I couldn’t find a post in this community about cameras so I figured I’d make one. Requirements:

  • No “sign up” required to record video
  • Video is stored locally
  • Video is in a non-propriatary format
  • Can work offline

Optional/Discussion Points:

  • Can wireless connectivity be hardware disabled
  • Can auto-update be disabled
  • Does the device try to “phone home” if it is connected to wifi
  • Disk encryption would be nice but I doubt that’ll be an option for anything other than self-hosted stuff

Does anyone know about Lorex (it seems more privacy centered)?

I’m highly technical, so feel free to mention self hosted raspberry pi soltuions as well.

  • Mikelius
    5•1 year ago

    I always recommend Amcrest for anything related to cameras. Idk about the doorbell since I don’t have that specifically, but the cameras are completely local (no cloud server acting as the relay) and no sign up required unless you use their home app (I use the view pro app to avoid signups).

    Reolink doesn’t require signups, but their cameras generally require internet from my experience, as they use their own cloud servers as relays, which would mean they can’t work offline like you’re wanting.