Came across this by chance. This retails $329 in Ring's website and recent deal is still over $250. Apparently this price is only for the white version as the black one still cost $266 in Bunnings. Been waiting for a good deal (lowest I found in the past is 199) so this seems quite good.
Can you recommend any for cheaper?
There are literally hundreds listed on eBay, Amazon, AliExpress etc that are multiple times better than these, hikvision, dahua and even foscam are much better.
Do they need to be wired?
Why do you say that? I have the ring floodlight cam which I'm happy with
If your happy that’s great! Good on you! It’s the price of them compared to the quality of the camera itself. You can buy a much better camera for cheaper. These are aimed at the home handy man with nfi about cameras. So if you don’t mind paying a premium for the namesake that’s cool.
So the average person.
I do have a good idea about cameras and i'm running Ring Floodlights outside and stick up cameras inside. I run Samsung SmartThings hub and the Rings are compatible, they automatically popup a live thumbnail on my TV when motion is detected with the option to view the camera full screen in 75".
I can also do automations with them, i flash lamps with Hue bulbs beside the bed and on the computer desk different colours depending on what camera detected the motion. I can view the cameras on my Alexa show devices by voice. Also i can drop in and talk to whoever is at the house when i'm away, which has been extremely useful.
And being floodlights the night image quality is excellent and i can turn on the lights remotely. Going on 2 years and been faultless, wouldnt change a thing.
@LowRange: Hi. I just installed Ring video door bell. Do you think Ring Protection plan subscription is necessary?
Wait for a good deal for the Reolink Argus 2 with the solar panel
They are pretty solid and also work nicely with Google assistant / Google home hub
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/argus%202%20type%3A…
I already have the ring doorbell (that I'm happy with) and a spare battery so this would fit well with my existing setup.
I have the same setup like what you currently have
Ring Doorbell v1 + Ring Outdoor cam with floodlight
For the outdoor cam
Problem is its not easy to climb up and change the battery from time to time
Ring does selling solar panel but its another $100 bucks
For the Ring doorbell
There's a 8-10s delay before it was able to send an alert to my phone
by the time I "answer" from the app, the person that press the doorbell has gone by far
So eventually I sold my Ring doorbell and outdoor cam
and replaced with Google Nest Hello Doorbell and Reolink Argus 2 for outdoor purpose
Been running for a year now never have an issue
Doorbell alert comes immediately to both my phone and Google Home
Argus 2 allows viewing live feed via the Google Home display (home hub / home hub max)
i have all 3 ring type cameras at home and all hardwired, absolutely no issue with alerts or connectivity or recording for past 3 years. You should never go for anything battery style from beginning mate (IMO).
The issues you explained could have been easily resolved, both connectivity and power :)
@SamyKn: Yea, agree with your point that most issues can be easily solved by hard wiring
Putting my comment about Argus 2 just to let everyone aware that there are always alternatives in the market that are way cheaper but provide similar functionalities and on par performance
Thanks for your note.
Fortunately so far I do get my alert pretty instantaneously (whether it is motion sensing or the doorbell ring). The video part does take quite a few seconds to show but honestly I don't need to video answer the bell often (probably happened only once or twice over the past year). I think if Ring can support a voice only answer (for a more immediate response) while waiting for the video to load, that would have been very useful.
Also, I have the Ring Doorbell 2 so I'm not sure if that helped with the experience.
With my home more setup around HomeKit (as everyone in the house use iPhone/iPad/Macbook/AppleTV), I've been waiting for a good HomeKit compatible system (that runs on battery) but so far options here in Australia is very limited.
Anyhow, this price is a good deal for this product. Whether this product is good or a fit for anyone, that's a separate question :)
@muddrex: I have no offence to Ring products, my Ring doorbell v1 has been running for 2 years before I moved to Nest Hello. I also did hard wiring for my original Ring so no battery issue too
Video delay was my only disappointment to it. And at the end I would say it really depends on your other smart ecosystem at home (Homekit, Amazon, Google). People having Amazon echo or display at home would make sense to have Ring products as they have really good integration, and same for Google on the other hand with Nest products. Apple Homekit is the only missing brother atm (seems Apple has shift their direction to work with Amazon and Google now instead of developing their own protocol)
@littlesoldier: Ring was supposed to add HomeKit support (something that they announced yrs ago) but never got implemented… Likely related to the fact that it got acquired by Amazon…
@muddrex: I bought my Ring Doorbell v1 before it was acquired by Amazon. Was quite disappointed that since they were bought by Amazon there's no chance of Google integration :(
@littlesoldier: Same purchased like you , also I have everything at home integrated to my google home API (Fans,lights,non ring cameras , IoT stuff via Hub…etc) but this was a killer , as soon they were acquired by Amazon i felt google integration is gone for ever :(
Considering it'll be a lot of effort and cost while i have multiple ring stuff i left it as is ,but perfectly does the job for me apart from integration
I have a ring doorview cam and there is only about 1-3 secs between someone walking past and the notification appearing on the phone. Then another couple of seconds to open the app and the stream to start. I can still see someone walking past in real time if i've got my phone next to me. Also, people renting can't go hard wired so wireless is a good option.
@Balljuice: Try Rapid Ring app, it loads live video pretty quickly.
For any recording use the normal Ring app.
Black one is 197 at DJs might have luck price matching
Hi guys. I just installed Ring video door bell (battery). Do you guys think Ring Protection plan subscription is necessary?
If you decide to go with the Ring system, I think it is important to have the subscription as it keeps your security video on the cloud that allows you to access it later. Also, it means even if the device is stolen/damaged, you still have the evidence in the cloud.
I pay the 15 a month for my 5 cameras well worth it imo
Agree, it's not expensive when you are talking about security for your home.
Still way too expensive for these rubbish cameras, when they are $39.95 maybe they will be worth buying.