Help For smarthings Newbie (best cameras and other questions)

Wiki Projects & Stories
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Hi I was wondering if I can get some help in deciding what home products to integrate into the smart home living environment.
I am moving into a new home next month which is approx. 3,000 square feet and has 3 floors
1st of all I am handling my home security system with a system I had from frontpoint security which has a GE simon XTI-5 Cellar 3g AT&T panel that has motion detectors , sensors, carbon monoxide , glass break monitor these are all GE Z wave sensors. I think I may need more monitors to cover the 3 floors. Monitoring for this is 20.00 a month thru Geoarm and Alarm .com this is without home automation which would add another 5.00 a month and video capabilities which would add another 8.99 a month. So I am just going with the 20.00 for security and trying to do home automation and video thru other means

So I ordered the Smarthings Hub to help with this
Now as far as smart Home devices I ordered the Samsung smarthings hub kit which gives me 3 more door/ window sensors and 1 more motion sensor. I purchased two nest thermometers because there are two different zones on two floors. I have an Amazon echo and I am looking to add two new echo dots for the other two floors

Things looking into purchase : Skybell doorbell and Kuna Outdoor light because I have two front entry ways, Phillips Hue Lighting system, garage door opener and electronic door lock for front
I am hoping all these will work in that ecosystem

Now one of the big questions I have is camera security I didn’t want to pay an extra monthly fee
for video I am going crazy trying to find the best solution out there if anyone can help I would like to monitor about 5 places inside and 3 places outside the home

I thought the arlo system would be a solution that could be used inside and out but for outside the they are only good in environments that do not go below 14 degrees F , I live in CT and it drops below that in winter.

I was thinking of buying the 4 camera wireless arlo system and arlo Q for the inside and they have 7 day free cloud
The only things I wasn’t crazy about the arlo was live streaming you have to click on each camera
Then using a Lorex 3 camera outdoor system with a DVR

Does anyone have any advice about my system or about the cameras
I know the Samsung Smartcams plus are all on sale would it be better to get a bunch of these instead of the arlo I know right now they are not supported by the smarthub

Should I just do a lorex system inside and out
I am really confused about which way to go

If I had 4 wireless arlo cameras inside and a Samsung smartcam can you put them all on the smarthub I know it says capacities are 4 smartcams , 10 arlo cameras does this mean either or , or can they be mixed EXample: 3 arlo wireless and 3 Samsung smartcams

Please send back any helpful advice you can pass my way to help me find a reasonable solution

Thankyou so much for your help
Ray

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Welcome!

( i’ve moved your thread to project so you can get answers specific to your situation and because you covered so many different device classes. In the devices category of the forum we try to keep threads to one device class so it’s easier to find things again later.)

I’m sure other people will have lots of advice for you on cameras and some of your other questions. I did just want to mention that if you look at the quick browse lists in the community created wiki you can quickly browse forum topics by individual subject, such as security projects or camera smartapps. You might also want to take a look at the “get started” projects list, there’s a lot of interesting stuff there. :sunglasses:

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section

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This Skybell has an official SmartThings integration. The Kuna does not, but quite a few community members still have one, including me. I really like it, but I don’t try to integrate it with SmartThings in any way.

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You’ve probably already seen this, but the following is the official “works with SmartThings” list of devices which support will help you with. There are a lot of other devices that do work with SmartThings but you need to get community help with those. :sunglasses:

I’m not sure why the Amazon echo isn’t listed on the official list, there’s definitely an official integration and support will help you with it if needed.

@Tyler

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As far as the size of your house… Smartthings supports both Z wave and Zigbee protocol. Both are mesh and work by having one device pass a message along to another device which then passes it along until it gets to the hub. This can work very well and helps improve the battery life of individual devices by keeping the power requirements for each individual device low.

However, only mains-powered devices can act as repeaters. Battery powered devices do not.

If you’re using some plug-in Z wave motion sensors, that can help, because they will also act as repeaters. But almost all of your other sensors will not be repeaters.

So in a house as large as yours, you may need to buy some additional devices just to act as repeaters. The easiest are what we call in the forum “pocket sockets” which are plug-ins that you can then plug a lamp or a coffee maker or whatever into. There are some that are pretty inexpensive, around $25, and obviously they’re easy to move around to wherever you need them.

It’s just something to be aware of as it can affect both device selection and budget.

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Because that’s the old list!

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Then it’s the forum page link that needs to be updated. :sunglasses:

2048Ă—1536 303 KB

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Yeah, we have a few headers to update. It soft-launched yesterday on the main www. site.

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The new list only shows 2 compatible cameras. Did you guys drop support for all the Dlink cameras that were supported before?

Missing from the new list:

D-Link Cloud PTZ Camera (DCS-5222L Rev B) Camera Local Area Network
D-Link HD Outdoor Wi-Fi Camera (DCS-2330L) Camera Local Area Network
D-Link HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera (DCS-5029L) Camera Local Area Network
D-Link HD Wi-Fi Camera (DCS-2132L) Camera Local Area Network
D-Link Outdoor HD PoE Day/Night Cloud Camera (DCS-2310L) Camera Local Area Network

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No, we haven’t dropped support for those devices.

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Awesome, good to hear. Thanks!

PS- plz dont get rid of the old list, that page is much easier to navigate :slight_smile:

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The old page is going away soon, but we also have improvements to the new page lined up.

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