topic Re: Home Security Cameras in Community Chat

Home Security Cameras

SeaMaiden — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 14:52:46 GMT

So many...so confusing!

I want to buy one. I just want the BEST ONE...PUTTING PRICE ASIDE...which one would you buy that is easy to install and has real good cameras.

maybe those who have a security camera at home which they are not too happy with could post here too.

Thank you you for your input.

Re: Home Security Cameras

FastDogWalker2 — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 15:08:01 GMT

We recently installed a Blink system. We have 3 cameras - front door, back porch and side door/driveway. It was easy to put up and easy to load the apps onto our phones. We have put it through it's paces and have been very pleased so far. I find it especially helpful lately because it allows me to know when packages have been delivered to our front porch. We have had it 2-3 weeks and so far no negatives. Good luck and hope you get lots of helpful info!

Re: Home Security Cameras

Mj12 — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 15:13:24 GMT

@FastDogWalker2that is very good to read; we just bought the Blink TSV (arrived yesterday - still in the box) and it's good to hear that you like it so far.

@SeaMaidenI'll be interested to read the replies. We were debating between Blink and Ring. I believe Ring requires a monthly subscription (I think it is around $100/year for unlimited cameras) and Blink does not - but beyond that, I'm not sure what the differences are.

Re: Home Security Cameras

LoveMeSomeQVC — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 15:51:13 GMT

@SeaMaiden We have both the Blink system and a Ring Doorbell. Both are easy set up and the only real drawback is that your internet has to be working to be able to view the cameras, but that is not typically an issue.

The black color Blink cameras are indoor/outdoor, which is nice. The white ones are indoor only, although we did have one under a covered porch for several months before we added the Ring doorbell. The main functionality difference between the two that I can see is that you have two-way communication with the Ring and can speak to the person ringing the doorbell (or anyone around your front door - the bell does not have to be ringing). On the Blink system you can only hear one way (whatever you are viewing) and can't communicate through the device.

Both systems are awesome! Technology is amazing.

Re: Home Security Cameras

SeaMaiden — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 17:33:54 GMT

@LoveMeSomeQVC Thanks so much for your post. What do you mean " your internet needs to be working for the cameras to work?? So you have to have your computer ON all day and night? My WiFi is on 24/7, but not my computer as it is not safe to just leave your computer on as far as security when not in use.

Could you explain this to me about THE INTERNET NEEDS TO BE WORKING....

Re: Home Security Cameras

chickenbutt — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 17:42:48 GMT

You just need to have a network, so you are probably fine in that regard.

Beyond that, I absolutely ABHOR these Blink cameras! BTW, in one of the recent presentations here they lied a few times about them. I heard the rep say that you can load them on your computer to watch. You cannot and there are complaints all over the internet about that.

When you leave your house you cannot monitor them. Your phone has to be accessing your home network (and they are not all compatible) in order to see what the cameras pick up. Fortunately, we have a dual router, so we could use the part that works for this Blink system...such as it is.

Furthermore, they don't always work. More often than not anybody can walk through the range and the camera does not pick anything up.

I wish my husband had not purchased these. When you are trying to delete the videos on your phone, often you have to delete the same ones over and over. Some might show up later to be deleted again. (you can tell because the time is showing)

There are other brands of systems that, from all I've heard, are like 100% better. My husband is a very emotional thinker, so he's not one to research something before buying. He's probably QVC's target audience (glad he doesn't watch much!), as they can convince him that he should buy something.

I could go on, but I'll spare you. Just suffice to say that I would not have my safety based entirely on these stupid cameras and I am also ticked that he believed some of the lies they told in presentations, which got him to pull the trigger.

Re: Home Security Cameras

SeaMaiden — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 18:58:13 GMT

@chickenbutt Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Home Security Cameras

fthunt — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 19:03:33 GMT

After hearing David's experience - RING woke him at 2:30 AM b/c a deer was in his yard and at 6:30 AM squirrel has taken a liking to his front porch. That got me to thinking.............for a person who may wake in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep - - I def don't want a RING or anything else disturbing my rest. I have woods behind my house - skunks - raccoons - deer - rabbits. A burglar is more welcome as long as he's quiet!

Re: Home Security Cameras

Allegheny — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 19:10:17 GMT

@SeaMaiden Just a suggestion..Ask on the Electronics forum also.

Re: Home Security Cameras

chickenbutt — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 19:24:53 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
@chickenbutt Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I hate to sound like a Negative Nellie, but whenever I can I share my experience. If you've known me at all, you have probably seen me sing the praises of products that are good. I like to be helpful and I like others to know about good products. These, OTOH, are the bane of my existence right now.

One example of when they don't work and should - I go to the store. The one over the garage doesn't pick up me leaving and sometimes it picks me up returning into the garage (by the time I'm halfway in the garage). But if anything else happens while I'm gone I won't get it on my phone unless I leave the phone home. It's not even like I will get the images when I get back home, either. Just nothing. I just got home from the store before writing this and there was not a video for my departure or my return.

This morning we had guys from the power company in our back yard. There was not a single video of any of that (I was home).

Each camera shows you, on your phone since you cannot put them on your computer, how good the signal is. I have a very good and fast network. Each of them shows the reception with all or all but one bar, consistently. Why they don't always pick up things is beyond me.

Sometimes the picture will be all bright red. Went online to find out about that when one of mine did that. Says to remove the batteries and put them back in. Not gonna climb up a ladder because I fall off ladders now, so I figured I'd wait it out and it did clear up by the next day. I don't even know what causes that but, based on my Googling, it was not an anomaly.

Re: Home Security Cameras

puttypiesmom — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 19:53:55 GMT

I don't like systems that are quirky or that don't do a good enough job because the company is planning on eventually rolling out a new and improved system to get you to buy it all over again. We looked into both the Ring and Blink and they both had their drawbacks that were significant enough to say no. We read the questions people asked on the TSV page and the answers by existing customers. It was very informative and around 20 questions at least for each model.

Re: Home Security Cameras

chickenbutt — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:05:29 GMT

There is a thread about these cameras in the 'Home' forum here and there was mention of another brand that a person liked, but I cannot remember the name.

This is an area where I would truly do my research. He bought them on a whim, and i really wish he hadn't. We got them on my phone but were never able to get them on his iPhone. Mine is a Samsung Galaxy S7 and I'm with Sprint as a carrier so my service and my local network are both excellent.

I told him he should be glad he couldn't get the app working on his phone because it would just drive him crazy when home and won't show him anything when he's not home, anyway.

Re: Home Security Cameras

meem120 — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:30:01 GMT

Chickenbutt So am I reading you right, that you cant see your house on the app if you are not there? Kind of defeats the purpose of security then. I dont really care if I'm home. Its when Im not there that I want to see.

Re: Home Security Cameras

LoveMeSomeQVC — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:31:55 GMT

@SeaMaiden Sorry, I should have been clearer. If the internet is down, the cameras won't work. You don't have to keep your computer on, just be sure your router is on and working properly. Obviously based on some of the posts, not everyone is as big a fan of the Blink and Ring systems, but we have had more complicated (wired) ones that don't work. We've had nothing but good luck with our systems, but like one of the other posters said - just be sure and research to find something that meets your needs. There are so many to choose from.

Re: Home Security Cameras

chickenbutt — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:37:24 GMT

@meem120 wrote:
Chickenbutt So am I reading you right, that you cant see your house on the app if you are not there? Kind of defeats the purpose of security then. I dont really care if I'm home. Its when Im not there that I want to see.

Exactly. if I left my phone at home it would probably pick up at least some things. I say that because of their lack of dependability.

But as soon as you take your phone outside your home network you get nothing. i was kind of surprised about that. I just figured it would go to my Sprint service network but it doesn't.

Funny story (kinda) - One day when my husband came home from work I saw the video and to the left of the screen, coming from the side of my property, I guess, there was this bizarre apparition that blew through the viewing of the video. I swear, it seemed like some kind of ghost or something. I did save that video and, after trying a lot of things, was able to get it saved to my computer.

Like many others I've read about online, I really wish you could put the app on your computer and see the videos larger than just on a phone screen. Maybe one day they will make them do that, as there have been quite a few complaints.

But the fact that you cannot get anything happening when you aren't at home just makes no sense to me at all. If you worked all day, wouldn't you want to know if somebody breached your property while you weren't home? I sure would and that would be a very large part of it for me.

Re: Home Security Cameras

The Odd One — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:48:41 GMT

@fthunt wrote:
After hearing David's experience - RING woke him at 2:30 AM b/c a deer was in his yard and at 6:30 AM squirrel has taken a liking to his front porch. That got me to thinking.............for a person who may wake in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep - - I def don't want a RING or anything else disturbing my rest. I have woods behind my house - skunks - raccoons - deer - rabbits. A burglar is more welcome as long as he's quiet!

I have a Ring doorbell as well and I have my alerts set to not go off unless someone RINGS the doorbell...so I don't think the fox that walked by today at 2:11 AM knows how to do that. It still records all motion outside.

And Chickenbutt is right about the Blink cameras...they are the worst ones I've ever tried and I promptly returned those.

For indoor cameras I prefer the Canary security system - I got mine from Amazon but I think they're sold here also. It stays in Home mode unless I leave the house with my cell phone, then it turns itself on into armed mode automatically until I come back home. I've had the Canary cameras for 3 years and I'm very happy with those. But I still love my Ring doorbell too, and when the Canary cameras bite the dust, I'll probably switch to a Ring security system, the new one they just came out with.

Re: Home Security Cameras

meem120 — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:49:53 GMT

Yeah, that doesnt make sense to me at all. Really, whats the purpose then? I watched the presentations on Sunday and everytime they kept saying " you can see if a package was delivered". I assumed you wouldnt need to do that if you were home. Hmmm. I bought the set for my husband for Xmas, thats very disappointing. Thank you for the info, I appreciate it

Re: Home Security Cameras

Sage04 — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:57:00 GMT

Our security cameras are monitored by the Security Company that monitors our home. My sister was visiting another State and was able to see what was happening on the outside of the home by looking at her phone which beeps whenever someone comes by.

She can also turn off the security alarm and open the door for her niece to enter.

What I like about this system is if something goes wrong, we wont have to call 911, because that would be taken care of by the company.

Re: Home Security Cameras

SandPiper — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 21:12:55 GMT

@SeaMaiden We have the Ring system. We like it and have had no problems with it. We have the floodlights and doorbell. Here are some features we like.

Both floodlights and doorbell have two way audio

You can set your own perimeter, narrow or wide depending on what you want to see. If you set the perimeter and let’s say you don’t get alerted that the mailman was on your porch, simply widen the perimeter

On the Ring app you can set each device to alert you. However, you can turn off the alerts when you are sleeping if you choose to.

You can view your house wherever you are through the app.

There is a Ring neighborhood community on the app where people post their crime videos. We have found this very helpful because we can see what’s happening in our town and where.

Re: Home Security Cameras

RedTop — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 21:33:24 GMT

We are discussing adding security cameras, but will not be buying them from a shopping channel.

After our house was broken into, we had a local company install a system with sensors on all windows and doors, motion detectors in the basement, garage and living areas, along with glass breakage sensors and heat detectors. My hard wired system has battery backup, so even without power, my system still works.

With the investment we’ve put into security so far, I want clear, reliable cameras, and I’m only paying for this add on once. Spend your money on a good system that will be reliable.