Video Doorbells have become prevalent lately, with the advent of the Nest and other large manufacturers having access to small footprint video sensors and high quality lenses. Keep reading to find out what’s important when choosing a video doorbell.
Video Doorbell Price versus your budget
I put this at the top of the list because most of us are price concious – we want the best value for our money. However, you will have to balance price against the feature set you want for your video doorbell. Make sure that you factor in everything below before setting your budget, and allow some flexibility. Having said all that, there are video doorbells from below $50.00 to $200.00 and more. Also watch for some video doorbell reviews I’ll have on the site, including my favorite!
Wire Power or Battery Powered Video Doorbell
Something I had to take into account when I was looking at video doorbells was whether I would go with battery power or wired. My home did not have a doorbell, so if I wanted wired power, I would have to also install a transformer. I ultimately did go with wired power, because I did not want the hassle of batteries – they are bad for the environment and I would have to either replace or recharge them on occasion.
If you have a doorbell already, most of the wired video doorbells have instructions and accessories to make it simple to modify your powering system to use the existing transformer, and some of them will even work with your existing chime. Some don’t so check all the options on the video doorbells you are looking at.
Video Doorbell Resolution
Something important to me is to have a clear image or video of who is at my door. I found video doorbell resolutions from low to 2K HD. This will impact video storage capacity and how well the video displays on your phone app.
Storage
Storage of your video doorbell videos (and still photos) is important. Many video doorbells have the ability to utilize cloud storage like Dropbox, Google and others, usually at a price. Other video doorbells have local storage only. There is debate about the privacy of your images when they are stored in the cloud. Consider this, as well as the cost to subscribe to the service, though usually it’s pretty modest. Also check on how long your videos are kept in storage. Sometimes you only get a certain amount of days of storage and then the oldest videos are deleted.
Indoor Chime for your Video Doorbell
Does the video doorbell come with an indoor chime? Do you need one? How easy is it to connect?
Does the Video Doorbell Connect With Your Smart Home Devices
Do you want your new doorbell to connect to Alexa or Google Assistant? How about connection to IFTTT, or other smart home services.
Weatherproof
What is the temperature range that the video doorbell is rated for? Is your doorbell going to be sheltered at all, or is it exposed on the outside of the house?
WiFi Connection
Make sure that your home’s WiFi signal is strong enough to reach the video doorbell installation. You may need a WiFi expander close to the area.
Video Doorbell Smartphone App
Read the reviews of your video doorbell regarding the app. You may even want to download it and check it out on your phone before making a purchase.
Read a great review article of the best video doorbells now on Amazon.
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