Arlo purchase decision

[1976Spartan]

I am interested in purchasing an Arlo Essentials doorbell camera, 2K, wired.

I assume 2K is the current highest quality video, correct?

Do I have to purchase a subscription to use the doorbell camera?

I prefer to use local storage, rather than cloud storage, is that possible?

Is any video stored on the phone app?

Do I have to purchase a hub?

[StephenB]

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@1976Spartan wrote:

I am interested in purchasing an Arlo Essentials doorbell camera, 2K, wired.

I assume 2K is the current highest quality video, correct?

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Yes.

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@1976Spartan wrote:

Do I have to purchase a subscription to use the doorbell camera?

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If you want recordings, or if you want to use activity zones you will need a subscription.  (Since the doorbell can't be aimed, activity zones are often needed to supress unwanted notifications).

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@1976Spartan wrote:

I prefer to use local storage, rather than cloud storage, is that possible?

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Not for the gen 2 doorbell.  Arlo is planning to add base station support (which is needed for local storage), but that isn't available yet.  If this is must-have, then you should wait until the feature is actually released.

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@1976Spartan wrote:

Do I have to purchase a hub?

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No.  As noted above, the 2nd gen camera isn't yet compatible with any hub.  But if you wanted local storage later on, you'd need a VMB4540 or a VMB5000 smarthub.

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@1976Spartan wrote:

Is any video stored on the phone app?

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Normally not, but you can manually download a recording to your phone.