Thread: Webcam
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Old 01-03-2017, 10:24 AM   #8
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I guess I misunderstood what BoBo was looking for. When BoBo asked about "webcams" I recommended the Stardot cameras based on almost 20 years of experience running webcams. "Webcams" are designed to upload either still images or streaming video to the internet for public viewing (usually) using ONVIF, FTP or RTSP. The cameras are designed to operate in extreme conditions. The images or video is normally embedded in web pages. When someone says "webcam" that's what I think of.

Although the Nest cameras are great for home security and surveillance they are not really designed to be "webcams". They will not support ONVIF, FTP or RTSP which are needed to do uploads to the web and public live streaming.

So, to backtrack on my first post, I'd say that if you want a security and surveillance camera that you and your family can access the Nest camera can't be beat. However, if you want to setup a webcam that we all can view stick with a camera that's designed for that purpose.

Quote:
Nest Cam Advantages

Impressive hardware design and specification;
Great video quality during both day-time and night-time;
Wide angle lens;
Two-way audio;
Very easy-to-setup with live view support from anywhere;
Integrated cloud recording service.
Integrated with Nest's other services and smart thermostat

Nest Cam Disadvantages

Expensive hardware - one-time cost
Expensive cloud service - recurring cost
Granted, it is optional, but cloud recording is too important to not have. It only works with Nest's own service with only two retention plans (10-day retention or 30-day retention).
Does not support local video streaming
Your camera must be always connected to the Internet to work!
No SD card or any other local storage support
Completely proprietary
It is incompatible with any other cloud recording service or IP camera management software; does not support IP camera standard protocols such as ONVIF, FTP or RTSP.

Wi-Fi only
With 1080P video streaming, Wi-Fi connection may not be reliable and the video quality may degrade.
Indoor only and does not support PoE.
High bandwidth usage

Nest Cam (Drop Cam) cameras offer great video quality at the expense of high bandwidth usage. If you have multiple Nest Cam cameras, you are likely to run into a few problems:

Your Wi-Fi connection will become less reliable;
Your might reach your Internet connection's maximum upload bandwidth;
Your might reach your ISP's max monthly data usage limit. Many users probably don't know their ISPs limit their max monthly data usage, e.g. AT&T's ADSL may limit the monthly data usage to be only 150GB, Comcast may limit your monthly data usage to be only 250GB.
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