The Ring Doorbell devices are well known around the consumer electronics market but a less known device in the family is the new Ring Door View Cam, and we will look at this new security camerea option.
The new Ring Door View cam device is an in-place replacement for an existing peephole (but it can also be used on new doors). It puts together the old peephole concept and the remote security camera into a single device.
The device is made of three parts: the external part has a camera, a doorbell button and a long tube with a lens at the end. The second bit is the interior part which is attached to the tube - this bit has the second lens. Then there's a battery and cover.
Physical installation is really simple: unscrew the existing peephole set (which is usually a long metal tube with two lenses, one at each end), remove it and replace with the new Ring Door View Cam by inserting the long tube from the outside. Attach the second bit from inside, connect the tape with the electronic connector and screw it firmly. Insert the battery - but don't put the internal cover just yet as you will need to scan the barcode attached to the inside to setup the camera with your Ring account.
The software configuration is somewhat simpler than before (the user experience is improved with each different device). You can start the Ring app on your mobile device and scan the barcode to initiate the process. The Ring Door View Cam will also give you some voice feedback, something new here too.
Once configured with your account you can attach the cover and you are ready to go.
The Ring Door View Cam allows you to use the old peephole to see outside - just like before. It also adds the doorbell button so people can push it and you will receive a notification on your mobile device. But most importantly you can setup the Ring Door View Cam to notify you on motion detection or when a door knock is detect - so even if someone show up at the door and don't push the button you can still get a notification.
Motion detection can be fine-tuned to avoid false positives - which can happen if you have things that move in front of the camera, such as trees or bushes. You can also create a schedule to pause motion notifcations, which is great if the door is frequently used e.g. every morning from 8am to 8.30am when kids are leaving to school or people are walking out of the door heading for work.
You have the option to go live at any time but that will increase battery usage - similarly if you turn HDR on battery life will be reduced.
If your door has views of a neighbour's property you also have the option to set privacy zones - for example you could black out your neighbour's doors from any recording or digital live view (nothing you can do for the optical lenses though, but that's how your old peephole would work anyway).
Notifications arrive pretty quickly and most importantly you don't have to do any network configuration - no need router changes such as port forward.
Also interesting is the Alexa integration, which allows you receive voice notifications like "Movement detected" on your Echo devices. Also if you have an Amazon Fire TV device you can give commands such as "Alexa, show me my front door" and the live video will appear on your TV.
Ring has basically three plan levels - the free tier allows you to receive notifications and access live stream, while the next two levels will let you access recordings of missed events.
