PTZ Cam for Monitoring Elderly Parent

zfind on 18/09/2024 - 14:00

Hi everyone.

Can anyone recommend an affordable PTZ cam that I can set up in my living room to keep an eye on my elderly mother while I’m out? It would need to:

  1. Run on wifi
  2. Have the stream accessible to more than one user (my siblings need to be able to check in if I can’t)
  3. Night recording
  4. Max $100 but under $50 would help a lot right now.

During the rush to prepare my place for her I was looking at this Kmart cam just because I can get it and tick one more thing off the list but can buy online and wait if there’s a better option:

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/smart-wi-fi-indoor-camera-p…

Thanks in advance.

Electrical & Electronics Security Camera

Comments

  • jv on 18/09/2024 - 14:03
    +6

    TP link Tapo C200

    2 for $55

    https://www.amazon.com.au/TP-Link-Tapo-Detection-Control-C20…

    Run on wifi ✅
    Have the stream accessible to more than one user (my siblings need to be able to check in if I can’t) ✅
    Night recording ✅
    Max $100 but under $50 would help a lot right now. ✅

    • zfind on 18/09/2024 - 14:07

      This looks good - $49 on Amazon, two for $55?! Thanks

      • jv on 18/09/2024 - 14:14
        +3

        They work well.

        We have 3 going at my folks place for the same reason. App is really good…

        You should probably invest in an sd-card for each camera too, to record and playback.

  • FezMonkey on 18/09/2024 - 14:12

    Could any of these record to an existing NVR used for security cameras?

  • glitch23 on 18/09/2024 - 14:23
    +1

    I highly recommend the Reolink E1 Zoom 5MP (2592x1944) with PTZ tracking.
    The latest hardware version now supports AI Person / Pet detection.
    With an SDCARD installed you can record locally and access the camera remotely using the Reolink App with UID enabled.

    This will be way better than any cheap 1080P Cloud App based PTZ camera.
    It also works great side by side with other Reolink cameras in the Reolink App, if you want to add on different cameras in the future.

    They also work fully offline via HTTP/HTTPs, RTSP/ONVIF and can integrate with Home Assistant.
    I've got 3x of these for internal recording when on holiday, pretty cool to control them all simultaneously from Home Assistant (e.g. with one click can select Recording or Privacy PTZ preset).

    $98.99 delivered from Aliexpress so just inside your max.
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32964354457.html

    • zfind on 18/09/2024 - 14:59

      Thanks for this mate - I need them relatively quickly and in the past AE has been pretty slow for me. Otherwise these look great

      • scrimshaw on 18/09/2024 - 15:02

        On that listing you can choose to buy from local warehouse. Not all items on Aliexpress are mailed from China, some are warehoused locally and some are fulfilled by the seller who may have presence in au

        Reolink sells on their own website, Catch, my deal, eBay and Amazon as well so check prices before buying

    • jv on 18/09/2024 - 16:50
      +1

      This will be way better than any cheap 1080P Cloud App based PTZ camera

      I have an E1 and for this use case, it makes no difference.

      The C200 quality is perfectly fine.

      The Tapo app also responds faster than the Reolink app… Maybe because it only has to stream 1080p

  • altomic on 18/09/2024 - 15:00
    +2

    making an account for OnlyGrans?

    • mskeggs on 18/09/2024 - 15:31
      +1

      Ooh stepson, what are you doing.

    • JIMB0 on 18/09/2024 - 19:57

      Probably just making sure gran is not sitting in his chair and drinking his beer.

  • mskeggs on 18/09/2024 - 15:33
    +2

    Does Mum want you filming? I would hate that.

    • jv on 18/09/2024 - 16:39

      Would you rather they had a fall and can't get up for a day or two until someone visits?

      We only have them in the living rooms and kitchen, not in other rooms of the house.

    • bbinc on 19/09/2024 - 10:03

      It can be an issue. It’s hard to devise a perfect system. One common method is to have regular checkins, but friends who used this found the person would simply forget to do so. Maybe you only use the camera if there is no checkin response. If you have alerts set, every movement will be recorded. And what if the fall is in one of the rooms not covered.

  • sam-1966 on 18/09/2024 - 16:11
    +1

    Absolutely sure you have thought of this, but does she have a smart watch - in case of a fall? I was shocked when my father said he had a smart watch - thought he'd just bought another gadget, but he bought it as he was scared of falling and no one knowing. My mother had one of those pendant things, but they didn't work outside the house - and if you fall, you need to remember to press the button. The smart watch would work outside the house if he say, fell while walking his dog.

    So his smart watch gave both me and my sister a lot of peace of mind that we would know if anything like that did happen.

    • jv on 18/09/2024 - 16:41

      So his smart watch gave both me and my sister a lot of peace of mind

      Elderly people with pacemakers can't have a smart watch with built in phone chip.

      • sam-1966 on 18/09/2024 - 16:55

        Oh, I shall bow to the great JV, knower of everything, even what the OP never posted!

        I wish I could post the words of the great Roy Kent here, but I can't.

        • jv on 18/09/2024 - 16:56

          knower of everything

          It was advice from a doctor, not me.

          • mantra on 18/09/2024 - 19:22

            @jv: You’ve gained the doctor’s knowledge, and now it’s yours to keep. The doctor can’t take that away from you.

            • jv on 18/09/2024 - 19:30

              @mantra:

              You’ve gained the doctor’s knowledge

              I might already be a 'doctor'…

    • zfind on 18/09/2024 - 18:07

      Hey, thanks for the input - my mother has a Galaxy smartwatch which we’ve taught her to use if she’s hurt or needs help. It has fall detection too so we will be alerted if she does fall.

      Getting old sucks for everyone.

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