Recommend a baby video monitor with IR / future general video monitor

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timmmay

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#242868 18-Nov-2018 07:51

I'm after a baby monitor to keep an eye on my toddler at night, make sure he's in his bed, that sort of thing. We won't need it for all that long, so would ideally want one that can be re-purposed as a general monitor.

Requirements now (which I'll edit as people ask question):

Check on my toddler in a dark room at night (it has a couple of small night lights)
Either uses Android phones to monitor or supplies a handset to monitor (probably Android as cheaper)
Very easy to get going (I'm time poor)
WiFi (I can run power, but easier not to run ethernet in the baby room, could if I had to though)

Future requirements - capability to do the following:

Motion activation
Recording
Notification
Ok if this will require some effort (I'm hoping to be less time poor in future... probably in vain)

Wanting to buy something from Amazon.com in the next day or so to get their Black Friday specials.

robjg63

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#2128734 18-Nov-2018 08:52

Wyzecam.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

timmmay

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#2128785 18-Nov-2018 11:33

Yep that will do it, thanks :)

robjg63

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#2128816 18-Nov-2018 11:41

I have a couple on order via Amazon (they seem to be back-ordered at the moment).

You can buy them via the wyzecam website for $20USD each - but they wont ship to NZ - so you would need youshop or something to get them here.

You can buy via Amazon.com - Costs $25USD each but they will ship to NZ.

If you are in a hurry there are some on trademe for $80NZD.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

timmmay

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#2129033 18-Nov-2018 20:29

I read the Wyze reviews on Amazon - about 50% good, but many, many bad reviews as well. People comment on them dropping connections regularly, sending data to non-AWS addresses (they say they store the data in AWS), using Russian NTP, excessive permissions requested. There's also that it's meant to be a security camera - you get 12 - 15 seconds of video when an alert goes off. You can stream live from the camera, but it seems like a secondary function. As a security camera they seem great for $20 if you need what they provide.

So all in all, they're probably ok for $20, but I wonder if there's something that's a bit better for not a lot more money. I just want a video camera with IR that can stream to my phone really easily. Ideally I want this to be up in the corner of a room so I can easily see the whole room - toddlers are quite creative...

Any other options out there? There are dozens of options on Amazon, I can read reviews, hoping for local recommendations.

I found a reference to Tinycam, an Android app that looks like it might do what I want. It has recommended cameras, which are more expensive than Wyze but there's quite a few, and it does support Wyze. Might be a good option.

dfnt

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#2129057 18-Nov-2018 21:35

I'm still running this camera since our daughter was born last year

You can use Tinycam on Android, and the same people make an iOS one called Baby Monitor for IP Camera http://www.ipbabymonitor.com/

On our laptops I just use the RTSP stream from the camera and VLC

timmmay

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#2129065 18-Nov-2018 21:51

Thanks @dfnt. I use Android, so probably their main app that works on Android is better for me. I'll look at the camera, thanks.

We'll still use the audio monitor most of the time, I just want to be able to see in occasionally. For example, our niece used to do things like get out of her bed and fall asleep on top of a pile of lego.

Fosscam seem to have a good range of models, in white (which is better in this room), supported by the Android app. I know they're not always that secure, but I'll work out some way to prevent them accessing the internet from the router, or I'll keep it up to date. They're all a lot more expensive than the Wyzecam, but I guess you pay for flexibility and quality.