Soccerdad1995 wrote:TAM -
Do you have the Arlo Pro or the Arlo Pro 2? I'm reading reviews and they seem mixed (to say the least), but a number are saying that the older Pro is actually better than the newer Pro 2. Any thoughts on that?
Also, you mentioned that you have 4 cameras with room to add one more. I would like to get 6 total, and it looks like you can buy a 6 camera Arlo set-up on Amazon. Are you sure that your base station is limited to only 5?
Soccerdad, I have the older Pro system, which I purchased right at the cusp of October/November last year. We moved into our new house on 10/27, and it was a couple of days after that when we had the alarm system installed and they gave us the Arlo system. As I previously mentioned, I got a killer price on it, so I suspect that they were blowing them out because the Pro 2 systems were coming.
I don’t really know anything about the Pro 2 system. I just assumed that maybe the base station had a more powerful signal, or the camera resolutions were better, but I haven’t really heard any details about the Pro 2 - pro or con. I was just now comparing the two on the Arlo website, and the two differences that stand out to me off the top of my head are: (1) the Pro is described as “HD”, while the Pro 2 is described as “1080P HD”; and (2) the Pro 2 has a 3 second lookback feature that allows you to see the 3 seconds
before the camera picks up motion and starts recording, while the Pro does not have that feature. I can see how the lookback feature could be useful. A lot of the time, in the videos that my cameras record of critters coming and going during the night, the critter is already almost 1/4 of the way into the frame before the recording starts. So apparently there is a short time delay between when the infrared sensor picks up the motion, and when the CCD record starts. So a 3 second lookback would give you a view of the subject just entering the frame.
Also, the infrared sensor in the cameras are capable of picking up motion that is beyond the ability of the camera to actually see it at night. So when I scan through the videos in the morning, there are often clips where the camera seems to be recording nothing. So although the cameras are automatically in “night vision” mode after sundown, it’s not like they are anywhere near the capabilities of say a FLIR optic. My ATN ThOR-HD FLIR riflescope will detect a heat source at 625 yards, recognize it as animal at 280 yards, and identify what kind of animal well enough to shoot it at 170 yards. By comparison, the Arlo Pro camera can’t see beyond the tree on the other side of my driveway. The heat sensor can detect motion out there, but the camera can’t tell you what it is.
I currently have 3 cameras, not 4, with the ability to add 2 more. The Arlo system I have can accommodate up to 5 cameras. The 4th camera you’re thinking of is the doorbell camera that is a separate product, also provided by my home security company (MONI Smart Security). The doorbell camera integrates with the alarm.com app that MONI provides its users. The Arlo system is free standing, apart from the alarm system, and uses its own app.
Off hand, I don’t know if there is an Arlo system that can accommodate more than 5 cameras or not. Might could be. It wouldn’t be that hard to find out.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
#TINVOWOOT
If one of those cameras will pickup and cleanly record a possum skedaddling across my driveway at 3am, it will surely see and make clearly identifiable any human sized critter wandering around my property at night.