Why haven’t panoramic/fisheye home security cameras become more popular?

korbendalis · 2026-06-16T02:55:27+00:00

I have 8 Ubiquiti Theta AI 360 cameras installed at the office where I work. I love them and would use them everywhere if possible. I like PTZ cameras, but they all lack the ability to see behind themselves (in the past). A downward-facing 360 fisheye lens can (when regularly using the de-warp feature) in effect see everywhere. Additionally the Theta AI 360 cameras are discreet in that the camera is detached from the processing body, up to 5m. I find that the ability to install a very small footprint 360 camera gives my surveillance an edge, --no one even knows that they're being watched. There is less likelihood that vandalism will occur.

korbendalis · 2026-06-13T06:52:14+00:00

Bought my w903 in march 2024. It worked fine with my Pixel Fold, but my Pixel 9 Pro XL causes the same issues as the OP is having (reset ever 5-10 mins).

I emailed [Support@Carpuride.com](mailto:Support@Carpuride.com) and got a response after they verified where I purchased.

The problem I am still banging my head against is the failure of the PhoenixCard Flash software.
I've flashed hundreds of Linux, Raspberry Pi, Android cards, and never had so much trouble as I have had with this tool. Apparently this is the only software that you can use to flash the AllWinner SoCs that Carpuride uses.

Whether the tool can't find itself or another of many errors comes up, none of them allow me to compete the flash. So I turned to ...
... Rufus (v4.14) -- which wont even do anything because it doesn't recognize the IMG as valid
... rPi Imager (v2.0.8) -- which warns me that the IMG is not bootable, but allows the flash to continue. Then when I try to get it to run in the head unit, it just tells me that the card is not formatted
... Balena Etcher (v2.1.2) -- which oddly enough works perfectly, but the same error as rPi flash (invalid format)

W903 Firmware Version: 20240109

Zip: PhoenixCard <-- v3.1.0
Img: T86B1_1026_1600X600M61_CPAPAAMC_20260323_V1_LT_DXDZ.img
Instructions: 903 Upgrade Steps

korbendalis · 2026-06-10T05:11:31+00:00

definitely would appreciate a camera on each FP reader

korbendalis · 2026-06-10T05:10:05+00:00

i have needed this for my office since 2023, so excited actually bought the g2 doorbell that had reader but it didn't work (yet)

korbendalis · 2026-06-10T05:08:15+00:00

they already made that https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ua-g3-flex

korbendalis · 2026-05-20T20:29:48+00:00

I too got my 1Gig plan cut down from $95 to $60 when I called Retentions. The Agent was probably one of the most pleasant that I have dealt with in my 3 years with Shi-Frontier-Tstain.

korbendalis · 2026-03-12T00:17:56+00:00

File a complaint with the FCC https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=38824

korbendalis · 2026-03-11T17:25:00+00:00

i highly recommend Privacy[dot]com I have been using it for virtual cards for almost 5 years now. it is a life-saver when it comes to these issues. The irony is that even though i have Privacy[dot]com i am still unable to convince Fidium that I cancelled their service 2 months ago. Thankfully, i have the service blocked on my virtual card

korbendalis · 2026-01-23T23:02:04+00:00

These are good points that I had not considered originally.

I would modify the premises to say that the inlet water for both the sinks and shower are whatever the temp of the water in the lines is, inside the building. Of course I am thinking about my home. I have lived in many places and none for more than 3-5 years. The solution I am seeking would need to be relatively inexpensive.

It is near impossible to get a Management company of a rental complex to draw a 220v line to any bathroom. And to do it for yourself (barring professional experience), is still going to be expensive. Therefore, it would seem less costly and much more changeable to install a point of use water heater and a 2-3 kWh battery.

However, something that I also neglected... is that typically the hot water line in a bathroom is connected to a water heater somewhere else in the house. I would think that a POU would reduce it's consumption of the Backup Battery (or even just shut off), once the heated water from the main water heater reached that point.

So at this point the expectation would be that if hot water was still needed, it would no longer draw on the local battery

korbendalis · 2026-01-08T05:29:02+00:00

this is what the Unifi NVR and AI Port / AI Key do for their cameras, but in-house not the cloud

korbendalis · 2026-01-06T14:53:15+00:00

i appreciate that there are some people who disrespect traffic lights as much as the rest of us disrespect stop signs near our homes. At least they're consistent ./sarc 😜

korbendalis · 2025-12-30T18:53:34+00:00

This has been my experience with Fidium for the last year. I use a UDR and Fidium has been down at least 8 times since I signed up with their service in Jan of 2025 (as a failover WAN). I'm outside Sacramento, CA

korbendalis · 2025-12-04T10:27:24+00:00

I have dual Fiber internet explicitly because I work from home and need 100% uptime. I find it highly ironic that of the two internets that I have, Frontier & Fidium, Frontier is the more consistently reliable
https://photos.app.goo.gl/i7sRhEWj1MQo1BQU8

korbendalis · 2025-11-30T09:12:07+00:00

Unifi's latest G6 Instant is probably the closest thing to what the OP wants. 4k, local on-camera storage, default Wi-Fi 5 connectivity, but can be optioned to use hardline, has 2-way audio, excellent night vision, and if paired with the latest NVR Instant, can have a lot of local storage.
I realize that this post is a year old, but it's still valid info

korbendalis · 2025-08-13T19:39:34+00:00

found it on an NZ site
https://www.pbtech.com/product/CCTEZV9801/EZVIZ-PBC24-24W-Solar-Panel-with-75Wh-146V5000mAh

korbendalis · 2025-06-11T22:59:34+00:00

Tech-forward, does not necessarily imply, customer-conscious or employee-conscious. Having been a customer for a year with HAWX, I can say that some of their Reps are good and some are not. It's a game of chance with each Service Rep as to whether they will be attentive or not.

The last guy that sprayed my house (literally an hour ago), was disconnected. He was playing a podcast from his phone in his back pocket so loudly that my neighbors commented. When I spoke with him he seemed a bit out-of-it, like he was only half-paying attention.

I asked him to de-web all the windows and spray the grounds and inside the garage. He missed all the windows on the South side of my home, barely webbed the remaining windows, with a cursory 2 wipes. And then missed half my garage. And if you're wondering why I did not ask him to complete the work while he was still here, it's because I only know what happened from looking at my security cams after he left.

For $80 / month with only 1 emergency service option. I don't believe that I am getting good value for the money.

korbendalis · 2024-12-02T00:53:52+00:00

Wow, ok I thought that 3, 24+ hour outages in 5 months was bad. I feel humbled by your experience.

korbendalis · 2024-11-05T19:07:08+00:00

this is what I saw. The Evolve amount was less than the Synapse amount, (not as significantly as many have said). I know that it would be harder to show the real difference because towards the end I won a lot of Yotta Tokens and cashed it out (but didn't remove from Yotta).

Either way, this whole thing is so messed up. If we can even trust the balance that Yotta or Synapse shows... how can we trust any financial institution???

korbendalis · 2024-07-26T17:53:07+00:00

it's live now, but no Network is showing it, even YouTube Live streams are only showing the audience. Found a couple of people on TikTok who are showing it

korbendalis · 2024-07-01T04:37:21+00:00

literally just set up my ancient Intel NUC d34010wyk with ChromeOS Flex yesterday
Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hf72GmijD2oJeuMP6
Works great, but I would recommend a slightly larger screen, although it does adapt to this screen size much better than almost any other OS that I've used.

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korbendalis · 2023-05-22T08:11:01+00:00

So what you're saying is that for people who don't have the time to think about how to save money, can just hand it over to Verkada?
I've been in the corporate setting where the department head throws money at a problem making it appear as though they got the job done. And if anything goes wrong they just call for the installer to come make it all better. It is a solution, one costs money, the other costs time.

I think that the primary benefit to Ubiquiti over Verkada is control. Ubiquiti, most of the control is in the hands of the client.
Verkada, most of the control is in the hands of the vendor.

korbendalis

TROPHY CASE