Activity Zone and CVR for outdoors, workaround?

[Jroach]

Has anybody found a work-around for Activity Zones when used outdoors ?  I purchased the Arlo Pro2 to replace my Samsung cameras but it looks like a few features that are imprtant to my use case are not available to the Arlo family of cameras when in outdoor use (at least in the US as you can't use the AC adapter outside).

Same question for CVR.  Has anybody poked around at third party apps?  Are the Arlo Pro2 cameras e.g ONVIF compliant?  It appeared to be based on this thread:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/What-s-the-difference-between-the-Arlo-Pro-VMC4030-and-the...

but wanted to see if there was any experience trying to solve these.

[TomMac]

No, the cameras will not work in that fashion with third party apps

[Jroach]

Tom Mac, Thanks for your reply.

Have you tried ?  I understand the solution might not be supported by Netgear but if the cameras are  ONIVF compliant then there might be local solutions for storing video.  This would also solve the activity zone issue as it would be accomplished through the third party.  There are several products that are open to any camera model as long as its ONIVF.

[steve_t]

Only the Arlo Flexpower kit is ONVIF compliant but it's based on the Pro not the Pro 2

https://www.netgear.com/business/surveillance/FlexPower-Camera.aspx

[Jroach]

Steve,

Thanks, that is helpful.

Is RTSP a potential solution?  

I love certain things about the Arlo system (solar, form factor) but setting Activity Zones and Storing video are important in my use case:

1. Landscaping, wind and camera position create a high number of false positives due to blowing branches (shadows).  I've tried a few locations and will continue to tweak  but when I set the sensitivty to eliminate the problem I can often walk past the camera without it triggering an alert.

I haven't looked into a two event trigger if its available ie: motion on two or more cameras in a certain period of time.  

2.  I need CVR in the event that somebody makes it past the camera without triggering I could then look at the recorded video.  At $99 per month, per camera (for me that is a little under $600 for the year) it start to makes more sense to look at options like SecuritySpy (or similar products).  I can buy a lot of camera for $2k (cost of the PRO2 and Arlo CVR).

Your thoughts appreciated.

[steve_t]

I'm not sure what the best solution for you is.
As you've said, with regards to motion sensitivity needing to be low due to trees etc but then it's too low to pick up people, the only solution would be to reposition the camera. For me the biggest advantage of Arlo is the fact that it's wirefree. If you're willing to run some wires to camera locations, $2k does buy you a lot of kit that would potentially meet your needs better

[Jroach]

Steve_t,

Yes, the wire free along with the solar for power was the draw for me.  

I read about the USB option on the Arlo Pro but I couldn't find if that was restricted to just the alerts or if it would provide CVR back-up. 

Playing with it now but not hopeful.  I really want this to work but I have read through many posts here and other places and it looks like this isn't ready for a group of us that need the reliability.

Thanks again for any light you can shed.

[Jroach]

Let me also add that I would run at least one camera via  AC adapter and opt in for one camera under the CVR subscription.

[Jroach]

Did more research, talked with support and read through a few more posts and few non-netgear blogs.

Unfortunately the Arlo is not ready for prime time outdoor use.  Too many false positives/negatives, lacks the ability to have cameras work together, can only monitor one live feed at a time, only one person can monitor, no activity zone and no local storage.  Looks like a good little system for indoors like a nanny cam but I need something to prevent the bad guy from getting into the house not to see what they took.  I'll continue to use my current system...it accomplishes the bigger picture but I had high hopes for Arlo.  Need to return it before the 14 days is up:).

Thanks for your help.

[steve_t]

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Jroach wrote:

Did more research, talked with support and read through a few more posts and few non-netgear blogs.

Unfortunately the Arlo is not ready for prime time outdoor use.  Too many false positives/negatives, lacks the ability to have cameras work together, can only monitor one live feed at a time, only one person can monitor, no activity zone and no local storage.  Looks like a good little system for indoors like a nanny cam but I need something to prevent the bad guy from getting into the house not to see what they took.  I'll continue to use my current system...it accomplishes the bigger picture but I had high hopes for Arlo.  Need to return it before the 14 days is up:).

Thanks for your help.

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I'll acknowledge there are pros and cons to the system but will correct you on a few things.
*Motion sensitivity can be quite well fine tuned for the location. It took me quite a while to find the right levels but I no longer get false alerts and get reliable alerts and recordings for when they're supposed to happen
*The cameras can work together. I have multiple cameras that not only record but trigger other cameras to record
*You can live stream up to 5 cameras at a time
*Multiple people can monitor the cameras but they need to each have their own account and be granted access
*Activity zones available only with full time AC power, which we temporarily don't have for outdoor use due to a part recall
*Local storage to a USB drive attached to the Pro /2 base

Hope you manage to find what you're looking for. I was thinking some POE ONVIF cameras and a ReadyNAS with Milestone Arcus or a Synology NAS would work for you

[Jroach]

Steve-t, thanks!

I tried and tried but couldn't find a balance between flase +/-.  Given I only have 14 days and the other issues I didn't see it worth the time.

Kind of moot point now but we could never get more than 1 camera at a time to stream.  New Orbi's, 500 download and 20 upload...seems like that would be enough.

Regarding multiple people being able to monitor the cameras...I set up two accounts and one always kicked the other off when looking at the same camera.

For the AC adapter, support acknoledged that the recalled adapter was never meant for outdoor usage...more like outdoor under a cover but not exposed.  It didn't sound like the new one would be UL appoved and rated for outdoor.

Local storage to a USB drive attached was just for events not CVR.

I did find a couple of solar powered WIFI cameras, one with PTZ for under $150 but haven't determined if it will work with the software yet (awaiting confirmation from SecuritySpy).  

Again, I really wanted Arlo to work but looking through the discussions, I'm not alone in the "outdoor"issue.

[Jroach]

I did get my hands on a WYZE camera today.  So far it looks like it has everything but the battery/solar powered (which is big for me).  But...at $20 per camera and local storage (micro card purchased seperately) its pretty functional.  While 1080, its optics are small.  Not an endorsement, just an update.

[steve_t]

Yeah, for $20, they're awesome. I didn't think you could use them outdoors though

[jguerdat]

While some people have, it's like putting a Q camera outdoors. Do so at your own risk.

I have a Wyzecam and I wouldn't use it in place of Arlo. First, it only records for 10-15 seconds with a 5 minute reste time (!). While it records to an SD card continuously if set to do so, it's reactive, not proactive, meaning you have to view what happened rather than have it alert you. It's $20 and it shows it. I'm on the beta site and it gets better but the jury is out.

[Jroach]

Steve_t, you are correct..not for outdoors.  The optics are a little sub-par as well.  

jguerdat, the WYZE app and camera combo I'm using does provide analert.  I'm not experiencing the 5 minute rest time but will check it out.  Again, not an endorsement...just a discussion.  

Arlo is a good product, I could work-around the false  +/- by using Steve-t's suggestion/technique  of requiring multiple triggers from cameras before it sends an alert but the local storage feature is a must have for people serious about watching their house: wildlife, porch pirates, friends/family.  There was an incident yesterday where a neighbor asked if I had any video of a suspicious woman walking down the street.  I went to my current system with an approximate time and found a clip (the woman was walking down the street and not in my set motion zone so no alert was sent).  In the past we have captured video of coyotes, bears and deer.....not really intruders but fun to watch.  A year ago kids blew up a mail box with a firecracker a block away.  They drove by our house and we could see the make/model.  I returned Arlo yesterday but will buy it again if the local storage issue gets fixed.  I don't see this happening as its a revenue stream for Netgear.  Competition from companies like WYZE could push Netgear to re-think this strategy.

[RobertRosal]

Honestly, my cameras work better than I can imagine but that is not out of the box.  I understand the placement of these and had my first Arlo when they just barely hit the market. Now up to 7 cameras from the Arlo to the Pro 2.

I used to place the cameras via the direction of Netgear, but it never suited my taste and when I did place it where I wanted, it could not capture what I wanted to see.

Two years later, now I have already converted my whole house to a SmartHome, the switches, the plugs, the lights, sensors, the voice commands. . etc.  So when Netgear announced they are now working with some SmartHome vendors, that is when I changed everything up.  Not to the instructions from Netgear about where to position but positioned these cameras exactly where I wanted them.  The Arlos are now controlled by my door sensors, motion sensors, whatever I had in my SmartHome, I pretty much had these Arlos doing whatever I wanted.  You cannot get passed any corner of my house, walk out of any door, without an Arlo camera capturing your every move.

So in closing, can the Arlo out of the box capture what you want. . . .NO!  You can make it though, but it does take technology out there to make it work for you. I  must commend Netgear on working with these 3rd party vendors, because if they did not, I probably would have Foscam wired cameras out there and the Arlos would be on Ebay!

[Jroach]

Robert, great point about integration.  So many products and so little integrate well/seamlessly.  I opted for Indigo as my home integration app to tie in things like; legacy X10, hue, zigbee, alexa, and so on.  Still so much though I would like to see with integration.  One of the things that attracted me to Arlo is that it would work with a few of the other products in the house.  If it weren't for the local storage (bummer).

Is there a forum within Arlo to list items that we would like to see in the future?  

Maybe we should all chip in and desing/build a system by real users?  Any VC/Angel funding out there?  (smile)

[RobertRosal]

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Jroach wrote:

Robert, great point about integration.  So many products and so little integrate well/seamlessly.  I opted for Indigo as my home integration app to tie in things like; legacy X10, hue, zigbee, alexa, and so on.  Still so much though I would like to see with integration.  One of the things that attracted me to Arlo is that it would work with a few of the other products in the house.  If it weren't for the local storage (bummer).

Is there a forum within Arlo to list items that we would like to see in the future?  

Maybe we should all chip in and desing/build a system by real users?  Any VC/Angel funding out there?  (smile)

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I use SmartThings and InControl, so far, between the two I have not found a device that I needed that those two could not control.  Since with the two the protocols ZWave and ZigBee are covered, probably the two biggest protocols out there covering thousands of devices.

The forum would probably be the Exchange Idea area.  I believe there you can post what you want to see.

I hear you, for the users made by the users!

[Jroach]

I'll check out Exchange idea but I don't want to give away the good stuff.  We will save that for the NewCo 🙂

[RobertRosal]

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Jroach wrote:

I'll check out Exchange idea but I don't want to give away the good stuff.  We will save that for the NewCo 🙂

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Lol! 🙂

[Jroach]

Found this today:

https://www.netgear.com/business/surveillance/FlexPower-Camera.aspx

More research needed but it might be the blend of independence and integration I need.

[steve_t · Accepted solution]

Oh yeah, I always forget about the Flexpower ONVIF system. Sad it's based on Arlo Pro and not Arlo Pro 2 as the 1080 res would be better with the local storage. Still, there's not a massive difference between the 720p and 1080p unless they're side-by-side or zoomed in on