Arlo 5-camera system certified refurbished VMS3530-100NAR

[CAtransplant]

Hello. I'm going to try to get this system working. I bought it in 2020 and have tried twice to get it going. The setup on my local network wasn't hard but I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting full surveillance. After following many online suggestions regarding length of recording, I found out that the system is not SUPPOSED to record all video, just snippets. Needless to say, I felt jerked around since it doesn't say anything on the box about recordings other than FREE Cloud Storage, etc., etc., and I wasn't informed enough when I bought it. I would like to have full motion-activated indoor/outdoor surveillance and local video storage, not Cloud. The 5 cameras are fine (other than uneven battery burn but I can deal with that afterward). They are NETGEAR (arlo VMC3030 magnetic indoor/outdoor) and weatherproof (I left one outside in South Florida rainstorms for over a month and it kept on ticking). The base is also NETGEAR. Can I upgrade the software to full, motion-sensitive video with local storage on a bigTB hard drive? If so, can anyone help me understand just how to accomplish that? Thanks very much. RH

[StephenB]

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@CAtransplant wrote:

Can I upgrade the software to full, motion-sensitive video with local storage on a bigTB hard drive? 

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No.  There are some cameras that support CVR (continuous video recording) with both a CVR subscription and running the cameras on AC power.  But not the VMC3030.

[CAtransplant]

Thanks. But I have VMS3530. Same deal?

[CAtransplant]

I just noticed that my subject line = VMS3530 but I took the nomenclature of the cameras from inside them. Yes, VMC3030 inside the camera, VMS3530 on the box everything came in. I just have to get this going, so if I can't do what I want with the equipment I have, can you suggest a path forward? Appreciate your help.  RH

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@CAtransplant wrote:

Yes, VMC3030 inside the camera, VMS3530 on the box everything came in.

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Correct.  In this case, VMS3530 is a 5 camera system with VMC3030 cameras.  

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@CAtransplant wrote:

I just have to get this going, so if I can't do what I want with the equipment I have, can you suggest a path forward? Appreciate your help.  RH

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If you want 5 Arlo cameras that all support CVR, the subscription would be fairly expensive: https://kb.arlo.com/1018425/What-is-continuous-video-recording-CVR-and-how-do-I-use-it

Plus you would need to get AC power to all the cameras.

A 5 camera Pro-4 kit would give you 2K video and would cost about $900.  The Ultra-2 would give you 4K and cost you about $1500.  5 outdoor power adapters would be another $250.

Personally I would also look at a CCTV power-over-ethernet system (not Arlo), that would use power-over-ethernet to deliver power to the cameras and capture the video.  I've never purchased any of these, so I have no recommendation. But they are cheaper, and in many cases it is easier to install ethernet cable than it is to run AC power to 5 outdoor cameras.  I think PoE cameras would likely offer better performance than Arlo for continuous recording - the Arlo solution is IMO best suited for motion recording.  

[CAtransplant]

Thank you very much.