4 weeks ago
How can you lower the upload bandwidth of the 2nd gen Nest Cam to less than 200Kbps in circumstances where there is a limited bandwidth Internet connection.
I previously had 2 DropCams operating at a remote location with a best case 1.2Mbps up/768Kbps down ADSL connection (the fastest, cheapest and only option available). The DropCams were configurable for ~200Kbps upload BW (with reduced image quality) using the original DropCam App and the Nest App.
The 2nd Gen Nest Cam is only supported by the Google Home app which has no provision for low BW/Minimum image quality (only High and Max). The auto BW scaling option doesn't seem to react and certainly doesn't play well with another camera online. The result is that I can run only 1 camera at a time and even then it goes offline constantly with any BW hiccup in the ADSL line. There is also no BW available for any other remote telemetry. The result is a definite downgrade from the DropCam product.
Is there any way to configure the Google Home APP/2nd Gen Nest Cam to run at minimum upload BW that won't cause an ADSL line to fall over (i.e. 200-250Kbps)? If not, I will have to ditch these cameras and find another solution which seems a shame.
I've used the DropCams up to now for 10 years without BW issues. Seems like there should be a way to downscale the BW.
Answered! Go to the Recommended Answer.
3 weeks ago
The consensus on this issue is: No you cannot use 2nd Gen Nest Cams on ADSL connections as the minimum uplink bandwidth for one camera will saturate the capacity of an typical 1.2Mbps down/768Kbps uplink ADSL connection. With one camera the connection will be intermittent. With two, it will not function at all.
So for anyone looking to use 2nd Gen Nest Cameras in this kind of environment. Sorry. Doesn't work.
4 weeks ago
Got my up and down reversed for ADSL.... It is 1.2Mbps Down/768Kbps up.
4 weeks ago
Google Nest has definitely increased the required MINIMUM upload bandwidth for its 2nd gen cameras and doorbells over that needed for 1st gen cameras and doorbells (and for Dropcams):
4 weeks ago
Hi @MplsCustomer , Thanks for the concise summary. I had found that info (and posted it a few other places). The charts for the Nest Indoor camera suggests that it can operate in a low BW mode but it requires the associated app to configure it. This is why the inability of the Google Home app to do so is so frustrating. While Google thinks it is a "feature" it is clearly a problem. Removing an essential configuration and giving the consumer no recourse seems like a great way to make them go elsewhere.
I note that using just one camera, there appears to be a one-one correlation between recording an "event" and then a connection interruption so the "automatically adjust video bitrate based on available bandwidth where possible" statement essentially means "we'll go offline". Not a good behavior.
I did call Google support and they said "Sorry, it won't work and there is nothing we can do" ... which sucks.
3 weeks ago
The consensus on this issue is: No you cannot use 2nd Gen Nest Cams on ADSL connections as the minimum uplink bandwidth for one camera will saturate the capacity of an typical 1.2Mbps down/768Kbps uplink ADSL connection. With one camera the connection will be intermittent. With two, it will not function at all.
So for anyone looking to use 2nd Gen Nest Cameras in this kind of environment. Sorry. Doesn't work.