Ring Doorbell and Camera Night Vision (What You Need To Know) – New Video

YouTube thumbnail showing me in night vision mode with the text Rings night vision any good

Since most crime happens at night, a high quality night vision mode is really critical for your security system. As a result I wanted to shoot this video and talk through the pros and cons of Ring’s night vision mode, and also discuss how it works. I also explore Ring’s color night vision mode, and … Read more

The Difference Between Amazon Alexa and Echo (The “API Mandate” Is Alive!) – New Video

Echo vs Alexa difference YouTube thumbnail with me wearing a cowboy hat

People sometimes use the terms “Amazon Alexa” and “Amazon Echo” interchangeably, as though they are the same thing. But they are actually different. Amazon Alexa is the smart cloud platform used by Amazon, and this can be accessed on our phones, through our smart watches, in our cars – and yes, through Amazon Echo. Amazon … Read more

All Ring Doorbell Models Explained (Beginner-Friendly Buying Guide) – New Video

YouTube thumbnail showing me looking confused with 5 Ring Doorbells around me

Ring have come a long way since their appearance on Shark Tank back in 2013. Heck, they now offer 10 different smart doorbells (and over 10 smart cameras). Whilst this is good in terms of choice, it can also be pretty confusing. As as a result, I shot this video to talk you through all … Read more

A Message For Ring’s Marketing Team: SORT IT OUT! – New Video

YouTube thumbnail showing me looking annoyed and the text Why

I was recently on YouTube and Ring’s Floodlight Cam Wired Plus announcement video popped up for me to watch. This confused me, because Ring already announced this product – a month ago! As it turns out, that was actually a completely different product (the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro). Ring’s product line-up seems quite confusing … Read more

No, Ring Does NOT Offer True “Full HD” Quality – New Video

Picture of me talking with half of me being really pixelated

People quite rightly think that when a company advertises “full HD” quality… the image quality matches expected full HD (1080p) quality. Seems obvious, right?! Well unfortunately this isn’t really the case. Whilst Ring’s cameras and doorbells tend to have a 1920x1080p resolution, the all-important bit rate is a measly 2.5 Mbps – which is closer … Read more

Can Amazon Echo Identify Songs (Shazam Style)? [Not quite…] – New Video

YouTube thumbnail me singing with Simon Cowell judging me

Amazon Echo is a useful smart speaker: it has multiple microphones to listen to external sounds, and it can also play music. So… y’know… surely it can listen to playing music and tell you what song is playing, right? After all, Shazam can do this fine? Well as it turns out… NO, no it can’t. … Read more

Philips Hue White vs White Ambiance vs Color Ambiance – New Video

YouTube thumbnail showing me holding three Hue bulbs with the text Philips Hue Made Simple

The three Philips Hue color types (White, White Ambiance, and full Color) might seem confusing at first – especially if you are new to smart lighting. Thankfully the differences aren’t all that difficult to understand, as this video covers. I also cover which of the three color types I prefer. Video Transcript Hello, I’m Tristan … Read more

Ring Camera & Doorbell Signal Strength (RSSI) – How To Fix Poor WiFi Connections – New Video

YouTube thumbnail showing me talking with a Ring app screenshot and RSSI values to the side

Ring cameras and doorbells are great… when they have a strong Wi-Fi signal strength, that is. When they have a weak signal, you may experience a range of issues from missing recordings to poor quality video. Thankfully the Ring app makes it easy to see whether a weak Wi-Fi signal is at fault due to … Read more

4 CREEPY Aspects of Smart Homes – New Video

Me looking at an Echo Dot scared

Smart homes are great. They give a range of benefits to home owners and lodgers. BUT they have some big downsides too: they can be really creepy. Whether it’s listening to your household’s conversations by mistake, running facial recognition on people walking by or various data privacy issues, it’s important to know the risks so … Read more

Let There Be (Smart) Light! GLEDOPTO Triac AC Dimmer Review – New Video

YouTube thumbnail showing me using a Hue Dimmer Switch to control a dumb halogen bulb

In 2021, GLEDOPTO released their latest product – a smart triac AC dimmer, which is Zigbee based and can introduce smart (on/off and dimming) functionality to standard ‘dumb’ bulbs – such as dimmable LEDs, halogen and incandescent lights. This is wired into the lighting circuit and sits inside the light switch, and it worked really … Read more