Maximus Answer - DualCam Video Doorbell

ginmn

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I had been looking for a doorbell camera to help with package theft. I ended up getting in on an early release for the "Answer" dual camera from Maximus (full tech spec link here). I'm not sure when Maximus will officially release, but so far this thing has been great.



If you want to avoid service/subscription costs this might not be the best option. The cloud service partner Kuna, does provide 2 hour recording history and various features for free. Recording options without a service subscription so far have been ok because the motion triggers seem ok. My free trial expired and the "basic" service has been good enough for over a week.

I did not want my doorbell to record 24x7 like the Nest hello and when comparing subscription costs with the "big" other door cam options, only Ring seems to have the best subscription plan for lots of cameras. I just have this one. Of course no subscription is best, but it seemed this Answer dual camera had a good balance with generally good hardware and low cost paid service if wanted/needed.

The software / subscription provider is Kuna which has gotten some mentions, but other than taking a plunge, I had not seen much about Maximus or Kuna. That said Kuna is very easy to use. It just works. After 22 or so days, I've only had to spend time here and there with getting motion notification sensitivity dialed in. I'm sure other competitors options have features I would like, but if there was a perfect product, we would probably all have it.

Hopefully you should see the day and night videos included with this post. The IR for the main front facing camera on Answer is ok. The night video shows image quality with the 20-lumen package light turning on and off and some area lighting turning on and off. From what I've seen on youtube and via talking with friends who have Ring or Nest products, this video is pretty good.

I do plan to do a PoE security system install, but for a 20-minute install and setup with cool notifications and super easy App based service, this is a welcomed home security device. Kuna does have a referral program so if you want to save 20 use this referral/purchase link, you need to get the Kuna discount code from thelink. Here is anunboxing video or let me know if you have questions.

I simply wanted to share a great front door camera to help catch package thieves.
 

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TonyR

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Thanks for the info and welcome to IPCT! :wave:

In the night video, is there a reason why the bottom 720p package cam was blacked out for the first 20 seconds and then switched on/off a couple of times before exterior lighting was activated?
 

ginmn

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Thanks for the info and welcome to IPCT! :wave:

In the night video, is there a reason why the bottom 720p package cam was blacked out for the first 20 seconds and then switched on/off a couple of times before exterior lighting was activated?

Tony - the reason the bottom “package” Camera was blacked out and had no visible footage is because I manually triggered a recording and then realized I had not turned on lighting. After that, I figured why not show what artificial lighting does relative to IR. Without some illumination, the bottom camera is useless at night.

Maximus put 20-lumen ~4000K LEDs on the bottom of Answer DualCam. This footage should clearly demonstrate when these LEDs are on vs other area lighting. Of course buyer beware, there is no bottom camera IR, just it doesn’t really matter because the lumen output of the included bottom LEDs is good at filling the view area so IR isn’t really needed unless you want to be covert.

I choose to not really use the Answer DualCam’s bottom LEDs. I keep my outdoor lighting on majority of the night and have various motion lights. My opinion is the Answer’s bottom LEDs shine bright enough to call unwanted attention to the device (even with all my other lights on). I’m not really going for covert, just the aesthetics and utility are unnecessary given I have better lighting options.

If I did not have other lights, I would be happy with the LEDs and would be happy using the in-Kuna-app automation options for LED control.
 

mat200

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I like the idea with 2 cameras on this unit... surprised others have not come up with this sooner.

Next step is a 3 camera unit.
1) Camera for wide FOV for suspects coming to the door
2) Camera for foot of door to keep an eye on packages
3) Camera for tight facial ID as someone walks to the door
 

TonyR

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I like the idea with 2 cameras on this unit... surprised others have not come up with this sooner.

Next step is a 3 camera unit.
1) Camera for wide FOV for suspects coming to the door
2) Camera for foot of door to keep an eye on packages
3) Camera for tight facial ID as someone walks to the door
Looking forward to the intro of the new 3-camera, ONVIF, POE, BI-compatible "mat2000" video doorbell..... and subsequent go fund me page! :p
 

TechBill

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Found this on YouTube



So this camera require subscription to use it correct? Can it work without a subscription service just to be able to view it via app when someone ring it without needing to record anything?
 

drhaller

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Hi,

Do you know if there is direct RTSP stream support available? ONVIF? API's for turning on/off IR or LED's? I'd like to integrate this into an existing nx Witness deployment and am not interested in "YaApp" (Yet another App - with potential Cloud Security baggage).

Maximus has not responded to my multiple (and polite :)) pre-sales inquiries.

/dan
 
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Maybe someone can think of why this has wifi issues so much....... Please see email I sent to support......... Have not heard a response from them in over a week.


My name is Mickey Mouse and your site is really lacking any support information regarding this product. I recently purchased this new Maximus Answer for my front door. And well it works for a week and stops working. It will lose the wifi connection and never reconnect.

I have restarted my wireless AP, Switch, and router. Still nothing.. I have Ubiquiti Gear...(I know over kill)
I even made its own vlan for this...
It does flash red and will never change to any other color.
I have removed the wires and let it site for over and 1hr.

The app will see it while its red and attempt to reconnect it but stops at wifi connection and throw an error like the wifi password is bad.

I did notice a reset button on this device. And again no information about what this button does.... So as an IT Field Tech for a large K-12 School District.
I pressed it and added the wires back while holding the reset.
After 15 secs I let ago. And bam its working for setup.

Ran through setup Wednesday or Thursday last week and now it's back offline again.

What logs can I give to assist in making this work better?
Would you like to set up a program to monitor this device?
I can set up a fresh PC for you to install or install on a current platform?
Which one do you prefer that it connect to? 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz?
What wifi settings do you recommend? No vlans or a dumb wifi router?


Thanks,
Mickey Mouse
 

ginmn

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Mat200... Axis and a few thousand would be the only market option at this time... great wishlist!!!
 

ginmn

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Hi,

Do you know if there is direct RTSP stream support available? ONVIF? API's for turning on/off IR or LED's? I'd like to integrate this into an existing nx Witness deployment and am not interested in "YaApp" (Yet another App - with potential Cloud Security baggage).

Maximus has not responded to my multiple (and polite :)) pre-sales inquiries.

/dan
Kuna is the service provider. The camera & door bell work without subscribing, but features are lacking. The business model is disheartening, if you don’t subscribe, then configuration is even more limited and you will get many notifications, which seem to be an “annoyance incentive” for subscription purchase. It has 2 hours cloud look back, so without service it kinda sucks. if you are in the market for a camera and see a subscription as a “continuous improvement” plan, Ring is probably a better way to go...
 
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