Review: Arlo adds Pro 3 Floodlight camera & Video Doorbell to its security arsenal
Arlo’s floodlight camera and doorbell add to its formidable internet-connected home security system.
For several years Arlo has provided a credible do-it-yourself domestic camera security system.
Now it has added floodlight/camera and doorbell units that take its capability further.
Decades ago we relied on hardwired security systems where you’d habitually punch a four-digit code into a security box to activate monitoring as you left, and deactivate it on arrival.
These were often expensive systems but you’d get the services of a staff security control room that could remotely monitor your alarm and call the police if there was an intruder.
Many still use these services.
These days there is the alternative of do-it-yourself internet connected camera systems where you install wireless motion sensing cameras at various places in your home. These cameras are often controlled via a hub that links directly to your home internet.
If you’re away from home, Arlo cameras can alert you to an intruder and beam live vision to your phone, and record video to the cloud for later viewing. At any time, you can log into the Arlo app and look around your home from your smartphone.
There are shortcomings. You may not have your phone with you, or you may be out of internet range and be blissfully unaware of any intruder. A savvy intruder might turn all your power off to disable any internet-based security.
Arlo, a company spun out of networking firm Netgear, offers a robust and workable home network camera system and we’ve looked at their wireless cameras many times before. Their main advantage is that they are battery operated so there’s no need to add power cords. You put them wherever you want them. Batteries generally don’t need to be topped up for months so the inconvenience of recharging isn’t great.
I’ve looked at their cameras before; now they have added a battery powered floodlight and doorbell.
Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera
Floodlights can frighten burglars into scurrying away and abort a break-in attempt. At least that’s the theory, and Arlo’s Pro 3 Floodlight camera seeks to do that. You can also use them for safety, for example to light-up a stair case, triggered by motion sensing.
The floodlight is a big unit, and you’ll need to use the screws and bracket supplied by Arlo to attach it firmly to a wall. The Arlo app has detailed instructions on how to do this.
You can power the Pro 3 Floodlight with a battery or you can plug it into power by connecting an Arlo magnetic cable.
Arlo classifies you as being “at home” or “away”, when motion sensing is activated. You can manually set the away mode when you leave home or have geo-fencing automatically switch to it, provided you remember to take your phone with you so Arlo can keep an eye on where you are.
The floodlight activates when the Pro 3 camera detects motion in away mode and it is an almost blinding sheet of light. You get 2000 lumens when the unit is battery operated, and 3000 lumens when connected to power.
You can use the site IFTTT.com to set the floodlight to activate if other Arlo cameras in your network detect motion, apart from the Pro 3 Floodlight camera.
The unit is water resistant (IP65) so you can place it in the backyard, attach it to a tree or side wall, in a stairwell, or indoors. It just needs to be in Wi-Fi range.
The camera offers a high quality 2K feed (you can choose 1080p or 720p) with high dynamic range for better image definition. You get a 160 degree field-of-view.
The camera can automatically follow and zoom in on moving objects. The app lets you optionally set an area within the image frame to detect movement. For example, if you have the camera pointed at the street, you can ensure movement in street traffic in the upper area of the frame is not detected, while a car in the lower area of the frame is detected.
The Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight has a 13,000 milliampere hour battery which is larger than other Arlo camera batteries. You will get months of battery life provided you don’t trigger the floodlight too often.
You don’t have to remove the camera to recharge it. You can attach the magnetic charging cable to it while mounted. But if you want to permanently power it by the cable, you’ll need an outdoor version of the cable which sells for around $50, so an added expense. The default cable doesn’t let the camera operate while charging.
You pay $449 for the Pro 3 Floodlight camera. However, Arlo hits you twice as you need a subscription to unlock advanced functionality. A free subscription for the Pro 3 Floodlight will let you livestream vision from the camera via the Arlo app, and you can record vision to a microSD card connected to the Arlo Hub control unit in your home.
But you can’t upload vision to the cloud and view recordings of suspicious activity from afar without a subscription.
A paid subscription will record 2K or 4K video to the cloud and store it for 30 days, switch on person, vehicle, animal and package detection, and give you rich push notifications.
This and other Arlo devices can operate on batteries however Arlo devices connect to an Arlo hub in your home and that is power operated. So of course is your internet. So a thoughtful burglar could disable your system by turning the power off at the mains. I installed an uninterrupted power supply unit to get around this limitation.
You can buy uninterruptible power supplies for a few hundred dollars. I think they are a great investment, because whenever your power goes out, the internet and your security system remains. I’d recommend connecting your modem, router, home network storage, and hubs such as the Arlo hub to one.
Price: $449. Subscription: From $4.49 for one camera or $14.99 per month for five cameras.
Arlo Video Doorbell
The same Arlo camera technology has been repurposed as a video doorbell.
You get a 180 degree field of view through the 1536 x 1536 resolution doorbell camera, so you can see delivered packages around you. The camera can detect and inform you of packages, people, animals and vehicles. It has 12x digital zoom and supports high dynamic range.
You can remotely speak to people at your door using two-way audio via the Arlo app on your phone.
You can be notified of a package delivery and if a thief tries to snatch it, you’ll be notified of movement, as you would with an Arlo camera, and be able to view the vision.
Guests can leave a video message if you can't answer the door, and you can access it remotely on your phone.
Arlo says its video doorbell is weather resistant for outdoor use and it uses infra-red LEDs for night vision. Unlike most Arlo products, you will have to wire it electrically.
The doorbell works with the same Arlo subscription as the Pro 3 Floodlight camera.
Price: $289.
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