Arlo Essential Spotlight

[RobertWA]

I want to buy a set of Arlo Essential Spotlight cameras. I don't want to purchase a plan.  What are my options for recording and viewing vision from my cameras? It seems from the Arlo website that I need to buy a SmartHub VMB4540.  (The other hub VMB5000 and the base stations VMB 4500 and 4000 don't show up on the Australian website so I presume that they are not available here.)

How does the VMB4540 work?  Does it use an SD card or a USB device, or does it have its own sort of internal storage (and if so, how do I access it?)

Thanks for any help.

Robert

[jguerdat · Accepted solution]

The VMB4540 has 2 USB connectors on it so you can use as many as 2 USB drives. Thumb drives are the easiest to work with and keep the cost down while not taking much space.

[StephenB]

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@RobertWA wrote:

How does the VMB4540 work?  Does it use an SD card or a USB device, or does it have its own sort of internal storage (and if so, how do I access it?)

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You'd need to attach a USB device to the smarthub - at least 16 GB.  128 GB is more than enough for me.  I suggest using a thumb drive instead of an SSD or mechanical disk.

Then you'd enable the direct access to local storage feature in the base.  https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it-for-Arlo-video-recor...

There are limitations:

• Recordings only available in the app (not the web browser)
• Recordings only available to the primary account (not "friend" accounts)
• No ability to make manual recordings or snapshots
• No thumbnails
• Remote access requires router settings that some find difficult (and it won't work on some networks - including Starlink and T-mobile broadband).

You'd also lose other subscription features - for example, activity zones and smart notifications.

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@RobertWA wrote:

(The other hub VMB5000 and the base stations VMB 4500 and 4000 don't show up on the Australian website so I presume that they are not available here.)

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The direct access feature isn't available on the VMB4000 or the VMB4500.  They still have local storage, but you need to eject the storage device and connect it to a PC to review the recordings.

The VMB5000 is generally sold with Ultra cameras.  It has 2.4 and 5 ghz wifi (the Ultras can use either band, but the Essentials are only 2.4 gHz), and it has a microSD slot for storage instead of using USB.

Stand-alone bases/smarthubs are in short supply, often they are only available as part of larger kits (bundled with cameras).

[RobertWA]

Thank you both.  That clears it up for me.

[RobertWA]

A related question, if I may.

Does this camera (Arlo Essential Spotlight) together with the 4540 SmartHub record continuously 24/7, or only when an event is triggered, eg motion detected?

Thank you

RobertWA

[StephenB]

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@RobertWA wrote:

Does this camera (Arlo Essential Spotlight) together with the 4540 SmartHub record continuously 24/7, or only when an event is triggered, eg motion detected?

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Only when an event is triggered.

There are cameras that support the CVR (continuous video recording) feature, but the Essential is not one of them.  CVR requires its own subscription, and it also requires that the camera be AC powered.

[RobertWA]

Thank you.