Wifi Doorbell

classna

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fenderman

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I am looking for a Wifi doorbell intercom that can send push notification to my smartphone and let me talk to the visitor via smartphone. I know there is skybell, ring etc but they all lack door unlock feature. I found some on Aliexpress (http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?site=glo&g=y&SortType=price_asc&SearchText=wifi&page=2&CatId=3029&shipCountry=PK&needQuery=n) but i want to know if anyone used these and share their experience.
They are most likely unreliable...while they are wifi, they are not wireless, you still need to run power to the unit..you may as well run ethernet at that point and get a reliable unit.
You can always use a zwave compatible lock to unlock your doors..
 

classna

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They are most likely unreliable...while they are wifi, they are not wireless, you still need to run power to the unit..you may as well run ethernet at that point and get a reliable unit.
You can always use a zwave compatible lock to unlock your doors..
I already have power and ethernet wire connection. This setup is for my steel front gate where there will be an electric lock (http://www.viro.it/Pagine/Menu.asp?Lingua=EN&Divisione=Ferramenta&Fam=5) and am not sure such locks are zwave compatible. Can you suggest a reliable solution?
 

fenderman

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I already have power and ethernet wire connection. This setup is for my steel front gate where there will be an electric lock (http://www.viro.it/Pagine/Menu.asp?Lingua=EN&Divisione=Ferramenta&Fam=5) and am not sure such locks are zwave compatible. Can you suggest a reliable solution?
I am not familiar with that lock, but if you were intending to use it with the aliexpress device, your lock must have an alarm in connection to receive a signal from an external device..if so i believe you can use a zwave controller to do this...I have never done it before so hopefully someone with experience can guide you.
 

classna

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My samsung doorlock isn't z-wave compatible either. By wired solution, do you mean a regular video doorbell intercom with indoor display? would you care to share your experience with skybell and how is it unreliable?
 

classna

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It will be nice to have a 1.3 or 3M hikvision camera with two way audio and a built-in speaker. DS-2CD2432F-I or DS-2CD2432F-IW will do the trick but they are not waterproof which is a must in my case. I will also need a way to unlock the door remotely.
 

classna

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@gearbest: That ACTOP doorbell is available for $115 at aliexpress. Even if you sell it for less than that, i am still not sure if the unit is reliable. Do you have any video samples of its 0.3MP camera?
 
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fenderman

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@gearbest: That ACTOP doorbell is available for $115 at aliexpress. Even if you sell it for less than that, i am still not sure if the unit is reliable. Do you have any video samples of its 0.3MP camera?
These things are hit or miss..you are best buying it from a place that has easy returns like amazon if a us seller stocks them...Dont expect anything great from a low res camera, but since the subject is right in front if it, that resolution is more than adequate.
 

LittleBrother

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I doubt any work well and I bet latency is too high. I'd be very surprised if a person doesn't hit the button and you're often waiting a while for the event to happen, or maybe the app on your phone isn't loaded and/or responding properly. Sounds like something that in theory should work well but in practice probably doesn't.

I will caveat that I have no experience with a wifi doorbell, but I do with other mobile devices and apps. I might be wrong...though there is no wifi doorbell well rated on amazon unless it has its own dedicated receiver such as: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009KS5QW?psc=1 and really that's "wireless", not wifi ;)

I think a better approach is to appropriate a cheap tablet to be a semi-permanent video cam viewer and leave it in your kitchen or something constantly pulling a stream. How many chats do you really need to have remotely with people at a door anyway?
 
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classna

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I still think there should be a way around it. I don't really need the whole thing to be WiFi. Maybe a custom solution like an IP camera with two way audio and builtin speaker and a door button when pressed sends a push notification to your smartphone and ring the chime as well (in case you miss the push notification, you still know there is someone at the door). I have no experience with home automation and access control stuff so maybe it all sounds dumb.
 
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I was looking for a reliable doorbell solution last year and came across the doorbot and skybell products however when I read reviews many ppl said it was not reliable and spotty wireless etc.

i decided to create my own using a hikvision camera with alarm and audio inputs. I ran the doorbell to trigger the alarm on the camera, sending an alert via sms/mms to my phones and iPads. It also triggers the alarm output to a relay that makes my doorbell go off like normal.


http://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/697-How-to-use-Hikvision-Audio-and-Alarm-IO-connections/page2
 
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Well, I've had the Ring doorbell for several years, two different versions, and yeah, not impressed. It will work for awhile, or occasionally, then sometimes not for awhile. . . .I have a very large house so I use access points, one of which is pretty much on the other side of the wall from the doorbell button, but this doesn't seem to help. When it works, it works well, but I sure wouldn't want to rely on it!
 

fooey

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Anyone have experience of the Doorbird? It's a fair bit more expensive than the Ring (though nothing like the Loxonne equivalent) but being POE it may actually work.
 

spencnor

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Not wifi, but I'm curious if the Dahua Villa series are any good: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bjd6KpzI

Reviews for ring/doorbot and sky bell that I've seen are all disappointing. If companies like this with more money behind than can't make a good product, it doesn't bode well for the knockoffs.
I've been considering the Dahua outdoor station with the 1.3mp adjustable camera along with this 7" color monitor.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/DAHUA-7inches-IP-Color-Indoor-Monitor-Original-English-Version-without-Logo-VTH1550CHW-2/32603722485.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000013.17.ekkgHF

There has been a rash of burglaries in our city the last few months with similar M.O's. They ring or knock on the front door and if no one answers, they stick their ear to the door and listen. If they don't hear anything they go around to the back glass patio door and use a glass punch and walk right in.

Some of my neighbors have installed the Ring doorbell, but I wanted something that I could connect to Blue Iris. I understand that I could install a camera with audio and a mic, but I'm looking for a more integrated system. I've ruled out any of the wifi doorbells and have no problem running more Ethernet cables.

Any input much appreciated. :)
 

tangent

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Anyone have experience of the Doorbird? It's a fair bit more expensive than the Ring (though nothing like the Loxonne equivalent) but being POE it may actually work.
Seems to have potential, but I'd wait a few months in hopes there are some credible reviews of the product.

If money is no object there are always things like this: http://www.axis.com/us/en/products/axis-a8004-ve
 

spencnor

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This looks to me as a very interesting combination. I have a few questions though.
Will the Dahua system work standalone?...most of these systems work via a server. This is something I absolutely do NOT want. If the company goes broke, you can throw away your system. So...does it work like the hikvision camera system where you can port forward, or do you have to go via a server.

Herman
This is my concern also, that is, will it work stand alone? My guess is that this should work with the Dahua IP camera software, but I'm not sure. I have Hikvision cameras on Blue Iris and don't know anything about Dahua. My objective is to answer the "doorbell" via my smartphone when I'm away. This is from the Dahua website - click on the download tab for diagram.

http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/vto2000a-762.html

It appears this will work. I just found this post:

https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/10253-Dahua-IP-Video-Intercom-with-Hikvision-cameras
 
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Jimjao

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