Security Cameras

[Zogman]

We have one an older Nest which is now controlled through google, as I understand. It still works great but now our $100/year subscription is no long offered. The way our townhouse is laid out I feel we only need one camera no doorbell needed. We have a Honeywell thermostat and our garage door notifications are on line. We are willing to buy a new camera if necessary.
Any and all suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Wirehair]

We use the Blink camera system at our farm. Have 4 exterior cams and 1 indoor cam to monitor temp during winter months. Are able to monitor an outbuilding with wifi extender. Have had it in place about 6 yrs. No issues and no subscription cost with basic option. Change the lithium batteries in the cams about every 8 months when we receive notification via app that batteries are low.

 

[Davey Crockett]

We use the Blink camera system at our farm. Have 4 exterior cams and 1 indoor cam to monitor temp during winter months. Are able to monitor an outbuilding with wifi extender. Have had it in place about 6 yrs. No issues and no subscription cost with basic option. Change the lithium batteries in the cams about every 8 months when we receive notification via app that batteries are low.

Those look like a reasonably priced system . Do you know if there is a way to link up to a computer instead of a phone without subscription costs ? I guess I might have to get used to doing everything on a phone instead of a computer but I hate those little screens.

 

[Zogman]

THX!

 

[Wirehair]

Not sure about computer use. My tech skills are limited but I was able to setup the entire system in about 20 min. There are qr codes on all devices. snap a pic and the device / cam is recognized. App works great for me as I receive alerts on phone when movement is detected on cams. We actually use this system at farm and at our home. System saved our bacon couple of winters ago. We were out of state and I received an alert that indoor temp had fallen below a threshold that I had set (52). Heating system had failed and it was -15 in Bis at the time. Likely saved our waterlines.

 

[Davey Crockett]

Zogman, This guy does a good job at explaining the systems. I only watched a little bit but I got a lot out of it, I'm going to finish watching it tonight but based on what I know so far I'm pretty sure this is the route I'm going to go. Thanks for the tip Wirehair.

 

[db-2]

Ring has work great on the flood light hook up. Help us catch one robbery this past spring.
Would not be without it. $200-250 for the unit. Great pictures. DB

 

[espringers]

I love my ring floodlight cams too

 

[FlatTopPete]

Got some sketchy neighbors across the street last year so I bought some blink wireless outdoor cameras. I got 5 outdoor wireless cameras and one indoor wired camera for around $300 from Best Buy. The cameras are super easy to install and set up with your phone. I believe each camera runs off of (2) lithium AA batteries. I installed the camera system in February and have yet to change any batteries on any camera. You can view each camera with your phone live and there’s 2 way audio so you can hear and talk on each camera. You do need Wi-Fi to operate the system tho so if you want to put it at a “hobby farm” or hunting shack, you will need Wi-Fi.

There’s a pile of different settings on each camera so you can customize what you want it to record and for how long. I receive a notification via text message if motion is detected.

I got a free 90 day subscription trial when I purchased the cameras. After the trial was over, I still received notifications that motion was detected but could no longer view the video which sucked a whole lot.

Wound up buying a yearly subscription for $100 which I still thought was inexpensive and cheap for some piece of mind.

All in all I’m fairly happy with blink. I’ve heard good things about ring as well.

 

[Rowdie]

That's exactly what I'm looking for. My gate is 200 yds away and still have WiFi signal there.

 

[Davey Crockett]

I never did finish the video but I chatted with Blink to see if you can run the cameras with a PC. and they replied,

"A smartphone or tablet is required to use the Blink system. A PC or laptop cannot support the Blink app."

That's a bummer but then afterwards I read that you can use alexa or firestick to cast it to a tv.

For those that have the phone app , does the app let you cast it to the TV ?

 

[Ss34ever]

I have the Blink system with 3 outdoor cameras and the doorbell camera. No complaints for the price, I bought the package during Amazon days for around $150, easy setup and reconnects automatically if power outage happens.
Anyone have any of the Blink Mini indoor cameras? I would like to know if they are live all the time or just motion detection?

 

[Wirehair]

We have both Blink cams. The app allows management of individual cams. We use the mini for monitoring inside garage as we occasionally leave our fur babies in garage and can monitor their activity. I disable motion detection on mini when we are home. With motion disabled I can still click on mini and view whats going on in garage. Not sure that answers question or not.

 

[Ss34ever]

We have both Blink cams. The app allows management of individual cams. We use the mini for monitoring inside garage as we occasionally leave our fur babies in garage and can monitor their activity. I disable motion detection on mini when we are home. With motion disabled I can still click on mini and view whats going on in garage. Not sure that answers question or not.

So it's live 24/7 with motion detection turned off?

 

[shorthairsrus]

wyze -- probably not the greatist --- but price is right and you can have a bunch of cameras

 

[FlatTopPete]

So it's live 24/7 with motion detection turned off?

You can access each individual blink camera anytime by phone. So you can “go live” at any time. But you have to arm the system if you want to receive motion detection alerts. Otherwise the system will be unarmed and will not send you any alerts by notification

 

[Zogman]

I went with two Arlo cameras. Recommended by my favorite younger Tech friend.
Was easy to set up by this old non tech coot.