Home security camera recommendations
March 21, 2018 7:20 PM Subscribe
Unfortunately, I have need of some way to determine who is at my front door without having to go to the door.
This system must include the following:
1. A wireless camera that can send to two smartphones (both android) or two PCs so that two different people can be alerted and monitor the camera
2. Motion sensor/activated
It would be great if the system could:
1. Keep a recording of what it films
2. Be more than one camera, so I can monitor my other entrances
3. Be discreet
I am willing to invest no more than $300 on this system, as I am planning on selling and moving sooner rather than later. Thanks for any suggestions.
This system must include the following:
1. A wireless camera that can send to two smartphones (both android) or two PCs so that two different people can be alerted and monitor the camera
2. Motion sensor/activated
It would be great if the system could:
1. Keep a recording of what it films
2. Be more than one camera, so I can monitor my other entrances
3. Be discreet
I am willing to invest no more than $300 on this system, as I am planning on selling and moving sooner rather than later. Thanks for any suggestions.
ring.com has a system that you can take with wherever you move
posted by prk60091 at 7:53 PM on March 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by prk60091 at 7:53 PM on March 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Techmoan on YouTube has reviewed at least a couple of different systems that would fit your needs. There are wireless camera options with cloud DVR as well as some wireless doorbells with cameras that could work if you can live with an always available video feed but only need alerts when someone rings the bell.
If none of those are cheap enough, you can get a cheap Chinese wireless camera and DVR with motion sensing for well under your budget, but it will be much fiddlier to set up and will have pretty bad low light performance aside from whatever area is lit by its inbuilt IR sensor. AFAIK, none of the cheap ones have an actual motion sensor, so they all require permanent power (or your own rigged up battery pack).
Some of the more expensive branded solutions can be set to only turn on the camera when it actually detects motion nearby and so can run on batteries for a reasonable time and are fully wireless. Unless prices have dropped in the past few months you could get one and only one with enough money left over for the monthly/annual fee for the cloud DVR. (There are a couple of people making ones I'd consider reliable enough to use, but I forget who exactly. Techmoan has reviewed both)
NB: It's been about 6 months since I looked so you may be able to get multiple fully wireless cameras with your budget, but you couldn't then.
posted by wierdo at 10:12 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
If none of those are cheap enough, you can get a cheap Chinese wireless camera and DVR with motion sensing for well under your budget, but it will be much fiddlier to set up and will have pretty bad low light performance aside from whatever area is lit by its inbuilt IR sensor. AFAIK, none of the cheap ones have an actual motion sensor, so they all require permanent power (or your own rigged up battery pack).
Some of the more expensive branded solutions can be set to only turn on the camera when it actually detects motion nearby and so can run on batteries for a reasonable time and are fully wireless. Unless prices have dropped in the past few months you could get one and only one with enough money left over for the monthly/annual fee for the cloud DVR. (There are a couple of people making ones I'd consider reliable enough to use, but I forget who exactly. Techmoan has reviewed both)
NB: It's been about 6 months since I looked so you may be able to get multiple fully wireless cameras with your budget, but you couldn't then.
posted by wierdo at 10:12 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Arlo offers packages that include a router and 2 cameras and are usually on sale for under $300. They are wireless cameras that you can access live via the web or a smartphone app and they can be set to motion detection and will store the video for up to ten days in the cloud. You can download those videos, too. The nice thing is that you don't have to put the camera anywhere near the doorbell. Ours is mounted high on the corner of an overhang and looks down on the front stoop. You can set the app to alert you on your phone when motion is detected.
posted by soelo at 7:43 AM on March 22, 2018
posted by soelo at 7:43 AM on March 22, 2018
Best answer: For $20, it may be worth your while to just try out WyzeCam.
I use one - nice app for iOS, very simple setup, snapshot recording if you optionally provide your own MicroSD card, good quality HD video, IR viewing, motion detection, and full remote access over the internet. All that for $20 - really.
(The only downside for me is that I haven't been able to figure out how to *not* have it stream over the internet and stay confined to only the local network - their "it just works" approach requires internet access. So it's probably me, some TLA organizations, and a bunch of random hackers monitoring this one room in my house. On the other hand, do you care if its just your front door?)
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:55 PM on March 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I use one - nice app for iOS, very simple setup, snapshot recording if you optionally provide your own MicroSD card, good quality HD video, IR viewing, motion detection, and full remote access over the internet. All that for $20 - really.
(The only downside for me is that I haven't been able to figure out how to *not* have it stream over the internet and stay confined to only the local network - their "it just works" approach requires internet access. So it's probably me, some TLA organizations, and a bunch of random hackers monitoring this one room in my house. On the other hand, do you care if its just your front door?)
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:55 PM on March 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by Marinara at 7:39 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]