The next step in my HA journey is adding cameras; indoor, outdoor, and doorbell so I’ve been exploring my options. I had originally intended to do a Frigate setup, I even have a Coral module and PC to do it with, but then I discovered Reolink.
Without having any experience with them they look nearly ideal. They seem to have tight integration with HA 2023.3 or later and their pricing and functionality look good.
They seem like a no brainer but I’ve noticed that they’re often NOT the first recommendation in the HA Community. Why is that and why shouldn’t I use them?
I make use of Reolink cameras with Frigate (mix of PoE and WiFi) and haven’t had any issues with the smart home integration. The only issue I’ve had is with some RLC-811s (and a few other outdoor ones) where water gets into the reset cable and the camera essentially starts boot looping. Seal off those cables and you should be good though.
Don’t forget to use a drip loop. https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/what-is-a-drip-loop/