We hooked our alarm up to our Vonage line back when we owned a house, and did some testing with the alarm company. The monitoring company informed us that VOIP was not guaranteed but we did a dozen tests with no problem so they blessed it and we had no further issues. I used Vonage for years with no problems. My dad used MagicJack for a long time and was pretty happy with it as well.
Thanks guys. There were several things on ADT and other websites (I use a local company) that mentioned that it might not work. And, my local folks just said it might not work. Nothing definitive anywhere, so I was looking for someone who actually successfully used it. Thanks Binary! I know if may be hit or miss and ymmv per location, but I think my local guy just wanted to sell me the new cellular equipment.
The hit-or-miss thing isn't really a location issue, it's that VOIP isn't prioritized over other internet traffic from source to destination, and the packets it uses are not guaranteed to be delivered or delivered in a specific order. That means VOIP works great a whole lot of the time, but is a little less than ideal for an automated call like that whose importance may be significant. A signal needs to be transmitted to the monitoring company, and it's possible that the signal comes through garbled, or parts get lost. Of course, they should still be alerting on the fact that your phone # placed a call. And I obviously thought it was safe enough or I wouldn't have used it.
In my case the compression was turned up so high (to minimize bandwidth) that it affected the signal quality for the fax machine. Reducing the compression was all it took for it to work, and it took 3 mins on a call with their tech support to get done. Again, that was years ago, and I can only think it would have gotten better since then.
I'm looking for a decent starter video camera for an entry level college student in the $500 range. Anyone have a good option? It's for my wife's son's HS graduation gift and we know nothing about that kind of stuff. TIA
For $500 you might as well just use the camera on the newest iPhone model, which is often compared to DSLR cameras that shoot decent video. If you’re willing to up your budget a bit, the Canon EOS 70D is a decent, straight-forward camera.
That looks like a standard DSLR camera. Looking for a video camera. I know that a DSLR can shoot video but I heard it's either not as good or not as easy to edit or whateverthefuck
Yeah, but on a $500 budget, video-only cameras are a bit anachronistic/would be terrible and the ones worth getting are exponentially out of your price range. A decent DSLR or mirrorless that also shoots great video is your best bet. Another one similar to the previous suggestion is the Panasonic G85 as it shoots in 4K.
I would probably not recommend a DSLR for a beginner video camera. A mirrorless camera would be better. That said, there's a real question of "what are you trying to shoot"? I mean, if someone wants to video the nesting habits of birds, it's going to be a much different recommendation than someone who wants to do fashion, and again different from someone who wants to do field sports, which is in turn different from someone who wants to shoot at the skate park. All of these things require different lenses and accessories. In a lot of cases, a gimbal and a tripod for the phone, a directional mic, and maybe a couple small accessory lenses, along with some good video editing software, are going to set someone up to do pretty decent videos and those things aren't going to be super cheap. I'm not super in tune with the video market, I just do photography as a hobby. When you want to buy a camera of any kind, you need to understand what role it's filling. If you don't know that specifically, I would go with a nice package of accessories that he can attach to his smartphone and editing software. At least those will be a compact kit that will always have a place in his bag, even if he switches over to a nicer camera later. Or a gift card.
Welp, we got our payout from insurance for that bad wind storm for our roof, our fence, and some oddball other small items. They lowballed the FUCK out of the valuation on the fence. Like less than half of what 2 different contractors estimated. I am reading everything I can about how to contest this now, but does anyone half any practical advice for a homeowner newbie? I want to know what I'm talking about before I make a call to insurance. We have allstate if that matters. *edit: Aw man, didn't realize claims commonly took an extended amount of time. Felt pressured to settle and didn't know better. I might be fuckarood.
Oh man. So @shegirl might know. In your pro opinion, how boned am I? Edit: Oh and even though they paid out most of the claim, it is still open because we need the work on the roof done with a bill for the last to be deposited. I think that part might be a little saving grace.
OK, so. The insurance company will hold 10% until the work is actually done. The contractor(s) submit the proof of repairs and final billing directly to your insurance, and they get the remaining bit + something like 10% more for contractors fees. Your job is to have the fence contractor get with your insurance and bill them for the actual cost above that low ball payout. The contractor can straight up call and say hey, you missed this pretty badly. Failing that, get the fence dude to agree to accept whatever they can milk out of your insurance in order for you to hire them. Just make it their problem. Remember, half of ALL fence jobs are labor....they have room. I promise.
It has been my experience that when shopping insurance, you need to shop the agent rather than the company. When the shit or hurricane hits the fan, you need an advocate and that is your agent. I have a client who is one of the top producers in the country for her company. When stuff happens to one of her customers, you bet the company listens very intently when she talks.
On this policy, they did not need proof of repairs for the fence. Only the roof. Does that change if I am coming back to them for more money? So would you advise I get in touch with my local agent? The top of the itemized claim pay out document has a statement that says to get in touch with the third party estimator if there is a problem with contractor cost being different than the payout. I was getting a little overwhelmed with all the characters at play here. I have a local agent who sold me the policy to whom I pay the premium, a third-party estimator who came out in person to look at the damage, some women who seem to coordinate communication for the claim, and a regional adjuster who sent me an itemized claim pay out document and direct deposited money for the claim. I believe he is the one that I also need to send documentation about the roof to when it is complete. Another related problem. The fence is a depreciable item. The adjuster is calling this a repair for the majority of the fence because a repair is paid at the full value vs being depreciated. I actually get more money this way. There is maybe one good section left, the fence needs to be totally replaced. All the bids are for replacement. Is that going to screw my claim up? I have been arranging contractors to come make bids, is that not normally done that way?
Bewildered, If I had bought a policy from a local agent, that is the first person I would call. That really is their job. I had a young lady back into my truck in a parking lot. I went straight to my agent with the story and her insurance information. This was on a Friday. My agent had me schedule with the body shop of my choice who got me in the following Tuesday and my Truck was in my hands on Thursday. Granted the work was not extensive as far as anything other than body damage, but I was impressed with how my agent made sure I got fixed before arguing with the other insurance or any of the other bullshit I hear and read about.
It makes sense once I talk it out. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. Sounds like my agent should be my guy. Thanks for the advice @Puffman , I'll contact him tomorrow.
I don't know shit about home claims but I know a ton about automotive claims. It is not uncommon at all for the person who first inspected your car (the appraiser) to write a low ball estimate because a lot of people cash out and don't actually get the work done. If someone brings a car into my shop with a crappy insurance estimate, I revise the estimate, add the missing items and send the supplement to the insurance company for payment by the adjuster. Probably doesn't help you at all but the 1/2 bottle of red wine in my belly thinks it might.