In all of my reviews, I try to be as fair as I can. Every product has its good and bad points and I try to point them out. No product—no matter how good it is—is perfect. At first glance, my review of the iseeBell Video Doorbell Security Cam may not seem fair—and maybe it isn’t. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. Let me explain.

My intended use for the iseeBell video doorbell was just that—a video doorbell. The setup is advertised as super easy: You remove your original doorbell and then use its existing wiring to connect. All you need are some minor drilling and mounting skills (iseeBell even supplies the proper tools and instructions). But I had forgotten one (not so) minor detail: About 6 years ago, we switched to a wireless battery doorbell. After removing the previous (wired) doorbell, I shoved all the wiring inside the wall and then stuccoed over the hole. It seemed like a smart idea at the time! As a result, I could not use and review the iseeBell as it was intended. However …

Even though I no longer could give the iseeBell a fair review as a video doorbell, they also advertise it as an indoor/outdoor security camera. After considering this, I realized that I still had a great use for it as a security camera. That’s fair, right?

I live on 2 acres in Florida and my large backyard has a separate studio building where I do freelance graphic design and also write about and photograph the products I review. Needless to say, I have some expensive stuff in the studio. Up until now, the studio has never had any security monitoring. We have large and very protective dogs in our house, but I worried about the studio because it’s 100 feet away and out of reach of the dogs. With the iseeBell, I now have a chance to monitor the building 24/7. So how does it work? Let’s see.

When you open the box of the iseeBell, you are presented with a lot of stuff which can seem overwhelming. However, you generally won’t need all of it. iseeBell has done a good job of accounting for different installation setups you may have. The setup & installation guide is straightforward and easy to follow with clear directions and illustrations. Granted, if you have no experience with home repair tools, you may be better off asking for help. The Guide lists everything included in the box and what kind of wifi you need. A 2.4Ghz network is required, but since I have an Apple dual-band router, I was good to go. One caveat is that your wifi router must either be strong enough or physically close enough to the iseeBell to work properly.

As I said earlier, the iseeBell will run on existing doorbell wires (if you have them). The guide uses step-by-step instructions. Yeah, I know, I didn’t actually install it as a doorbell—and that’s the unfair part of this review. But trust me, I’ve installed enough stuff to know that these are easy instructions to follow.

Also included in the box is a separate indoor wireless door chime (must be plugged in), which I haven’t decided if I’m going to use or not. Why? Because the iseeBell comes with a downloadable app (iOS and Android) that works just as well for my use.

The iseeBell unit itself has a 720p HD camera that works well in low light, although the video loses some detail and becomes monochromatic. The camera is wide-angle which captures a great peripheral view. It does distort in a fish-eye effect around the edges, though. Using the app, you can you see what the iseeBell sees. It also records and stores photos and video on your phone and/or in iseeBell’s cloud. This cloud service is an extra cost option—$2/month or $20/year. While that’s not expensive, it’s worth noting. You get a free month trial with purchase. iseeBell claims your photos and videos are protected by bank-grade security. Strangely, you can only purchase the cloud service through the iseeBell app. There is no mention of it on their web site.

The iseeBell easily connects to a home’s existing wifi via the app. There’s also a motion detector that works a little too well. More on that later. The unit is weatherproof, so rain shouldn’t be a concern.

For my use, I mounted the iseeBell just inside the door of my studio a little above eye level. I used some of the supplied screws but did not need the included masonry drill bit as this was an indoor installation. All I had to do was decide where I wanted the camera placed and drill the screws into the wall. iseeBell offers an optional adjustable wall mount that allows the camera to be swiveled at various angles for a better view. I highly recommend this option—it acts as a mounting base and allows you to point the camera practically in any direction.

I ran into two issues with the wiring on the iseeBell. Since I’m using it indoors and not as a doorbell, it needs to be plugged into an outlet for power. I wanted to mount the camera up at ceiling height, but the cord was a few inches too short to do this, so it had to be lower than I preferred.

The white cord was a bit too thick to fit into the slot at the rear of the camera, so I had to strip some of the wiring to expose more of the black and red wiring from inside the cord. It was not easy, but I’ve stripped wiring before, so I knew what I was doing. However, I could picture some people pulling their hair out if they ran into a similar problem as I did. Note that doorbell users won’t have this issue since the iseeBell won’t need the power cord.

Once I got the wiring taken care of, all went well. I opened the iOS app, set up my account and linked the app to the camera via my wifi network. With that done, I could see a live image of myself in the apps video frame. There’s a bit of a lag, but not enough to matter. As I said earlier, The image is wide angle, and since the camera is above eye level, there is little opportunity for a close-up of a face. But the image can easily be zoomed in even while live.

Audio quality was so-so. it was somewhat distorted and difficult to understand when watching the video. There’s also a built-in speaker allowing you to talk to the person/intruder if necessary. The speaker volume was a bit weak and should have been louder.

After setting up the motion detector in the app, I noticed that it works really well … as in really well. Whenever I stretch or get up from my chair I get an audible beep and a motion warning shows up on my iPhone. It’s becoming a bit comical, but at least it works! And since I’m only concerned when there should be no one in the studio, I appreciate its sensitivity. Incidentally, the warnings can be controlled through the iPhone’s Notifications or Android’s Sound and Notification settings.

All in all, I like the iseeBell Video Doorbell Security Cam, even though I’m not using it as it was intended. It does what it’s advertised to do and does it well. I now have added peace-of-mind if anyone should enter my studio (invited or not) and I will instantly know about it.

I’m now wondering if it’s time to get my doorbell rewired?

The iseeBell Video Doorbell Security Cam sells for $149.95 US.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by iseeBell. Please visit www.iseebell.com for more information and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Home Security, security camera

iseeBell Video Doorbell Security Cam review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 22, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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I think I’ve indicated before that I’m a bit paranoid when it comes to home security. I have several cameras in and outside my house, and I’m always considering adding more. Not only are the cameras great for deterring burglars, but they often help find toys my children lost.

Recently I volunteered to review a DVR security system by Annke. It’s a four camera indoor/outdoor system with a multitude of features.

In the box

• Annke DVR
• 4 x 720P indoor/outdoor cameras – wired
• 4 x video cables (60 ft)
• 2 x power adapters
• Power adapter “splitter” for cameras
• USB mouse
• 4 x anchors for mounting cameras
• Quick user manual
• Software CD
• 2 x door/window stickers

Specifications

• Analog video input – 8-ch;BNC interface (1.0Vp-p, 75 Ω)
• HD TVI input – 720P, 1080P
• AHD input – Support
• CVBS input – Support
• IP video input – 2-ch;Up to 960p resolution
• Audio input/Two-way audio input – 1-ch;RCA (2.0 Vp-p, 1 KΩ)
• HDMI/VGA output – 1-ch, 1920 × 1080/60Hz,1280 × 1024/60Hz, 1280 × 720/60Hz, 1024 × 768/60Hz
• Audio output – 1-ch, RCA (Linear, 1 KΩ)
• Video compression standard – H.264+/H.264
• Encoding resolution & Frame rate – 1080p lite/720p： 12 fps;960H：25fps(P)/30fps(N)
• Video bitrate – 32 Kbps to 4 Mbps
• Stream type – Video & Audio/Video
• Dual-stream – Support
• Audio compression standard – G.711u
• Audio bitrate – 64 Kbps
• Synchronous playback – 2-ch
• Remote connections – 128
• Network protocols – TCP/IP, PPPoE, DHCP, Hik-connect Cloud P2P, DNS, DDNS, NTP, SADP, SMTP, NFS, iSCSI, UPnP™, HTTPS
• SATA – 1 SATA interface
• Capacity – Up to 6 TB capacity for each disk
• Network interface – 1; RJ-45 10 M/100 Mbps self-adaptive Ethernet interface
• USB interface – Rear panel: 2 × USB 2.0
• Power supply – 12 VDC
• Consumption(without hard disks) – ≤ 12W
• Working temperature – 14ºF to 131ºF
• Working humidity – 5V DC±10%
• Power Consumption – 10% to 90%
• Chassis – 1U chassis
• Dimensions(W × D × H) – 10.2 × 8.7 × 1.8 inch
• Weight(without hard disks) – ≤ 2.2 lb

Design

The DVR looks a bit like a cable set-top box without an LCD display.

The front of the DVR has LED indicators for power status, hard drive activity, and network activity. The rear of the DVR contains all of its ports. The top of the DVR is plain while the bottom contains the model number, serial number, and external access code.

The system also includes four 720p cameras.

Each camera is equipped with infrared LEDs, providing 66 feet of night vision.

Additionally, the cameras have an IP66 ingress rating, meaning they are rain and dustproof.

The remainder of the system is primarily composed of cables and power adapters.

I can’t imagine any DVR system being completely inconspicuous; however, this system does a fine job blending into the background. The DVR would blend in with any entertainment center containing your everyday media devices, and the cameras could be tucked away into just about any corner.

Setup

The system isn’t particularly difficult to set up; however, the included user manual is of no help. The manual immediately skips from describing the LEDs and ports on the DVR, to explaining how to install a hard drive; there is absolutely no mention of how to connect the cameras or power adapters. Fortunately, if you’re somewhat tech-literate, the process is pretty easy to figure out.

First you attach the plugs from “cable end A” into the plugs at the end of the camera. You then plug the blue end of “cable end B” into one of the video ports on the rear of the DVR. Next you plug the red end of “cable end B” into one of the power adapter splitters. You then plug the splitter into one of the power adapters.

Once you’ve installed the cameras you can plug the DVR into a HDTV or computer monitor. You then attach the system to your router, plug in the remaining power adapter, and plug the mouse into the USB port.

Once all the hardware is set up, you can begin the on-screen setup; this is a pretty simple process.

The first time you turn on the system you will be asked to activate it. This requires nothing more than choosing an administrative password for the system. You next choose an unlock pattern in order to avoid having to reenter a password repeatedly. Finally, you go through the setup wizard.

Once you’ve completed the wizard, the DVR system is ready to operate. For the most basic use, this is all you need to do. I’ll discuss more advanced use later.

Performance

Although I’ve never had a DVR system for my home, I’ve utilized and interacted with them countless times at work. I was very pleased with how well the Annke system worked compared to others I’ve seen.

The system was easy to use and the picture quality was generally very good; although, in low light situations the image was a bit darker than I would like.

Truthfully, the basic use of the DVR system is so simple there isn’t a lot to write about. You install it, go through the setup wizard, and it immediately starts streaming a live view of things.

It works wonderfully, and that’s really all there is to say.

Annke App

Not only can the system be viewed through your TV or computer monitor, but you can also access it through Annke’s app.

The app is available for Android and iOS.

After you download and install the app, you’ll go through an easy setup wizard where you’ll choose your location, set up your mobile account, and connect your system.

After you’ve completed the wizard, you should have access to your live view.

As with the basic use of the DVR, the mobile app is wonderfully simple to use.

Advanced Use

So here’s the thing, this DVR would be great for a basic home surveillance system, but it also has a ton of features that would make it great for protecting a business or any other institution. In fact, it has so many features that I couldn’t have possibly gotten around to trying them all.

In order to take advantage of all the extra features, you’re going to want to install a hard drive in the DVR. (according to its Amazon listing, the system does not include a hard drive; however, the sample they sent me included a 1 TB hard drive.)

Once a hard drive is installed you can choose from several different recording features.

You can set the DVR to record continuously or only record during specific hours on specific days.

You can choose to have it record when motion is detected or when specific types of motion, AKA “events”, occur.

Examples of events are as follows: face detection/face capture, line crossing detection, people gathering detection, fast moving detection, parking detection, unattended baggage detection, etc.

Admittedly, I didn’t come close to testing all the different triggers; however, I did set a motion alarm and it appeared to work well, consistently.

As with recording, there are a handful of different ways to playback events.

You can choose to playback an event by time period, by event type, by user created tags, by using smart search to analyze video footage, and by going through system logs.

If the DVR is connected to a network there are another dozen options to consider, including connecting to a Network Time Protocol sever, configuring email settings for email alerts, monitoring network traffic, etc.

This is just scratching the surface; you can set on-screen labels, place a black privacy box over certain areas, run hard drive diagnostics, and create backup files.

The amount of features available is borderline overwhelming, but in a good way.

My only issue with all the features was the lack of instruction in the included user manual. While some features were covered, most didn’t appear to be. I was able to locate a 110 page advanced user manual on Annke’s website; however, based on the diagrams inside, it wasn’t the manual for the exact model I was reviewing.

Conclusion

I’m impressed with the Annke DVR; it can function as a basic home surveillance system or work as a full featured security DVR.

The system provides good video quality and an abundance of features.

Everything is fairly easy to use and set up, but you have to do some digging on Annke’s website to get the correct information.

All in all, for $109.99, I’m not sure you’re going to find a better deal.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Annke. Please visit their site for more information and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Home Security, security camera

ANNKE 1080P lite security system DVR review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2017 at 3:20 pm.

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