Ring Launches Second-Generation Video Doorbell With 1080p Video and Removable Battery

[chicagofan00]

It's operating conditions is -5F (-20C) to 120F (48C).
For an outdoor product, it would be nice if they were able to make -40F to 120F.

.

125+ degrees on the high end would be nice as well. I wonder how these things will perform for those of us in AZ this week with consistent highs in the 115+ range and getting up to 120 tomorrow.

 

[Mobster1983]

Looks like great updates. I have to original and it works great. Did renovations to my house and added a large front fenced-in area so I have nowhere to connect and need the battery. I am also gone a lot so this doorbell allows me to talk to people, primarily delivery drivers. When they ring the doorbell I can see it is the postman and open the garage door so she can drop off the packages. Very useful.

I also use it as part of my home security system, which I have installed myself, so 1080p is useful. However, without Homekit, I won't be updating. I am in the same boat as a previous poster where I want to transition everything to homekit, but waiting until better products are released.

 

[Larry The L]

It's operating conditions is -5F (-20C) to 120F (48C).
For an outdoor product, it would be nice if they were able to make -40F to 120F.

Do all outdoor products have the temperature range you want? Perhaps there was some technical issue that limits the low temperature range. It is what it is. If -5 F isn't low enough for you, don't get it. I do feel sorry for the person who lives in Antarctica and wants to use this and deals with temps of -80 F.

 

[Le Big Mac]

Without the subscription you can only get the audio/video feed while on the same network. With it - for $30/year - you can view it from anywhere.

So yeah... you need a subscription to view a doorbell. Kinda silly if you ask me.

What would be better (and more reasonable) is at least short-term retention of video with purchase of the doorbell - maybe 24 hours - so if you need the crime video you can download it. With no retention of video at all, this is purely a video doorbell with no real security/crime fighting value.

 

[scouser75]

Are there actually any HomeKit compatible door bells out there?

 

[dazzaah]

Ring today launched the Video Doorbell 2 with 1080p video, up from 720p, and a removable, rechargeable battery pack.

Ring's original Video Doorbell also has a battery, but it's not removable, so the whole doorbell has to be unmounted and taken inside every six to twelve months or so to be recharged with an included Micro-USB cable. A removable battery pack makes recharging the video doorbell much more convenient.

Alternatively, the Video Doorbell 2 can continue to be hardwired with an 8-24 VAC transformer part of existing wired doorbell setups.

Ring's second-generation video doorbell also features customizable, interchangeable silver and brown faceplates, and improved infrared night vision with a 160º field of view and 180º horizontal motion detection angle. It continues to have two-way audio with noise cancellation, and so-called bank-grade encryption.

Ring connects to a home's Wi-Fi network and streams live video and audio to a paired iPhone and iPad through the free Ring Video Doorbell app on the App Store [Direct Link]. Video recordings can be saved in the cloud for up to 60 days with Ring's optional $30 per year, per camera subscription plan.

Ring's Video Doorbell and Video Doorbell 2 are not compatible with Apple HomeKit. A company spokesperson said the Ring Pro and Floodlight Cam will be HomeKit compatible most likely by the end of this year.

Ring is accepting orders for the Video Doorbell 2 on its website for $199, the same introductory price as its original Video Doorbell, now $179. The sleeker, hardwired-only Video Doorbell Pro is also available for $249.

Ring said the Video Doorbell 2 is also available today at all 15,000 major U.S. retailers that carry its devices, including Best Buy and Home Depot.

Article Link: Ring Launches Second-Generation Video Doorbell With 1080p Video and Removable Battery

[doublepost=1497910882][/doublepost]I have an August DoorBell and smartlock Homekit enabled. The video is 720p and I wish it was 1080p. They gave 6 months of free video recording and with a deal got it $29.99 for a year. IMO worth it since we caught package thieves on 2 occasions and was able to provide evidence to the police. If UPS/Fedex rings the doorbell I can let them in to drop the package and lock the door when they leave. This was awesome last year when my new Iphone got delivered and I let the UPS guy in to drop it off and I was working on the east coast. I live in Seattle. Ring has some features that are better but the August integrates better and siri can unlock the door.

 

[paul4339]

Do all outdoor products have the temperature range you want? Perhaps there was some technical issue that limits the low temperature range. It is what it is. If -5 F isn't low enough for you, don't get it. I do feel sorry for the person who lives in Antarctica and wants to use this and deals with temps of -80 F.

uh, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto?? -80F is a far cry from -5F, lets not exaggerate.

The criteria I use is that must work for my climate otherwise what the point in purchasing it?
I'm not sure if you have ever traveled, but alot of places dip below -5F/-20C in the winter.

Operating temperatures for outdoor industrial and automotive is often -40 ° to 85 °C or −40 °C to 125 °C.... Even regular outdoor (retail) cameras are rated -22°F (-30°C).

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[Vegas Actual]

A 1080p video camera on your doorbell makes about as much sense as putting a Xeon into an iMac.

Are you saying when the police are trying to ID the asshat that's stealing packages from your front porch, it's best to do it in 720p?

 

[prowlmedia]

A 1080p video camera on your doorbell makes about as much sense as putting a Xeon into an iMac.

I've thwarted 2 attempted burglarys with mine - 1 arrested and jailed.
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Seriously? You have to pay a monthly subscription for a doorbell?

Nope. Live video Answering motion or press is free - recording is $30 a year

 

[fhall1]

It's operating conditions is -5F (-20C) to 120F (48C).
For an outdoor product, it would be nice if they were able to make -40F to 120F.

.

I'd bet that the hard-wired model would work at temps below -5F, it's most likely the battery that has the -5F limitation.

 

[paul4339]

I'd bet that the hard-wired model would work at temps below -5F, it's most likely the battery that has the -5F limitation.

I agree... probably the battery model will work too... my rationale for this assumption is that Ring is quite popular, so if there's wide spread problems with it, it probably would show up by Google.
The limitations could be the 'guaranteed' range.

 

[shamus99]

the pro has been a great product for me... looking at the new flood light, but hoping for more of a porch light ring.

 

[Johnny907]

I looked at Ring, but ended up going with Arlo instead. Picked up 4 camera kit on Black Friday for 350 and it's worked great. No subscription fees and much better angles since I can mount the cameras practically anywhere within range of the base station.

 

[prowlmedia]

I looked at Ring, but ended up going with Arlo instead. Picked up 4 camera kit on Black Friday for 350 and it's worked great. No subscription fees and much better angles since I can mount the cameras practically anywhere within range of the base station.

Arlo is great - I have 2 pros but isn't the same product. The ring allows you to pretend to be in. If the doorbell rings and I am out for say a delivery or someone unknown/suspicious I say I am not well and in bed.

The non pro arlo that you have doesn't even have 2 way audio.

 

[dilbert99]

the improved video quality seems necessary if law enforcement is going to be able to actually identify a criminal.

is that only if you pay for the footage to be stored in the cloud and the criminal comes to your front door?

 

[shamus99]

is that only if you pay for the footage to be stored in the cloud and the criminal comes to your front door?

Criminals usually come to the front door and bang and bang to make sure no ones home before they try to enter.

 

[Peepo]

The subscription service isn’t for seeing the device remotely, it’s for backing up more than 30 days of recorded activity videos.

You need to subscribe monthly to see any cloud recordings (not just past 30 days). If you have multiple devices then you pay the additional amount for each one per month instead of giving customer a a break on pricing for multiple devices - so it can add up quickly!!! (another reason why I won't buy anymore ring products besides their lack of HomeKit support).

 

[mariusignorello]

Seriously? You have to pay a monthly subscription for a doorbell?

I need to invent some kind of revolutionary home automation device that I can charge monthly fees for.
[doublepost=1498031885][/doublepost]

The only thing keeping me from buying the doorbell cam and a rear floodlight cam along with the alarm is HomeKit support. I want to be able to do the following:

• If someone approaches the front door at night, have it turn on a light inside, wait 10 seconds, and then turn on all five of my under eave floodlights.
• If someone approaches my rear floodlight, turn on the lights for my other three back doors in 20 second succession.
• If they continue to linger for more than 30 seconds near either device, have it auto trigger the alarm speaker. From what I've read, the system can discern between people and animals so it should work. I also don't get many larger animals in my back yard because I have a privacy fence.
  
• If someone approaches the front door during the day, flash a specific light in the house. My wife runs a daycare downstairs, and it would be good to know if someone is creeping around outside. I guess she could get phone alerts, but she's not always on her phone or able to pull it out when wrangling children. Sometimes grandparents will pick up, so they don't always remember their daycare code for our Schlage Smart Sense deadbolt. So it would be nice for her to see their face in Ring and quickly unlock the door using Siri.

Maybe I could do some of these things with IFTTT, but I'd rather have a native solution since I've been slowly going all HomeKit because I like the high security and Siri integration. There are a lot of companies out there leaving money on the table when it comes to people like me who just want a unified solution.

You can use HomeBridge but it’s a bit of a project to get it set up.

 

[AlliFlowers]

I have a system similar to what you're describing. What you need is a bridge that allows you to set scenes. We use Vera. It is doing some beta stuff right now so it even works with Alexa. It is a pain to get set up, but you only have to do it once.

The only thing keeping me from buying the doorbell cam and a rear floodlight cam along with the alarm is HomeKit support. I want to be able to do the following:

• If someone approaches the front door at night, have it turn on a light inside, wait 10 seconds, and then turn on all five of my under eave floodlights.
• If someone approaches my rear floodlight, turn on the lights for my other three back doors in 20 second succession.
• If they continue to linger for more than 30 seconds near either device, have it auto trigger the alarm speaker. From what I've read, the system can discern between people and animals so it should work. I also don't get many larger animals in my back yard because I have a privacy fence.
  
• If someone approaches the front door during the day, flash a specific light in the house. My wife runs a daycare downstairs, and it would be good to know if someone is creeping around outside. I guess she could get phone alerts, but she's not always on her phone or able to pull it out when wrangling children. Sometimes grandparents will pick up, so they don't always remember their daycare code for our Schlage Smart Sense deadbolt. So it would be nice for her to see their face in Ring and quickly unlock the door using Siri.

Maybe I could do some of these things with IFTTT, but I'd rather have a native solution since I've been slowly going all HomeKit because I like the high security and Siri integration. There are a lot of companies out there leaving money on the table when it comes to people like me who just want a unified solution.