Help configuring HA for Reolink cameras at two locations

Configuration
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Hello!

I am a newbie to self-hosting and to Home Assistant. I am planning to switch out my Ring cameras to Reolink cameras. I have two locations, one main location (Location A) and one location that I don't visit often, a few miles away (Location B). I will have two cameras at Location A and one at Location B. I am considering using HA to avoid using Reolink servers.

My idea was to install HA on a server at Location A, install Tailscale at both Location A and a server at Location B, and connect Location B directly to Location A's HA through Tailscale. (And then install Tailscale on my phone so I can access HA remotely.)

I know I could install HA at both locations and then use the HA integration to add Location B's camera to Location B, but as far as I can tell, running HA (at Location B) would require a more powerful machine than just running Tailscale, and I would like to keep my expenses low-ish.

I would not be streaming video 24/7, just using motion alerts, live view, and video playback from recorded events.

Is this something that would be doable?

Also, what machines would you recommend I use? I was thinking of something like a Raspberry Pi 4 or Lenovo ThinkCentre as the main HA machine at Location A, and then something like a Raspberry Pi 3b+ or Zero 2 W to run Tailscale at Location B. Would that be good?

Thank you!

2

Take a look at Reolink's HomeHub as an alternative option.

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I'm far from an expert, but I would double check whether any of those devices would be able to handle smooth playback of live streams, even with a single cam.

You might have to bump down the stream quality considerably in order to avoid throttling & out of memory errors.

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Thank you!

5

Yeah, thank you, I'll probably use a different setup.

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As for your host machine, I wouldn't rule out a refurbished desktop/tower computer. The price is competitive to an equivalently configured RPi (case, power supply, RAM, disk size). The ones I have require less than 20W power (RPi 5: 3A @ 5v = 15W) Yes, it's a lot bigger.

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Yes, I have actually decided that going for a mini PC is the best option. Thanks!