Selecting the Right Micro SD Card for a Home Security Camera

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Several home security cameras use a micro SD card for on-board storage of video events.  Three that come to mind are the Samsung SmartCam, Amcrest HDPro and Guardzilla home security cameras.  I like using a micro SD card as a means to access video archives resulting from motion events.  Unlike cloud services, the video archived to a micro SD card will stick around for as long as you don’t overwrite the card. We’re going to discuss selecting, and then using, the right micro SD card for a home security camera.  The brand of camera doesn’t matter much.  Most have the … Read more

Guardzilla All-In-One HD Video Security System Review

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I have seen the Guardzilla All-In-One HD Video Security System at practically every retail outlet I walk into.  This is the second generation of the Guardzilla indoor camera system.  It’s quite a bit improved especially in terms of the 720p video quality versus the first generation which checked in at 640×480.  Be careful to select the proper model.  This article is about the Guardzilla GZ521B model which is the second generation.  The first generation is GZ502B.  Avoid the first generation. Let’s take a closer look at the Guardzilla All-In-One HD Video Security System. Software You can access the Guardzilla All-In-One HD … Read more

How to Control a Ceiling Fan with Nest Cam and WeMo

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Here in Southwest Florida, every room has a ceiling fan.  A ceiling fan helps a lot to keep you cool when in the room. A ceiling fan doesn’t need to be on when not in the room.  That’s where a Nest Cam and a WeMo Switch come into play.  This article will show you how to control a ceiling fan with Nest Cam and WeMo.  We will also throw an automation service known as IFTTT into the mix as we need software to tie a Nest Cam and WeMo together. This method will work with a Nest Cam or a Dropcam Pro.  You … Read more

Using an External Battery on a Nest Cam or DropCam Pro Camera

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Using an external battery on a Nest Cam or DropCam Pro home security camera was half experiment and half necessity.  I needed to temporarily relocate a camera to a spot that I wanted to keep an eye on at my home. This article will discuss using an external battery on a Nest Cam or DropCam Pro.  For those unaware, the DropCam Pro was the predecessor to the Nest Cam.  The cameras have the same power specs (1 AMP) and use the same type of micro USB connection.  My experience with using the external battery on my DropCam is applicable to a … Read more

Canary and Wink Opens New Doors to Home Automation

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The Canary All-in-One Home Security System remains one of my favorite home security cameras.  Abilities such as temperature and humidity monitoring make this more than a simple home security camera.  Add in some free cloud storage and an audible alarm and you can begin to see this is more than your basic camera.  The recently announced Canary and Wink integration allows for a bunch of additional enhancements that go beyond home surveillance.  Now we’re talking home automation. Those unfamiliar with a Canary Home Security System can read more about it in our Canary product review. What’s Wink?  There are two components.  First, … Read more

How to Automate Using Stringify and Nest Cam or DropCam

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What’s Stringify?  Well I’m sure you have heard of IFTTT.  The two services are similar in that they provide a link between services and hardware.  Stringify calls these links flows.  A flow allows the creation of reactions when an event occurs.  A Nest Cam provides little integration out of the box, especially with things that aren’t made by Nest.  Stringify and Nest Cam working together will overcome this restriction. After using Stringify and IFTTT, I found them to be useful services.  IFTTT has a lot more points of automation because there are more companies that support their product.  However, I found … Read more

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