Video doorbell dilemma - now sorted, thanks :)

vic_sf49

Do you have somewhere you could put cctv, with a good view of the door?

I went that route, so it covered my whole driveway too, and the angle is better than a doorbell cam would cover.

My regular doorbell rings, and I can just check the cctv feed.

I also didn't want a subscription, so went with Tapo (already had the app, as I have their smart plugs).

Very pleased with the camera. Outdoor camera, records to memory card, but you can view the live feed, or saved recordings, via WiFi & app. Think it was about £25 per camera, and £15 ish, for a memory card.

You can view the live feed, without the memory card too.

Other brands are available.

Albermarle

As above a simple cctv camera above the door outside, linked by cable to a small screen inside next to the door could be the answer.

No need for mobile phone/internet/wifi, and your existing doorbell could be left as it is.

BooJewels

I too use a Tapo doorbell camera which does what you require - I got mine when I broke my leg and it wasn't easy to get to the door. I suspect it was a load cheaper than a Ring one.

You can use it on as many devices as you like - I have the app installed on my phone and a tablet. Mine is set up so that if someone walks into my sensor zones (you set these areas up in the app) it makes a sound on the devices and I can choose to look what set it off - it usually records these activations too.

If someone actually rings the bell, it sounds initially on the powered hub inside (just like a normal doorbell), then on the two devices. I've usually already had an alert from their approach down the path anyway. At that point I can view who's there and speak to them through the doorbell - I find that latter bit a bit flakey and there's enough of a delay to make conversation difficult, so I rarely use it. The doorbell unit outside is battery powered, so just needs it sticking or drilling into position, then you have a powered hub inside.

As my house is back to front to the road, most of my windows face the wrong way, if looking out for visitors etc., so I do tend to use mine to just look out that side of the house. In fact, I want to add another plain camera further along my wall to give a better view.

Si_Clist

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81890494#Comment_81890494

Off now to look into what a "powered hub" is all about …

BooJewels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81890957#Comment_81890957

It's just a little mains powered box that contains a memory card (you need to add this if you want to record from the camera) and is the communication between the doorbell and your wifi. ETA: You can use their cloud storage services, but I don't know if this has a cost.

My normal doorbell, that I left in place, has a couple of ringer boxes inside, which each plug into the mains - the Tapo hub is smaller than those, but acts in much the same way. It comes with the doorbell unit, you don't need to buy it separately. This is the one I have - it seems to be about £80 everywhere at the moment.

silvercar

I have this doorbell, currently £46 on Amazon. It includes a chime unit to ‘ring’ inside your home as well as an alert sent to your phone. It acts as an intercom. If you want to add move detection, you can put a memory card in the unit and/ or subscribe to their cloud service.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FJ278MNY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

gazfocus

If you go down the route of a Ring (or any other 'video doorbell', you can get an Amazon Echo Show which has a screen that you can set to show the doorbell feed when someone presses the bell. One thing to watch out for with the Ring doorbells though is make sure you don't need a subscription to do what you are wanting to do.

I went for the Eufy E340 as it doesn't need a subscription and it has a downward facing second camera for keeping an eye on parcels that have been left.

Adrift

We have a Ring doorbell. You can purchase an additional plug in chime and site it where you like. Then when you hear it you can check your phone to see who's there. Yes you can add other people so they can see who's there, but there will be one main account where some settings changes are only available. You can set it so it won't go off when you're out. You can also set a message so people can leave a message if you can't come to the door. You can also set it so you can speak to someone at the door via your phone and doorbell.

Si_Clist

OK … we went for a wired Ring doorbell and chime unit thingy in the end, and it seems to do everything we need. Thanks for your input, folks 👍️

Bendo

My ring doorbell went in the bin when they thought it was acceptable to put the sub up 40% 2 years on the run. The tapo replacement has long since paid for itself.