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NFT: Exterior surveillance systems (nest, ring, arlo, etc) advice

pjcas18 : 3/23/2020 9:44 am
I know we've had these threads before, but now it's more real. My wife wants one. Things are always real if it's something I want, but those of us married know when the spouse wants it too, it gets exponentially more real.

A rash of coyote sightings, and some neighborhood animals (and one healthcare worker) being spooked is all it took.


Anyway, here is what I'm looking for:

1. Don't care about a doorbell per se, just want something external (two cameras, one in the front and one on the side of the property. My back yard is fenced in.
2. Motion sensor activated
3. Night vision capable
4. Can view on my mobile device
5. Not sure if I need a service or not
6. I want to be able to install it on my own, but having vinyl siding makes attaching things to my house somewhat different than traditional clapboard siding

I assume most of the more popular ones can do all that.

My neighbor has an Arlo and he is always sending me recordings from his set up - usually coyotes that are on my property, sometimes foxes or deer. They look good.

But i hear ring and nest are the two more popular options.

Any others?

Any suggestions on the better fit?

And is the doorbell vs just an external camera/spot light worth it?
All the systems meet your criteria.  
Young Elijah : 3/23/2020 9:48 am : link
I am team Ring bc I am an amazon guy. I have 2 different types of cameras - the Wired Floodlight and two wireless, battery powered spot lights.

Love the quality, look, and ease of install and use. They platform is great, and their app connects with all local users to give you some useful updates about neighborhood activity. You pay $30 per year per cam for storage (I think all motion is saved for 60 days) but you can also pay $100 a year for unlimited cameras+their security system (which I had but did not use religiously so I returned).

At this point, I think its just preference, the technology has become so standard you are going to get good motion sensor responsiveness and picture quality- its more about the brand and monitoring costs...I believe some do not have reoccurring costs so thats something to consider.
Thank you  
pjcas18 : 3/23/2020 9:54 am : link
Young Elijah, appreciate the post.
Second Ring  
Joey in VA : 3/23/2020 9:54 am : link
I got it for us around Christmas time bc the house was built in 1890 and the hell if I was wiring something. It set up in seconds, it sends us alerts and you can view all neighborhood activity with others in your area with Ring. It's a really good product that does exactly what we want. We're adding a motion sensor/floodlight to the back of the house as well, all tied into to Ring.
Thank you  
pjcas18 : 3/23/2020 9:55 am : link
Joey.

these post are exactly what I'm looking for
my mother has the arlo  
BigBlue2112 : 3/23/2020 9:58 am : link
It works great however she is constantly taking them down to recharge. like every 2-3 weeks. That reason alone is why i didnt get the arlo.

I have the Blinkx2 system. Its fantastic. it doesnt record 24/7, only records when triggered by motion. you can adjust the sensitivity and time per recording easily. waterproof, wireless. Runs on AA Lithium batteries. I just replaced the batteries for the first time on my 4 cameras after about 10 months. I highly recommend.
i should add  
BigBlue2112 : 3/23/2020 9:59 am : link
The Blink requires no subscription or fees. good nightvision.
I third ring  
rnargi : 3/23/2020 10:06 am : link
I have the doorbell, rear camera, motion sensor in the basement, and all doors have sensors. The system has worked flawlessly for me since Christmas when I installed it. Took about two hours to wire the entire house.
I have a Ring  
JFIB : 3/23/2020 10:26 am : link
And I would be interested in doing something different. It's nice that it replaced the existing doorbell and utilized the LV wire there so no additional wiring needed, but the reception when someone rings the bell is spotty at best. A live view never seems to work and occasionally when I go back to review the video that was recorded as a result of motion having been detected, the video is just black, no picture at all.

Add to that the fact that each Ring device required it's own subscription to be save recordings and between my two Rings it's $20/month, I probably could have a company wire my house and pay the same amount and have it monitored.
I have a Ring  
JFIB : 3/23/2020 10:27 am : link
And I would be interested in doing something different. It's nice that it replaced the existing doorbell and utilized the LV wire there so no additional wiring needed, but the reception when someone rings the bell is spotty at best. A live view never seems to work and occasionally when I go back to review the video that was recorded as a result of motion having been detected, the video is just black, no picture at all.

Add to that the fact that each Ring device required it's own subscription to view recordings and between my two Rings it's $20/month, I probably could have a company wire my house and pay the same amount and have it monitored.
RE: I have a Ring  
Shecky : 3/23/2020 10:54 am : link
In comment 14846815 JFIB said:
Quote:
And I would be interested in doing something different. It's nice that it replaced the existing doorbell and utilized the LV wire there so no additional wiring needed, but the reception when someone rings the bell is spotty at best. A live view never seems to work and occasionally when I go back to review the video that was recorded as a result of motion having been detected, the video is just black, no picture at all.

Add to that the fact that each Ring device required it's own subscription to view recordings and between my two Rings it's $20/month, I probably could have a company wire my house and pay the same amount and have it monitored.


Not sure what they did when setting up your account, but give ring a call and have them fix it. It’s $30/yr per cam or &100/m for multiple plus alarm monitoring. There’s a mistake if your paying $20/m

I’m also with Ring, very happy, no complaints. They’ve got a lot they’re working on in the system, amazon owned so I feel they’ll stay in biz. Plus, they started from a Shark Tank appearance... how can you not like that rags to riches story.

But in all honesty, they are all the same for the basic hardware and services. If you’re coming from an existing system, you have to be more careful to make sure the minutia of little settings and features you like and are used to, come with your new system.
any problems with these systems hogging up  
GiantsLaw : 3/23/2020 11:07 am : link
wifi? seems to be a complaint I've heard (specifically ring). I get decent download speeds, but with two teenagers (and now two temporary work at-homes), it can get dicey.
RE: my mother has the arlo  
Ned In Atlanta : 3/23/2020 11:12 am : link
In comment 14846780 BigBlue2112 said:
Quote:
It works great however she is constantly taking them down to recharge. like every 2-3 weeks. That reason alone is why i didnt get the arlo.

I have the Blinkx2 system. Its fantastic. it doesnt record 24/7, only records when triggered by motion. you can adjust the sensitivity and time per recording easily. waterproof, wireless. Runs on AA Lithium batteries. I just replaced the batteries for the first time on my 4 cameras after about 10 months. I highly recommend.


Agree with this post. Have Arlo. Super bowl set to install, can view on phone but they are in a pain in the sense that the battery life leaves a lot to be desired
RE: RE: my mother has the arlo  
Ned In Atlanta : 3/23/2020 11:12 am : link
In comment 14846864 Ned In Atlanta said:
Quote:
In comment 14846780 BigBlue2112 said:


Quote:


It works great however she is constantly taking them down to recharge. like every 2-3 weeks. That reason alone is why i didnt get the arlo.

I have the Blinkx2 system. Its fantastic. it doesnt record 24/7, only records when triggered by motion. you can adjust the sensitivity and time per recording easily. waterproof, wireless. Runs on AA Lithium batteries. I just replaced the batteries for the first time on my 4 cameras after about 10 months. I highly recommend.



Agree with this post. Have Arlo. Super bowl set to install, can view on phone but they are in a pain in the sense that the battery life leaves a lot to be desired


Super easy to install *
I'm Nest/Google guy.  
Captplanet : 3/23/2020 11:14 am : link
As stated above... all of the products listed will accomplish what you need. I would suggest sticking to an "ecosystem". I have a Google Pixel 4, Google/Nest Hub, Google Minis throughout the house and Google Wifi, so I chose the Google/Nest products for seemless integration. If possible you should consider the same approach.
GLaw  
Young Elijah : 3/23/2020 11:15 am : link
If you have Gig-speed internet + a solid router you should have little to no issues. I have a fair-sized house and with my Router on one corner of the house I DID have to use the ring Chime Extender which serves two purposes - extends internet and can chime whenever motion is set off (can become annoying so mine is mute), but this works great and allows me to expand my Ring family wherever I want bc my internet reaches all corners of the house with it.

Also, Pjacs and friends note that these things go on super sale, so be aware and get good pricing.

The $250 Floodlight cam is amazing and I got it from Costco in a package with the Chime extender for $189.

The Battery-powered spotlights, you should aim for $100 (check eBay). One more note regarding the spotlights, great design. It comes with 1 battery that lasts me 2-3 months easy on one charge for my front door and backyard since they only record with a motion so it uses battery sparingly. It also comes with a slot for a second battery (like $30) and can be connected to a solar panel! (like $60). So all in all, highly recommend.
RE: I'm Nest/Google guy.  
pjcas18 : 3/23/2020 11:16 am : link
In comment 14846868 Captplanet said:
Quote:
As stated above... all of the products listed will accomplish what you need. I would suggest sticking to an "ecosystem". I have a Google Pixel 4, Google/Nest Hub, Google Minis throughout the house and Google Wifi, so I chose the Google/Nest products for seemless integration. If possible you should consider the same approach.


thanks good, point. and thank you others for your replies.

I have no standard yet, other than Alexa.

Doesn't Nest work with Alexa? I think Arlo does.

Either way, thank you again (all of you)
Wyze Cam FTW!!  
Gordo : 3/23/2020 11:24 am : link
Substantially cheaper than Ring,Nest,Arlo etc!

Each cam comes with 2 weeks of cloud storage for free. I have 4 total, 3 outdoors and 1 ptz that's in my living room.

I bought the outdoor mounts that you find on Amazon. Meets all of your criteria and costs substantially less. and they natively work with Alexa. Ask any fire or alexa show device to bring up the camera.
RE: any problems with these systems hogging up  
montanagiant : 3/23/2020 11:26 am : link
In comment 14846860 GiantsLaw said:
Quote:
wifi? seems to be a complaint I've heard (specifically ring). I get decent download speeds, but with two teenagers (and now two temporary work at-homes), it can get dicey.

I had that problem with Arlo. Would bog down the Internet
Ring  
Teletran1 : 3/23/2020 11:42 am : link
I have 10 ring devices with 2 mote i need to install in the woods when the weather is better. Very little issue with them. The farthest from the house is about 85 feet. I have 4 ring floodlights that i replaced the porch lights with and they work well.

With any system, you will get ok images but if you want the best clarity you will need something like a starlight ipcam. Also, a ski mask is all someone needs to defeat video cams.

I do see all they coyotes and wildlife. And did catch an incident where i had to call the cops on the person (not a break in).
Is your only concern wildlife?  
VTChuck : 3/23/2020 11:46 am : link
You might consider an inexpensive game camera. The WiFi versions are about $100 and have night vision
No recs but just to make you aware,  
MOOPS : 3/23/2020 12:12 pm : link
a coyote will take a six foot fence with absolutely no problem. Same with bobcats.
Arlo is great  
oghwga : 3/23/2020 12:28 pm : link
No extra fees once installed. Works great remotely. Expandable. I easily get six months out of my batteries and they recharge in an hour.
Mounts super easily on any surface.

3 screws into your vinyl siding won't kill it just run a bead of caulk under and don't overtighten the screws.

I hate that ring charges you a monthly fee.
I have  
jtfuoco : 3/23/2020 12:30 pm : link
Arlo pro 2 and it works well the best part I like is that since it's wireless I can move the camera to what I want to look at I have a pond on the backside of a out building and I move the camera there during the summer to catch the wildlife coming in. Then during family vacations I move one inside to check out what is going on inside the house and I move my other camera in the trees and face the house to see if anybody comes up and near the house. Batteries are not bad depending on the settings you set up the cold weather will sap them faster but they also have solar panels for them that I may try out.
RE: Is your only concern wildlife?  
pjcas18 : 3/23/2020 12:33 pm : link
In comment 14846907 VTChuck said:
Quote:
You might consider an inexpensive game camera. The WiFi versions are about $100 and have night vision


not my only concern, but my main concern.
the ones with monthly fees  
UConn4523 : 3/23/2020 12:57 pm : link
typically are more reliable and have better service - you get what you pay for so to speak.

I have a Nest from door cam but haven't done the back yard yet. I wish they did a floodlight version of their camera but we use the regular Nest cam at work (mounted outside since we don't always have a front desk person working) and its great.
RE: any problems with these systems hogging up  
Hammer : 3/23/2020 3:06 pm : link
In comment 14846860 GiantsLaw said:
Quote:
wifi? seems to be a complaint I've heard (specifically ring). I get decent download speeds, but with two teenagers (and now two temporary work at-homes), it can get dicey.


I had this exact problem.

After I installed a Ring Security System, a Ring front doorbell, 6 echo devices and about a dozen WYZE light bulbs my 2.4 GHz wireless network failed. The failure manifested itself by kicking my Wi-Fi devices off the network.

I called my internet provider, and they installed their latest router. I was then able to transfer enough devices to a 5.0 GHz network to solve the problem.

As it sits now, I hesitate to install anything else that requires Wi-Fi connectivity because I'm concerned that I'll overload the network again.
RE: RE: Is your only concern wildlife?  
VTChuck : 3/23/2020 3:20 pm : link
In comment 14846992 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
In comment 14846907 VTChuck said:


Quote:


You might consider an inexpensive game camera. The WiFi versions are about $100 and have night vision



not my only concern, but my main concern.



Or you could go with a simple model without the wi-fi. I got one for ~$40. It can mounted on the tripod or strapped to a tree. It might be a way for you to move it around and survey which areas are your "hot spots" and plan where your cameras will be. Its a fun item to have in any case
I have arlo -- camera with two doorbells  
jcp56 : 3/24/2020 12:33 am : link
works well, and free with up to five devices I think.

I heard the battery life of some of the video doorbells is poor, so I went with Arlo, which are normal doorbells, but ring your phone too.

The one negative is that after about a year, the battery life for the video camera is less. Was about 6 months early on. Now it needs to be charged about every 6 weeks.
Thank you  
pjcas18 : 3/24/2020 8:23 am : link
all for the advice and replies.
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