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DS2 vs Hello vs Ring


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The ONLY things really holding the DS2 back were:

-it's oversized build if not using the keys, fixed with mini version

-Lack of 'remote' calling now fixed as well

It's more costly, but if you have a C4 system (and a hardwire!) it's certainly the BEST option.

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My co-worker recently showed me a 15-30 second video of someone stealing an Amazon package off their porch in their Ring app.  The video was important because it captured the intent of the person (known to her!) who was just supposed to be picking up some papers from beneath the welcome mat.  Why can’t I easily do that with the DS2?  Cyknight informed me I can send a still photo to myself.  Ummm great.  I guess I can contact my dealer and ask for that.  The thing costs a grand but I can’t capture video based on motion alerts without tapping into it from 3rd Party software on my computer.  My dealer was very surprised when I showed him how I did that.  Very dissapointing watching all these products show up with great features that I can only approximate with my own hacks.  I’m trying to make it work with Control4 because of the investment I’ve made but sheesh.  The hardware is there.  They need to get their software act together.

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5 minutes ago, KingElvis said:

My co-worker recently showed me a 15-30 second video of someone stealing an Amazon package off their porch in their Ring app.  The video was important because it captured the intent of the person (known to her!) who was just supposed to be picking up some papers from beneath the welcome mat.  Why can’t I easily do that with the DS2?  Cyknight informed me I can send a still photo to myself.  Ummm great.  I guess I can contact my dealer and ask for that.  The thing costs a grand but I can’t capture video based on motion alerts without tapping into it from 3rd Party software on my computer.  My dealer was very surprised when I showed him how I did that.  Very dissapointing watching all these products show up with great features that I can only approximate with my own hacks.  I’m trying to make it work with Control4 because of the investment I’ve made but sheesh.  The hardware is there.  They need to get their software act together.

You can do this and much more. You need an nvr to record the video. Ring is cloud based and the motion i know to be unreliable. I have had instance where a door ring never recorded or the motion straight up missed the person. If you know more than your dealer you need a new dealer.

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41 minutes ago, KingElvis said:

My co-worker recently showed me a 15-30 second video of someone stealing an Amazon package off their porch in their Ring app.  The video was important because it captured the intent of the person (known to her!) who was just supposed to be picking up some papers from beneath the welcome mat.  Why can’t I easily do that with the DS2?  Cyknight informed me I can send a still photo to myself.  Ummm great.  I guess I can contact my dealer and ask for that.  The thing costs a grand but I can’t capture video based on motion alerts without tapping into it from 3rd Party software on my computer.  My dealer was very surprised when I showed him how I did that.  Very dissapointing watching all these products show up with great features that I can only approximate with my own hacks.  I’m trying to make it work with Control4 because of the investment I’ve made but sheesh.  The hardware is there.  They need to get their software act together.

given the cost of hard drive space has decreased greatly over the years, set up your DS2 to record to an NVR and record 24x7.  Adjust frame rates accordingly and you can store weeks of data on a 1-2TB drive.  I currently have 3 cameras recording 24x7 on a 6TB drive and I get 5-6 weeks I think of recording before it starts to erase old recordings and start new ones.  You can set up to get a text message based on motion, but then there is motion sensitivity settings and those you need to fine tune, etc.  I would have rain trip it or deer - I get a ton of deer in my yard.  So I've stopped motion recording or motion alerts,  I just record 24x7, should I suspect something and want to review, I go to the video tape (using my best Warner Wolf voice there).

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I added the DS2 to the Lilin NVR already hooked up to my system using the instructions on Lilin's site.  The Lilin NVR interface is god awful as is the mobile app. I don't even know how to access the recorded video at this point.  So I'm also feeding the DS2 video (and my Lilin cams) into Sighthound on my Mac to get me mobile access and motion alerts.  It's recording 15-30 second clips based on my parameters.  Let me know if there is a better way to do it!

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33 minutes ago, KingElvis said:

I added the DS2 to the Lilin NVR already hooked up to my system using the instructions on Lilin's site.  The Lilin NVR interface is god awful as is the mobile app. I don't even know how to access the recorded video at this point.  So I'm also feeding the DS2 video (and my Lilin cams) into Sighthound on my Mac to get me mobile access and motion alerts.  It's recording 15-30 second clips based on my parameters.  Let me know if there is a better way to do it!

i have my doorstation (Holovision/2n) recording to blue iris, which is like sighthound.  Blue iris is one of the only apps I use outside of C4.  its very easy.  I used to have a Lilin NVR but i sold it, it was crap.  Blue iris is fantastic.  I believe sighthoud is similar to BI but runs on a Mac where BI is PC only.  The ds2 likely has a web UI and if you give it some info it can likely send you motion alerts directly, but if you have it set up with sighthound and it works, why bother tinkering more.  if it works, and you are happy, leave it be 

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14 hours ago, wnpublic said:

DS2 picture quality is pretty junk.

We had this issue and had to adjust via DS2 IP address settings - which made it look better 

looks OK on the touch screens and on IPhones and IPads - however had a EA1 fitted today and it does look terrible 

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40 minutes ago, eggzlot said:

i have my doorstation (Holovision/2n) recording to blue iris, which is like sighthound.  Blue iris is one of the only apps I use outside of C4.  its very easy.  I used to have a Lilin NVR but i sold it, it was crap.  Blue iris is fantastic.  I believe sighthoud is similar to BI but runs on a Mac where BI is PC only.  The ds2 likely has a web UI and if you give it some info it can likely send you motion alerts directly, but if you have it set up with sighthound and it works, why bother tinkering more.  if it works, and you are happy, leave it be 

I was looking at Blue Iris today.  I'm not wedded to doing it on Mac.  I like SightHound's sophisticated vision algorithms for motion detection but it's also a lot more money for more than 2 cameras.  

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1 hour ago, KingElvis said:

I was looking at Blue Iris today.  I'm not wedded to doing it on Mac.  I like SightHound's sophisticated vision algorithms for motion detection but it's also a lot more money for more than 2 cameras.  

blue iris is rock solid.  works with a free C4 driver or a paid C4 driver with extra features.  When I am home (alarm off) I have BI set to recording profile #1, which is just exterior cameras.  When I leave the house I set it to profile #2 and that includes interior cameras.  and BI reads my alarm panel settings so it all happens automagically through C4.

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Interesting thread. I'm surprised the DS2 has no built-in DVR features in the app. It sounds to me like if you miss it live, you miss it altogether. $1k, plus $99/year -- I expected a lot more out of it.

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On 8/16/2018 at 4:32 PM, eggzlot said:

blue iris is rock solid.  works with a free C4 driver or a paid C4 driver with extra features.  When I am home (alarm off) I have BI set to recording profile #1, which is just exterior cameras.  When I leave the house I set it to profile #2 and that includes interior cameras.  and BI reads my alarm panel settings so it all happens automagically through C4.

Agreed.  It's important to have a decent pc/unit with bios settings that can be set to automatically turn the machine on after a power failure.  It took some tweaking but I never have to manually turn on or restart my PC and it always auto starts Blue Iris after a power failure or manual reboot (Windows Update).

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like the feature of the Ring app where I can view the history, and if it detected motion last night, I can press it and view what the motion was. I also can see who came by my house if I wasn't able to the door or view them through the Ring app live. If the DS2 can do this, then I'm in. The only other concern I have it with the camera angle. I had to install the Ring onto an accessory box so it's pointed to the side slightly. If the camera only faces forward, I can't see who's at the door.

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  • 2 years later...
On 8/15/2018 at 11:32 AM, rolldog said:

I’m thinking about replacing my Ring with a DS2. The Ring was great at first, but now, whenever someone rings the doorbell, I have trouble connecting to it. If I do a live view any other time, it works great, but the point is being able to see through the camera when someone rings the doorbell.

One thing I like about the Ring is being able to view the video recordings if someone rings the doorbell and no one answers or if motion is detected. Can the DS2 be setup to record video to a local NAS if it detects motion or if someone rings the doorbell? I was considering buying a couple more tabletop T3s if I got the DS2, but after reading the specs of the tabletop T3, the resolution of the picture, the camera, and the WiFi are horrible. It has the same specs as my phone did 10 years ago, and Control4 doesn’t recommend using the tabletop T3 for intercom anywhere video calls because the WiFi is too slow. So, I was thinking about buying a couple of used tablets, which have much higher resolution, better camera, and wireless AC for half the price of a T3. If I upgrade to the DS2 from Ring, I want to make sure all my devices can utilize the intercom anywhere feature.

 

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