# Video Doorbells



## JayGo

For the more tech savvy folks on TLF, what's "THE" video doorbell to be had?

I'm considering installing some exterior cameras, too, if that matters.


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## Ware

@JayGo I moved this to Home Improvement.

Good topic.


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## JayGo

@Ware, you da man.


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## cavince79

My only experience is with Ring. I have a Ring Doorbell Pro and I have the Ring Floodlight to go with. Cloud service is $30/year/device, and $99/year for unlimited. I'm looking to add another Ring Floodlight or two as well, and/or some exterior cameras. I haven't had a problem and there are tons of settings for sensitivity and whittling down the camera angle as needed. My flag sets mine off when flying, so I carved out a square where the flag won't set it off.


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## Jgourley124

JayGo said:


> For the more tech savvy folks on TLF, what's "THE" video doorbell to be had?
> 
> I'm considering installing some exterior cameras, too, if that matters.


It's an upfront cost at first but the ability to secure your network and expand ability is top notch. The https://unifi-network.ui.com/camera-security Doorbell is awesome. You need a controller such as the cloud key plus or dream machine pro. There is no monthly service fee and the products are top notch, along with you can use the same products to add additional camera's, and manage your in home network (WiFi, and enthernet)


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## JayGo

@cavince79, I considered the Ring when I bought my current video doorbell, but I have a hang up with the monthly fees. So I went with the SkyBell about 4 years ago. Worked awesome until recently. Maybe a software update or something. This is why I'm in the market for something new.

@Jgourley124, since I posted this I stumbled on the surveillance thread. Went down that rabbit hole one night and it seems that a "whole home" monitoring system is probably the way to go since I've been considering exterior cameras anyway.
So many people mentioned Lorex in that other thread. How do you like your Ubiquity?


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## cubsfan24

I just bought the eufy 1080p wired. Should I have paid $40 more for the 2k version?

I also need 2 cameras as well for the perimeter of the house.


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## Jacks_Designs

JayGo said:


> @cavince79, I considered the Ring when I bought my current video doorbell, but I have a hang up with the monthly fees. So I went with the SkyBell about 4 years ago. Worked awesome until recently. Maybe a software update or something. This is why I'm in the market for something new.
> 
> @Jgourley124, since I posted this I stumbled on the surveillance thread. Went down that rabbit hole one night and it seems that a "whole home" monitoring system is probably the way to go since I've been considering exterior cameras anyway.
> So many people mentioned Lorex in that other thread. How do you like your Ubiquity?


I don't mind Lorex or Ubiquiti but I'd recommend a synology diskstation. Thousands of cameras you can choose from.


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## Jgourley124

JayGo said:


> @cavince79, I considered the Ring when I bought my current video doorbell, but I have a hang up with the monthly fees. So I went with the SkyBell about 4 years ago. Worked awesome until recently. Maybe a software update or something. This is why I'm in the market for something new.
> 
> @Jgourley124, since I posted this I stumbled on the surveillance thread. Went down that rabbit hole one night and it seems that a "whole home" monitoring system is probably the way to go since I've been considering exterior cameras anyway.
> So many people mentioned Lorex in that other thread. How do you like your Ubiquity?


I went with ubiquity because of the interface and ease of use. I have the dream machine pro and then a poe 8 switch router for my cameras and two ports of that go into the access points for my WiFi. The PoE feature is great because it's only one wire going to each unit, not a power and data, or any video footage going over my WiFi. It was an expensive upfront cost but in the end I love the features and how it does my network and security at once. Plus I can stream everything to my phone when I'm not home


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## White94RX

I installed a fully hardwired Lorex system at my house a few weeks ago. I have been very pleased thus far. It's PoE, 8 camera system, and is expandable for more cameras, more harddrive, and I think 2 wireless devices as well (doorbell cam, interior cam, etc). What I like is that everything is hardwired, and recorded directly to a hard drive. No cloud, no subscriptions, etc. I can access the cameras as well as any recorded material directly from the app on my phone.


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## falconsfan

Keep in mind that many cameras, doorbells, etc that use wifi, store your images and maintain rights to keep them as long as they want. Ring will share your video doorbell footage with police at their request, without asking you. Some people don't care but keep that in mind, you should be aware before you relinquish your privacy rights. Hardwired with local storage is the best way, but is more expensive and complicated to set up.


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## JayGo

Thanks, guys.
I went down the rabbit whole when I read the thread on home surveillance. Aside from the brands mentioned there and in this thread, I don't Know what else there is. I'm not sure where to begin. &#128557;


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## nikmasteed

I bought the required hardware for 2 Ring ELITE cameras (PoE) a year ago and had an electrician lined up to install it then the pandemic lockdowns started. Electrician #1 hasn't returned my calls/texts in recent months and electrician #2 didn't have familiarity with installing Rings.

I'm not that comfortable self-performing electrical work, but since this is low voltage I might give it a go, cat5 cabling is already in the walls from an early 2000s intercom system. Any tips/ things to keep in mind would be appreciated.


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## Lust4Lawn

I know that Amcrest makes one that supposedly works with a NVR (no fees) or cloud based storage (fee).


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## AndyS

JayGo said:


> For the more tech savvy folks on TLF, what's "THE" video doorbell to be had?
> 
> I'm considering installing some exterior cameras, too, if that matters.


I'm not sure there's a perfect system, but I installed Nest about 18 months ago and it's been amazing. Not only for the usual video doorbell use cases, but for scrolling through and watching the fall reseed grow in on fast forward, seeing what damaged my lawn in a certain spot, etc. I'd never want to go without a video doorbell after having one.


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## Mightyquinn

I went with the UniFi doorbell as I already have Unifi throughout the house and may eventually switch all my Lorex cameras over to their platform to make everything nice and easy.

I'm not a fan of having to pay another company to store or access my own camera footage, kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes and who knows what the company could do with your own footage.


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## White94RX

I posted in this thread earlier about my Lorex system. I have since installed the Lorex video/audio doorbell camera. Installation was super simple since we already had the standard wired doorbell. Two wires on the outside camera, two screws on the mounting bracket, then connect the wires inside to the dinger thing on the wall. Connecting to the Lorex DVR unit took just a minute or two. We've been pleased thus far.


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## aybe09

I'm using the Lorex 2k doorbell camera as well. Haven't gotten around to installing the POE cameras yet. My girlfriends family exclusively uses those and have enjoyed the experience.


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## robbybobby

Neat doorbell / Nest eco system for cameras and security. I've enjoyed it. All super easy to install and add onto.


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## testwerke

Mightyquinn said:


> I went with the UniFi doorbell as I already have Unifi throughout the house and may eventually switch all my Lorex cameras over to their platform to make everything nice and easy.
> 
> I'm not a fan of having to pay another company to store or access my own camera footage, kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes and who knows what the company could do with your own footage.


Looking into the Ubiquiti myself. I noticed there's some support in Homebridge that can properly bring the doorbell into HomeKit.

Downside is that I'd still have to spin up a UniFi Protect docker app.

Edit: apparently Protect requires hardware. Cannot be dockerized. Shucks


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## ILoveGrits

nikmasteed said:


> I bought the required hardware for 2 Ring ELITE cameras (PoE) a year ago and had an electrician lined up to install it then the pandemic lockdowns started. Electrician #1 hasn't returned my calls/texts in recent months and electrician #2 didn't have familiarity with installing Rings.
> 
> I'm not that comfortable self-performing electrical work, but since this is low voltage I might give it a go, cat5 cabling is already in the walls from an early 2000s intercom system. Any tips/ things to keep in mind would be appreciated.


I installed an elite not too long ago. From what I remember the instructions are pretty sparse about wiring. I can take a look and see how I pinned the cable out if you'd like (mine runs back to a switch and doorbell chime).


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## SOLARSUPLEX

I went with a full Unifi system as well. Doorbell, Dream Machine Pro, 2 APs, and soon to be 3 cameras.

I refuse to pay a monthly cost to house my data somewhere especially when its in regards to a permanent install like security.


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## nikmasteed

ILoveGrits said:


> nikmasteed said:
> 
> 
> 
> I bought the required hardware for 2 Ring ELITE cameras (PoE) a year ago and had an electrician lined up to install it then the pandemic lockdowns started. Electrician #1 hasn't returned my calls/texts in recent months and electrician #2 didn't have familiarity with installing Rings.
> 
> I'm not that comfortable self-performing electrical work, but since this is low voltage I might give it a go, cat5 cabling is already in the walls from an early 2000s intercom system. Any tips/ things to keep in mind would be appreciated.
> 
> 
> 
> I installed an elite not too long ago. From what I remember the instructions are pretty sparse about wiring. I can take a look and see how I pinned the cable out if you'd like (mine runs back to a switch and doorbell chime).
Click to expand...

Sure, if you don't mind, that would be very helpful! @ILoveGrits Thanks


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## SCGrassMan

Mightyquinn said:


> I went with the UniFi doorbell as I already have Unifi throughout the house and may eventually switch all my Lorex cameras over to their platform to make everything nice and easy.
> 
> I'm not a fan of having to pay another company to store or access my own camera footage, kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes and who knows what the company could do with your own footage.


Yeah I have Unifi stuff throughout as well, but I do not believe the prior person was correct about not needing anything but a cloud key. Definitely need some kind of NVR for it.


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## Mightyquinn

Which cloud key do you have?


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## SCGrassMan

Mightyquinn said:


> Which cloud key do you have?


V1


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## Mightyquinn

Oh ok. V2 has the hard drive which can be used for Unifi Protect if you only have a few cameras.


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## SCGrassMan

Mightyquinn said:


> Oh ok. V2 has the hard drive which can be used for Unifi Protect if you only have a few cameras.


Oh really? That might not be a bad upgrade then. Otherwise I'd probably get the dream station and sell off the USG etc


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## Mightyquinn

Unless you plan on only having 2-3 cameras. I would get the dream machine pro and maybe the NVR. Wish those were available when I purchased mine.


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## SCGrassMan

Mightyquinn said:


> Unless you plan on only having 2-3 cameras. I would get the dream machine pro and maybe the NVR. Wish those were available when I purchased mine.


I would say I plan to have 3-6 cameras, plus the doorbell, and add them one or two at a time. I don't need the redundancy of multiple drives of the NVR, but it is a pretty good price. Wouldn't mind having the better firewall of the dream machine pro, and have it rack mountable, since I do in fact have a rack in the closet.


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## Mightyquinn

I would just check to see what the max size hard drive the DMP will accept and make sure it will work for what you want, I guess you could always upgrade to the NVR if needed down the road.

I eventually want to get the DMP and the NVR and replace all my Lorex cameras with Unifi cameras. I already have the POE ran so it would be an easy swap out.


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## SCGrassMan

Yeah there's a 12 TB drive by Seagate that would be more than I'd ever need.

The bonus for the DMP is higher throughput than the USG, so if and when I get a better internet connection it will support it.

The downside is it's sold out at Uniquiti, and aftermarket they're going for $300 above retail.


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## SOLARSUPLEX

SCGrassMan said:


> Yeah there's a 12 TB drive by Seagate that would be more than I'd ever need.
> 
> The bonus for the DMP is higher throughput than the USG, so if and when I get a better internet connection it will support it.
> 
> The downside is it's sold out at Uniquiti, and aftermarket they're going for $300 above retail.


This was part of the reason i went with the UDM Pro. I recently got a 1GB up/down connection and my old netgear stuff could not handle that throughput.

I've found the doorbell consumes about 18gb of data a day. Depending on the resolution and framerate you go with for the cameras you can do a few brief calculations to figure out what size HDD you need. In the grand scheme of things, you just want to have storage for as long as you'll ever leave your property. If you often take month long vacations and have 6 cameras, additional storage is necessary. I ended up with an 8tb drive that will support my needs just fine. I have yet to get the cameras other than the doorbell because of stock availability.


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## BobLovesGrass

Anyone have any updates as to simple video doorbells?
Got a Ring a few years ago as a gift and the battery is showing it's age by requiring much more frequent charging.
Would not have gone Ring except it was a gift grom my parents and frankly rarely use anything they give me, and the wife had mentioned in front of them wanting a video doorbell.
Now that it needs a new battery it is my opportunity to maybe make a better choice. If I really have to spend hundreds and setup a self hosted system I do have a friend who can help.


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## MasterMech

BobLovesGrass said:


> Anyone have any updates as to simple video doorbells?
> Got a Ring a few years ago as a gift and the battery is showing it's age by requiring much more frequent charging.
> Would not have gone Ring except it was a gift grom my parents and frankly rarely use anything they give me, and the wife had mentioned in front of them wanting a video doorbell.
> Now that it needs a new battery it is my opportunity to maybe make a better choice. If I really have to spend hundreds and setup a self hosted system I do have a friend who can help.


You aren't by chance using Apple HomeKit are you?

I do, and so I went with the Logitech CircleView doorbell which is powered by my existing doorbell wiring. Setup was pretty simple, albiet I'm a bit more technically oriented than most.

Unfortunately, the Logitech is only available for HomeKit.


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## BobLovesGrass

Just have a single Ring which is just setup on Wifi no extra hardware.
I am very mechanical and program a CNC and Laser for a living but have not delved into home networking.............yet.


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## MasterMech

BobLovesGrass said:


> Just have a single Ring which is just setup on Wifi no extra hardware.
> I am very mechanical and program a CNC and Laser for a living but have not delved into home networking.............yet.


Similar background here.

If you have an iPhone, you probably have HomeKit/the Home app. If not, the app is free to download in the App Store. The Logitech doorbell doesn't use it's own app, it functions entirely through the Home app on iOS. Hence, Android users are unable to use the Logitech doorbell. I like it, and the functionality is great, if your in the Apple ecosystem.


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## BobLovesGrass

We are using Android.........
I will keep looking at options, Ring is needing charging every couple weeks which is manageable for now but I have to deal with it before winter gets here again, winter shortens battery life a lot.


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## Katodude

I have a Ring and love it. But I have a powered ring. It runs off 24VAC which is what normally powers traditional doorbells so it was very easy to add. I also have a few Ring cameras and a Ring alarm.

By staying the same eco system, I spend $100 a year for Alarm monitoring, (which I require for insurance) and it comes with the cloud storage for the cameras.

Most people prefer local storage for stuff like this, but this was just easier. I still have about a half dozen older Poe cameras that go to a DVR I have but eventually I will replace them as well.


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## Ware

Katodude said:


> I have a Ring and love it. But I have a powered ring. It runs off 24VAC which is what normally powers traditional doorbells so it was very easy to add. I also have a few Ring cameras and a Ring alarm.
> 
> By staying the same eco system, I spend $100 a year for Alarm monitoring, (which I require for insurance) and it comes with the cloud storage for the cameras.
> 
> Most people prefer local storage for stuff like this, but this was just easier. I still have about a half dozen older Poe cameras that go to a DVR I have but eventually I will replace them as well.


Same. Any system has its pros/cons, but we have been pretty happy with our Ring stuff. I had an NVR with PoE cameras at our old house. They worked fine, but I was the only one that knew how to use them. The Ring stuff just works and the app is very intuitive.


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## JerseyGreens

I've switched all of my stuff over to Eufy and absolutely love it.


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## Austinite

I had Nest for a few years, switched to Ubiquiti and never turned back. Love it.


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