Doorbird Experiences

[ejn1]

All, I thought I would post a few experiences with my Doorbird D202.

Likes:

• Very Professional Look and clean installation
• High build quality
• Good Camera quality and audio quality
• Limited noise / interference when 2-way communication with the Doorbird
• When someone presses the doorbell, it takes a clean pic and saves in the app

Dislikes:

• First and most important is around the clumsiness of the remote access via IOS and the quality and speed of the connection.   I have very strong Cellular LTE connection much of the time but yet almost NEVER is the connection to the device quick enough for me to actually answer the doorbell before someone walks off.  The lag via IOS cellular connection is awful thus negating one of the primary reasons on bought the device.   When the Doorbird APP rings on my Iphone i get a notification pop up on main screen but the iphone is usually locked.  To answer, I cant just tap the notification, i have to unlock the phone, scroll to the app, open it and then in most cases it lags for a very long time to connect and sometimes never connects.   Not sure if this is because doorbird is in Germany and the intercom call are routed their via cloud ?
• The Doorbird "Birdchirp" chime is very difficult to hear outside when someone presses the button.   You cannot change the outside chime or volume at the doorstation.  
• I have the Control4 houselogix driver and that is disappointing as the lag to get the ring through my audio speakers is almost 15 sec.  After trying this for a few days, i disabled this in C4 and just hardwired the Doorbird to my door chime inside the house which works instaneous.  I understand that if you have a C4 amp to speakers, the lag can be reduced but i have it going to a soundbar connected via HDMI to my C4 controller and the lag is too long to be useful.
• All and all, the lag to the IOS and the frequent inability to connect real time, and the clumsiness of connecting of IOS App is making for a not so positive experience but there is hope i guess for future doorbird improvements.
• A tad too big in the design but can live with that...

[cdepaola]

Thanks, always good to have product reviews here and we don't get enough of them for sure.

[Audio Obsessions]

I believe the arguments around the native doorbird issues are valid. But the lag time to your sound bar is not a doorbird issue, and should be held against them.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Audio Obsessions]

I agree that c4 needs to improve its announcement speed, but I also don't think they are at full blame here from your discussion, as the announcement created probably has a manually added delay that your integrator for necessary to make the soundbar turn in to that input. So the crux of the problem here is the time it takes to turn your sounbar on and for it to receive sound, which is neither doorbird s or Control4's fault. Your solution is perhaps the best scenario. In my own home I also use my standard bell, which is then followed by a c4 announcement 3-4 seconds later. That 3-4 seconds is something I think control4 can and needs to shorten.

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[ejn1]

1 hour ago, Audio Obsessions said:

I agree that c4 needs to improve its announcement speed, but I also don't think they are at full blame here from your discussion, as the announcement created probably has a manually added delay that your integrator for necessary to make the soundbar turn in to that input. So the crux of the problem here is the time it takes to turn your sounbar on and for it to receive sound, which is neither doorbird s or Control4's fault. Your solution is perhaps the best scenario. In my own home I also use my standard bell, which is then followed by a c4 announcement 3-4 seconds later. That 3-4 seconds is something I think control4 can and needs to shorten.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree.  Not linking this to C4 accountability at all.  The driver is 3P as well.   15 secs was the shortest timing my integrator could get without it missing the signal.   My integrator basically said the same thing as you as the soundbar is the slow link but once again I don't think my setup is that unique so it may be valuable for others to know.   But all in all this was one of the lesser issues in my list,  the door chime link works great and is instant.   Bottom line though is unless you have C4 touchpads with video capability, then the value of paying for the 3P driver goes down greatly in my opinion.   I just bought a T3 touchpad but havent installed yet but will test the driver out in that capacity as i soon as I have installed.

 

 

 

[Gix656]

Have used the doorbird with c4 announcement and it is around 3 seconds delay. This is using the button press connection in programming, not a direct wired connection to the doorbird.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[ejn1]

2 minutes ago, Gix656 said:

Have used the doorbird with c4 announcement and it is around 3 seconds delay. This is using the button press connection in programming, not a direct wired connection to the doorbird.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

What is the audio playing through?  Also, are you having any of the connection delays I referenced above via IOS?  Thanks

[Gix656]

It's going from an output on the hc800 into a Russound amp. The iOS app does lag but not much. How is your doorbird connected? Wifi or wired?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[ejn1]

2 hours ago, Gix656 said:

It's going from an output on the hc800 into a Russound amp. The iOS app does lag but not much. How is your doorbird connected? Wifi or wired?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Doorbird is wired...  I have the HC800 also connected to a B&K 6 channel multiroom amp, so that may be the best bet to reduce lag for me also.  Now that its wired to the door chime in the house, its kind of a moot point now.

[huj_man]

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 8:04 AM, ejn1 said:

All, I thought I would post a few experiences with my Doorbird D202.

Likes:

• Very Professional Look and clean installation
• High build quality
• Good Camera quality and audio quality
• Limited noise / interference when 2-way communication with the Doorbird
• When someone presses the doorbell, it takes a clean pic and saves in the app

Dislikes:

• First and most important is around the clumsiness of the remote access via IOS and the quality and speed of the connection.   I have very strong Cellular LTE connection much of the time but yet almost NEVER is the connection to the device quick enough for me to actually answer the doorbell before someone walks off.  The lag via IOS cellular connection is awful thus negating one of the primary reasons on bought the device.   When the Doorbird APP rings on my Iphone i get a notification pop up on main screen but the iphone is usually locked.  To answer, I cant just tap the notification, i have to unlock the phone, scroll to the app, open it and then in most cases it lags for a very long time to connect and sometimes never connects.   Not sure if this is because doorbird is in Germany and the intercom call are routed their via cloud ?
•  

yes, same issue.  defeats the main reason for getting it in the first place.  I also wanted to see if it could capture a snapshot from the live stream (on motion detection) - doesn't do that.

[ichbinbose]

After using several Doorbird's all hard wired, I can absolutely attest that what the marketing is vs reality are vastly different.

A couple of notes from Doorbird tech support

Only the first two devices on the LAN will connect locally, the rest (up to 6 for a total of 8) will have to connect thru the cloud.

Two just because it's an onvif does not mean it will actually record to a local nvr

Three if you need to do an ra be prepared for the least pleasurable experience and crappy policy

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[control4.texas]

I installed a Doorbird unit about 6 weeks ago and it has been great. I also have the Houselogix driver. While it has its issues (motion sensor is not that great), it is a massive step up from the C4 doorstation that I had before. Would definitely recommend.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ejn1]

3 hours ago, ichbinbose said:

After using several Doorbird's all hard wired, I can absolutely attest that what the marketing is vs reality are vastly different.

A couple of notes from Doorbird tech support

Only the first two devices on the LAN will connect locally, the rest (up to 6 for a total of 8) will have to connect thru the cloud.

Two just because it's an onvif does not mean it will actually record to a local nvr

Three if you need to do an ra be prepared for the least pleasurable experience and crappy policy

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had to RA my first unit also and must say I agree it was a bit of a PIA and the refund process took some chasing and follow-up.    I have since connected a C4 T3 touchscreen and the driver integration with the C4 intercom works well, despite a few bugs that are now fixed.  

[christophers]

so i echo most of this. i hardwired it to my normal doorbell to begin with as i don't really use announcements specifically because of the lag. 

one thing i've noticed though is that the doorbird interface with c4 is super buggy. sometimes the SIP call won't send video, and the touchpanel will be "thinking" while i'm waiting for it to show me who is at the door (and never does). also, i've now set up three, and all of them require multiple reboots (the doorbird AND the c4 controller) to get all of the functions working. also, only 2 video streams is quite annoying given i have 1 recording at all times, and if the doorbell rings, c4 grabs the SIP call and then i can't view anything from the phone not a biggie, but hey, AXIS provides 4 streams, and i run all AXIS cameras at my house so i'm spoiled

that said, doorbird have improved their firmware adding "zones" for the motion sensing, which is great b/c it doesn't catch every car that goes by now  

 

overall, i'm pretty darn satisfied, the looks are great, the extra contacts and relays are also super cool, and all of my neighbors with the Ring doorbell now feel like they're missing out, so i'm doing alright i suppose

[eddy.trochez]

4 minutes ago, Christopher Spitler said:

so i echo most of this. i hardwired it to my normal doorbell to begin with as i don't really use announcements specifically because of the lag. 

one thing i've noticed though is that the doorbird interface with c4 is super buggy. sometimes the SIP call won't send video, and the touchpanel will be "thinking" while i'm waiting for it to show me who is at the door (and never does). also, i've now set up three, and all of them require multiple reboots (the doorbird AND the c4 controller) to get all of the functions working. also, only 2 video streams is quite annoying given i have 1 recording at all times, and if the doorbell rings, c4 grabs the SIP call and then i can't view anything from the phone not a biggie, but hey, AXIS provides 4 streams, and i run all AXIS cameras at my house so i'm spoiled

that said, doorbird have improved their firmware adding "zones" for the motion sensing, which is great b/c it doesn't catch every car that goes by now  

 

overall, i'm pretty darn satisfied, the looks are great, the extra contacts and relays are also super cool, and all of my neighbors with the Ring doorbell now feel like they're missing out, so i'm doing alright i suppose

Your review is a little confusing. You start by describing how terrible the solution is, followed by you being "darn satisfied". I must've missed something.

[christophers]

25 minutes ago, etrochez said:

Your review is a little confusing. You start by describing how terrible the solution is, followed by you being "darn satisfied". I must've missed something.

ha, sorry i guess my "complaints" aren't really complaints, just more of some nuances with the product. mine works 99% of the time, has good video, good interface with c4, good customization, and it looks super slick. 

[huj_man]

The "laggy" app interface is a huge issue (even on perfectly good cell connection) as you can't get a "live" call connnected in time to respond to the doorbell 

[eddy.trochez]

The cell phone connection is not the only variable. Your network at home has to do all the work before it gets to your phone. How fast the upload speed of your service at home is, etc. People keep talking about great LTE connections and don't think about their Apple Express at home.

[ejn1]

2 hours ago, etrochez said:

The cell phone connection is not the only variable. Your network at home has to do all the work before it gets to your phone. How fast the upload speed of your service at home is, etc. People keep talking about great LTE connections and don't think about their Apple Express at home.

I have a decent home network with Ubiquiti router, switches and access points...   With a AT&T gigapower 1000M fiber ISP with a comcast broadband failover ISP.   Honestly, if the lag occurs on my network then I think most consumers would be at least exposed to this issue as well.

[huj_man]

On ‎12‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 3:04 PM, etrochez said:

The cell phone connection is not the only variable. Your network at home has to do all the work before it gets to your phone. How fast the upload speed of your service at home is, etc. People keep talking about great LTE connections and don't think about their Apple Express at home.

I don't think that is the issue (at least in my case).  I'm using POE with a commercial grade router. 

[lippavisual]

14 hours ago, huj_man said:

I don't think that is the issue (at least in my case).  I'm using POE with a commercial grade router. 

So am I and I don't experience the lag issues, other than what my stupid IPhone does after every damn apple update.

On cellular, it's a whole different story.  I have Sprint for business cell and a lot of the times I don't have great service. 

[ejn1]

57 minutes ago, lippavisual said:

So am I and I don't experience the lag issues, other than what my stupid IPhone does after every damn apple update.

On cellular, it's a whole different story.  I have Sprint for business cell and a lot of the times I don't have great service. 

I think the cellular performance is the crux of the performance issues...  In most other ways, its a solid unit.   There is another issue emerging though around the houselogix C4 driver as its connectivity with my T3 touchscreen has been unreliable.  When working, its very nice but that has not been the case lately as it works and then stops etc.   My integrator said the driver is still being tweaked so I'm assuming this will be fixed soon but so far very glitchy. 

[lippavisual]

There is a new driver that is in beta now but not sure if it fixes intermittent connectivity issues.  Pretty sure it is just enhancements to the doorbird itself.

i for one haven't had the connectivity issues that other people seem to be having though.

please keep in mind that if you answer from phone or tablet, touch screens will drop as the doorbird only allows one active call at a time. 

[ejn1]

42 minutes ago, lippavisual said:

There is a new driver that is in beta now but not sure if it fixes intermittent connectivity issues.  Pretty sure it is just enhancements to the doorbird itself.

i for one haven't had the connectivity issues that other people seem to be having though.

please keep in mind that if you answer from phone or tablet, touch screens will drop as the doorbird only allows one active call at a time. 

agree,  just for clarity... I have a slow connection process via IOS cellular which I would imagine for a lot of users would be a big disappointment as this is one of the "main" selling points to the average consumer.   In my house and on my home network, i have a fast connection or at least fast enough.     On the driver, my issues are not intermittent.   It works for a few times via the T3 touchscreen and then it stops and when it stops, i have to wait for my integrator to debug and fix.   I have not had the purchased driver work as intended with the C4 touchscreen for any length of time but im hopeful they will fix this as it seems fixable.  

On multiple connections, i thought it was 2 active but maybe you are right that only 1 of those can talk which would make sense.   I would hope that the fact that many times IOS keeps the app active in the background that this is not conflicting the max users at any given time...   

From my perspective, this has to work for the average consumer (which is not folks on this forum most likley  ) and the marketing push on this product is all around the mom or dad seeing a visitor live and in real time at the front door while they are away from the house.  In this instance, they better get their improvement hats on otherwise I will have a nice looking brick at my front door

 

 

 

 

[Thatguy230]

I just got a doorbird 101 and for some reason I can't even get it to send push notifications to my iPhone. I have it turned on in the app. Wondering if anyone else had this issue? Don't want to get the driver if I can't get this working properly. Thanks in advance.