Let's Talk Security Cameras

I know some of you folks have them in your home. The FW and I are looking at getting some and are overwhelmed with the options. We want something wireless that we are able to move around if need be. We also want something we can add more cameras to in the future if we feel the need. Last requirement is motion detection alerts on our phones. Just about the only setup we have found that fits that criteria is the Netgear Arlo cameras. Does anyone have them? If so, how do you like em?

Are you also looking to have a DVR? I like having the DVR so I can look back to figure out where I left my keys.

Dale Rueber wrote:

Are you also looking to have a DVR? I like having the DVR so I can look back to figure out where I left my keys.

I would like some sort of DVR capabilities. Whether it’s on a physical HD in my home or in a cloud server, I do not care.

I can see it coming in handy looking for your keys! I’m the Murray Goldberg type of person and my pants are lost at the door when I get home, so I would like the cameras to only be outside…

I’ve looked at similar cameras and I’m with you, the options are confusing.

What I did find out is that all the cams I looked at that stored the videos in the cloud require a monthly subscription fee. So basically, you quit subscribing and the camera is junk.

Many cams out there record to a DVR, but then the cams can be accessed by internet to view live. I’m not sure if these systems allow you to rewind while vieweing on the internet or if it’s just a live feed.

Are you sure you want motion detection alerts on your phones for outdoor cams? These things are going to be going off every 8 minutes as a bird or squirrel runs through or the wind moves the grass. That was my concern with motion detection cameras.

Also, there are almost no true “wireless” cameras. Yes, they send the camera pictures via wireless, but the camera needs power so you have to have a cord and electricity to power the camera so therefore they aren’t really wireless. That issue right there was a deal breaker for me, it became too big of a project to run power to where I wanted cams mounted.

Let us know what you decided.

Grouse

Grouse, check out the Netgear Arlo camera system. They run off CR123’s (spendy, but reviews say they don’t eat much battery). Winter temps is a concern, however. It also stores up to 7 days for free on a cloud. If you want 30 days, it is $10/month. Other than the plug-in base station, they are 100% wireless. They also offer a pro version with rechargeable lithium batteries and audio capabilities.

Seems like the route I want to go, but I wanted to know if anyone else knew of other systems that may be better.

I’ve got dropcam from NEST. It has BOTH motion and sound alerts to your mobile device. You can pay I believe it to be $10 per month for offsite backup storage. It also is able to have two way communications from your mobile device too. Great night infra-red range. I’ve also had great support from NEST. It’s worth checking out.

While it won’t work for everyone, I just set up four or five trail cams around my place. Covers all the entrance points. Just make sure I get the black LED’s. Most security cameras use red LED’s and they are very visible so easy to locate and destroy.

404 ERROR wrote:

Grouse, check out the Netgear Arlo camera system. They run off CR123’s (spendy, but reviews say they don’t eat much battery). Winter temps is a concern, however. It also stores up to 7 days for free on a cloud.

I have about zero confidence a battery powered solution would work in the winter here for more than aa week at a time in the winter here in the tundra. Maybe I’m wrong, but I didn’t want to end up outside freezing my fingers off trying to keep my cameras alive.

I have one good location on the peak of the garage roof facing down the driveway and there’s power there already from the garage light. The tough ones are the cams on the front and sides of the house.

Let me know if you go that route, I’d love to hear a real life performance test from the Tundra.

Grouse

I have the blink camera system at my house and I would highly recommend it. It is very easy to setup and is truly wireless. It also includes FREE cloud storage, not sure of how much but I have recordings stored going back 2 months. The camera runs on a lithium battery and they advertise 2 years of battery life. This depends on the activity and recording rates you set in the camera. There is a sync module that plugs into a outlet and this is like the middleman between the camera and your wifi. Each sync module can support 10 cameras and you can have multiple sync modules. Some use them as a range extender for the cameras. So far I have had one of their cameras set up for 2 months and battery strength still shows ok. The cameras work by detecting motion through a PIR motion type sensor, once it senses motion, the camera wakes up and starts recording. The only downside to this is you may miss what led up to the event that is recorded. The camera I have setup is their indoor model I have it outside under my soffit and it has been fine. They just came out with an outdoor model and I bought one just haven’t set it up yet. I originally bought this to put up at our cabin because of the wireless feature. However there is a minimum internet service speed requirement, unfortunately our internet there is too slow. I did try it but it didn’t work. They are working on adding more features to the system and coming out with a home security system that integrates with the cameras and will have cellular service capability.

Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try to help. Otherwise I recommend checking out their website. They have a good FAQ section. The website is blinkforhome dot com

I am assuming this is inside? For a basic inside camera look at the Foscam R2 pan/tilt, DVR capabilities or motion detector, IR, etc… I am using one right now for a baby camera.

We decided to order up an Arlo system and have had it installed for a little over 3 weeks now. Incredibly easy to setup! Video quality is much better than I expected. The system isn’t 100% wireless, as the base station needs to be plugged in, but that’s it. Yes, the camera takes CR123 batteries, but they are still at 95% after 3 weeks. They install on magnetic bases and are plenty sturdy. Took me maybe 15 minutes to install and setup 2 cameras.

The motion detection took some getting used to, it kept getting false triggers. Once it has been tweaked, they work great and only trigger when a human or vehicle come into the picture. The streaming service is free and your videos get stored in their cloud for a week. If there is a clip you need to keep for any reason, you can download it to your phone or computer.

I would say that anyone that’s looking for a security camera system and wants it to be movable and wireless, Arlo is the way to go. I was concerned about battery life in the cold of winter, but many reviews say they worked just fine all winter. You can find a 2 camera setup for $215 online if anyone’s interested.