Review: Arlo HD Security Camera
The last of the three cameras that I am reviewing today is the most intriguing of the bunch. The Arlo HD Security Camera bills itself as the only 100% wire free HD camera with day/night capability that can be used indoors or outdoors. The test unit that I got was made up of four cameras and a base station. So… How does this work? The camera’s are battery powered using four CR123 lithium batteries. Those cameras are connected wirelessly to the base station which connect via Ethernet to your home router. This all should give you the flexibility to place cameras wherever you need them to be. Sounds good in theory. But how well does it work? Well, except for one thing, pretty well actually.
First, the setup was painless:
- Download the app which is available for iOS, Android, and the Kindle Fire
- Plug in the base station via Ethernet to your router
- Pop the batteries into the cameras
- Press the sync buttons on the base station and on the cameras and wait for the cameras to sync and pop up in the app.
- Place the cameras wherever you want. Magnetic mounts are included and you can get a desktop mount separately.
- Declare victory and have a beer.
In terms of video quality, here’s what you get:
It is a good quality wide angle lens that gives you a good view. It also looks pretty good at night as well.
Next up is battery life. When I was testing the Arlo cameras indoors, the cameras still had a full charge. Interestingly, though, when I took the fully-charged cameras outside in below-freezing weather, the battery status indicators dropped swiftly. When I returned inside, the status bars go back to their previously fully-charged setting.
The app is easy to use. You can set up rules to manage motion detection and alerts. You get 7 days of video storage in the Arlo Cloud. But you can pay for longer periods of storage for more cameras.
What’s the only thing that I had a problem with? There’s no audio. From personal experience, I find having one way audio, or better yet two way audio to be a huge help when talking to people such as condo maintenance people. It will also help to scare off an intruder. If they can figure out how to get one into the Arlo, this would make it the perfect setup.
The four pack of cameras that included the base station goes for $549 CDN at your local Best Buy. But they also have other bundles that will get you the exact number of cameras that you require. Plus you can pick up single packs of cameras as well. If you need to have the most flexible camera setup to protect people and property, take a look at the Arlo HD security camera.
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