Buying either Arlo Q or Arlo Pro 2. Continuous motion or continuous recording?

[campersand]

Hello, I'm considering buying either an Arlo Q or Arlo 2 Pro but I have a couple questions. I'd be using it to monitor one on one private music lessons, in case of inappropriate behavior by my employees (teachers). So all indoors.

Ideally, the camera would detect motion during lessons and record continuously until the lesson was over and the motion stopped. But I'm not sure if this is how it works. I know there's an option for 24/7 continuous recording but wondering if I actually need that.

Also wondering if there's any benefit to the Q or the Pro 2 (or any other model) in my situation. Right now I can't really tell which would be the best for my intended use.

Thanks in advance!

[jguerdat]

I would recommend the Q since it would be powered all the time, allowing more freedom for your situation. However, it will still act like the wireless cameras which will record only on motion and/or 24/7. The motion recording may be adequate since you can crank up the sensitivity and get most of the session (at the end of a recording there's a reset period of a few to several seconds before a new recording can start). CVR would eliminate the gaps but would also get the whole day. In addition, CVR isn't something you can download - you'd have to play back the video and use a screen capture app to get a copy of the recording. The regular recordings are easily downloaded.

It's not a perfect solution but could be close.

[campersand]

Thanks for the response! What advantages does the Q have over the Pro 2? From my research, I can't see anything that the Q does that the Pro 2 doesn't also do.

[StephenB]

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@campersand wrote:

Thanks for the response! What advantages does the Q have over the Pro 2? From my research, I can't see anything that the Q does that the Pro 2 doesn't also do.

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1. The Q uses Pixel-based motion detection; the Pro 2 uses PIR sensors to detect motion.
2. The Q connects directly to your existing WiFi, the Pro-2 requires an ethernet-connected base station.
3. The Q is indoor-only, the Pro 2 can be either indoor or outdoor.

Not sure these are "advantages", but they are relevant differences.

You will get a lot of recordings (or more likely need a CVR subscription) , so either way you will want the camera connected to AC power.

[Mavrrick]

You are right in that they are very similar. Here are my impressions

I prefer the Arlo Q's for indoor quality in well lit areas, but from my experience it appears the Arlo Pro 2 does a little bit better job when the lighting isn't optimal. The Arlo Q will record at up to 30fps but will drop off when the lighting isn't great. The Pro 2 seems to return to 24fps much quicker.

I believe the Pro2 can use both PIR and Pixel detection when plugged in all the time for motion. As previously posted the Arlo Q is all pixel detection and from my experience works well.

The previous point is important because you need to remember the feature set of the PRO series are different depending of they are plugged in or not.

If you really need to record continuously I wouldn't suggest either of them without a CVR plan. If you really don't want to do a CVR plan tell the camera to record in 2 min intervals when motion is detected. It is very easy for activity to die down for the camera to stop recording. 

Both the Pro 2 and the Arlo Q com with 7 days cloud storage for up to 5 cameras. You may want to look at a system with the pro3 base station though as then you can store the video on the base station and then access it remotely if needed. The Pro 2 base station can also store footage on a hard drive, but requires it to be disconnected to get access to it.

Think about your video retention needs and the number of cameras you need. It will add up fast if you really need the advanced features and as of right now there may be more competitive products with those advanced features. One cost minimizing option is like I said above to use a Arlo Pro3 base station with the Arlo Pro 2 cameras. The reason is that you can have them record locally to the base station to minimize your need for subscriptions. The subscriptions really should only be needed if you want advanced notification features, but the Pro 2 standard base station will cause you to have to get it if you go over 5 cameras. The Arlo Q cameras have no option for local storage so if you need more then 5 of them there is no cost mitigation option.