Essential Spotlight Camera thru Base Station vs. Smarthub.

[wmbiv13]

I do not want to pay for a monthly subscription.  After talking to multiple service techs I was informed that a smart-hub would do away with a subscription and be able to view either on my computer or smartphone recordings for the Essential Spotlight camera.  Being retired and on a fixed income, spending another $100 or $150 for a smart-hub is being considered only if it replaces the base station, I can view recordings anywhere and pay NO subscription.  My question is the above information true?

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

Another option is to look for a Pro 2 camera.  That is an older model that has 7 day cloud storage included.

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@wmbiv13 wrote:

I do not want to pay for a monthly subscription.  After talking to multiple service techs I was informed that a smart-hub would do away with a subscription and be able to view either on my computer or smartphone recordings for the Essential Spotlight camera.  Being retired and on a fixed income, spending another $100 or $150 for a smart-hub is being considered only if it replaces the base station, I can view recordings anywhere and pay NO subscription.  

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Arlo calls the feature you are asking about "direct access to local storage".  It needs either a VMB4540 or a VMB5000 base station to work.  https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it

Caveats here: 

• You won't see thumbnails.  Instead you will see a list of videos when you access the storage.  You select one, download it and view it.
• Local storage is not accessible through the web browser.
• Only the main account can access local storage.  Accounts with friend access can not.
• Viewing the video while away from home requires some effort to set up.  You'll either need to set up a VPN in your router, or forward ports to the base station in your router.
• There is an issue accessing your local storage on Android phones while away from home, which is currently being investigated.

Note also that there are some other features that require a paid subscription - cloud activity zones and smart notifications.