Ten or so years ago, when Google was still mostly a darling, I never thought they would ever try to pull anything like that. Yet here we are, and my dropcam is just going to brick itself in April. No update for RTSP/Onvif, just FU you are out of luck.
Similarly, at least one device I bought didn't require an account when I first got it, but then all of a sudden there was a new app update and you didn't think twice about it, but now this requires a cloud connection. It sneaks up on you, and a few years ago I wasn't thinking about this stuff.
But yeah, now I have zero tolerance for this stuff. I have had Google/Nest brick my stuff and nag me to get a subscription, Sonos has tried to strong arm me into upgrading my equipment at a cost of over $1k, etc. I am more than willing to pay tons extra for devices I actually own and control, and whose data I own and never leaves my network. Problem is, that its tricky to find stuff that supports open standards. I was more than willing to go in on Ubiquiti's very expensive gear until I learned that they also lock you in and don't support RTSP/Onvif. Then you are mostly in dubious Chinese brands for things and you can't be sure of the quality- though at least I can block them from phoning home or sending anything out of my network.
The smarthome world is just a real mess right now.
Ten or so years ago, when Google was still mostly a darling, I never thought they would ever try to pull anything like that. Yet here we are, and my dropcam is just going to brick itself in April. No update for RTSP/Onvif, just FU you are out of luck.
Similarly, at least one device I bought didn't require an account when I first got it, but then all of a sudden there was a new app update and you didn't think twice about it, but now this requires a cloud connection. It sneaks up on you, and a few years ago I wasn't thinking about this stuff.
But yeah, now I have zero tolerance for this stuff. I have had Google/Nest brick my stuff and nag me to get a subscription, Sonos has tried to strong arm me into upgrading my equipment at a cost of over $1k, etc. I am more than willing to pay tons extra for devices I actually own and control, and whose data I own and never leaves my network. Problem is, that its tricky to find stuff that supports open standards. I was more than willing to go in on Ubiquiti's very expensive gear until I learned that they also lock you in and don't support RTSP/Onvif. Then you are mostly in dubious Chinese brands for things and you can't be sure of the quality- though at least I can block them from phoning home or sending anything out of my network.
The smarthome world is just a real mess right now.