Starting now.. and need advice

[sidjohn1]

This is a good place to start:
http://www.smartthings.com/compatible-products/

Manything / Smartthing:

Using old iPhone as a Webcam

Have you looked at Manythings? You can start and stop recording via IFTTT.

Sonus Options:

VLC Thing. A Poor Man's Sonos. Version 2.0 Released 12/22/2016

Do you want to receive Sonos-like sound and voice notifications from SmartThings but do not feel like spending several hundred dollars on Sonos? Do you have an old laptop/netbook (or any PC for that matter) gathering dust in a closet? If so, you can put it to a good use as shown in this demo: [VLC Thing Demo: VLC Media Player Controlled by SmartThings] “VLC Thing” is a custom SmartThings device driver that controls VLC media player and emulates Sonos audio player, making it possible to use Sonos smart apps to play sounds and voice (text-to-speech) notifications. VLC is a free and open source cross-platform (Linux/MacOS/Windows) multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. [Update 10/04/20…

iTunes + Airplay instead of Sonos?

I have many airplay speakers around my house and a Mac that is on all the time, in addition to phones, etc. Has anyone thought about getting SmartThings to talk to iTunes on a Mac/PC so you can play music over AirPlay? Sonos can be VERY expensive and this might offer an alternative. I was thinking about looking on the developer site and see if there is anything that might help me figure out how to do it - like how to get SmartThings to communicate with an app on a computer. It seems like that it would need an app installed to act as a bridge between the Hub’s network connection and the Mac/PC’s. I can see someone creating an app that allows you to control a small list of qualified apps. I think iTunes has some external hooks, but I’m not sure.

RELEASE Generic Media Renderer (DLNA Speakers). Cheap Sonos Alternative (Update V2)

This Smart App and device type allows you to use any DLNA Media Renderer to receive Sonos-like sound and voice notifications from SmartThings. You must to install the MediaRenderer_Connect to find any Generic Media Renderer (Network Speaker) The MediaRender Player is the device type needed to control each Media Renderer. If you dont have a Media Renderer like Smart TV or Network Speaker with DLNA you can test it with Foobar2000 program installing de upnp commponent. The commponent allows you to convert the player in a Media Renderer (Verify your firewall do not block the foobar2000 port ) I have tried some Media Renderers, but is better if you give me a feedback of the models that works for you. Tip : Please, just install one time the MediaRenderer Connect from the phone, If you have…

@Yasuo_Sobrio

And since i am just starting if there are other nice things i could plug in i would love to know.

There are LOTS of devices to extend Smartthings use the search button in the upper left hand corner.
This is also a good place to find devices:

Devices & Integrations