I have both Swann and Arlo cameras at my house. They’re both terrible.

The Swann system only works with the exact cameras that came with it. So if you break a camera or want to add additional cameras and the unit is more than a couple years old, you’re just out of luck. If you try to bulk download videos to a thumb drive, it just craps out after a while and you have to reboot the system in order to continue. Remote access only works via an app, and it’s very limited.

The Arlo “motion detection” is completely random. It will trigger for branches moving slightly, but ignore a car pulling into the driveway. Someone vandalized a tree in my front yard today and I tried to check the camera for footage only to discover that it hasn’t recorded anything in 12 days nor can I put it into live mode but it claims the battery is at 80%.

Also, if a camera breaks there’s no repairing it if it’s out of warranty; you just have to buy a new one.

We are looking to update away from our old Arlo system. I will try to list as many specifics as I can think of.

Wireless, with it still being able to take a power source. I do have outlets to connect to, but I don’t want to run ethernet all around my house.

4K or high MP cameras? Obviously would like to have high quality video along with night vision. I know sometimes 4K is used for marketing. Why make a system record in 4K if the sensor isn’t creating that high of a quality video to begin with?

DVR capable. Not sure how to specify this one but I do have a NAS so is it possible to make it more cost effective if I use that for storage as opposed to a box with it’s own hard drive? Not super important though, just throwing that one out there.

And finally, NOTIFICATIONS! It would be super nice to have movement notifications WITHOUT a subscription. Even if it’s via email I can set it up to send as a text, but an app would be nice.

I’m not sure how much we are looking to spend but maybe between $300 to $500? Would always like to keep the cost down without going cheap on quality.

Thanks!

Edit: 4 to 8 cameras.

Hello,

Is there a way to disable the “Trouble ZN 103 LNGRNG RADIO” message on a vista p20 without turning off the envisilink alerts? I no longer use the radio or pay for a company to monitor it.

I’ve tried using *29 followed by 0 to disable the radio, but when I do that, I also stop receiving alerts from the envisilink device.

I have a 6290w keypad and can also wire up the old 6160 if needed.

Thank you!

I’d like a setup where if someone walks up to my front door, I’ll see a notification come on in my house. I really don’t want something that’s audible or internet connected like a ring camera and it’d be nice if there’s no wiring required.

Assuming you take any nvr and micro sd cards, is there any security risk to leaving “modern” Poe cameras if you move out?

I’m just not sure what they may store on board or be linked up with how everything is do connected these days.