Perfectly happy with our Ring system. Very easy setup, wireless, and great customer service. But you need good wifi.
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We are happy with Blink cameras–need wifi, but easy to set up and controlled by phone app. Unlike our old system, if you forget to set the system, you can do it on the road using the app.
Son came home to check on the cat, and we said HI to him from Europe via the cameras!!
CAVEAT: When we bought the cameras, amazon cloud use for the videos was free. Not sure if that is the case for new buyers. We are apparently grandfathered in, at least for now.
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I saw Blink in my search. It has good reviews. The only thing for me, it needs wifi. I can do without streaming although it is cool to have that.
@Sweetgum I am about to order Wyze. Is it as simple as sticking a SD card and connect to power? No syncing or setup? I don’t need streaming. I just need to view the footage if an occasion arise.
I am not the camera person around here but I think it’s pretty simple. My husband is techy so easy for him but a non-techy friend just got Wyze and had no problem with it. Just asked my husband and he said it was pretty easy but just be sure to two-factor your account (his standard good advice for everything) because you don’t want anyone else to be able to get in and control your cameras.
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Lots of good options out there. I have used some proprietary hard wired brands before but currently have Google Nest Cams in my vacation home and Amazon Ring’s outside my primary home, both with their annual subscription fee for full cloud storage.There’s pro/cons to both but overall happy. Both have no cost options and fixed fee options that don’t increase with additional. devices per home – so 1 fee regardless of quantity of cameras.
Ring has far more bells and whistles on its app and more camera options, both wired and wireless and with power or with long charge batteries. So they are an easy win for versatility. That said, when trying to view video of a triggered event that just happened, there is an annoying delay of up to a minute while it is “processing.” You can see live view in that time but not review whatever motion set it off.
Nest has a cleaner but less featured interface. It’s main upside is its camera can review trigger video instantly and in general lets you see all past time instead of just snippets of trigger events and live (but of course that uses more bandwidth and power so would be a poor solution for a battery-based camera). Also, I got one of Nest’s purpose-build outdoor cameras and placed it outside only 15-20 feet from the main wifi router and it still couldn’t maintain connection. Ultimately I had to put it inside a window looking out because it was useless outside. I don’t have that problem at all with Ring – I have 4 cameras outside and all work great and are always connected.
Both brands integrate well with Alexa or Google Home so you can view them from those devices, trigger alters and actions, etc. The nest ones work within the same app interface as the thermostats and smoke/Co detectors too (though Nest’s smoke/Co detector is a garbage product).
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@Sweetgum Could you ask your husband if you can run it just like a camcorder? I don’t need streaming. I would prefer not to have another “TV” I could get addicted to. This is just for deterrence and evidence if an occasion arises.
He doesn’t stream it. He has it set to record activity so if a person comes up to the house (or a squirrel or bear or whatever) it triggers it to record and alert him. I think the Wyze website gives some good pointers and there is a forum there too I believe. https://www.wyze.com
He likes that it is not Amazon or Google, but is its own thing. Don’t need Amazon or Google knowing any more about our personal business than they already do.
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What if I don’t need to be notified? Would I still need Wi-Fi?
I’m not the camera person at our house but I’m sure the folks in the community forums at Wyze would be able to tell you.
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