2 minute read
If you read my last piece about Home security cams, you know I went into this “experiment” really hoping Reolink would come out on top. Better privacy, local storage, PTZ on the E1 Zoom, person and pet detection without a subscription. What’s not to like? Looking at the stats this looked like a no brainer to switch over, but oh how experiences and reality can change things. I’m back on Ring “for now.” I saw that as Eufy has me curious, but I think I will need some “decompress time” before mixing things up again.
Hardware thumbs up. Software thumbs sideways?
So, just to put it out there. Reolink is not a bad solution. I liked their hardware and I really wanted to make their solution work since there’s no fees and my video stays on my network. The video quality was great and the E1 Zoom I tested wasn’t too expensive. The app just didn’t feel as refined as the Ring app and the lack of “modes” was tough the adjust to. Also, the deeper I got into trying to automate things, the more friction I ran into. I really wanted to be able to turn cameras on and off with voice commands through both Apple HomeKit and Alexa. Ring did this just fine because of its integration. Reolink worked with Alexa due to a skill so that was ok. When it came to HomeKit, it is doable, but it requires more setup and tinkering than most people are going to want to deal with.
Enter Home Assistant to get things to work, sorta
I really needed automation to work, and that meant I had to tinker with Home Assistant, which is a whole world unto itself. Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform that can connect pretty much anything to anything. It is super powerful, simplicity is not its strong suit. It took more time than I wanted to invest to get everything talking to each other; I decided it was more platform than I needed. Plus, I’d read that from time to time there was maintenance needed to keep it running. Hard pass. So, staying with Homebridge and Ring it is. It sits between my Ring devices and HomeKit without requiring a full smart home overhaul, and it gets the job done without pulling me down a rabbit hole every time I want to make a small change.
Change Is Hard, especially in a home
Changing stuff in the home should be easy right? Nope. Remember, everyone in the house develops habits and things they are used to. The voice prompts were already familiar and changing things out doesn’t make folks happy. So the tech wasn’t the issue; the ease of use and familiarity sure was.
Where I Landed
Ring is not perfect and the privacy concerns I raised in my last article still stand. But for me, the combination of a polished app, tight Alexa integration, and the routines we had already built made sense. Sometimes the best tool is the one everyone will actually use without complaining about it.
Later this month I’ll be doing a deeper dive on Homebridge versus Home Assistant, breaking down what each one is good for and who each platform actually makes sense for. If you’ve been curious about either, stay tuned.