[kwlug-disc] Home assistant: privacy-preserving doorbells

[Jason]

I use Amcrest cameras as they support open standards like RTSP and ONVIF
that allow you to tap into the direct video streams and use your own NVR
(Network Video Recorder).

https://support.amcrest.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052688931-Accessing-Amcrest-Products-Using-RTSP

Make sure the specific cameras you buy are compatible for this, as some of
the AI cameras had some weird setup requirements that didn't work.

Their doorbell does optionally connect to their Amcrest Cloud and app so
you can do easy notifications and talk on your phone.  I expect you could
set this up on Home Assistant yourself and not use their cloud service at
all.

The cameras are rebranded Dahua Chinese cameras so if you're paranoid (I
am), make sure all the cameras are on their own VLAN and denied all
outbound traffic/access to the Internet and can only talk to the NVR. I can
confirm this works fine, and the cameras are easily managed through a web
interface.

For NVR software, I've used ZoneMinder, Shinobi, and Frigate.  ZoneMinder
was incredibly CPU intensive and difficult to set up.  Shinobi wasn't bad,
and had a mobile app.  Frigate seems to be the new hotness, but I don't
think there is an official app.

For drives, check out the Surveillance grade disks like the WD Purple, as
they're meant for continuous writing.

Hope that helps!

Jason

On Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 1:00 PM Paul Nijjar via kwlug-disc <
kwlug-disc at kwlug.org> wrote:

> Somebody (whom I won't name, but who I think is on this list) was
> wondering whether anybody here uses a privacy-preserving video
> doorbell as an alternative to Ring. Apparently Amazon shares video
> footage from Ring doorbells with law enforcement or ICE or something,
> and that makes people unhappy.
>
> I don't think we have covered this topic explicitly in a KWLUG
> meeting, but I could be wrong. Does anybody know?
>
> Even if we have not covered it, do people have suggestions? I know
> there are some doorbells that save to SD cards and not the cloud. I
> guess the goal would be to have control over the video so it does not
> touch a cloud server that could be redistributed to ICE.
>
> - Paul
>
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