I’ve worked from home since long before Covid. My previous home office was a wonderful corner room with a great view. I set up my bird feeders and tracked bird sightings all winter.
Now we’ve moved to a new home and my office is in the basement. Yes it’s a nicer house for everyone but I took one for the team and I have a windowless dungeon. At least I have a bar in it.
I would like to set up a Wyze cam either outside or peering out a window, somewhere I can set up my bird feeders and see some critters. Maybe even a tree. Or a cloud. God it’s sad down here.
So my questions are twofold: What camera would be best for this, and how would I stream that video feed to a TV or a monitor or something I could mount on the wall like a fake window?
I have a whole Wyze ecosystem house going on here with lots of cameras, a doorbell, a thermostat, even the scale. Can anyone provide some advice please? Thank you!
I use my Amazon FireStick to stream my cams on my old dumb TV after enabling the Wyze skill in Alexa…but the audio quality is deplorable. There are hundreds of posts here in the forums about this on dozens of smart devices. It all depends on what smart platform the TV is on.
Search for “stream cam to TV” and you will get a host of topics discussing the most efficient way for your smart TV platform.
I use BlueStacks to run an Android phone simulator on my Windows computer. When I click on the camera in the Wyze app, it nearly fills the screen. Of course, this means having a computer with the app installed, and a separate monitor if you want it running all the time.
I do like being able to look out my front window without getting up from my desk.
I think streaming constantly actually heats up my Wyze Cam v2, so I don’t usually leaving it running for long.
I learned about BlueStacks + Wyze from these forums.
I’d suggest mounting a big TV on the wall, sticking in a $20 Fire stick, and spending $2 on TinyCam Pro to view the camera(s) 24/7. It’s very flexible stuff, and much better than Alexa based viewing in my opinion.
Oh, and the V3 is the obvious choice but V2s will work as well (and with TinyCam you’re not limited to WyzeCams). Steer clear of the Wyze Cam Outdoor.
I use a V3 and watch on my FireTV. I linked the Wyze Alexa skill to my Wyze account and just tell the TV to show whatever cam I want. I have a v2 and v3 watching bird feeders out my window. I don’t use the sound, since they are mounted indoors and the bird feeder is up against the window. My cats enjoy it, too.
Hmm, that little “project” uses a V3, a Pi, and RTSP firmware. It might have been easier to install Android on the Pi and use either the Wyze app or TinyCam with regular firmware…
I have the exact same issue, a basement with no window and wanted a window to the outside world. My solution which has been working great for me was to buy a Nvidia Shield get Tinycam Pro and an old TV. Not only can you view your cams but have access to to any entertainment you want. No need for RSTP so everything works normal. There is even a setting in TCP to automatically switch from what you are watching to cam view if motion is detected.
Similar situation. I went with the cam+monitor & live stream. I liked using the monitor as a window so much the nice widescreen is the window, and the smaller monitor is the one I use to work.
-picked a monitor to act as a window. LG widescreen.
-log in to Live stream - Wyze (ring doorbell, arlo floodlight, and others have a browser view. I like ring’s as it will run for a good 6hr before it times out)
-left side in the pic: wyze pan v2. the cam will follow around people/cars/pets until they go out of view.
right side in the pic: wyze v3. less distracting, but I like how the pan cam follows dogs/birds.
In the full screen view of the driveway, the wyze cam v3 has a good enough picture that I can see the clouds move clearly on a windy Miami day.
What is a “Wyze Alexa skill?” Is there a Google Home/Nest version if this? I’d like to set up a dedicated monitor to view live cams. My two main cameras are Wyze v3.
There are skills in the Amazon Alexa ecosystem for all sorts of products. Wyze has a skill in the Alexa ecosystem. You don’t have to have an Alexa product to use their service. You should be able to sign up for an Amazon account just for Alexa enabled skills, though it is definitely more robust if you use a firestick or a fire TV.
I believe there is Google integration, but I don’t use the Google ecosystem anymore so I’m not sure how extensive it is in regards to Wyze products. I preferred Alexa’s smart home integrations.
Thanks for the quick reply. I didn’t understand the terminology, and since figured it out. It’s under Home Settings > Services > Works With Google. It doesn’t.
Unfortunately, it will not link. It will go to an authorisation login for Wyze, where I log in, tick to allow, then it returns to Google Home with “Could not reach Wyze Home. Please try again.”
I have an idea why this is, but I would need someone with similar devices (Google Nest and Wyze Cam v3) who is a full paid subscriber to confirm if this works for them, or not. If it does, then it’s yet another feature left out for anyone who pays for full services. For that price, I could have a full monitoring service and not have to arse with this system.
That is just for one camera. No sense in repeating for others.
I also can not view any cameras on either Google hub, be it by voice command or tapping on the appropriate camera name on the screen. It says the device is not set up.
This is the view from the Google Home app. Note the cameras have an asterisk, indicating that they’re not functioning.
Have you tried commanding Google to display a Wyze device on a TV or smart display (I forget the name of the Alexa one)?
Hmmm. I’m honestly stumped. I don’t have any Google home products, just the app on my phone.
When I linked Wyze, all the devices on Wyze showed up, and I didn’t get any popup that said it failed.
I know I can use my Alexa products to view cameras and control the lights and outlets I have, I do it all the time. But I have no screens that are compatible with google home to try. Perhaps you can search the forum for Google integration and see if anyone else is experiencing issues?
I primarily use Amazon as well. I have Google TV which allows streaming, I can test it again later tonight. @carverofchoice , you have a Google Device as well, can you stream to the Alexa Show Counterpart in Google?
Check it out.
and may be able to add some assistance