Video doorbell without subscription

[thomasgude]

I want to add the doorbell to my no subscription setup with local storage. The question is does anyone have experience with this setup, especially with regards to false alarms and key functions that requires an subscription. I will have the occasional neighbor passing by approx 5-6 meters in front of the doorbell. My other cameras are pointing away from public areas and I only get the occasional false alarm from birds and trees moving in the wind.

[StephenB]

Unwanted detection can be harder to manage with the doorbells, because you can't re-position its camera.  Without a subscription, the only tool you have is the motion sensitivity threshold.

You have the doorbell already installed, correct?  Do you need activity zones or smart notification filtering to keep the unwanted detection under control?  

[knightriderkg]

wont record locally now that free trial is over

[StephenB]

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@knightriderkg wrote:

wont record locally now that free trial is over

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This is with a VMB4500 base?  

Have you removed the storage from the base, and checked it on a PC?  There is no direct access to local storage with that base (you need a VMB4540 or VMB5000 for that feature)

[thomasgude]

Hi. I didn’t get the doorbell yet and the reason for holding back is the potential problems with false alarms without activity zones. I was hoping for input from someone who runs the same setup and hear their real life experience 

[StephenB]

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@thomasgude wrote:

 I didn’t get the doorbell yet and the reason for holding back is the potential problems with false alarms without activity zones.

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Not sure I'd characterized this as "false alarms" - it's more about unwanted notifications.   It depends on what is in the doorbell field of view - especially since the camera can't be aimed.

My front doorbell "sees' the street and the public sidewalk.  Although both are further away than the spec'd motion detection distance, I still see a lot of vehicles detected (and it's not that unusual to detect someone on the public sidewalk either).  Activity zones, combined with smart notifications (turning off vehicles) is the way I control this.

Others have found that reducing motion sensitivity works for them - though you do need to be careful that you don't lower it so much that you don't get recordings you want.