Interested in getting video doorbell that I can record myself.
I have a Ring(doesn't work anymore) and I liked the convenience of being able to see who was at the door from anywhere I was at. What I didn't like was the cost involved to have everything recorded. I would rather delicate a pc to that task.
The Ring was powered off my old doorbell transformer which made it very easy.
Lots of options on the net but would like some input from anybody here that used one.
Desired:
1.powered off transformer
2.wireless wifi
3.able to self record

I have a Blink video doorbell, and it checks 2.5 out of 3 of your boxes.

It wires in to work with your existing audible chime and transformer, but the low voltage doorbell transformer isn't strong enough to fully power it 100% of the time. It also uses a pair of AA batteries to supplement/backup the wired power, which so far have lasted me 4+ years on the original set of lithium AAs, and if they ever do go out they take ~30 seconds to change.

It can record to the cloud like the Ring for a subscription fee if you so choose, but it can also record to a local base station onto a SD card with no subscription. I use the latter.

It uses wifi to communicate both with the cloud/hub as well as your phone. You can view the camera feed and view/talk to anyone at your door via the Blink app.

It also integrates into a Blink camera system with internal and externa wifi cameras. Like the doorbell, these have the option for free local storage or subscription cloud storage.

I skipped the doorbell camera and have some Arlo Pro cameras. If you use the Arlo Base Station, you can insert a SD card and record locally. It’ll give you alerts when something happens. The cameras are battery powered (proprietary battery) that lasts a couple months and are easy to recharge.

That’s said if you have a subscription there are a lot of features you can use that are quite nice to have. It’s a decent investment yo start, but I am quite happy with mine.

I went a similar route as Beancooker, except I went with Panasonic Homehawk. It does require AC power. My key requirement other than decent camera (and low light recording but not infrared) was self record - no subscriptions and wifi. Video recorded onto SIMM. Live and recorded video viewable via phone and can be downloaded. Alarms distinguish between Motion and Person.

I'm pretty satisfied. I may look into Blink in the future.

This one from Reolink can be wired using the existing doorbell transformer if it meets the wattage requirements. If you purchase the home hub the videos will be stored there. It also has an sd card slot to record at the camera only. The transformer trickle charges the batteries. Runs off WIFI.

I just installed one last week and so far it is working well. I purchased the Home Hub Pro because I am adding 3 more cameras and the hub comes with 2 TB of storage space.

https://reolink.com/us/product...nk-doorbell-battery/

You can also get notifications sent to your cell phone and email alerts. Videos can be viewed from the cell phone and PC, when you download a Reolink app.

With the Home Hub there are no subscription fees, and the Home Hub also becomes the doorbell chime so there is no reason to buy the extra chime.

Curious, what is wrong with your Ring. Mine just ceased motion sensing recording. I have attempted to reset it multiple times with no change in status.

Used to have Reolink. It died eventually
Now have a Eufy.
It has a 2nd camera that can track packages , and you can get an indoor chime that also supports SD card for recording.
Once paired to the doorbell , you have the advantage that if the destroy or steal the doorbell , you still have recordings.
No subscriptions needed, no cloud storage.

So far very pleased with it

This message has been edited. Last edited by: btgoanna,

I have an Amcrest Doorbell camera.
It’s powered by the doorbell wiring (you may need to upgrade your doorbell inside for more power)
It’s wifi that stays connected and I use the free Amcrest app that has 7 days of free cloud recording but I also use BlueIris on the computer to record it 24/7 and store it on my computer with my other cameras.
Also has a MicroSD card slot.
https://amcrest.com/4mp-wifi-c...-doorbell-ad410.html

BlueIris is like $30 a year so no biggie.

I have been using Wyze doorbell and cameras, and with the SD cards, has worked well for me.

I’ll second Wyze. Records to an SD card and/or online storage. I think I pay $9 a month for the online storage and notification option for all of my Wyze cameras at home and our condo in Florida.

Oddly enough after charging, resetting, charging and resetting a few times mine actually started working again.

Huh....

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
Curious, what is wrong with your Ring. Mine just ceased motion sensing recording. I have attempted to reset it multiple times with no change in status.

The doorbell rings but no video. Just quit, no idea why.

Another problem would be that I lost password so I can't really troubleshoot, even if I had a clue how to troubleshoot.

I want to record any video, I don't want to use "the cloud".

I was glad to leave my Ring behind when we bought our current house.

Arlo wired doorbells and their Ultra2 cameras cover the exterior easily. See beancooker’s note above on how to record w/o subscribing. I use their cloud service mostly as a matter of convenience.

-Rob

Have a Ring battery powered unit, our house doorbell was a part of the intercom system that was put in by the builder, as was about every home in that time frame of the early 90's so you can't use the wired doorbell feature to power it.

It's slow to notify of any activity, close up it's pretty decent but by the time we get notifications the person is gone before the live video feed comes up. Sure you can check the video history but getting a live connection is spotty and generally after the fact.

Service requirements aren't an issue, we have 1gb internet service, and a wifi Mesh system in the house with one of the hubs up front by the Ring. Same for Blink camera notifications take a bit to happen, and hitting the live view takes a long time to come up.

Basically they are both good for seeing what has happened, and it's odd that it never picks up people walking up the drive to the door, when the live feed comes up after notifications I can see the UPS truck leaving....