Need guidance and opinions on a couple of things before I decide to buy

[manny210]

Hello everyone,

I see this is a very active forum and has helped alot. If I understand correctly, the duration of the battery varies depending on the video resolution/setting.

I am planning to install these cameras mailnly on each corner of our home to cover the entire perimeter (3 maybe 4). These are some of the questions that I still have:

1- Since the connection is WIFI, does the base have to be near the cameras? My home is 1950 sf one story home and I use a WIFI range extender since my desktop is on the other side of the house from my wireless router is.

2- Do I need a Netgear router or does it work with any WIFI router?

3- Do the cameras record every time motion is detected? For instance. The one that will be covering most of the front of the house including my car parked curbside, will it pick up people walking in the sidewalk in front of my house, when a car drives by, etc? The same thing would apply for the one covering my backyar since I have outside dogs. What would be the perfect setting for that scenario?

3- Where is the best place to buy. I see Amazon is currently offering the 1-3 camera system, but not the 4 camera package

4- What is your opinion of Arlo Cloud recording? Is it worth it? Can you save some recording videos on your mobile device through the app?

5- Android app rate is not the best and people have reported many bugs/problems; some posts are from a couple of days ago. What is your experience with the Android app?

6- What are the biggest pros/cons about the system?

I am sure more questions will come later, but I wanted to get the opinion here. Thanks in advance and God Bless!

Battery information/chart  (great detailed info - thanks)

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Buying-Options-Tips/Chart-Yearly-Monthly-Cost-of-Batteries-for-1-4-...

Camera placement (Great detailed info - thanks)

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo-Knowledge-Base/How-do-I-place-my-Arlo-camera/ta-p/37

[jguerdat]

I see this is a very active forum and has helped alot. If I understand correctly, the duration of the battery varies depending on the video resolution/setting.

Not really on the resolution but much more on the number of minutes per day of recordings. I use best quality and can't say that I notice a difference although I'm sure there is a bit of one.

1- Since the connection is WIFI, does the base have to be near the cameras? My home is 1950 sf one story home and I use a WIFI range extender since my desktop is on the other side of the house from my wireless router is.

Placing the router (or, more specificallg, the base station using a long enough ethernet cable) more centrally would be a Good Thing but not necessary. The cameras need to be in range and generally you should be fine realizing that building construction plays a big part. It's 2.4GHz wireless so anything that affects WiFi will affect this. Depending on where the extender is and whether it has an Ethernet port, you could potentially plug the base into that.

2- Do I need a Netgear router or does it work with any WIFI router?

Any router will do as long as long as there's a port available.

3- Do the cameras record every time motion is detected? For instance. The one that will be covering most of the front of the house including my car parked curbside, will it pick up people walking in the sidewalk in front of my house, when a car drives by, etc? The same thing would apply for the one covering my backyar since I have outside dogs. What would be the perfect setting for that scenario?

You can adjust the camera view and sensitivity but it's up to you to determine where to place the cameras to reduce false triggers and determine best usage. Your question is difficult to answer because "It depends". (TM). ;D

3- Where is the best place to buy. I see Amazon is currently offering the 1-3 camera system, but not the 4 camera package

Best Buy carries them and I suspect you could contact an Amazon vendor about more options.

4- What is your opinion of Arlo Cloud recording? Is it worth it? Can you save some recording videos on your mobile device through the app?

The recording generally is fine. Some complain of quality butg that is a function of many things including being 720p resolution as well as significant compression. The wide range of view also gets in there if trying to see details at a distance. Make sure you can return if not suitable.

5- Android app rate is not the best and people have reported many bugs/problems; some posts are from a couple of days ago. What is your experience with the Android app?

I use the Android app a lot and have no problem. The apps lack some overall features compared to the web version but are fine for most usage. Don't sweat the app reviews.

6- What are the biggest pros/cons about the system?

Cost, battery life and specific needs/desires are the biggest cons. Pros are usage of rechargeable batteries and relative ease of setup and usage. Beyond these its personal opinions (which are rather like arses - everyone has one).

/