Remote veiwable security cameras other than Ring or Arlo?

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  • K_W

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    My wife got spooked last night when she though she saw someone messing with her car and then heard noises outside the window she had just looked out.

    She has agreed to my idea of adding security cameras to our house. We already have a Ring Pro that covers ~70% of front and ~50% of drive during the day and some the yard but is not reliable for the drive at night. We already have 2 cameras that link to our existing security system on order for inside the house (main room and garage). We have an existing rear floodlight that a Ring floodlight cam would easily replace and cover rear door and 60% of back yard + shed front. One could also replace the driveway light at the top of the garage door and cover the drive to allow me to change the angle of the Ring Pro to cover the front windows.

    The major disadvantage of Ring is if the motion is not tripped, you have no record of what happened.

    The plan is either to add 4 wired house mounted cameras facing the 4 yard sides and drive or 3 wireless tree mounted cameras facing back towards the house + 1 over drive.

    The house mounted cameras would alert to anything approaching the property as long as it is in view and have good footage, but will require more cameras to have coverage

    The tree mounted cameras would have fewer false alarms and easier tracking of movement around the exterior and more coverage per camera but footage would only see it's back.


    I looked into Arlo cameras several times and am still iffy on them due to price, wake delay, and battery issues.

    The good threads on INGO are a couple years old now... so, what else are you guys using? Can you post experiences and stills?
     
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    churchmouse

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    We just finished installing an 8 camera system from swann. It is a complete kit. You have to provide the monitors. Easy enough to install. It has an app to allow you to see on your cell.
    Our 8 cameras plus the daughters 6 (next door) and the neighbor on the other side has 8 as well. We have the re blanketed.
     

    K_W

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    We just finished installing an 8 camera system from swann. It is a complete kit. You have to provide the monitors. Easy enough to install. It has an app to allow you to see on your cell.
    Our 8 cameras plus the daughters 6 (next door) and the neighbor on the other side has 8 as well. We have the re blanketed.

    I have heard the Swann app is next to useless... what say you?
     

    Thor

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    Could be anywhere
    Q-See HD cameras, 8 of them covering all approaches to the homestead; record all motion 24/7. Decent night vision too. Motion lights cover everything.
     

    sloughfoot

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    I've been using Arlo for 1 1/2 years. 4 cameras. I use rechargeable batteries. They come due for change out between 4 and 6 months in service.

    I know you asked for something else, but every neighbor that has seen my Arlo bought it for their house. It's good stuff. Plus, Arlo Pro is an upgrade from my basic system.
    FWIW
     

    K_W

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    I've been using Arlo for 1 1/2 years. 4 cameras. I use rechargeable batteries. They come due for change out between 4 and 6 months in service.

    I know you asked for something else, but every neighbor that has seen my Arlo bought it for their house. It's good stuff. Plus, Arlo Pro is an upgrade from my basic system.
    FWIW

    What is the IR's range and how long is the wake up delay?
     

    churchmouse

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    I have heard the Swann app is next to useless... what say you?

    Not sure why. I can see what ever the camera see's. For that level system both I and the neighbors like them. I am not sure what is expected of the ap so thats all I have on this.
     

    churchmouse

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    Q-See HD cameras, 8 of them covering all approaches to the homestead; record all motion 24/7. Decent night vision too. Motion lights cover everything.

    Our system has good coverage and excellent night vision. Has motion alerts. 80 hours continuous record time and then re-boots.
    For the money it is stellar.

    I used an HDMI signal splitter and can put up the system in the bedroom and in the family room on a dedicated monitor. If something goes bump in the night I just turn on the 40" flat screen (upgraded when I put the cameras in) and can see if I need to address it.
    If I m watching TV or Ingoing in the family room I simply look. I like the system.
     
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    actaeon277

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    Just a suggestion, but try to angle a camera that can catch a license plate either coming or going.
    Having just a face, or a car, helps.. but a license plate helps even more.
     

    T.Lex

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    So, funny you should ask.

    I've spent the better part of a year looking at various wired/semi-wired/wireless variations for our house, within certain price parameters for our exterior. Decided it had to be pure wireless, which limited things quite a bit. I've strung wires to awkward areas of houses before, so I know it can be done, but I also know I don't want to do it. Wireless became one of the requirements.

    Santa brought a Blink XT system, which is still in the working-out-the-kinks stage. One complaint about these systems is that it requires a "sync" center to connect all the cameras, up to 10. (We got the 2-camera system, but I already know where I'll put the third.) Also, it saves to the cloud with robust, but finite, storage. There are options to download/share, though.

    So far, the installation/setup has been easy and effective. It has taken some iterations to get the motion detection set correctly, but we're getting there. IR range for illumination is... hard for me to gauge. Since we are in a neighborhood, there's going to be ambient light. The PIR augments the camera.

    Importantly, it also integrates with IFTTT which I have doing some other things.

    The system isn't going to provide Area 51 type security, but to cover the few access points I have in a residential area, I think it'll work out well. So far, I'd recommend it for similarly-situated users.
     

    Scuba591

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    So, funny you should ask.

    I've spent the better part of a year looking at various wired/semi-wired/wireless variations for our house, within certain price parameters for our exterior. Decided it had to be pure wireless, which limited things quite a bit. I've strung wires to awkward areas of houses before, so I know it can be done, but I also know I don't want to do it. Wireless became one of the requirements.


    Santa brought a Blink XT system, which is still in the working-out-the-kinks stage. One complaint about these systems is that it requires a "sync" center to connect all the cameras, up to 10. (We got the 2-camera system, but I already know where I'll put the third.) Also, it saves to the cloud with robust, but finite, storage. There are options to download/share, though.

    So far, the installation/setup has been easy and effective. It has taken some iterations to get the motion detection set correctly, but we're getting there. IR range for illumination is... hard for me to gauge. Since we are in a neighborhood, there's going to be ambient light. The PIR augments the camera.

    Importantly, it also integrates with IFTTT which I have doing some other things.

    The system isn't going to provide Area 51 type security, but to cover the few access points I have in a residential area, I think it'll work out well. So far, I'd recommend it for similarly-situated users.

    I use the Blink system as well. I got in when they were developing the system and crowd funded with them. Seems like 2 years now and no issues. Battery life is close to 11 months. The wireless is great. You can mount and remount in different places as needed. I use a battery backup just in case the house and internet go out.
     

    T.Lex

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    Yeah, I'm starting to become familiar with the forums and various user-support angles. They do seem responsive, if it does take awhile. The fact that they are still rolling out updates is good.

    Doesn't Amazon own both Ring and Blink? Seems like they'd want to consolidate at some point. But, my work uses Ring, and it seems like a good system, too. I just couldn't afford the premium for it.
     

    K_W

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    I finished the first test of our UPS battery, an APC 900VA. I ran it unplugged for 2 hours and it had 62% left with our modem/router, alarm system, and Hue hub (stand in for front room camera).

    That leaves plenty of room for the camera and surveillance system hub and still achieve my minimum goal of 90 minutes of backup power... now to figure out someway to know the power is out.
     
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    T.Lex

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    That's where I'd call an electrician. Back when Y2k was a thing, people tried to do stuff on their own, with not-good results.

    But, if you have a Hue system, that integrates with Blink (through IFTTT) so that if you get a motion trip, it can turn lights on. I don't have a Hue system, but I saw that when I was looking at the IFTTT applets for Blink. There's also a bunch for other systems, if you want to go that route.

    None of which helps you in a power-outage situation. :)
     

    OutdoorDad

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    I also have the arlo. Very please. Bought a 4th camera and three motion lights that I haven’t gotten around to mounting yet.

    But the cameras aren’t going to alert you to any real time. Running through my router, there is about a 5-7 second delay from activity to time I see it on my phone. And that’s if I’m actively looking.

    Have you considered a driveway alarm? I’ve got a set up with multiple sensors with different tones, so I know real time in my bedroom if someone steps on my porch or walks up my driveway. And they don’t know I know they are there.
     

    K_W

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    That's where I'd call an electrician. Back when Y2k was a thing, people tried to do stuff on their own, with not-good results.

    But, if you have a Hue system, that integrates with Blink (through IFTTT) so that if you get a motion trip, it can turn lights on. I don't have a Hue system, but I saw that when I was looking at the IFTTT applets for Blink. There's also a bunch for other systems, if you want to go that route.

    None of which helps you in a power-outage situation. :)

    IFTTT and Hue have been hit and miss for activating lights with triggers from other services. Ring doorbell and phone widget presses take just a few seconds, but when my alarm system goes off it takes several minutes for their trigger to reach the Hue.

    If only Ring sent a notification when power or connectivity to the Ring Pro is lost I would be all set.
     
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    churchmouse

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    Interesting on the outage. I was looking at the backup on our dish modem. I think I can figure this out. I have well enough electrical knowledge I just need to find the right components. As mentioned 90 minutes is good target. If the power is down past 30 minutes we are rolling out the gennys at that point anyway. I seriously need to assemble another battery back up for the house. I should have kept the last one I put together.
     
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