Currently using SmartThings and might want to change.

[Ri22o]

Let's see if I can make all of this make sense.

I originally started with a Wink system. At some point there was a deal on SmartThings Connect 3 pack. I originally bought this to use as a Wi-Fi mesh network but when I ran into how Wink wanted to handle my GE fan control and also wanting to charge a monthly fee I decided to migrate all of my devices over to my SmartThings hubs. From there I started using WebCore and have all of my automations running in there with my Amazon Echo handling some routines.

2 years ago my house was hit by lightning and I lost one of my Connect hubs. I replaced the 3 pack with the newer version to fix my Wi-Fi, but left my SmartThings and WebCore set up on the older hubs (I didn't want to hassle with moving everything and setting it up again if it was working). I am having some connectivity issues with some of my devices and it would be nice to add an additional hub in the garage, but they are no longer available...

One of my automations is when my Ring doorbell sees motion it will turn on the can lights on the porch. After 3 mins of no motion they resume or turn off. I feel the responsiveness of Ring has been real hit/miss lately. Now that I am getting AI set up in BI I am considering moving towards camera/AI control over some of these devices, opening up a lot of new options. I could have AI and the front door camera do the work for me. I have considered moving to a new doorbell, but the cost is covered in my Pro subscription for the alarm. The only reason to switch would be to remove the cloud based data and go with a better piece of hardware.

For someone coming from SmartThings using WebCore, what would you suggest? Home Seer? Home Assistant? XX??

Some features and integrations I am looking for:
Amazon Echo
Ring
Chamberlain MyQ
Denon
Blue Iris
Dahua
Mobile App Capabilities
Ease of Use
Zwave and Zigbee

 

[GaryOkie]

Gosh, a month later - I'm sending the only reply? Have you landed on your replacement system yet?

I too started with Wink but then went with a Vera+ Hub. I have long ago switched to Home Assistant and am very happy with it. It supports all the devices/capabilities you have listed. Mine runs great on a Raspberry Pi4 using an external SSD instead of SDCard. (Faster and more reliable). I also have an instance running on a old laptop/SSD that has been rock solid.

Given Raspberry's hard to get, check into the availability of Home Assistant's new "Yellow" hardware. it has a Mattter-compatible Zigbee hardware built in. You would need to add a Zwave USB stick. The inexpensive Zwave.Me stick has worked great for me. Alternatively, look for a refurbished thin client or laptop as a hub.

 

[Ri22o]

Gosh, a month later - I'm sending the only reply? Have you landed on your replacement system yet?

I too started with Wink but then went with a Vera+ Hub. I have long ago switched to Home Assistant and am very happy with it. It supports all the devices/capabilities you have listed. Mine runs great on a Raspberry Pi4 using an external SSD instead of SDCard. (Faster and more reliable). I also have an instance running on a old laptop/SSD that has been rock solid.

Given Raspberry's hard to get, check into the availability of Home Assistant's new "Yellow" hardware. it has a Mattter-compatible Zigbee hardware built in. You would need to add a Zwave USB stick. The inexpensive Zwave.Me stick has worked great for me. Alternatively, look for a refurbished thin client or laptop as a hub.

Right?

I have not decided on anything yet, but Hubitat was suggested in the BI group on Facebook.

 

[Mike A.]

Just bite the bullet and move on to Home Assistant. It will do pretty much anything that you want to do and you'll likely end up there eventually anyway. There's a learning curve but with changes over the last couple of years it's not as intimidating as older info on the web may make it seem.

As above, you can pick up a used micro desktop or laptop or whatever for cheap and use that vs a Pi since they've become so hard to find and expensive lately. Better hardware and you can use it for other purposes as well. HA isn't all that resource intensive.

 

[Ri22o]

Just bite the bullet and move on to Home Assistant. It will do pretty much anything that you want to do and you'll likely end up there eventually anyway. There's a learning curve but with changes over the last couple of years it's not as intimidating as older info on the web may make it seem.

As above, you can pick up a used micro desktop or laptop or whatever for cheap and use that vs a Pi since they've become so hard to find and expensive lately. Better hardware and you can use it for other purposes as well. HA isn't all that resource intensive.

I have a Pi that I am using for the LEDs behind my TV, but would rather have something Windows based and dedicated.

Would something like this be sufficient for HA?

https://smile.amazon.com/Fanless-Processor-Computer-Dual-Band-Business/dp/B0BM8PN49S/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3IHX2R981QCWO&keywords=mini%2Bpc&qid=1669830890&sprefix=mini%2Bpc%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&th=1

 

[Ri22o]

I would actually be inclined to spend a little more and go with a known brand.

https://smile.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-Desktop-i5-6500T-Windows/dp/B07QGLC4FW/ref=sxin_15_cpf_saw-CPFPecos-dsk-lmlk-asin?content-id=amzn1.sym.0f1b45b9-2ef3-449d-8dec-0cc7749915dc%3Aamzn1.sym.0f1b45b9-2ef3-449d-8dec-0cc7749915dc&crid=1JXGD2UU7DEP6&cv_ct_cx=micro+pc&keywords=micro+pc&pd_rd_i=B07QGLC4FW&pd_rd_r=a4a3f83e-353c-4c62-a7b4-4bb7b537b926&pd_rd_w=353ww&pd_rd_wg=bYaam&pf_rd_p=0f1b45b9-2ef3-449d-8dec-0cc7749915dc&pf_rd_r=FHCWSP2NQ15VVSXN66XP&qid=1669831609&sprefix=micro+pc%2Caps%2C106&sr=1-1-88bb4e7b-fb79-43dc-9dec-6da196f88672

 

[Mike A.]

I know nothing about that one but probably so for a typical HA system. I run mine on a Dell 3040 i3-6100T micro that I had laying around that I got for < $100. That's way more than really needed. 4 GB memory is plenty. Might want to up the storage some if you have a lot of add-ons and eventually want to do things that maintain a database. Looks like mine currently is using about 32 GB space running in VirtualBox. Not sure how much of that is overhead with virtualization but it is what it is as an end result. I have a bunch of add-ons but don't do much of anything that requires much storage. I did have to up what I originally had allocated as I've added things.

Think I might look for a little more capable machine so that I could do other things on the same server or better repurpose otherwise it later.

 

[GaryOkie]

Yeah, both of those systems you linked are more than capable of running HA - but not directly on Windows! (You would have to run the Windows Linux subsystem or other VM to host HA on a Windows machine). But then you also said you wanted a dedicated system, so realistically, you don't want Windows (along with BI?) on it.

There are several options to how you can install HA, but the simplest/recommended way has the OS included - referred to as the Home Assistant Operating System install.

A good article on RasPi alternatives from ArsTechnica came out yesterday - worth a quick read: Used thin client PCs are an unsexy, readily available Raspberry Pi alternative

 

[Ri22o]

I ended up going with a Hubitat C8 and am in the process of getting it set up. What BI integrations are available? @Vettester ? Any suggestions?

 

[Vettester]

What BI integrations are available?

There's not a lot of BI integrations available for HE, but you can do a lot with Maker API and virtual devices. The only integration I think of off the top of my head is bptworld's BI Control.

[Deprecated] BI Control - Local Blue Iris control

Introducing 'BI Control' This app is designed to work locally with Blue Iris security software. Note: This was written for BI4. If using BI5 results may vary. This app has been merged into Event Engine - Automate your world with easy to use Cogs. Rev up complex automations with just a few...

community.hubitat.com

 

[Ri22o]

Thanks. Do you have any tiles with BI feeds? I tried some things I found but was not successful.

 

[Vettester]

Thanks. Do you have any tiles with BI feeds? I tried some things I found but was not successful.

I don't use HE dashboards, but you should be able to use

http://192.168/86.58:81/mjpg/camera

name to get a live camera feed from BI. Of coarse you'll need to change the ip address and port to match your BI server.

 

[Ri22o]

This is what I tried, but did not have any luck. I have tried without the extension and without video. It does work when entered into a browser though.

http://192.168.0.223:81/mjpg/Office/video.m3u8

I have given the HE IP access to BI without authentication.

 

[Ri22o]

Also, it looks like the BI Control app was deprecated for Event Engine, which is now also deprecated. He made mention of WebCore causing him to shelve EE. Should I just load WebCore? I used it before with my ST hubs.

 

[Vettester]

Should I just load WebCore?

I don't use WebCore so I can't say. I'm using Home Assistant for most of my camera stuff. I have both the Parent/Child code for the BI control if you want it.

 

[concord]

This is what I tried, but did not have any luck. I have tried without the extension and without video. It does work when entered into a browser though.

http://192.168.0.223:81/mjpg/Office/video.m3u8

I have given the HE IP access to BI without authentication.

Did you add you Hubitat ip address on BI, under Settings / Web server / Advanced?

 

[Ri22o]

Did you add you Hubitat ip address on BI, under Settings / Web server / Advanced?

I have given the HE IP access to BI without authentication.

 

[Ri22o]

 

[Vettester]

You shouldn't have to add this. Edit: OK, maybe you do need to add this. I checked mine and I'm allowing all IP addresses on my network using ^192.168.86.* .

I just tried creating an image tile on a dashboard and it seems to be working.

 

[Ri22o]

I am running some add-ons within Firefox that sometimes mess with how things are displayed. I will pause them and see if it helps.