Ring opens up its best features to third-party cameras for a hefty price

Ring opens its walled garden to third-party cameras — for a price.

What you need to know

Ring announces that its app and services will soon work with ONVIF compatible cameras.
These compatible devices will have full access to Ring's features, including live view, real-time notifications, event history, and timeline data.
Ring customers will need a Ring Alarm Pro Base Station and Ring Protect Pro subscription, in addition to an ONVIF compatible camera, for everything to work correctly.

Ring, the smart home solutions provider owned by Amazon, recently announced that it was allowing third-party security cameras to access its app for the first time ever. However, just because the company is opening up its services doesn't mean it plans to be any laxer on security. According to an update on Ring's website, only ONVIF compatible cameras will work with the best Ring products, and only if the customer also has specific equipment installed and subscribes to Ring's premier service tier.

If you're not familiar with ONVIF, it is an organization that sets forth security standards for connected devices like smart cameras, doorbells, and security systems. Its 500-plus members include Amcrest, Bosch, Foscam, Honeywell, Lorex, Microsoft, Samsung, Sharp, and many others. Its members collectively offer over 20,000 profile conformant products worldwide.

ONVIF is an open industry forum that provides and promotes standardized interfaces for effective interoperability of IP-based physical security products. - ONVIF.org

Once the integration rolls out to the Ring app, all Ring customers will have to do is add the camera(s) to their account via the app, and they'll then be able to take advantage of the full range of app features. This includes live view, real-time notifications, event history and timeline, and even the ability to process and store videos locally.

Unfortunately, adding non-Ring cameras won't be cheap. In order to take advantage of these features with their ONVIF compatible camera, Ring customers will need to have a Ring Alarm Pro Base Station (which typically retails for $250) and pay for the Ring Protect Pro Subscription (at $200/year service).

If you're a Ring Protect Pro customer and are interested in adding ONVIF cameras to your account, you can sign up to be notified when the program is available on the Ring website.

ONVIF ready

Amcrest UltraHD 4k Outdoor Camera

$100 at Amazon

Ready to go

Amcrest makes some of the most affordable and reliable security cameras around, and soon you'll be able to use devices like this with your Ring app.

Source: androidcentral

The hidden cost of food delivery

Noah Lichtenstein Contributor Share on Twitter Noah Lichtenstein is the founder and managing partner of Crossover , a diversified private technology fund backed by institutional investors, technology execs and professional athletes and entertainers. More posts by this contributor What Studying Students Teaches Us About Great Apps I’ll admit it: When it comes to food, I’m lazy. There are dozens of great dining options within a few blocks of my home, yet I still end up ordering food through delivery apps four or five times per week. With the growing coronavirus pandemic closing restaurants and consumers self-isolating, it is likely we will see a spike in food delivery much like the 20% jump China reported during the peak of its crisis. With the food delivery sector rocketing toward a projected $365 billion by the end of the decade, I’m clearly not the only one turning to delivery apps even before the pandemic hit. Thanks to technology (and VC funding) we can get a ri

Cyber Monday Canada: Last-minute deals for everyone on your list

Best Cyber Monday Canada deals: Smart Home Audio Phones, Tablets & Accessories Wearables Laptops & PC Components Amazon products Gaming Televisions Cameras Lifestyle & Kitchen Toys & Kids Cyber Monday Canada is here, and retailers are rolling out the red carpet for customers who want to shop for everything from tech to kitchenware to games and everything in between. Unlike years past, Cyber Monday Canada deals look a bit different than normal. Instead of retailers trying to pack their stores with as many shoppers as possible, we're seeing tons of online deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your home. We've rounded up our favorites below, so feel free to browse through the best of what Canada Cyber Monday has to offer! This list is being updated with new Cyber Monday deals all the time, so check back often. Spotlight deals It's a Switch Nintendo Switch Fortnite Edition bundle $399.95 at Amazon It's a Switch.

iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, which was released two years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, Macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and five hours of additional battery life. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, but it is still possible to get hold of it second-hand. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you and serves as a way to c

Slack’s new integration deal with AWS could also be about tweaking Microsoft

Slack and Amazon announced a big integration late yesterday afternoon. As part of the deal, Slack will use Amazon Chime for its call feature, while reiterating its commitment to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider to run its infrastructure. At the same time, AWS has agreed to use Slack for internal communications. Make no mistake, this is a big deal as the SaaS communications tool increases its ties with AWS, but this agreement could also be about slighting Microsoft and its rival Teams product by making a deal with a cloud rival. In the past Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has had choice words for Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant sees his company as an “existential threat.” Whether that’s true or not — Teams is but one piece of a huge technology company — it’s impossible not to look at the deal in this context. Aligning more deeply with AWS sends a message to Microsoft, whose Azure infrastructure services compete with AWS. Butterfield didn’t say that of course

Tech Talk

Search This Blog