Video Doorbell - Any Suggestions?

Hess687 · 12-07-2020, 07:56 PM

We currently do not have an existing doorbell in our home and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a video doorbell? We don't have any smart home devices in our home so brand doesn't matter as it won't be syncing up to anything else, if that's even possible.

Ideas?

hairysasquatch · 12-07-2020, 08:46 PM

Ding-dong! But when you go to answer, I won't be there!

Hess687 · 12-07-2020, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Ding-dong! But when you go to answer, I won't be there!

Fun fact, Sasquatch use their feet to ring doorbell's.

Also fun fact, Sasquatch bury their own as to not be found. Hence why they are so elusive......unlike your threads......those are aplenty.

asujbl · 12-07-2020, 08:56 PM

Not a doorbell per se

But we use Blink

6 cameras between inside and out... one looking over the front door

glassnickels · 12-07-2020, 08:56 PM

I've only had experience with ours from ADT, but I will note one thing about it.

If you live on a busy street, I'd check if you can change the motion detection radius or hard wire it. Our ADT one does not let us reduce the radius, and consequently the damn thing is triggered constantly when traffic goes by (I live in the city on a somewhat busy street), and the battery dies in a day. We had no previous wired doorbell so we went with battery and regret it. Probably going to replace it with Ring solar charging one at some point. If there's not a lot going on within it's radius you'll be fine. Just not something I thought about when we got it and ADT of course is absolutely no help.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Hess687 · 12-07-2020, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asujbl

Not a doorbell per se

But we use Blink

6 cameras between inside and out... one looking over the front door

Blink alerts your phone when someone is at your door? They don't push a button or anything?

I am not a smart home enthusiast. So this is a new area for me altogether.

Whodey14 · 12-07-2020, 09:22 PM

I have ring. It works well

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Hess687 · 12-07-2020, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whodey14

I have ring. It works well

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Is that battery operated or hardwired in?

Whodey14 · 12-07-2020, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hess687

Is that battery operated or hardwired in?

I believe you can do both but I have it on the rechargeable battery.

hairysasquatch · 12-07-2020, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hess687

Fun fact, Sasquatch use their feet to ring doorbell's.

Also fun fact, Sasquatch bury their own as to not be found. Hence why they are so elusive......unlike your threads......those are aplenty.

There will be a flaming bag for you...

CSprings · 12-08-2020, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whodey14

I believe you can do both but I have it on the rechargeable battery.

Yep, you can do both. I have a Ring that I hardwired in and gave been really happy with it. Have several of the Ring cams as well (both hardwired and battery) and have had no issues. I'm surprised at how long the battery lasts on a charge. I'm going on 3 months.

Lockdown32 · 12-08-2020, 06:03 AM

Same here. Have had a ring for a couple years now. Works great! We have it wired so you don't have to worry about it dying on you. Every once in a awhile if you reset your internet or something you just have to reset the door bell, but it's simple. I'm not a huge tech person and I feel it's very easy to use. The ring has a good setting area for motion detection also. We live by a school and cars are always passing by, but we can set it up so it isn't going off everytime one passes by. Think about where you are putting it though. We can only have it set up on one side of our door and it can be a pain to get to the reset button if we have to reset it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whodey14

I have ring. It works well

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Eskimokissers · 12-08-2020, 10:15 AM

I looked at Arlo after CNET said it has the best picture quality. However, without the subscription service it's not much use.

Is Ring still useful without their subscription service? More specifically, without the service, what can it do?

indyguy · 12-08-2020, 10:27 AM

We use Ring and hardwired it in. Attached it to Alexa and she will tell us when someone is at the door. Our phones are alerted too.

Paid the $100 for the yearly subscription, so the video is stored.

We put two cameras inside, to cover entry points, then we put one out back with a motion detected flood light.

The cameras all run off the wifi, so make sure you have a good internet speed.

CSprings · 12-08-2020, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eskimokissers

I looked at Arlo after CNET said it has the best picture quality. However, without the subscription service it's not much use.

Is Ring still useful without their subscription service? More specifically, without the service, what can it do?

Without the subscription it'll only alert you when someone rings the doorbell and you're able to answer it from your device. With the sub, it stores all of the motion alerts so you can play them back/save them as well as having two-way live audio along with the video on the doorbell/cams. It's like $30 a year for one device or $100 a year for multiple.

Hess687 · 12-08-2020, 12:07 PM

Ring doorbell it is. I ordered two of them. I'll have to look into the yearly subscription once they arrive.

Thanks for all the feedback.

CSprings · 12-08-2020, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hess687

Ring doorbell it is. I ordered two of them. I'll have to look into the yearly subscription once they arrive.

Thanks for all the feedback.

They'll come with a free 30-day trial. Well worth the $100 a year for the sub IMO. The basic service leaves a lot to be desired when using them for security.

BostonNut · 12-08-2020, 12:32 PM

Why on earth do people want a doorbell? I'm perfectly happy with my GO AWAY sign I hang on the door....

mattglet · 12-08-2020, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonNut

Why on earth do people want a doorbell? I'm perfectly happy with my GO AWAY sign I hang on the door....

Your wife hung that so you would read it, but you just don't get the hint.

BostonNut · 12-08-2020, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattglet

Your wife hung that so you would read it, but you just don't get the hint.

Come to SW and say that....

asujbl · 12-08-2020, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hess687

Blink alerts your phone when someone is at your door? They don't push a button or anything?

I am not a smart home enthusiast. So this is a new area for me altogether.

Correct

Hess687 · 02-04-2021, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innstas

You need to discuss everything with the firm and have them help with the choice.

The firm, being my wife, got two ring doorbells which she loves. Great recommendation by the board as the firm is happy. Kudos board members.

hairysasquatch · 02-05-2021, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hess687

The firm, being my wife, got two ring doorbells which she loves. Great recommendation by the board as the firm is happy. Kudos board members.

Flaming bag coming soon!

packman80 · 02-06-2021, 03:43 PM

One not to get is Kanagroo. Was like $20 for doorbell and chime. All it was built for was to take picture when someone came up to your door. It did that poorly as it would have such a lag time with the picture you would only catch someone going down the stairs. (I tested it as pretending someone would only be comig up the stairs to grab a package and take it instead of just standing at the door).

12-07-2020, 07:56 PM	#1
Hess687 Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Indiana Posts: 4,747 hess687	Video Doorbell - Any Suggestions? We currently do not have an existing doorbell in our home and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a video doorbell? We don't have any smart home devices in our home so brand doesn't matter as it won't be syncing up to anything else, if that's even possible. Ideas?

12-07-2020, 08:46 PM	#2
hairysasquatch Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: In the Woods, Central NY Posts: 36,240	Ding-dong! But when you go to answer, I won't be there! __________________ I am going signature-free

12-07-2020, 08:56 PM	#4
asujbl Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 63,305 ohiosundevils	Not a doorbell per se But we use Blink 6 cameras between inside and out... one looking over the front door __________________ https://ohiosundevils.smugmug.com/ Browns/Cavs/Tribe/Buckeyes/Jackets/Devils TheFrenzy - “Blowout ain't a place for normies”

12-07-2020, 09:22 PM	#7
Whodey14 Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Kentucky Posts: 9,760	I have ring. It works well Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk __________________ thesportcardking on IG

12-08-2020, 10:15 AM	#13
Eskimokissers Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Arizona Posts: 450 HIDale808	I looked at Arlo after CNET said it has the best picture quality. However, without the subscription service it's not much use. Is Ring still useful without their subscription service? More specifically, without the service, what can it do? __________________ Buying your silver/gold coins and jewelry. https://www.coinbase.com/join/58d979166908ae017761881d Get cash back from Mr Rebates for shopping online. http://www.mrrebates.com?refid=626685

12-07-2020, 08:56 PM	#5
glassnickels Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 2,087	I've only had experience with ours from ADT, but I will note one thing about it. If you live on a busy street, I'd check if you can change the motion detection radius or hard wire it. Our ADT one does not let us reduce the radius, and consequently the damn thing is triggered constantly when traffic goes by (I live in the city on a somewhat busy street), and the battery dies in a day. We had no previous wired doorbell so we went with battery and regret it. Probably going to replace it with Ring solar charging one at some point. If there's not a lot going on within it's radius you'll be fine. Just not something I thought about when we got it and ADT of course is absolutely no help. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

12-08-2020, 10:27 AM	#14
indyguy Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 8,512 arndru indyguyat	We use Ring and hardwired it in. Attached it to Alexa and she will tell us when someone is at the door. Our phones are alerted too. Paid the $100 for the yearly subscription, so the video is stored. We put two cameras inside, to cover entry points, then we put one out back with a motion detected flood light. The cameras all run off the wifi, so make sure you have a good internet speed.

12-08-2020, 12:07 PM	#16
Hess687 Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Indiana Posts: 4,747 hess687	Ring doorbell it is. I ordered two of them. I'll have to look into the yearly subscription once they arrive. Thanks for all the feedback.

12-08-2020, 12:32 PM	#18
BostonNut Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 61,711	Why on earth do people want a doorbell? I'm perfectly happy with my GO AWAY sign I hang on the door....

02-06-2021, 03:43 PM	#24
packman80 Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 17,236	One not to get is Kanagroo. Was like $20 for doorbell and chime. All it was built for was to take picture when someone came up to your door. It did that poorly as it would have such a lag time with the picture you would only catch someone going down the stairs. (I tested it as pretending someone would only be comig up the stairs to grab a package and take it instead of just standing at the door).