Just disposed off my old 1080p SAMSUNG ip cameras and my 1st Gen Ring video doorbell and upgrade using EUFY 2K security products instead. One app to rule them all.
EUFY 2K Battery Video Doorbell cw Homebase 2 review
There are many YT reviews on them. Check them out.
Some things you need to know if you want to use the battery-powered EUFY 2K video doorbell. Most video doorbells will have some of the below too.
1) Cloud storage requires subscription
2) Although battery-powered you can hard-wired it as well
3) Comes with full duplex 2-way audio
4) Doorbell is NOT theft-proof
5) All EUFY products which connect to the HomeBase 2 hub use its own proprietary WiFi
6) No distortion/warp correction i.e. have fisheye video effect
7) Expect to have some missed/delayed video footage/notifications due to location, ISP and internet traffic
Have been testing the combo these few days and below are the PROS and CONS
PROS
1) S$329 for the bundle
2) 2K resolution (2560x1920)
3) Great privacy with no subscription required for local video storage. Videos can be stored locally and encrypted in HomeBase 2ās built-in 16GB eMMC inside the house. When memory is full itāll override existing video footage
4) Very easy to set up for all Eufy products (I have the cheap EUFY 2K Indoor Cams as well but they cannot connect to the HomeBase 2 hub, only the router WiFi)
5) Connects directly to the provided HomeBase 2 hub and NOT directly to WiFi
6) Homebase 2 hub allows the connection of many Eufy cameras, chime, video doorbell, motion sensor, keypad etc.
7) Have notifications when doorbell is pressed and when motion is detected (to complement your outdoor cameras)
8) Homebase 2 connects to router using Ethernet or WiFi 2.4GHz. If use WiFi then HomeBase 2 can be located further from the router.
9) Homebase 2 has a chime and siren built-in
10) Can have add-on Eufy Chime 2 connected to the USB port on the Homebase 2
11) Stores 2K resolution video clips at 4:3 ratio in HomeBase 2 hub
12) Faster firmware updates
13) Use of USB-A charging cable allows extension of power supply cables with ease as compared to using barrel-pin connector charging cable/proprietary magnetic charging cable.
14) If internet is down, you cannot receive notifications nor view the video clips in HomeBase 2 local storage for they need to go through Eufy servers in the cloud. However, during the internet down video recording (through the internal proprietary WiFi between the Homebase 2 and the video doorbell/cameras) is still ongoing in the HomeBase 2 provided the AC power is still available or it has a backup battery. The notifications and the videos will show up once the internet has been restored.
15) Very slight delay (a few seconds) for notifications during motion detection (if it detects) and audio communication (less than a second) provided everything goes smoothly like favorable location, great 4G LTE signal strength etc
CONS
1) Cannot work if set VPN in router
2) Notify user when doorbell is pressed. No ringing of phone unlike Arlo.
3) No 3-sec pre-recorded (buffered) video footage
4) Picture won't be as great as Arlo for it comes with WDR and not HDR
5) 160 deg FOV. Arlo comes with 180 FOV
6) Video is 15fps unlike Arlo's 24fps
7) Additional chimes require purchase
8) No external memory expansion via USB for the Homebase 2
9) When user is answering the visitor, the doorbell will not auto record the visitor due to the PIR settings, the user can record the video himself. Although the doorbell supports 2-way audio but it records one way(on the camera side). Also, the audio in the recorded video is hardly audible and choppy.
10) Homebase 2 has no battery built in. Need to buy add-on battery pack or use a UPS as backup
11) No color night vision
12) Web portal(browser) allows viewing of one camera at any one time only
13) Unable to play encrypted recorded video clips in HomeBase 2 local storage from web portal(browser). Needs to pay cloud subscription for that. However, can only play in the tablet/phoneās app
14) Eufy is owned by ANKER which is a Chinese company. And Eufy apps are created by OCEANWING another Chinese company. Eufy sends out DNS queries to Google/China DNS security servers hosted on AWS, Singapore and Germany.
Note:- Motion detection is ineffective on 4G LTE. Getting very late or mostly no notifications at all. Motion detection notification is more effective on WiFi network. Using a 'Always-On' VPN on 4G LTE, setting to highest sensitivity and āHumanā detection help in getting faster notification.