[ad_1]
The square’s 150-degree view is enough to cover most of my balcony. There’s a blind spot directly below the doorbell, but the Eufy Video Doorbell Duo (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is the only option I’ve tried that doesn’t have the same problem. Unfortunately, that wide view comes at the cost of a fisheye effect that makes you feel like you’re looking through a peephole. I like that I can zoom in, but there is pixelation even at high resolution video.
The audio is good enough to know what’s going on, and you can have a two-way conversation, although it’s a bit laggy. But it seems tiny, and any distant sounds seem distorted. I love quick responses—you can tell visitors you’ll be there shortly or tell a messenger to drop off a package, but it’s nice to have the option to record custom responses in your own voice.
Smart performance
Wyze via Simon Hill
I was impressed with the accuracy and responsiveness of the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro after testing various scenarios. I never missed a visitor, the buzzer was instantly pressed by buttons, and alerts came to my phone relatively quickly. There were some lags when I was away from home and I was laggy at times, but no matter where the Wi-Fi or data signal strength was.
Loading Live View takes three to five seconds. I like a clear timeline that shows events as blocks. Video is stored in the cloud, and playback is fast as long as you have a good connection. You can set the sensitivity and create a detection zone to reduce false positives.
With a Cam Plus subscription, you get smart alerts and can choose when notifications should be triggered. Smart detection AI can accurately determine whether a person, pet, vehicle, package, or some combination is at your door, and video events will play corresponding icons. There is support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. I found the doorbell relatively quick to load the feed to the Nest Hub (compared to the Eufy).
Kach
You get one month of CamPlus for free with Doorbell. Without it, there’s a 12-second limit to a 5-minute cooldown on recordings and videos. You get free cloud storage, but no local storage option. It also enables smart detection and an option to filter alerts. If you don’t have a subscription, any activity will trigger alerts. Without the subscription, the limitation on the camera would be a deal breaker for me. Thankfully, it only costs $2 per month, or $15 ($1.25 per month) if you pay for a year.
Another question with the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is the battery life. Wise says up to six months, but my testing suggests more than six weeks. My balcony is busy, and I set it to maximum resolution with no cooling and recording for up to 30 seconds, so your mileage may vary. You have to pick up the doorbell to charge it. Wired doorbells generally perform better, so it’s much better to put them inside if you can.
My final concern is Wiz’s lax attitude towards security and software updates. For three years, the company has not fixed a major bug that allowed attackers to remotely access videos and other images stored on device memory cards. It would have required a local network breach, which seems unlikely (here’s Wyze’s response), but still. Although Wiz says it won’t share footage without a warrant or court order, privacy-conscious people can chime in on the cloud-only video store.
Wyze then ended support for the first version of the Wyze Cam shy, which is now on its fifth birthday, giving customers little notice. Unfortunately, none of this is particularly unusual for the industry, and Wise has since beefed up its security team, but it might still give you pause.
Ultimately, the Wyze brand is all about value. At $94 plus shipping, the Video Doorbell Pro packs a punch with an impressive range of features and solid performance. It easily outperforms other budget video doorbells I’ve tested, so for people on a tight budget, I can’t see a better option right now.
[ad_2]
Source link
