LOVE this when they get home from school

Clareman · 13-10-2020 2:11pm

nheav wrote: »

Hey all!
Back to this thread!

So in the end I went with the
Doorbell (which I also got a pop up yesterday asking me if I wanted the Halloween theme!!)
3 x Nest Cams
Nest Wifi and 1 point
and a couple of Nest Minis

Overall I think they are all great, very happy so far.
I do have 1 issue though, which I asked in the networking thread, but no replies yet, but maybe someone here can help!
Apologies for the lazy way, but I'm just copy and paste the post and hope that someone on this thread can help!

Thanks in advance!

The outdoor cameras are on the 2.4 network so even though the internal network is fine most things will be on the 5ghz network so not comparing apples with apples, check to see if there's anyone conflicting with your 2.4 network. Personally I'd be getting another Nest satellite when they are on offer next and moving them around the house, unless something needs to be hardwired I'm done with powerlines.

nheav · 13-10-2020 3:15pm

Clareman wrote: »

The outdoor cameras are on the 2.4 network so even though the internal network is fine most things will be on the 5ghz network so not comparing apples with apples, check to see if there's anyone conflicting with your 2.4 network. Personally I'd be getting another Nest satellite when they are on offer next and moving them around the house, unless something needs to be hardwired I'm done with powerlines.

Thanks for that.
So coincidently Virgin were out yesterday for a different reason, but he said that my Router wasn't split to the 5GHz SSID on the Wifi.
So he split the SSIDs and now we have a standard (2.4GHz) and a 5GHz SSID.
However, I don't use the router for WiFi, I have it hard wired into the Google WiFi and use that for my internet.
I assume that takes the max setting and distributes it around the house?
But would the new 2.4 Virgin be a better option outside? I wonder?

I have no problem setting up a network that is dedicated to the cameras (such as the Powerline potential option), however it has to be a Wireless signal, as the cameras can't be hard wired!

Clareman · 13-10-2020 3:34pm

nheav wrote: »

Thanks for that.
So coincidently Virgin were out yesterday for a different reason, but he said that my Router wasn't split to the 5GHz SSID on the Wifi.
So he split the SSIDs and now we have a standard (2.4GHz) and a 5GHz SSID.
However, I don't use the router for WiFi, I have it hard wired into the Google WiFi and use that for my internet.
I assume that takes the max setting and distributes it around the house?
But would the new 2.4 Virgin be a better option outside? I wonder?

I have no problem setting up a network that is dedicated to the cameras (such as the Powerline potential option), however it has to be a Wireless signal, as the cameras can't be hard wired!

Personally I don't use my ISP provided router for WiFi at all, the Google base unit is going to be as good (probably better) than it and then the satellites will be able to hook up to it. Google should be able to give you the 1 network SSID for both 2.4 and 5, try setting that up and see how you get on.

nheav · 13-10-2020 4:59pm

Clareman wrote: »

Personally I don't use my ISP provided router for WiFi at all, the Google base unit is going to be as good (probably better) than it and then the satellites will be able to hook up to it. Google should be able to give you the 1 network SSID for both 2.4 and 5, try setting that up and see how you get on.

I'm the same, only use the Google WiFi.
Problem is, because it's an Airtight house (I assume anyway) that the signal isn't getting through the walls very easily to the cameras.

At the moment I have the WiFi Hub set up on the window sill and it is powering 2 of the cameras and the doorbell (but the 2 are a bit away and occassionally dropping) and the WiFi point is set up near the back door to get the camera to the back garden.
However neither are in the ideal location, especially for the 2 cameras at the front of the house, so I was thinking of an alternative!

The signal is very weak outside, but as soon as you step inside the house it's a full strength signal!

Nest multiple items - advice needed!!

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