I’ve been trying out video doorbells for a few years now, starting with the Ring Video Doorbell―now owned by Amazon―which was then quickly followed by the August Video Doorbell, and later acquired―in 2017―by Swedish conglomerate Assa Abloy and they both were getting the job done: They sent an alert on the smartphone when there was motion in front of the house and recorded a short clip video.
Of the two video doorbells, I do prefer Ring's product because it’s extremely easy to install―no need to mess up with existing electrical wires or the fuse box―and it's cheap ($100 for the 720p HD version).
On the other hand, the August Smart Doorbell Cam Pro ($200), just like Google’s Nest Hello ($229), is hardwired and replaces the existing electrical doorbell. Unfortunately, if you live in an apartment building or a condo, you probably don't have a hardwired doorbell you can rip out and replace with these types of smart doorbells.
Nevertheless, despite Ring's doorbells being extremely easy to install―the $199 Door View Cam which uses the door's peephole is one of the easiest I've seen―I was still on the lookout for the absolute fool-proof smart security camera solution for the DIY-challenged like me: Yes, I can set up a WiFi router no problem, but don't ask me to nail or screw anything in the house.
The Remo+ DoorCam is an innovative over-the-door security camera solution
So that's why I was intrigued when the folks at home security startup Remo+ reached out to me about their over-the-door security camera, the DoorCam, that virtually requires nothing from me to do besides hanging the device on top of my front door: It does have an adjustable metal bracket to fit most of the doors thickness and a 3M adhesive tape, but I didn't bother using any of it which tells you how handy I'm not.
The DoorCam was launched last year and Remo+ is now discounting it at $99 on eBay, instead of the original $199, which makes it a perfect solution for people looking for an easy, flexible and affordable smart security camera for their front door or virtually any door in their home.
The DoorCam is WiFi-compatible and has a 720p camera with a 160° field of view camera, a microphone and a speaker for 2-way audio communication, a passive infrared (PIR) sensor that detects motion and automatically triggers the video recording of 19-second clips to the Cloud, and it comes with three D-batteries―that Remo+ says it can last up to a year―and 30 days of free cloud storage ($30 per year beyond that).
Looking ahead, the Silicon Valley-based startup will be rolling out a new version of its security camera in a few months, the DoorCam 2, with a better video resolution (full HD, 1080p), customizable motion detection zones and free 3-day rolling cloud storage.
But for now, the Remo+ DoorCam fits perfectly my budget and most importantly my DIY capabilities!
