Using Wyze cameras for construction site

I have a construction site where we would like to add some security cameras inside of the building on 10 floors. In order to cover the space we will need at least 4 cameras per floor and some additional to view the site. We have WiFi available and would like to be able to record and store footage for one week. What is our best option for setup? Can 50 cameras be viewed on a single device? Are we able to allow multiple users to login and view cameras?

For Professional Grade Security I would Not recommend Wyze cameras.

Wyze cams are a hobbyist’s camera.

They require a subscription for the cameras to Not be hobbled. If you’re okay with paying a subscription then they are okay for hobbyist grade security.

As the saying goes “You Get What You Pay For”

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I have over 50 Wyze cameras.

I share them with other accounts.

Note that shared accounts can’t view the SD card recordings, only the live view and Cloud recordings. You could share the credentials of the primary account, but then what happens if someone else changes the password and you lose access? I’d really only share account credentials with a spouse.

I have never tried viewing all 50 at the same time, but I have gotten up to 30+ livestreams at the same time (I think I’ve gotten 20 at the same Time on Wyze’s Web Portal and 30 something on the same monitor using a 3rd party RTSP converter), though not directly in Wyze App itself though.

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Yep.

Yep

Yep.

Everytime someone says “get what you pay for” in here, I think of this:

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Maybe.

If I pay low, my expectations are low. If they are met, great. Exceeded, even better.

If I pay more, I expect more.

If I buy a cheap car, I expect it to be a cheap ride. Price=Expectation

If I buy an expensive car, I expect it to be a much better ride. Price=Expectation.

But of course, opinions vary. If they didn’t, we would have only one type of everything.

A n t i c i p a t i o n.

It takes a little time for the mini-novel to be written :rofl:

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For sure, some improvements require higher cost. I’m definitely not saying there is zero correlation with price and quality. Certainly, if you add a multi core processor into something instead of a single core processor, it will cost more and it will have better performance and be able to support features that a device with a single core wouldn’t be able to do. More RAM costs more money and can thus support more features (Edge. AI, etc). better lens and image sensor will cost more money, but allow higher resolution. Bigger or better antenna or Wi-Fi module can cost more money.
So yeah, for sure some improvements definitely require higher cost.

But often, a lot of electronics, IoT, and smart home companies even use the exact same suppliers for their products, and often the exact same internal hardware (for cameras, many will have identical or equivalent SoC, image sensor, Wi-Fi module, and flash chip). The quality of the hardware components will be identical in many cases. I have often looked up who various companies use as suppliers. Or people will compare 1 company’s entry level against another company’s high end model, vs comparing like to like and then make a crazy generalization.

But in many cases, more expensive doesn’t mean better.

In some cases you may get a small incremental improvement of something that is not reflective of the degree of improvement, such as is common with fashion or luxury purchases.

There are tons of examples even outside of smart home.I came extremely close to starting a coffee shop business and I can tell you that in most cases you are not necessarily paying more money for a better cup of coffee. You might pay more for more Expensive labor, rent in prime locations, higher profit margins, etc, rather that higher quality of the beans.

Pharmaceuticals are a good example where the active ingredients and effectiveness can be completely identical, but the higher cost often reflects the brand’s marketing expenses, research, and profit margins. Not anything better in any way at all. They demonstrably price gouge you for the name recognition alone. This same thing happens with basically all products and services, and often they simply have better propaganda to convince people otherwise.

Everyone has seen different prices at different stores for the exact same item or brand vs generic alternatives. Whether it be toiletries or anything else. Higher prices didn’t necessarily mean you get something for l more for it. We even see that within Wyze itself. You can buy the subscription from The Wyze website or pay 30% more to buy it through Apple/Google, even though your overall experience may be worse since your higher prices also have more limitations (Apple and Google won’t even allow Wyze to touch the subscription and they have to tell people to contact Apple/Google about any problems with it, and sometimes they will tell you they don’t have access to certain things and you get stuck in a fingerpointing game & worse experience despite paying 30% more (this happens with all app subscriptions done through Apple/Google, not exclusively Wyze, it’s a requirement Apple/Google setup so they can limit companies and not allow refunds, etc so they can get more money…a worse experience for a higher price). That’s my version of “you get what you pay for” despite higher not being better.

I think Home Assistant is demonstrably the best overall smart home platform. It has the most extensive device integrations, the most features, the best quality, the best customization, local control, privacy, the most advanced automation option, customizable dashboards, open source and free, can’t be bought out or sold, flexibility in setup, voice control and mobile apps. Countless things make it the undisputed king of the smart home. But based on “the more expensive, the better” standard, it’s the worst. :man_shrugging:

@R.Good came to Wyze from one of the most highly priced camera and security companies you can get, Vivint, and he is pretty adamant that they are trash, one of the worst, and Wyze is better in almost every way despite being more affordable.

I saw some pretty thorough testing of contact sensors not too long ago where they put all the most popular sensors (including the most expensive, the cheapest, the biggest name brands, etc) on a device that would open and shut automatically many, many times per day and then measured which sensors were the most accurate and how their battery life was, etc. The best overall sensor was one of if not the cheapest sensor (depending on where you buy it…I would call it the cheapest sensor): Aqara. Aqara lasted for 878,364 cycles = more than 4 months of constant open-shut. Second best for battery length was Ring at 377,983 open/close cycles = only a couple of months. Aqara more than doubled Ring’s performance with higher accuracy. The most expensive sensor (Fibaro at $40/sensor) only lasted 90,062 cycles. Exponentially worse. One sensor only lasted 3,921 cycles, despite costing more than Aqara… So “get what you pay for” is definitely not true here. Aqara, using a tiny cell battery outperformed and outlasted all the other sensors by a ridiculously exponential amount. I often think of this experiment when people say “get what you pay for” because it’s a clear example disproving it.

Still, your examples are certainly good, valid, logical ones. :+1: A higher performance engine in a car will certainly cost more. At the same time, sometimes you also pay exponentially more for higher labor costs or higher profit margins, without the same degree of improvement. Of course that’s expected to some degree when the newest, best, top of the line stuff is in question.

I think the truth is somewhere in between. More expensive isn’t universally better, but certainly some improvements obviously require more money. When it comes to smart home stuff, it’s been my experience that Wyze outperforms most of the others at a more affordable price. If that weren’t the case, there wouldn’t be so many companies trying to emulate them or make “Wyze killers” and all smart cameras would all still be costing >$200 per camera without everyone copying a bunch of features and options that Wyze helped make popular and affordable. I think their main deficits are open standards and integrations (native RTSP, Home Assistant and other integrations, local control). However, those aren’t about the quality of the product, and Dave and Matt have both been indicating that they are finally working on addressing those things.

I think Wyze is perfectly fine for security for certain use cases. Of course PoE with the option of local storage and redundant backup, etc will be superior though. It’s just not critical/necessary for 99% of use cases.

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Heh, part of the problem is that right now I’m writing from my phone in church while juggling 2 high maintenance toddlers. :sweat_smile: Instead of using my computer as usual.

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Wow. A church for multitaskers? :angel:

Good work.

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Summary of your Novel done with only half a free hand😂

Words: 1,118

Characters: 6,769

Paragraphs: 14

Next time go for 10,000 characters, you were so close :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I really enjoy the summarize option. Appreciate details, but …

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Carverofchoice has a Summarize option?

Where do I click :joy::rofl::joy::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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On the Summarize button. It reviews the whole thread but still saves time
…
The discussion is about using Wyze cameras for a construction site. michael-sewell wants to install at least 4 cameras per floor and is looking for advice on setup and storage. bryonhu advises against using Wyze cameras for professional-grade security, stating they are “hobbyist’s cameras” that require a subscription.

However, carverofchoice disagrees, sharing their experience with over 50 Wyze cameras, and notes that while there may be some limitations, they can be used for security purposes. carverofchoice also argues that the phrase “You get what you pay for” doesn’t always apply, citing examples where more expensive products don’t necessarily mean better quality.

The conversation continues with ssummerlin and ssummerlin discussing the relationship between price and expectation, with carverofchoice pointing out that while some improvements may require higher costs, more expensive doesn’t always mean better. carverofchoice believes that Wyze offers good quality at an affordable price and is suitable for certain security use cases.

The discussion also includes humorous comments from bryonhu and bryonhu about the length of carverofchoice’s post, and lighthearted exchanges between ssummerlin and carverofchoice about writing while juggling toddlers in church.

Summarized with AI on Mar 2

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LoL so the whole thread, not just Carverofchoice.

We need the Carverofchoice Summarize Option :grin:

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:white_check_mark:

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“ssummerlin and ssummerlin” sounds like a law firm, or a tough case of multiple personality. :joy:

When you figure it out, let me know too :sweat_smile:

Naw, due to my ADHD, I just function better if I do something else at the same time I’m “listening” to something. Some people judge me for it, but I really don’t care. Just because their brain or their experience doesn’t work the same way… I’ve been managing and channeling my ADHD effectively and successfully and even have a lot of education in it… I recognize that multitasking does not work well for the majority of people, it but I’m pretty good at it… And more than that doing it is better for me, so I do it regardless of whether something is intended “for multitasking” or not. :innocent:

I think it is more of the latter. :thinking:

No judging here. That’s between you and God.

Just pay proper attention to your wife. :grinning:

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So, your success is due how much to high-end router/mesh, how much to a solid ISP with ample throughput up and down, and how much to deep know-how in placing and configuring everything?

My rough guess:

40% / 30% / 30%

:slight_smile:

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