I’m in 100% agreement with your opinion Adam. My solution for HomeKit Camera integration is Reolink PoE cams connected to an NVR…and using HomeBridge to include them in my Home ecosystem. I know everyone’s situation, needs and environment differs, but for anyone who has the ability to use NVR-based 24/7 (high resolution) recording…I would definitely recommend using that options. Then, just bring a ‘standard’ view into HomeKit for quick access to the feed(s). Just my $0.02. Good video. Thank for the upload.
That is a great solution and I've seen some other HomeKit youtubers do this as well. one of the biggest issue with POE cams is running a cable through an already built home and may not be possible but yes i do agree, poe cams are great!! Thanks for watching! 😊
I have two POE RioLink 520-A's with the newest stable beta firmware. I bridge them to HomeKit via a Scrypted Docker image on an Ubuntu machine I have running my Homelab stuff. On my network the response is good, not great. Away from home, the response is pretty horrible, with waits up to like 20 second for video to start. I don't get this, I dont have fast upload speeds on my home Internet, but like, should be "fast enough" at around 10Mbps, download is around 300Mbps. I am using 4K Apple TV as my HomeKit hub, but it's connected back to my Homelab server via Wifi, not ethernet. Is this my weak point? What settings/setups have given you the best results?
I’m going to stick with HKSV. I’m replacing Ring, and only want one app to view video and no extra hubs or subscriptions. Hopefully Apple updates their software to add more features and squash some of the bugs.
Thanks for this video. I’m just looking to install outside cam. About your cons, I agree with 2 of them. Not sure to understand the interest to record 24/7 (specially the cam on batteries) and there are some cam which could be powered by current I hope Apple will improve the other point (specially supported definition and motion recognition) Regards
Thanks for your comment. 24/7 recording on battery powered cams isn't practical and i too wish 24/7 recording was supported for wired camera in apple home.
I saw on your living room camera that HomeKit had a "Talk" button to use the 2-way mic feature of the camera. I have a Eufy 2k Pan and Tilt, but I seem to lose that functionality when using HomeKit? Is it possible to have the 2-way mic feature of the Eufy camera with HomeKit somehow?
the 1080p version does not work with HomeKit, the 2k version does so make sure it's the 2k version, up to date, and re try adding to HomeKit. it should automatically add the 2 way talk feature
Thanks for the great review. You saved me from alot of grief. Gven your assessment, what alternative would you recommend for recording home security video in a reasonably simple and efficient manner ?
Adam how do you get camera and doorbell alerts on the Apple TV? I can stream on the TV but don't get the alerts. I have a Logitech doorbell and eufycam 2c pro's
From what I’ve seen, only Eufy disables 2K when you add it to HK. Aqara keeps it on at least with their new E1 camera so this sounds like a Eufy problem (although Apple really needs to step up)
cameras can only stream and record in 1080p in the home app, regardless of the max resolution. this is confirmed by apple :) the manufactures app is a different story and varies by manufacturer
Another great video and breakdown, Adam! I am moving into my first home in a few weeks and have been collecting HomeKit capabilities products the last few weeks/months but have been stumped on cameras. This was very helpful.
Hey Adam, I’m currently installing the abode security system with the pro protection but I’m not going with their cameras because they do not work with HomeKit. So im looking for security cameras that work with HKSV but are also the most reliable. What do you recommend for indoor and outdoor cameras that support HKSV? Thanks!
check out my ultimate camera video --> th-cam.com/video/GEJ6x05Icag/w-d-xo.html for outdoor i personally recommend eufy. haven't made an outdoor camera video.
@@AdamsTechLife I just took a look at it. Some of them are HomeKit compatible but are missing key features as stated on their website: According to the Apple guidelines when HomeKit is enabled: Supports up to 1080P resolution to stream and record video both in the eufy Security app and the Home app. The on-device Al, sound detection, and pet command functions will be disabled. Activity zones will be disable. eufy Cloud storage and NAS storage will be disabled. If you have subscribed to a eufy Cloud Storage plan, you can cancel the subscription if necessary. The watermark will be turned off automatically. If you still need it, you can turn on it in the eufy Security app. The Home app can't access recording clips stored to the SD card. From that I don’t know where to go because people say the Logitech circle cameras and the Eve ones are not reliable
that's a fair question, however cloud recordings aren't always reliable. if the camera starts recording too late or cuts off the clip too early, the recording is useless. there's pros and cons to each option and comes down to personal preference. Thanks for watching! 😊
@@AdamsTechLife Which means you can get best of both worlds : local micro SD card storage, and iCloud storage (in case of theft of the device maybe ?) I have the Aqara G4 doorbell & Aqara G3 and I do love the ability to be able to scroll through the recorded clips, but indeed sometimes they miss a little part of the captured motion. Unfortunately there is no Aqara outdoor camera (yet) :(
Adam love the video. I love hate HKSV. I have Eufy, Eve and Aqara. I’m getting this pan tilt tomorrow and looking forward to it. Love the fact that all cameras in one app and that’s pretty much the reason I keep HKSV. Wish we had 2k, pan and tilt controls and 24-7 recording but hopefully someday 🙏🏼
Thank you for your detailed and always useful description I personally didn't know the difference between apple video homekit and apple homekit. Also I totally agree w you about the "anker privacy" answer you gave. If you really want privacy today then you should not even have a smartphone .
Thanks for putting your video together, I appreciate it. There is a lot of work that goes into putting these together. Your video actually helped me firm up my decision to continue just using HomeKit Secure Video. I like the features, simplicity, and cohesiveness of the Apple ecosystem. I personally have not experience a lot of missing clips that I am aware of, until I recently added new devices to my system. I’m hoping that things level out and start working as they have for the past year. It has been reliable. I don’t care about recording 24/7 and don’t want to mess with battery operated cameras so my usage case is different from others. I do get it regarding video quality … that would be nice. Anyway, every solution has its pros and cons and for me the pros of Apple HomeKit outweigh the cons. Thanks for your insight.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. I'm glad to hear HomeKit Secure Video is working for your smart home setup! 😊 it certainly has it's use cases.
What a great Video Adam. I am currently using eufy and Aqara cameras and I must say I have been having so many issues with Apple's Homekit when it comes to my cameras. Every night my cameras in HK would go offline for hours not even minutes and im always concerned that during the down time I would miss out on recording activity. So what is the reason for having cameras then.... I am seriously now after watching your video considering removing my cameras from HK and just use the eufy and Aqara apps for my video recordings. I would probably just leave the Aqara G4 Door bell in HK because I love the fact that I get a popup on my Apple TV when the bell gets rung.... decisions decisions. Once again awesome Video.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the video and found it helpful! and I haven't had as many offline issues with my eufy/aqara cam as you have mentioned so you could try removing them from HomeKit and re adding them. i personally use the eufy app for alerts/recording only and use the home app for streaming only. i found alerts to be accurate. i would do the same with the aqara camera if i was using that too. i'd recommend that for the best experience. having the doorbell alert on the apple tv is amazing. you can use the aqara doorbell in the aqara app for alerts and in the home app for those apple tv alerts that way it would be the best of both worlds.
I do enjoy your channel and the sometimes different perspective you have on things. However, you and I will agree to disagree here. I use HKSV and simply do not have the issues you describe (beyond the reduction in video quality....but 1080p works fine for me). While 24/7 recording has its value sorting through it for specific events is incredibly time consuming. Is HKSV perfect? Not at all, but it provides some real value for me. The clips provide a quick way to get immediate information about an event that has already occured with no hassle. There is also value in 24/7 recording which is why I typically get cameras that support recording to an SD card (although I have rarely used videos recorded in this way).
Thank you for sharing your perspective on HomeKit Secure Video, it definitely has its pros and cons and can be useful for some people with pop up motion alerts on the lock screen and the ability to view the live feed from the notification itself. thanks for sharing your thoughts!!
Why not use both? HomeKit Secure Video + 24/7 on the memory card/NAS? Aqara and Xiaomi cameras support such scenario, so you have the best from the both worlds :) Also, my Aqara G4 Ring operates as that. HomeKit Secure Video + Memory Card inside the chime unit.
Homekit's a bad solution. It's sad that there isn't a better solution available to monitor multiple feeds at once without being really technical (ie. taking advantage of RTSP streaming in Eufy cam's for instance).
➡️ Apple HomeKit Beginners Guide Series: geni.us/HomeKitbeginnersguide
Is is18 going to have 4k secure video
I’m in 100% agreement with your opinion Adam.
My solution for HomeKit Camera integration is Reolink PoE cams connected to an NVR…and using HomeBridge to include them in my Home ecosystem.
I know everyone’s situation, needs and environment differs, but for anyone who has the ability to use NVR-based 24/7 (high resolution) recording…I would definitely recommend using that options. Then, just bring a ‘standard’ view into HomeKit for quick access to the feed(s).
Just my $0.02.
Good video. Thank for the upload.
Totally agree - I love my Reolink system as well, especially now with the CX410 cameras!
That is a great solution and I've seen some other HomeKit youtubers do this as well. one of the biggest issue with POE cams is running a cable through an already built home and may not be possible but yes i do agree, poe cams are great!! Thanks for watching! 😊
If you really want a stable camera system you can’t go wireless.
I have two POE RioLink 520-A's with the newest stable beta firmware. I bridge them to HomeKit via a Scrypted Docker image on an Ubuntu machine I have running my Homelab stuff. On my network the response is good, not great. Away from home, the response is pretty horrible, with waits up to like 20 second for video to start. I don't get this, I dont have fast upload speeds on my home Internet, but like, should be "fast enough" at around 10Mbps, download is around 300Mbps. I am using 4K Apple TV as my HomeKit hub, but it's connected back to my Homelab server via Wifi, not ethernet. Is this my weak point? What settings/setups have given you the best results?
2¢ is quicker than typing out dollar sign zero point zero two. Lol
I’m going to stick with HKSV. I’m replacing Ring, and only want one app to view video and no extra hubs or subscriptions. Hopefully Apple updates their software to add more features and squash some of the bugs.
The apple home app is great and handy for viewing video clips. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for this video. I’m just looking to install outside cam.
About your cons, I agree with 2 of them. Not sure to understand the interest to record 24/7 (specially the cam on batteries) and there are some cam which could be powered by current
I hope Apple will improve the other point (specially supported definition and motion recognition)
Regards
Thanks for your comment. 24/7 recording on battery powered cams isn't practical and i too wish 24/7 recording was supported for wired camera in apple home.
I got an iPhone 15 pro max 5g what camera is good I’ve tried everything can’t find a good indoor security camera ?
watch my indoor camera comparison video ;)
I saw on your living room camera that HomeKit had a "Talk" button to use the 2-way mic feature of the camera. I have a Eufy 2k Pan and Tilt, but I seem to lose that functionality when using HomeKit? Is it possible to have the 2-way mic feature of the Eufy camera with HomeKit somehow?
the 1080p version does not work with HomeKit, the 2k version does so make sure it's the 2k version, up to date, and re try adding to HomeKit. it should automatically add the 2 way talk feature
Can i set automation to switch on lights on selected activity zone?
no, that would be cool tho
Thanks for the great review. You saved me from alot of grief. Gven your assessment, what alternative would you recommend for recording home security video in a reasonably simple and efficient manner ?
Glad I could help! Eufy cameras are great for a wireless solution.
@@AdamsTechLife They do look like nice cameras, but how would you store the video in a convenient way - like Homekit, but better - is there a way ?
Adam how do you get camera and doorbell alerts on the Apple TV? I can stream on the TV but don't get the alerts. I have a Logitech doorbell and eufycam 2c pro's
go the into HomeKit settings of the Apple TV and go to cameras and doorbells and customize the alert settings for the doorbell
@@AdamsTechLife I will try that. Thank you
If I add a Eufy 2K to HomeKit but do not enable HKSV, will it be at 2K or will it force it down to 1080p still?
HomeKit doesn't support video quality above 1080p regardless of max quality (1080p or above). all cams stream + record in 1080p.
So how do you turn off hksv on the eufy 2c and 2c pro? I have them already setup. But cameras are always going offline
set cameras to stream only and not to record. you could try to remove the cams and re add them to HomeKit if they're offline, that might help!
Do you have an alternative recommendation?
as mentioned in the video, use cameras with local storage ;)
From what I’ve seen, only Eufy disables 2K when you add it to HK. Aqara keeps it on at least with their new E1 camera so this sounds like a Eufy problem (although Apple really needs to step up)
cameras can only stream and record in 1080p in the home app, regardless of the max resolution. this is confirmed by apple :) the manufactures app is a different story and varies by manufacturer
Another great video and breakdown, Adam! I am moving into my first home in a few weeks and have been collecting HomeKit capabilities products the last few weeks/months but have been stumped on cameras. This was very helpful.
So glad I could help you find a camera for your new home that is HomeKit compatible. Congratulations on the new home by the way! :)
Hi brother i understood the focus of your channel, could you suggest something for google/android? Im using a Samsung s20+
I don't use android so I can't suggest anything tbh lol maybe google home or alexa ecosystem? but i haven't really used google
Hey Adam, I’m currently installing the abode security system with the pro protection but I’m not going with their cameras because they do not work with HomeKit. So im looking for security cameras that work with HKSV but are also the most reliable. What do you recommend for indoor and outdoor cameras that support HKSV? Thanks!
check out my ultimate camera video --> th-cam.com/video/GEJ6x05Icag/w-d-xo.html for outdoor i personally recommend eufy. haven't made an outdoor camera video.
@@AdamsTechLife I just took a look at it. Some of them are HomeKit compatible but are missing key features as stated on their website: According to the Apple guidelines when
HomeKit is enabled: Supports up to 1080P resolution to stream and record video both in the eufy Security
app and the Home app. The on-device Al, sound detection, and pet
command functions will be disabled.
Activity zones will be disable. eufy Cloud storage and NAS storage will
be disabled. If you have subscribed to a eufy Cloud Storage plan, you can cancel the
subscription if necessary. The watermark will be turned off automatically. If you still need it, you can
turn on it in the eufy Security app. The Home app can't access recording clips
stored to the SD card.
From that I don’t know where to go because people say the Logitech circle cameras and the Eve ones are not reliable
Just bought a Eufy cam--was debating on HomeKit. Thank you for the information!
Happy to help! ❤️
How’s the E1 cam?? Is it available for purchase yet??
Video coming soon, stay tuned 😉
So what do you use instead of hk secure video? Just local recording to sd 24/7?
I dive deeper into this at the end of the video 😊
Facial recognition has totally stopped working for me on iOS/tvos 17 using eufy cams. Fully disabled / re-enabled etc it just wont recognise anyone
maybe try either restarting the cameras or by removing and readding to HomeKit?
@@AdamsTechLife tried all that but no joy :(
How I will benefit from 24/7 recording on SD card if somebody will stole my camera and this recording will not be on the cloud to lookup ?
that's a fair question, however cloud recordings aren't always reliable. if the camera starts recording too late or cuts off the clip too early, the recording is useless. there's pros and cons to each option and comes down to personal preference. Thanks for watching! 😊
@@AdamsTechLife Can you use both ? Like an Aqara G3 that has built in micro SD card & use HKSV together ?
@hansdegeytere yep :)
@@AdamsTechLife Which means you can get best of both worlds : local micro SD card storage, and iCloud storage (in case of theft of the device maybe ?)
I have the Aqara G4 doorbell & Aqara G3 and I do love the ability to be able to scroll through the recorded clips, but indeed sometimes they miss a little part of the captured motion.
Unfortunately there is no Aqara outdoor camera (yet) :(
Great breakdown. Super helpful.
Glad to hear! Thanks for watching! 😊
Adam love the video. I love hate HKSV. I have Eufy, Eve and Aqara. I’m getting this pan tilt tomorrow and looking forward to it. Love the fact that all cameras in one app and that’s pretty much the reason I keep HKSV. Wish we had 2k, pan and tilt controls and 24-7 recording but hopefully someday 🙏🏼
That's great to hear! The apple home ecosystem is great!! I wish we had more features as well :(
Your content and experienced opinions are just sooooo good! Thanks again Adam for wonderful HomeKit guidance.😊
So glad I could help! Thanks for watching! 😊
Thank you for your detailed and always useful description I personally didn't know the difference between apple video homekit and apple homekit.
Also I totally agree w you about the "anker privacy" answer you gave.
If you really want privacy today then you should not even have a smartphone .
Glad I could help, thanks for your comment! and i agree lol
Thanks for putting your video together, I appreciate it. There is a lot of work that goes into putting these together.
Your video actually helped me firm up my decision to continue just using HomeKit Secure Video. I like the features, simplicity, and cohesiveness of the Apple ecosystem. I personally have not experience a lot of missing clips that I am aware of, until I recently added new devices to my system. I’m hoping that things level out and start working as they have for the past year. It has been reliable. I don’t care about recording 24/7 and don’t want to mess with battery operated cameras so my usage case is different from others. I do get it regarding video quality … that would be nice. Anyway, every solution has its pros and cons and for me the pros of Apple HomeKit outweigh the cons. Thanks for your insight.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. I'm glad to hear HomeKit Secure Video is working for your smart home setup! 😊 it certainly has it's use cases.
I needed this! Thanks!
So glad I could help you understand HomeKit Secure Video! Thanks for watching and for your comment! 😊
Awesome videos sorry I’m sooo late
Thanks for watching! 😊
Hymm 24/7 recording on battery cam 😅
that'd be hilarious lol
Holy cow this video is drawn out.
Thanks for your feedback and for watching
What a great Video Adam. I am currently using eufy and Aqara cameras and I must say I have been having so many issues with Apple's Homekit when it comes to my cameras. Every night my cameras in HK would go offline for hours not even minutes and im always concerned that during the down time I would miss out on recording activity. So what is the reason for having cameras then.... I am seriously now after watching your video considering removing my cameras from HK and just use the eufy and Aqara apps for my video recordings. I would probably just leave the Aqara G4 Door bell in HK because I love the fact that I get a popup on my Apple TV when the bell gets rung.... decisions decisions. Once again awesome Video.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the video and found it helpful! and I haven't had as many offline issues with my eufy/aqara cam as you have mentioned so you could try removing them from HomeKit and re adding them. i personally use the eufy app for alerts/recording only and use the home app for streaming only. i found alerts to be accurate. i would do the same with the aqara camera if i was using that too. i'd recommend that for the best experience. having the doorbell alert on the apple tv is amazing. you can use the aqara doorbell in the aqara app for alerts and in the home app for those apple tv alerts that way it would be the best of both worlds.
I do enjoy your channel and the sometimes different perspective you have on things. However, you and I will agree to disagree here. I use HKSV and simply do not have the issues you describe (beyond the reduction in video quality....but 1080p works fine for me). While 24/7 recording has its value sorting through it for specific events is incredibly time consuming. Is HKSV perfect? Not at all, but it provides some real value for me. The clips provide a quick way to get immediate information about an event that has already occured with no hassle. There is also value in 24/7 recording which is why I typically get cameras that support recording to an SD card (although I have rarely used videos recorded in this way).
Thank you for sharing your perspective on HomeKit Secure Video, it definitely has its pros and cons and can be useful for some people with pop up motion alerts on the lock screen and the ability to view the live feed from the notification itself. thanks for sharing your thoughts!!
Why not use both? HomeKit Secure Video + 24/7 on the memory card/NAS? Aqara and Xiaomi cameras support such scenario, so you have the best from the both worlds :)
Also, my Aqara G4 Ring operates as that. HomeKit Secure Video + Memory Card inside the chime unit.
yep, totally possible :)
Say HomeKit secure video one more time
HomeKit Secure Video
@@AdamsTechLife lol you’re killing me, man. Thanks for the video though.
Homekit's a bad solution. It's sad that there isn't a better solution available to monitor multiple feeds at once without being really technical (ie. taking advantage of RTSP streaming in Eufy cam's for instance).
It’s got it pros and cons for sure