Secruity camera question

[rayrevolver]

Time to nut up or shut up! Been waffling too long on these things. I need a security system and would like 1 or 2 cameras, specifically a doorbell camera.

While Ring is only $3 a month for the cloud, can anyone talk to what its like without a subscription? If I miss the alert, will I see on my phone who/what set it off an hour later?

Right now, I want to go with the Abode Starter Kit and add either the Ring Pro Doorbell Camera or a cheap Zmodo Greet. Simplisafe just released their new security system but it does not look as flexible as the Abode. I have a 1080P Dericam Wifi camera that I believe can be slaved to Abode.

...using a few Arlos is also an option. But man, all these things rely on wifi and that seems like the weak link.

Which leads me back to waffling and looking at wired systems for both security and cameras.

[RevolverRob]

After Amazon ran a Prime Day deal on Arlo last year, I got 5 cameras for my parents house. Over the winter break, I set them up and began to experiment with them. Overall, I agree with two points, 1) The Wi-Fi is the weak link, but a Wi-Fi repeater is your friend. 2) The motion detection is a bit slow, turning them to high res AND placing them higher up (for a broader view) is ideal. If you want a sense of what image Arlos can capture, without having to drag everything out. Use a selfie stick (yes I just said that). And the camera on your phone. Arlo has effectively that field of view (~150 degrees).

After some experimentation with placement and settings, we finally got them all setup the way we like. Most of them are high enough up to require a ladder to replace the batteries, but this gives a solid view of everything and plenty of motion activation. The main one we wanted was right on the front porch facing the sidewalk, where delivery men/most people walk up to the house. It's in your face but high enough to be out of eye height, given the shape and height of the porch. With tuning I have it activating at the front of the walk and you'd have to be covering your face for a 40-50 foot span (from street to porch), to not get caught by the camera.

The other nice feature for Arlo is the app-based live viewing system. My parents quickly got in the habit of checking the previous night's recordings with morning coffee from their phones/tablets. The only thing I don't like is the inability of Arlo to have stacked rules for recording. For instance I can tell it, "If motion is detected on Camera A. Record on camera B." But I can't tell it to do that and also "record on Camera A". Which is a weak link in the system.

In all, I like the Arlos,

[rob_s]

I got my Ring cameras this past week. I started out just by getting one of the spotlight cams up and running, and put it out back by the cat's dish. I'm pretty sold. I went ahead and signed up for the $100/year plan, and I'm hoping to get my gate and guest house cams installed in location today. I'm going to have an electrician install the floodlight cam just because we're already having someone come out anyway.

You can talk both ways, turn the thing on at any time, etc. It's pretty neat and the cloud storage allows you to access any event from anywhere at any time (provided you can get online).

One thing to note, there are different solar panels. I foolishly let Amazon tell me which one to get and got the one for the door bell (USB connection) not for the spotlight cam (different, waterproof, connection). I sent back the wrong one and ordered the right one at no added cost to me, but be aware of this if you're ordering.

[Mirolynmonbro]

If you don't have the ring subscription you can't see any video from the notifications. They give you 30 days free, but after that you have to subscribe.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

This was supposed to be a reply to Ray

[rob_s]

Yep, I signed up for the subscription. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

My one complaint, and I'm sure there's some setting I haven't messed with yet, is that the videos are too short. The way it's set up now it starts recording at first motion and then stops after x-time. I want it to keep recording as long as there's motion.

[RoyGBiv]

Yep, I signed up for the subscription. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

My one complaint, and I'm sure there's some setting I haven't messed with yet, is that the videos are too short. The way it's set up now it starts recording at first motion and then stops after x-time. I want it to keep recording as long as there's motion.

I believe all you get is 30 seconds... Then some refractory period (lol) and another 30 seconds.

[Mirolynmonbro]

The Ring website says 20 seconds for battery operated and 60sec for wired. But mentions a new feature that will be launched soon that will allow you to control how long it records footage

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[RoyGBiv]

The Ring website says 20 seconds for battery operated and 60sec for wired. But mentions a new feature that will be launched soon that will allow you to control how long it records footage

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Quick look at the last 4 activations on my Ring... last one was 21 seconds and the three before that were 29 seconds each..

Would be nice to have a setting that records up to 5 minutes (or more) for an ongoing conversation. When my drunk-ass neighbor came stumbling over to admonish me for putting his empty trash cans in the middle of his driveway (which I did not do, this time) on a Thursday night, after the trash was collected on Tuesday morning, the video only captured some stumbling but ended a few seconds after I opened the door and missed all the good stuff. #missedopportunity

[rayrevolver]

Quick look at the last 4 activations on my Ring... last one was 21 seconds and the three before that were 29 seconds each..

Would be nice to have a setting that records up to 5 minutes (or more) for an ongoing conversation. When my drunk-ass neighbor came stumbling over to admonish me for putting his empty trash cans in the middle of his driveway (which I did not do, this time) on a Thursday night, after the trash was collected on Tuesday morning, the video only captured some stumbling but ended a few seconds after I opened the door and missed all the good stuff. #missedopportunity

Haha, oh man, sounds like a fun neighbor.

I hate playing early adopter/beta tester but I pre-ordered the Nest Hello. Its basically a copy of the Ring doorbell. Reviews on the Nest indoor/outdoor cameras are favorable so hopefully they don't screw the pooch on this thing.

The biggest draw was that Nest already works with my security system. Hopefully the integration with the Hello will be seamless and I can use 1 app for everything. I can set my Nest Thermostat using the security app. Of course Nests cheapest plan is $4.16/month so that is more than Ring, but they tout facial recognition... not sure what the hell I need that for.

It ships in March and I will post some reviews once I get it installed. If it sucks then I will get a Ring Pro. I installed a Ring outdoor light/camera for my FIL and he loves it. Damn chickens set it off though.

[rob_s]

The Ring website says 20 seconds for battery operated and 60sec for wired. But mentions a new feature that will be launched soon that will allow you to control how long it records footage

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

That makes sense.... kind of I suppose.

My nest is technically battery but I have the solar option so I'd sure like to have more control myself. I hate when tech thinks it's protecting me from myself and puts limits like that on the software side. if I want to change the batteries 2x/week that should be up to me.