Arlo? Looking for security camera set up

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Arlo? Looking for security camera set up

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#212700 7-Apr-2017 17:53

Hi all

Looking for a camera set up for home.

I see that Arlo are on special at the moment, plus they are doing an extra camera free by redemption at the moment for the wireless range.

The only thing that worries me is they are battery operated, and I imagine (regardless of the manufacturers blurb) that the batteries will run down reasonably quick and replacing them (on 4 cameras) would get expensive over time.

I had initially been thinking of a POE setup, so if anyone can recommend me one of those tat the same sort of price point ($699) then I'm all ears.

Anyone got recent experience with these or better options?

Thanks.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1759223 7-Apr-2017 18:11

I suspect these are an easy option for many, but may work out as being quite expensive over the long term. Do they require their cloud service and monthly subscription to get a full service? What happens if the maufacturer decide to close down or stop supporting them, will they still work. Using POE cameras potentially gives you a lot more options, but probably not as easy to setup. Batteries would be a PITA, I have to wonder why they don't make them solar powered. Also they could get stolen if left outside..

heavenlywild

5059 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1759227 7-Apr-2017 18:13

I have been looking for the same thing and Arlo does seem to fit the bill. They have a new version out, the Alro Pro. Cameras now have a slightly wider view and have rechargeable batteries. The base also comes with a built-in alarm.

The new version also has a hefty price premium, so not really worth it at the moment in my opinion compared to the current gen.

Buying a Tesla? Use my Tesla referral link and we both get discounts and credits.

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759263 7-Apr-2017 21:31

Yeah - the battery thing puts me off.

The Arlo Pro is just too expensive for me, although the rechargeable battery would be great at the Arlo wire free standard price.

As far as I can see the cloud storage has 7 days free, no sub required, but yeah, if the company closes down I'm not sure if you would be left with bricks.

POE looks a lot easier to set up than having to run power as well though.

richms

28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1759267 7-Apr-2017 21:34

Hikvision or dahua will do you a POE setup for under that price.

Battery ones have a motion sensor on them to start the camera up, so you get no pre-roll of the movement before motion, and cant just have a screen on watching it all the time. Infact there is no HDMI out on the arlo base at all, just cloud and apps so useless for actual monitoring of places.

edit: and add a HDD you source locally.

Richard rich.ms

MadEngineer

4271 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1759268 7-Apr-2017 21:40

The thing with Arlo is convenience. They work well without annoying buggy issues. The app just works. Their magnetic bases can be installed anywhere in seconds.

You just need to position the cameras such that you don't get too many false triggers activated by the PIR sensor. The batteries do last as long as they suggest and cheaper ones can be sourced.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759282 7-Apr-2017 22:38

richms:

Hikvision or dahua will do you a POE setup for under that price.

A quick check shows them to be quite expensive. Where do you recommend looking?

richms

28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1759296 7-Apr-2017 23:30

tukapa1:

richms:

Hikvision or dahua will do you a POE setup for under that price.

A quick check shows them to be quite expensive. Where do you recommend looking?

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&SearchText=DS-7104N

Because of trademark protection BS, you wont find much searching for hikvision on there. That model is a pretty lower power CPU one so cant really handle all channels at max bitrate 1080p, but 4 megabit per channel give good quality.

Look at those sellers other listings for the cameras. Check they are POE as they do models that need local 12v as well that are easy to mix up.

Richard rich.ms

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

michaelmurfy

meow
13240 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1759306 8-Apr-2017 00:49

If you're getting any security cameras off AliExpress ensure the following:

1) It is not on the Internet.
2) The network they're on does not have UPnP.
3) You do not forward ports to them.

If you want a security camera ideal for the home user then Arlo it is. If you want a malware fishtank in your home then get the cheaper crap. The battery life on the Arlo cameras is a wee while and the batteries themselves are cheap to replace but for PoE or powered options that are actually decent be prepared to pay more for it. A very good option also is the Ubiquiti UniFi Video products.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

tripp

3848 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1759414 8-Apr-2017 11:01

So I am running both cleverloop and arlo.

Purchased Arlo last Sunday for $699 for base + 3 cameras (also sent away for the extra camera).

Cleverloop is better at the geo fencing, arlo has a bit of an issue with iphones and geo fencing correctly so far but android seems fine. Also find arlo is a little shower to update when you open the app (more users on the server than what cleverloop has).

Now onto the batteries, I have been using arlo for almost a week and my batteries that came with it are showing 97% (they were also showing 97% when i put them in so no drop yet). The system has not really been turned on yet however (someone has been home all week).

Arlo say don't use rechargeable batteries in the camera's but after reading up it seems a lot of people are using Nitecore Batteries (nl166). I got 8 of these + a charger (D4 4 bay) from PBtech this week for $170. The batteries seem fine and running them in 2 cameras at the moment (both cameras have moved down about 1% from tuesday but I have logged into them a few times and looked at the live feed). The rechargeable batteries won't last as long as the non rechargeable one in the camera but they only take about 3 - 4 hours to recharge

So which one do I like more?

Clever loop has more to it (sound/voice, faster app update and easier to change the system to on/off/geo fencing) and works better with the flatmates iphone (if he leave the app open). But you need power for the cameras and they are butt ugly cameras and look and feel cheap. I have also had 2 server issues with cleverloop over the last 3 months (1 outage of over an hour, the 2nd was over 14 hours and was only fixed after I emailed them about the issue). This is also why I purchased the arlo system as I was looking at replacing cleverloop. Also sometimes the video takes a while to play after it is triggered (i expect they are still uploading to the server) however the app does give you a .gif of what happen as a preview.

Arlo. App is slower to update and sometimes says "you don't seem to have internet" and having to close and reopen the app. The cameras are sexy and you don't need to worry about power to them. They work both outside and inside and don't depend on your wireless network if you don't want them too (they can connect via wireless AP or via wireless to the base station, I have mine connected via wireless to the base station). Battery cost will be high if you don't go for rechargeable. Arlo also lets you setup "triggers" the way you want them and supports IFTTT (I have not played with this but might look at trying to connect it to my hue lights so when something moves they turn on) :)

Arlo will show you video's of what happen and you can set how long to record for (default is 10 seconds) they also email you a picture of what is going on when a trigger happens (you can setup if it does a push notification and or email). Cleverloop will only do a push notification and I have not found a way to get them to record longer.

Arlo also has better app security and you can setup finger print scanning to open app.

Both system only allow 1 username/password to be used on 1 device at a time, So if you want to login on both your phone and a ipad at the same time you need to create 2 usernames, you can create other users and link them to your account/base station. Arlo is better for this as when you invite someone to view cameras you can select which ones they have access too, cleverloop is all or nothing.

So I like both but for different reasons, If you just want cameras for security and can wire up power to outside etc then cleverloop would be better, if you rent and can't wire up power etc and want to be able to make it smarter with IFTTT then arlo might be a better idea.

Hope this helps :)

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759556 8-Apr-2017 18:13

Thanks Tripp - that's helpful.

I looked at the Ubiquiti ones but they look a bit more expensive, especially if you go the NVR route, although i guess I could start smaller and add on as the budget afforded. Are they fine if you don't invest in the NVR?

I do actually have the capability to run some cables, but I'd prefer a POE solution if that was the case.

Cheers all.

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759736 9-Apr-2017 12:42

So looking at the Ubiquiti ones, I see I can get the cameras for US$135 + US$19.31 for shipping from B&H.

That equates to roughly NZ$224, saving about NZ$60 per camera on local pricing.

I'm assuming that I can run the software on my Windows 10 PC, which is on 24/7. I also have a Synology NAS and haven't looked into the ability to use that.

I'm assuming I also need a switch like this one to run the cameras using POE? I currently have a D-Link DGS-1016A 16 port unmanaged gigabit switch which I run my home network from. I presume I plug this into the POE switch and then all the cameras from the POE switch? I'm on VDSL.

Funny thing is that the Ubiquiti NVR looks exactly like on old Foxconn Nettop PC I've got here in the cupboard. Maybe I should run them off that headless.

Am I on the right page?

Cheers.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1759741 9-Apr-2017 12:55

It really depends what your requirements are. You could buy a 4CH Dahua POE NVR with 4x 4MP cameras (4MP is really entry level for CCTV these days) for ~US$350 and get a vastly superior CCTV product but it's not going to deliver you popup emails or notifications in the same way because that's not what most people use a serious quality CCTV solution for. Using applications such as Sighthound on a local PC can easily do that.

The Ubiquiti solution looks nice and works very well as a software solution but the cameras are 2-3 years behind where the market now is.

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1759816 9-Apr-2017 15:22

I'm really just after a solution that will alert me if there's anything amiss and be able to capture footage of any miscreants for ID later.

I've looked at some footage from the Ubiquiti cams on Youtube and the quality looks pretty good to me - certainly enough for what I want.

kiwipawl

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1805078 22-Jun-2017 10:53

We have a Arlo non pro setup and are having major problems with flicker/banding from the fluro lights.

I can't find anywere in the setup to change the 60 to 50 cycles for the lights.

I know the Pro version has this, anybody else have this problem? Cheers Paul.