Recommend a video doorbell for NZ 2022

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Recommend a video doorbell for NZ 2022

1 | 2

mrdrifter

589 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 294

ID Verified

Trusted

#2870882 18-Feb-2022 14:14

Our Ring Doorbell 2 I've probably charged ~6 times in the last two years and that's with notifications on, I just have the zone set so that it's not picking up people on the street etc... would replace with another one if I needed to. Every so often I think it would be nice to just have a second battery and swap it when it runs low, but it only needs a few hours to charge, it's really not a hassle.

Blurtie

487 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 131

#2870959 18-Feb-2022 16:10

We've got the google nest video doorbell here. Can't really fault it so far - apart from the subscription costs maybe. Easy install with mounts/screws supplied. Battery powered, lasting approx 2-3 months per charge depending on amount of visitors/use. Has motion detection and facial recognition (for a fee). No solar option tho as far as I know. Integrates really well with google home devices as you'd expect; notifications to phone - saves as a nifty wee gif type vid on the notifications panel.

The free account saves the last 3 hours worth of footage - if you want any more then you'll need to pay - but you'll get the facial recognition feature.

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2870972 18-Feb-2022 16:30

I think I'll avoid Nest based on that, but thanks for the info Blurtie. I think Ring is possibly the what sounds best, with a solar panel so I don't have to charge it. I'm just a bit tired of charging things and adding little jobs that need to be done occasionally.

josephhinvest

1550 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 322

ID Verified

Trusted

#2870980 18-Feb-2022 16:52

I've got a Ring (v. 1 I think) and it's adequate. I have motion alerts on, which I like as I get a push notification when someone approaches the house. But the actual talking to someone through the doorbell is a bit hit and miss, and slow to initiate, I think its' the cladding of the house (and new aluminium front door) really impacting the wifi strength. So that aspect of it is a bit poor. I use the internal battery and charge it every few weeks, I don't bother with the security screw, I just bung it onto the wall mount, it's a good secure fit, but yes, someone could potentially steal it.

I have it integrated with my Homekit stuff, using Homebridge running in docker on my Synology. So when someone presses the button it rings the chime on my HomePod mini, and you can view the video (When it works) on the Apple TV.

Cheers,
Joseph

Loismustdye

942 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 256

Trusted

#2871150 19-Feb-2022 07:34

Recently got the ring doorbell 4, works amazingly well and has the rechargeable battery. The app is brilliant to use and so customisable for notifications and everything else.

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2871153 19-Feb-2022 07:45

Our front door faces the street, but it's recessed into a little alcove so there is a side wall that faces more towards the driveway. We get a lot of foot traffic going past. Mounting beside the door would be a bit tricky as it's all aluminum, so it would probably have to be mounted on the side wall pointing to the driveway, which would get quite a bit of street / footpath in it. Will we be constantly bothered by alerts or can we likely configure it to only alert when people are fairly close / in certain segments of the pic?

Loismustdye:

Recently got the ring doorbell 4, works amazingly well and has the rechargeable battery. The app is brilliant to use and so customisable for notifications and everything else.

Looks like it's a nice incremental upgrade. Just debating whether about $400 plus another $80 if I want a solar charger is worthwhile given we usually have about one person come to the door each month. It might be useful to see if packages arrive.

Pre-roll sounds nice. Must use extra battery though. They must have a dedicated motion sensor in there rather than having the camera on all the time.

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

jonherries

1434 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 316

Trusted

Subscriber

#2871155 19-Feb-2022 07:59

esawers: I couldn’t find a clear answer on this so ended up with the Gridconnect compatible Orion Doorbell from Bunnings for $140. It comes with a 16gb SD card for storage (no subscriptions), it messages your phone to say someone is at the door, you can choose to only record when the doorbell is pressed, or to do motion detection also.

We have only had it for a week, but a friend said his one needs charging once per month, easy to remove off the wall with one screw and plug it into a microusb for a couple of hours.

We have just had this discussion. Can I ask if the video is a rtsp connection? Want to use it with homebridge/homekit. Looks like the Tuya plugin doesnt work with cams.

Jon

rogercruse

644 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 211

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2871156 19-Feb-2022 08:00

fearandloathing: I would recommend a ring doorbell, I have ring doorbell pro.
However if you are expecting couriers to ring the doorbell, you will be disappointed.

Also have the Ring Doorbell Pro powered by a transformer. Previously had a battery powered Ring Doorbell. The major difference (other than price!) is that the Pro will respond instantly to movement or being rung. The battery powered unit has to 'wake up' first before it connects to the wifi and report.

If you get the Pro, make sure you get a transformer from Ring. My electrician installed a non-Ring transformer, while it worked long enough for the initial installation, the doorbell would lose is settings and these had to be reinstalled. After a few calls to the Ring Customer Services, we replaced the transformer and everything was fine.

BTW I initially dreaded the thought of dealing with Ring Customer Services, and was expecting an indifferent service like that from offered by Vodafone Customer Services. but Ring were excellent.

jonherries

1434 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 316

Trusted

Subscriber

#2871158 19-Feb-2022 08:02

@Timmmay the grid connect door bell has an option for a solar panel:

https://grid-connect.com.au/smart-home-products/security/

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2871246 19-Feb-2022 10:37

The Grid Connect is more basic but also a lot cheaper and includes a chime inside, but the reviews are poor.

It also occurs to me that we have a light outside, we could potentially run some conduit down the wall to power a video doorbell.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80652 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41038

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2871252 19-Feb-2022 11:07

timmmay:

Our front door faces the street, but it's recessed into a little alcove so there is a side wall that faces more towards the driveway. We get a lot of foot traffic going past. Mounting beside the door would be a bit tricky as it's all aluminum, so it would probably have to be mounted on the side wall pointing to the driveway, which would get quite a bit of street / footpath in it. Will we be constantly bothered by alerts or can we likely configure it to only alert when people are fairly close / in certain segments of the pic?

You can draw an area to be monitored, perhaps excluding a bit of the street level. You can also change an option do a bit more processing and exclude some notifications.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

jonherries

1434 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 316

Trusted

Subscriber

#2871314 19-Feb-2022 13:10

Yep have also looked at Wyze - but doesnt do RTSP so back to the drawing board.

Jon

Loismustdye

942 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 256

Trusted

#2871365 19-Feb-2022 15:13

timmmay:

Our front door faces the street, but it's recessed into a little alcove so there is a side wall that faces more towards the driveway. We get a lot of foot traffic going past. Mounting beside the door would be a bit tricky as it's all aluminum, so it would probably have to be mounted on the side wall pointing to the driveway, which would get quite a bit of street / footpath in it. Will we be constantly bothered by alerts or can we likely configure it to only alert when people are fairly close / in certain segments of the pic?

Loismustdye:

Recently got the ring doorbell 4, works amazingly well and has the rechargeable battery. The app is brilliant to use and so customisable for notifications and everything else.

Looks like it's a nice incremental upgrade. Just debating whether about $400 plus another $80 if I want a solar charger is worthwhile given we usually have about one person come to the door each month. It might be useful to see if packages arrive.

Pre-roll sounds nice. Must use extra battery though. They must have a dedicated motion sensor in there rather than having the camera on all the time.

HN had it over waitangi for $330 I think which is why I grabbed it, preroll seems to work alright, although haven’t really looked at it too much. Ours has been up for almost 2 weeks and is down to 75% battery, the first couple of days the kids played with it a bit for the novelty.

as Mauricio said you can change the area that activates it to eliminate unwanted interruptions or recordings etc.

whole bunch of settings in the app to fiddle with as well if you’re into that sort of thing, all in all I’m pretty happy with it

timmmay

20858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2999495 21-Nov-2022 21:21

Has anyone looked at the Amazon Blink video doorbells? I watched one review on youtube and skimmed a review, it looks like MUCH better value than Ring. They don't ship directly to NZ, but shipping with Planet Express / youshop isn't too bad.

1 | 2