Intro
Summary / Key Findings
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Alarm Detection
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Testing $20 WyzeCam, The Money Losing Amazon Vet Startup
Rob Kilpatrick
Dec 06, 2017UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Dec 12, 2017$20 camera. $0 a month for the cloud recording. There is no way this company will be around in a year without a serious pivot. Who is going to pay the AWS bill indefinitely?
U
Undisclosed #2
Dec 12, 2017Why does the lux go up in the scene when the distance to target increases?
Rob Kilpatrick
Dec 12, 2017Why does the lux go up in the scene when the distance to target increases?
It is just the way the lighting is in the room this was shot in. At ~10' I am at the front of the lighting and at ~18' it is on top of me.
U
Undisclosed #2
Dec 12, 2017Ah, ok. Not sure why, but I was assuming that just the camera moved back further. Thanks for clearing that up.
DR
Dennis Ruban
Dec 12, 2017is it xiaomi square or just the same box design?
JH
John Honovich
Dec 13, 2017Wyze says they are OEMing Xiaomi's hardware but the firmware and the app are their own.
Also, ironically, Wyze is selling their version at less price than online pricing for the Xiaomi one.
FM
Frantz Mathias
Dec 13, 2017Any Wired connectivity?
PoE?
OnVIF?
Rob Kilpatrick
Dec 13, 2017Any Wired connectivity?
PoE?
OnVIF?
The camera has no Wired connection and does not support OnVIF.
DR
Dennis Ruban
Dec 13, 2017Rob Kilpatrick
Dec 13, 2017onvif with a custom FW
Can you clarify what firmware? Is it WyzeCams own firmware?
DR
Dennis Ruban
Dec 13, 2017I'm not sure. I was going to buy this xiaomi one and I googled if I can get rtsp of it, then I found some information on a forum how to hook it up to any third-party NVR and not to use chineese cloud
Scott Napier
Jan 04, 2018I have two of these at my house and they are decent enough for what I need. I have found that they are VERY active on Reddit, and most support issues have been resolved there quickly.
They are even addressing some of the network security concerns some users had after doing wireshark analysis on the traffic.
I have 64GB sd cards in each one of mine and recording/playback seem to work well. I am not using any of the alert features, which means I am not using any of the AWS stuff either. I did not see the need for it.
JH
John Honovich
Jan 04, 2018Scott, good feedback, thanks! Btw, very interesting / peculiar that they are providing support via Reddit. I am sure it works for some people but I doubt it works for most.
Scott Napier
Jan 04, 2018I habe no idea if that was an intentional choice or not, I stumbled onto it by mistake. It is a good resource though if they keep it up.
U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 04, 2018Testing $20 WyzeCam, The Money Losing Amazon Vet Startup
So this camera was designed for vetrinarian’s offices to track pets?
JH
John Honovich
Jan 18, 2018Update, Wyze has launched a forum with thisstrange marketing video:
On the plus side, the forum has a lot of activity, which is likely a product of their mass sales at $20 each plus non-existent real support.
JH
John Honovich
May 04, 2018Recent article: Business Insider - How a tiny camera startup is taking on Amazon and Google, key quotes:
- Claim no business model / way to make profits - "not trying to make money on any individual product but getting as many products out there because we really believe that this technology can help people and we want to get it in as many hands as possible." They must have some idea but it's not disclosed.
- "We sold 100,000 in our initial sale and sold out almost immediately and have been chasing inventory since then." That's $2 million in sales at ~$20 a piece
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
May 04, 2018Would like to see a Browser way of viewing these(multiple streams at once) or a app on pc, I have three of these in my house, the android app is nice but only allows for 1 view at a time. They have a workaround for pc, but it involves a virtual box to run android and run an instance of the wyze app, but it is a resource hog. Each instance allows for only 1 view at a time.
MD
Matthew Del Salto
Jun 01, 2018https://openip.cam check this out. I have personally tested it and can confirm it works with Spectrum, Milestone, etc.
JH
John Honovich
May 30, 2018Wyze has added a $30 indoor mini PTZ:
Dori Ribak
May 31, 2018Funny...
It's an OEM Xiaomi Dafang or whoever manufacturers for both of them.
https://www.geekbuying.com/item/Xiaomi-Dafang-Smart-1080P-WiFi-IP-Camera-White-384022.html
JH
John Honovich
May 31, 2018Dori, that's Wyze's business model. (1) Resell Xiaomi low end cameras with a 10% markup, (2) spend millions on US marketing, (3) profit
Wyze says it is their own firmware and have an experienced management team, so there is certainly a plan to make money at some point, though I am not clear how.
Dori Ribak
May 31, 2018It's pretty clear to me.
No profit from the Camera, RMR from the cloud services.
Or at least that's what they hope.
JH
John Honovich
May 31, 2018Dori Ribak
May 31, 2018JH
John Honovich
May 31, 2018Sure, but how many consumers buying $20 cameras are going to pay for storage beyond 2 weeks? That's not a business model.
Ross Vander Klok
Jun 13, 2018I have had this up and running for about a week now and it works great. The only issues I have with it is the motion tracking basically sucks and no way to turn off alerts automatically when I (my phone) is home. Otherwise, this camera is pretty sweet for the money.
MD
Matthew Del Salto
Jun 01, 2018ONVIF capability tested with top VMS systems.
https://openip.cam
DR
Dennis Ruban
Jun 01, 2018Do they have onvif? I know, wyze promised to update the FW but it doesn’t make any sense for them
UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #4
Jun 13, 2018Wyze now has a pan tilt model for $30. Review here: FOX 31 Denver: Tech Junkie Review: Wyze Cam Pan – $30 Panning Wi-Fi Security Camera. https://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwjaLoujs
Product page here https://www.wyzecam.com/product/wyze-cam-pan/
Ross Vander Klok
Jun 13, 2018See above, John mentioned this last month and included a link.
I agree 100% with the included review though! Thanks for including that.
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