Doorbell Cameras - Trying to determine if Arlo has what I want

[jep41]

I'm looking for a camera doorbell that will use my existing wired chimes (2 chimes in two different locations in the house). I have a 14v - 24v transformer which currently works with those two chimes.

I don't want to use any other chimes than the ones I already have. And I don't want to worry about using/replacing a battery.

I also only want the chimes to ring only once for each doorbell press (Honeywell has a camera doorbell that rings the indoor chimes 3 times for each press of the doorbell - and that is not an option).

I want motion detection (I have a wirelss router that is known to work with the aforementioned Honeywell camera doorbell). And I want a view that includes the top of a persons head, down to the floor of the porch (to include any packages left there).

I need to have (at least) two users (with two different email addresses) able to use the cell phone app.

I do not want any subscription.

Optional desires:

I would like to be able to view what the camera sees from my desktop computer as well as my cell phone.

I would like to be able to save pictures on my cell phone and my desktop.

Does Arlo have such a doorbell?

[StephenB]

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@jep41 wrote:

I'm looking for a camera doorbell that will use my existing wired chimes (2 chimes in two different locations in the house). I have a 14v - 24v transformer which currently works with those two chimes.

I don't want to use any other chimes than the ones I already have. And I don't want to worry about using/replacing a battery.

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If you have a 24 v transformer, you can use either the AVD1001 or AVD2001.  If it's 14v, then you can still use the AVD2002.  Although the AVD2001 does have a battery, it will be trickle-charged by the transformer, so you won't need to take it out and recharge it.

There is no issue with 2 chimes - they are simply wired in parallel from the doorbell to the chimes.

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@jep41 wrote:

And I want a view that includes the top of a persons head, down to the floor of the porch (to include any packages left there).

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Mine does reach the floor of the porch, but there is a spot directly in front of the door that can't be seen.

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@jep41 wrote:

I do not want any subscription.

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This will be a problem.  You can purchase a smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000), and connect local storage to it.  You can then view the recordings from the mobile app - but not a PC browser.

But there are some caveats:

1. Only the primary account can access the local recordings - not your second account
2. Recordings are only available from the mobile app (though you can still live-stream the doorbell to a PC).
3. Manual recordings are not possible
4. thumbnails are not available.
5. remote access to the recordings requires either a vpn, or port forwarding.

[jep41]

Thanks for the response.

And I want a view that includes the top of a persons head, down to the floor of the porch (to include any packages left there).

"Mine does reach the floor of the porch, but there is a spot directly in front of the door that can't be seen."

That sounds close to the spot that the person ringing the doorbell would be standing. I'd like to be able to see the person ringing the doorbell.

I do not want any subscription.

"This will be a problem.  You can purchase a smarthub (VMB4540 or VMB5000), and connect local storage to it.  You can then view the recordings from the mobile app - but not a PC browser."

Can you elaborate a bit about the smarthub? I'm not familiar with what they do or how they work. And what is "local storage" in this context?

"remote access to the recordings requires either a vpn, or port forwarding."

I don't understand just how that process works.

Also, I'm replacing a camera doorbell that causes my indoor chimes to ring 3 times for each press of the doorbell. Does Arlo do that? And, if so, can it be changed? I only want the chimes to ring once for each press of the doorbell.