About to move into a new house that has a security system installed.

The current plan is using Smith Thompson for monitoring of that & separate cameras for outside.

Nest seems to get great reviews for their app and technology but the only out door camera they have now requires a big power cord. I could do one of the Ring cameras and a doorbell camera as well. Their Spotlight Cam Battery which they are taking pre-orders for seems like it could be the best fit.

https://ring.com/security-cams

Suggestions welcomed.

I like the Arlo system.

I keep looking at completely wireless cameras and think I have it down to Arlo and Lorex, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Arlo. We had Lorex and had to replace a couple.

Love my Arlo.

Aggie09Derek said:

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The current plan is using Smith Thompson for monitoring of that & separate cameras for outside.

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So they already have cameras outside? Are they wired?

Wired cameras are generally better than the wireless options. The hardest part is getting the wires there.

If they already have the wires in place, I would suggest using the existing wires to pull Cat6 through (if that's what's not already there) and use a Power over Ethernet NVR solution.

Which Arlos? How's the response time for movement-based recording & event alerts to you.

Considering which cams to get this week. I want one at front door & one at back door. I'm actually thinking of getting the Arlo Q indoor cams and setting them on interior window sills looking out. We have plantation shutters on these window and the cams should fit inside the the shutter frames up against the glass.

No cameras currently outside. Inside house is already wired for security though.

Currently debating between two new cameras between Ring & Nest (both available for pre-order only at this point):

https://ring.com/spotlight-cam-battery

vs

https://nest.com/cameras/nest-cam-iq-outdoor/overview/


I will already have a ring doorbell so leaning that way for the camera to keep all under one app.

Depends..

If you want ease of use with average resolution than any of the cams you mention will work although the Arlo I think is the only one w/ 7 days of free storage.
None of these work well at night when things tend to happen but they get the job done for basic alerting and recording for peace of mind..

If you want a higher end system and night vision is important I would look at the Dahua Starlite POE cameras running with BlueIris software to a dedicated laptop.

Both of these options will cost approx the same.

You did not say what wires were run in the house if it is Cat5/6 then I would get the second option above.

Long story but ended up needing to put a doorbell outside my gate and went with the Ring Pro for that, it has been great.

Looking at either doing Smith Thompson or Ring's new security system for inside the house security.

https://ring.com/protect-security-kit

Shiner Bock said:

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I ended up returning the arlo system we purchased because the response time was terrible. I could walk up to the front door, wait a few seconds, turn around, and I'd be lucky to have a glimpse of me walking away from the door. Many times there would be no glimpse of me at all.

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Did you maybe have the motion "sensitivity" setting turned all the way down because we never have this issue with ours at our front door.

I've had no issues with mine. I can walk in front of mine and my phone dings before I'm even out of view with a full video of me walking by.

I don't like my Arlo at all

We have Arlo Pro and the maximum 5 cameras without having to pay any monthly fees. We just now after 7 months had to recharge the batteries in the cameras. They re-charged in less than an hour each. We set the schedule so they automatically alarm at night when we typically go to bed and in the morning when we typically wake up. However, we manually arm the system throughout the day as our schedule is always different during the daytime. The cameras have audio playback both ways and the video quality is outstanding. You can control the entire system from the Arlo App on your smartphone and you can go to Live video on any camera anytime you want. So far so good for us....

Have Ring at front door. Wireless. I like it. Neighborhood cats setting it off all hours of the night takes a while to get used to.

EvenPar said:

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We have Arlo Pro and the maximum 5 cameras without having to pay any monthly fees. We just now after 7 months had to recharge the batteries in the cameras. They re-charged in less than an hour each. We set the schedule so they automatically alarm at night when we typically go to bed and in the morning when we typically wake up. However, we manually arm the system throughout the day as our schedule is always different during the daytime. The cameras have audio playback both ways and the video quality is outstanding. You can control the entire system from the Arlo App on your smartphone and you can go to Live video on any camera anytime you want. So far so good for us....

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Have you messed with Geofencng yet? Sounds like that could eliminate you having to manually arm / disarm during the day. I've had a few issues with it, but overall it works pretty well.

I have issues with geofencing. I have it set on both mine and my wife's phones, but even after we get home, it will still record video. I have the schedule set to record only after we are in bed when we are at home. Not sure how to fix this.

I haven't set geofencing up yet on our but I am interested. Does the Arlo app have to be running in the background on your phone for the system to know when you get home?

No. My system always turns it on and off fine in geofencing mode. It's just the functioning of the system while home (geofencing unarmed) that has been problematic.

Arlo Pro 2 is out. If you plug into to AC power the response time is 3-4 sec quicker apparently. But then that limits your mounting options for sure.

That sounds great, but I don't have an outlet near any of my cameras. How long until Alexa can control the cameras.

I just bought the Arlo system with 5 cameras. I plan on installing the next couple of weeks. I decided on Arlo after many recommendations from various boards here on TexAgs.

I bought Arlo Pro bundle from Costco. Didn't really like it at first but I didn't quite understand the way it worked (vs a Ring where you can draw zones). After I read up on it here, I'm happy with the performance.

I think that also it will 'learn' movement patterns and such once you've got it in place.