Ring opens its app to non-Ring cameras

[aesterling]

I just read this news story that Ring will soon allow users to add 3rd party ONVIF cameras into the Ring ecosystem and take advantage of their app, notifications, event history, etc.

It sounds like a bad idea that I'd personally never want to use, but I still found it to be an interesting move, and I'm sure some people will love it!

Camera requirements:

• Support a video stream of 1080p or lower
• Support H.264 encoding
• Have ONVIF enabled
• Have a valid password set

Cost and equipment:

"To use the integration, which goes live in April, users will have to pay for a Ring Protect Pro subscription plan ($20 a month or $200 a year) and have a Ring Alarm Pro ($250)."​

Here's The Verge news story: Ring lets non-Ring cameras into its app

 

[wittaj]

Probably a smart move on Ring's part.

They know their cameras cannot compete with the Dahua and Hiks of the world and this probably means they do not have a desire at this moment to enter into the market to compete with those type of cameras. Plus this would give them a glimpse into how many of their customers are interested in the better cameras. If all of a sudden over 50% of the cameras in the Ring app are not Ring cameras, that may motivate them to look into making better cameras.

This move allows them to expand existing customers that may already have ONVIF compliant devices running a separate platform. I suspect the Ring app is probably easier to use than DMSS for the average consumer. Ring probably spends more in app development than ONVIF compliant device companies.

Or it may encourage those with a Ring doorbell and/or Ring Alarm to invest in better quality cameras and bring them into the Ring platform.

Of course this isn't for everyone and I am sure most here would not go to the cloud-based subscription model, but I could see this being good for their bottom line for the average consumer that favors simplicity.