What do you guys recommend for a doorbell camera?
I need something that can works with Blue Iris and can perform continuous recordings. I hope to use a doorbell feature. I guess that means it would need a smartphone app. Most of these doorbell cameras require a subscription but I'd rather not go that route. I prefer a one time purchase and use Blue Iris.
Doorbell Camera Recommendations
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DurangoDave
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:40 pm
Re: Doorbell Camera Recommendations
I use a Reolink POE doorbell camera. It behaves well with BI5 for continuous mainstream and sub-stream, but the microphone isn't as good as my Dahua cameras. Since I run it on my isolated cctv LAN I can't do two way audio - I don't know if the Reolink app would work for that on an internet capable LAN at the same time as BI5. The Reolink doorbell camera can send ONVIF messages for doorbell pressed, motion etc, so I have it hooked up to my Homeseer home automation too for logic controlled Alexa notifications. The actual doorbell sounder is a plug in 433Mhz device. Overall the Reolink doorbell is not perfect, but it works well enough.
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DurangoDave
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:40 pm
Re: Doorbell Camera Recommendations
Thanks Tim. How's that camera get power? Power Over Ethernet?
Re: Doorbell Camera Recommendations
I second the Reolink simply because of its BI compatibility. Combine that with its decent enough app and price and it's the logical choice.
Some additional detail to Tim's post...
The two-way talk is relegated to the app for any effective use. Quality is poor, but it works. Mine was unusable with the latest app which was evidently known to suck for the doorbell. I reverted to a previous version suggested by several folks on the Reolink subreddit and there was a significant improvement in quality and latency, until my app did an auto-update and was back to poor quality again. Haven't messed with it since and really don't need the two-way talk in my situation which is primarily geared toward alerts and clips like any other camera anyway.
Its onbord motion and person detection are pretty effective at minimizing nuisance alerts after a little messing around with it. Once tuned, ONVIF is your friend with BI doing any additional heavy lifting beyond the capabilities of the doorbell itself simply by using it for triggering whatever else you may want BI to do.
Then there's the Smart Home stuff like Tim's setup which opens a whole other level of possibilities.
Black Friday may be a good time to snag one cheap. Picked up my wi-fi version on Prime Day for $80 but they're down to $87 now anyway since I believe there's a newer version being released for the holidays.
Works fine on either 2.4 or 5GHz on my network and is powered by the old doorbell transformer, but could also be powered by a DC power supply and used with its ethernet connection, (though not a PoE port on the wi-fi version). If you can get wiring to it, the PoE version would be the way to go. It can handle a 256Gbit memory card and handles clip timeline and playback functions fairly well via the app (or the Reolink desktop client).
The external chime is a simple plugin device with a number of chime choices and it can go anywhere. Using your existing doorbell chime is possible, but would be a pain in the ass and may require replacing the existing transformer to pull it off. Not recommended.
Value-wise it's the way to go. RTSP/ONVIF, no subscription, can be used without cloud reliance, 2K/5MP. Basically a highly flexible no strings/non-proprietary solution of acceptable quality that plays nice with BI.
Some additional detail to Tim's post...
The two-way talk is relegated to the app for any effective use. Quality is poor, but it works. Mine was unusable with the latest app which was evidently known to suck for the doorbell. I reverted to a previous version suggested by several folks on the Reolink subreddit and there was a significant improvement in quality and latency, until my app did an auto-update and was back to poor quality again. Haven't messed with it since and really don't need the two-way talk in my situation which is primarily geared toward alerts and clips like any other camera anyway.
Its onbord motion and person detection are pretty effective at minimizing nuisance alerts after a little messing around with it. Once tuned, ONVIF is your friend with BI doing any additional heavy lifting beyond the capabilities of the doorbell itself simply by using it for triggering whatever else you may want BI to do.
Then there's the Smart Home stuff like Tim's setup which opens a whole other level of possibilities.
Black Friday may be a good time to snag one cheap. Picked up my wi-fi version on Prime Day for $80 but they're down to $87 now anyway since I believe there's a newer version being released for the holidays.
Works fine on either 2.4 or 5GHz on my network and is powered by the old doorbell transformer, but could also be powered by a DC power supply and used with its ethernet connection, (though not a PoE port on the wi-fi version). If you can get wiring to it, the PoE version would be the way to go. It can handle a 256Gbit memory card and handles clip timeline and playback functions fairly well via the app (or the Reolink desktop client).
The external chime is a simple plugin device with a number of chime choices and it can go anywhere. Using your existing doorbell chime is possible, but would be a pain in the ass and may require replacing the existing transformer to pull it off. Not recommended.
Value-wise it's the way to go. RTSP/ONVIF, no subscription, can be used without cloud reliance, 2K/5MP. Basically a highly flexible no strings/non-proprietary solution of acceptable quality that plays nice with BI.