Arlo Indoor vs Outdoor

[Tech_fan]

I purchased my Arlo 4 pack about a week ago and have been playing with the cameras outside and have not had much luck. Now I am wondering if I placed the Arlo cameras on the inside and provide enough protection, do I really need outside cameras? My immediate thought tells me if I cover the inside, then the outside does not matter. Am I missing something? I do have an ADT alarm to cover my house but wanted some additional security.

[StuBee]

Personally I want to get notified before burglars get into my house......It's also nice knowing when packages have arrived.  

Ideally I'm sure a combination of Inside and out would be ideal.

The outside notifications I look at with curiosity (hmm...whats going on now).   Inside notifications I would be 'what the hell is going on'.

[Astroboy86]

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Tech_fan wrote:

Now I am wondering if I placed the Arlo cameras on the inside and provide enough protection, do I really need outside cameras? My immediate thought tells me if I cover the inside, then the outside does not matter. Am I missing something?

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Especially this time of year, some enterprising thieves are following UPS, Fedex, & mail trucks, stealing packages soon after they're delivered.  Also, with Americans spending more than ever on outdoor Christmas lights and yard displays, those have also become prime targets for theft.

In my neighborhood, smash & grab burglaries from cars has been a very longstanding problem, so I like having a couple of cameras aimed at our driveway.

We don't have this issue at the moment, but I can imagine some folks would also like to see if inconsiderate neighbors are letting their dogs do their business everywhere except in their own yards.

These are just a few reasons that come to mind for having outdoor cameras.

[R_Lowe]

Only you can and should decide where to place your cameras, and this should be dictated solely by where you believe you may be most vulnerable (e.g., after you place yourself in a potential burglar's shoes and give your house a curbside review).  I have six working cameras (4 Arlos and 2 Dropcams) and liberally sprinkle them all inside and outside my house where I feel an intruder is likely to come.

I personally feel that catching a prowler or potential criminal on your property or trying to pop open a window is pretty damning evidence, especially if coupled with, say, a shot of him/them walking in your home (I have a cam going down my central hallway too).  That will pretty much seal someone's fate in a prosecutor's eyes, and almost certainly a jury's (if he is stupid enough not to cop a plea).

Besides the reasons mentioned above by others, any LEO will also tell you that outside cameras are a good deterrant to crime.  I mean, if somebody is eyeing your house with cameras, and then the one next door without cameras, I'd bet you dollars to donuts that he'd take a pass on yours.  Along those lines, I wouldn't use a pricey Arlo as bait (at least mount it out of normal reach to, say, ladder reach), but instead purchase some a few dummy cameras for around $15 apiece.  Not only are they inexpensive, but in my case, they look exactly like my neibhbors very real CRT cams -- they're plastic, easy to mount and can fit, i.e., under eaves or on corners of homes; and best of all are very noticable.  I'd say use all tools at your disposal.

If you are purchasing or have purchased Arlo cams, their forte is that they CAN be mounted outside and operated by battery power.  They also can be hidden or secreted almost anywhere (and recently now have camoflage "skins" to help elude detection).  But I would think if you were using them indoor only, you would be wasting your money by neteuralizing that very desirable asset, that is, placing it in a tree or roof/gutter, etc. to see what is happening mabe even before it happens.  Ha - I have one in a path behind my house that abuts my master bedroom.  If I hear any noise while reading in bed, I just reach for and fire up my Ipad and look to see if anybody's there (crashing open the blinds with flashlight in hand is SO last century...haha).  Nobody ever is (so far), but it gives a nice piece of mind to see the world around you from the safety of the indoors.  If you DO decide on indoor cams only, I would wait, or return the ones you purchased, and instead buy the Arlo Q's, the electricity/AC-only cams with sound, etc. coming out next month.  Honestly, Arlo's batteries for their first gen. cams are a pain.  If you don't need them, get the Arlo Q (I'll add one myself in January).  Power and views/recordings 24/7.  Score!

[Tech_fan]

Thanks. Right now I have 2 drop cams and 4 Arlos. The Drop Cams are inside and the Arlos are outside. I love my Drop Cams, The Arlo's I go up and down about. I was turned off by the VueZone awhile back because of the delay and picture quality. When i heard the Arlo's were coming out, I decided to look at Netgear once again. By the way. I also have Ring which is proving to be an awesome device. It is a doorbell that has 2 way audio and video. The Ring seems to be working better than my Arlo's at the moment. 

I was also hoping that my Arlo's would cover more. Initially I had 1 in the front and noticed that the motion detection was not enough to cover my driveway that is 50 feet by 25 feet. So, i had to bring the Arlo's closer to my house and add another. Now when there is motion I get 2 notifications instead of one which is a little annoying at times. 

The side of my house is about 50 feet so, i will need 2 on each side and then the back yard will require another 2. 

The other day when it was windy, the Arlo's were picking up false movemement so, i had to turn down the sensitivity. In doing so, I noticed that it was not picking up motion reliably. Then I got to thinking that maybe with ADT, Ring and indoor cameras that woud be all I would need. I think eventually, I might reinvest into cameras that do not run off of battery power. I am just not sure that $500 that i spent on these 4 is the best option. If DropCam made an outdoor camera that could withstand temperatures of 30-115, I would jujmp on those. I love my DropCams with 24/7 feed and zone options for motion.