Have you all seen the Blink home monitoring system? It has all sorts of unique tech. So far, seems best of the bunch and does some cool stuff. I have two so far pointed at the front and rear door. I plan to add 3 more once I have them a few months to test. Not a new concept, but may be the best of them and price is great.
The Netgear’s Arlo appears even better but costs more.
Interesting. My question is how does it know when you’re gone and to start monitoring for motion to begin recording?
A lot of this new IoT stuff works off adjunct apps. One being If This Then That… IFTTT. Another is Tasker. Tasker is very powerful but difficult to learn IFTTT is simple and easy.
If Time = 7PM to 6AM and Cam1 senses motion then Do X sort of deal.
It all gets tied to your network, their clouds, the hubs if any… It get’s kinda complicated.
But for instance if I walk in my home I can tell tasker to have my phone not need an unlock code as long as I’m on my home wifi.
It can all be tied together by varying degrees. I’ve been buying LIFX lights and they have no hub which is nice. But I can control them through their app, IFTTT, Tasker, or basically whichever ‘thing app’ I desire… Amazon Echo for instance. I could have a SmartThings motion sensor turn on a LIFX bulb via the SmartThings app for instance.
So your question is really complicated but per their FAQ, the only way to do it is via their app and for that reason alone I would not touch them as they don’t work with the most basic and prolific hardware and apps already out there.
My head hurts
You can arm it or not when you wish from your phone. You can just do a live view to see what’s happening in your house, or set it to send you an alert with vid when armed. Has worked well so far.
Not sure why that would be a deal breaker, but for cost, ease of set up, and function, seems an excellent security adjunct. A step up appears to be the Netgear’s Arlo system, but more $.
Very interesting to me but the vid is a little overly slick and a tad short on hard info. But enough for me to want to give it a try depending on price.
Thanks, I’ve been looking for something like this.
I will read up on it, it looks like just the ticket to go along with the rest of my system.
Well, if all you wanted was that one thing, -maybe- not. But no one knows. For instance though, look at what works with Samsung Smartthings…
https://www.smartthings.com/compatible-products.
Here is what works with IFTTT
https://ifttt.com/channels
When someone brings an IoT product to market everyone with an existing setup or expanding setup is going to want it to integrate. To me it sounds like this product is something that works but they are hoping someone like Samsung will buy them up and integrate it.
CE magazine which is the industry mag for re sellers and installers just had an article that estimated this tech will take another 2 years to settle on standards.
Here is a similar cam that at least works with IFTTT and has night vision for about $125 per cam. Indoor/outdoor and also completely wireless.
http://www.arlo.com/en-us/?cid=q3_arlo_us_search&utm_source=paidsearch&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=q3_arlo_us_search_bing
Prices are on the page. I got the two cams and sync module. Can be expanded to 10 cams it claims. Price for function, hard to go wrong.
Exactly. Wouldn’t use as a stand alone security system, but a useful cost effective very easy to use adjunct.
I’m OK with that one thing considering costs. I mentioned the Arlo product above in several places as a likely superior similar concept, but more $ of course and can’t vouch for ease of set up, etc.
So it uses your WIFI network to send video to a third party who stores it and lets you view it. Who owns the data; you or the Blink guys? Granted its probably not intended for folks guarding banks or what not, but still some backup would be nice in case somenoe pulls the power or unlugs your service at the NID on your homes. Although, $200 for 3 cameras is not that bad to cover the impromptu burglar or maintenance guy or babysitter…
I believe it’s stored on their cloud server.
It’s a neat little system, and stuff like this succeeding is only going to grow the market.
I’m not in love with their proprietary app. I would much rather have the cameras link to my server and let it record the video, with me simply accessing it whenever I feel the need to do so. I am probably very much in the minority on that one though… Most people have no desire to deal with that level of work, and for them this is a great product.
Ideal someone that doesn’t want to have to hassle with a complicated set up and access process. It’s the “complete upper” of the security system world. 
I went ahead and purchased two to supplement my monitored alarm system. I have a medium sized apartment and this will allow me to check on things if I get an alert from my monitoring system.
I’ve been looking into cameras for a while and this seemed like a cheap and easy way to get in the door.
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Good deal. So far, I’m happy with them and plan to add 2-3 more cams in the future.
Report. Now that I have had them a while, a follow up;
So far, pros far outweigh any cons discovered when you factor the $ compared to anything else similar. As part of a layered security system, thumbs up. Stand alone, no. Just ordered 3 more cams.
Only cons so far is, the transmitter should have a back up battery as the cams do. Someone cuts the power, or power goes out, no cams. Two, like a typical system, you should be able to “arm” cams individually vs all or none similar to a typical security system. Say you want cams at doors on, rest off while in the house sleeping. Can’t do that. They are all on or off. So, when you leave the house, you arm them, and go.
Conclusion: an excellent cost effective edition to a layered system.
can you put the base on a UPS setup so if power goes out you have battery for a while
Ah, good idea! Yes, bet you could. It draws very little power so would not need a big UPS. I might do that. But, still a problem;
Transponder communicated with house modem to communicate with your phone, so cams would continue to work but don’t think you’d get the alert to the phone. So I think that means UPS to modem needed also and cable signal not interrupted, but I have to track that down some more.
yeah agree should be part of it I might be picking some of these up soon
as you said they seem to be a good price point balance of features
My findings are similar. With multiple layers i.e. lights, locks, monitored security system, and lastly the cameras; I believe this is an effective product. My two cameras have functioned flawlessly and I am looking to get another 2.
I have been wanting to get a UPS for my router, modem, and the camera base station so that I can have mostly uninterrupted Internet and security in the event of a power outage. That would make for a very effective system and would be approaching the limits of what I am able to do in my apartment as far as hardening and security goes.
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