Review on 🐶 Petcube Bites: Advanced Pet Camera and Treat Dispenser [2017 Edition] by Peris Auditore

This is a fun product - combining a pet cam with a treat whisk is a great idea. It is very amusing to see how our dog looks curiously at the mysterious treat that is thrown to him; Close-ups of her nose as she tries to extract the last tidbits from the slingshot ring are hilarious. While the hardware is solid overall, there are a few aspects that make using the Petcube Bites frustrating: The Wi-Fi connection is unreliable. , the two-way audio is so loud that it scares our dog more than it calms it, the cloud service is outrageously expensive and there doesn't seem to be any other way to access the camera than through this cloud service (=> a manager is trying to generate a steady stream of income from the destruction of an otherwise excellent product). Note: I bought the device on a treasure wagon for $100. Unfortunately, Revain will not replace my broken (poor WiFi) module due to the treasure wagon discount. I can't recommend a full-priced device given its shortcomings, and at $100 I would only recommend it to those of us who have the time and ability to open it rather than the software. In short, the device is an easily removable treat container. cleaning and a solid metal base that houses the treat tossing mechanism and electronics. Physically, it's very solidly made and will withstand our dog's "sniffing" without even faltering. The camera looks like FullHD with a 135 degree wide angle lens. Night vision is provided by IR illumination, and the PIR sensor triggers video recording when motion is detected. Microphone and loudspeaker enable bi-directional communication. Pros: - 135 degree wide viewing angle is very good for indoor use - the arm looks solid and is a lot of fun - the motion sensor works reliably, as does the notification feature that notifies me on my phone - enough weight and a sturdy base to sniff safely " from our dog. Bad: - expensive cloud service - only available via Petcube app and Alexa (no web interfaces, neither local nor in the cloud, no API to integrate with home automation or security system) - no access to operating system Bad: - Audio background noise & distortion so high that our dog freaks out when I turn it on - Wi-Fi connection drops frequently, allowing for no more than 1-2 minutes of live viewing at a time - Expensive paper weight when the Petcube -Cloud is terminated Expectations: It's essentially a Wi-Fi security camera paired with a treat-throwing device A quality (branded but consumer grade) indoor wifi security camera from say Dahua or Hikvision costs me $100-$150. The additional $100 price tag is reasonable for a solidly implemented treat-throwing mechanism. So despite the high price, it seems reasonable for a quality product. However, I expect working WiFi and no weird distortions on the audio channel. None of these are acceptable in this price range. Since few people here experience Wi-Fi issues, this could be a production issue. Since I usually encounter this when watching live video, it could be a temperature issue. If I can't fix it under warranty I'll probably look at the antenna connectors and heatsinks inside. I have fewer theories as to where the audio noise is coming from. This may be software related, although it almost sounds like poorly filtered noise in the stream. Maybe a better USB power adapter would help. I also expect full access to the device. With any ordinary surveillance camera, I can log into the device, check the software running on it and change it to my liking (if I had the time, of course). They offer me a cloud service, they even persuade me to subscribe but they don't force me. The same applies to almost all devices, except for those that we receive from large corporations - Google, Apple, Revain, Samsung, etc. I have some confidence in the fact that bugs are quickly found and quickly fixed, and their cloud systems It is unlikely to be phased out anytime soon. Petcube but. Who knows if this cloud service will be available in a year or two? Without them, the device becomes a paperweight. By the way, the first Petcube security bug (private SSH keys found on devices) has already happened. So do I really want this thing to give every petcube system operator a full view of my living room? So dear Petcube, here is what I need to give you five stars: - Give me the username and password for this open SSH port. - Let me add a camera to my security system via ONVIF - it's easy to implement, there are free and open source solutions. - Fix problem with Wi-Fi - Fix problem with sound. To sum up, please stop trying to squeeze a significant continuous stream of revenue from your customers by locking them into a bad cloud platform after purchasing a high-priced product. This hasn't worked for anyone (except Apple). Too bad because the rest of the Petcube is really cool.