It had to happen, the transition of doorbells to having a camera built in.
It all started with a new generation of intelligent door cameras, whether it be Ring or Arlo device, the concept of having a means to identify who was at the door and then being able to speak to someone at the door irrelevant of whether you are in Sydney or New York proved extremely popular.
But there was one problem, batteries and that dreaded job of having to recharge them every so often.
Now Arlo has a new wired video doorbell that is a ringer and camera combined and what this device eliminates is ‘No more battery replacements”.
Most houses have a doorbell and if you do not this one is easy to install though you do need power to the door frame.
If you already have a powered doorbell your job of crossing over to the slick new Arlo offering is going to be very easy as well the doorbell uses the same base station as Arlo’s cameras, and works with the same smartphone app so the transition after you have installed the device is going to be easy.
If you have used a ring doorbell in the past the first thing you will notice is that the 1:! aspect ratio of the Arlo offering delivers more of the person at the door, you can see what’s on the floor or at their feet.
you also get a 180-degree field of view and the quality of the image is excellent even when it is dark or recording in a low light situation.
Unlike traditional video doorbells like the Ring offering which comes with a 16:9 aspect ratio, Arlo have opted for using a square, 1:1 aspect ratio.
By delivering footage in a 1:1 format, users receive a more complete view of their front door it also allows one to connect with visitors in real-time from any location.
It also appears that Arlo has taken the lag out of the communication process between when a person presses the doorbell and when you get an alert on your app.
To solve the problem, Arlo has their Video Doorbell sends a live, HD video call right to the user’s smartphone once the doorbell is pressed.
This allows users to answer the video call for a fast, near real-time response via two-way audio, or to respond with pre-recorded, quick-reply messages.
As for looks this doorbell stacks up, it slim and designed to fit both in the middle of a door or on a door frame.
There is a useful diagrams and instructions to walk you through the steps.
Once fitted all you need to do is pair it with an Arlo Chime which if you do not already own one, I suggest you buy one at the same time you purchase your video doorbell.
The chime sounds both on the doorbell and through the Chime speaker.
If you have two doors that need doorbells, you can pair them both to the same Chime.
Chime has a selection of rings: various beeps and boops; chimes that sound like guitar strumming or a ring of bells; something that sounds rather like Big Ben; and some traditional chimes that sound just like a ‘real’ doorbell from various eras.
The cost at JB Hi Fi and The Good Guys is around $289
Conclusion
Arlo is a solid non-Chinese security Company whose technology is developed in the USA. Like prior Arlo products the design is excellent, slim and unobtrusive. What I like with this product is that you get a mix of excellent and easy to operate software, high quality HD resolution from the camera to a smartphone or tablet as well as the added advantage of motion detection software.
As for the 1.1 aspect ratio it works as you now get a full view of the person at the door and this is a big advantage as you can see what is at their feet.
