Echo & Alexa Forums

Ring Doorbell

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline jwlv

  • *
  • 1470
Ring Doorbell
« on: August 04, 2015, 03:08:22 am »
I just ordered a Ring Doorbell just a few minutes ago. It's too cool not to have! :)
If you don't know what it is, here's the company's promotion video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl8sZI5AH4g

Ring Doorbell is actually Doorbot 2.0. The original Doorbot is a lot bigger and bulkier. When they resigned it, they also changed the name from Doorbot to Ring Doorbell.
The founder of Doorbot was on Shark Tank which aired in 2014.  Here's the Shark Tank episode: https://youtu.be/eUJoBtvt9VE?t=2m2s

I may post my own review video after I try it out. I'm excited!
« Last Edit: August 04, 2015, 03:23:40 am by jwlv »

ScarlettPhoenix

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2015, 08:12:39 am »
Are you going to try the free 30 day cloud recording too?

Offline jwlv

  • *
  • 1470
Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2015, 08:58:29 am »
Nah, I don't need cloud recording. I have 12 cameras inside/outside of the house that records just about everything already.

Talisman

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2015, 09:27:47 am »
I seen the show and forgot about it.. I might as well order one also! :)

George Jetson

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2015, 09:38:50 am »
I've had one for about 3 months.  Works well.  You may want to dial down the motion setting (Zones and Range) I set mine to about 15'  Pay attention to the activity you have in front of your house.  Mail Man, Newspaper person, Garbage Truck.  It went off too many times when I set the motion setting to 30'.  I love the cloud recording option.  (JWLV since you're already covered with your cameras you won't need this option)  It's a nice looking device.  It's great that it comes in different finishes.  I would like the option to "view on demand" however it is not yet available. 

ScarlettPhoenix

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2015, 11:04:18 am »
We've got a vicious UPS guy who loves to throw packages when he thinks no one is home. We've caught him in person twice. Lazy SOB...  I'd like to get him on camera and send those images to corporate so they can fire his azz. I've filed 3 complaints already. He must be related to someone there.

Y

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2015, 01:40:49 pm »
jwlv, are you paying for video storage for your cameras? If not, what system(s) are you using.

Offline jwlv

  • *
  • 1470
Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2015, 07:40:35 pm »
I have an Asus RT-AC87U router that has two USB ports on it. I have a 128GB flash drive on one port and a 2TB external hard drive on the other port. The router has an FTP server can be accessed throughout my internal network. I've disabled external access because I don't want to risk outsiders getting in.

bukzin

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2015, 09:21:11 pm »
Whats the going price for the Ring Doorbell?   Any coupons out there?

Thx

RhondaSea

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2015, 07:11:17 am »
The Ring Video Doorbell goes for $199, whether you buy it on Amazon or direct on ring.com. I've had mine for a little over a month and love it. I have the cloud storage so I can view the videos from work or anywhere else.

Offline jwlv

  • *
  • 1470
Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2015, 09:52:02 am »
I ended up returning my Ring Doorbell because it had way too many false alerts and too many missed alerts. I think I know the reason why.

My front door faces south-west. The stucco walls and the concrete walkway are all in the Ring Doorbell's field of view. During the day, all of it is being baked by the sun. If someone came up to the door during the day, Ring's IR sensor would completely miss it because the person's IR is masked by the background IR. And at night, all of the remaining IR heat given off by the walls and walkway made Ring think someone's at the door when no one is actually there. I couldn't deal with the phone alerting me 10 times a day when no one is actually at the door.

The fact remains that Ring uses a passive IR sensor. While passive IR sensors are great for low power devices because they don't require any power to activate, they all have one huge flaw. They can't tell the difference between background IR heat and foreground IR. If Ring had an active IR sensor, where it monitors what is actually moving (like a camera that analyses movement in the frame), it would be suitable for my particular situation. Ring could have done this because you do have the option to connect low voltage power to the doorbell. But they wanted to make it wireless and run on batteries too. You can't have it run on batteries and have an active IR sensor at the same time, or you'll be charging the batteries every single day. It's too bad though, because it would be have a great device.

ScarlettPhoenix

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #11 on: January 10, 2016, 04:36:54 pm »
Good review.  I have to see which way our house faces.

nycomet

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2016, 09:47:20 pm »
Jwlv,

I ordered the Ring doorbell - it should arrive in a few days. I read your message about IR heat affecting the Ring doorbell sensor. My front door faces west. During the summer months, the front area of my townhouse is extremely hot as it's bathed in full sunshine from around 3 pm until late afternoon.

I am concerned that my Ring doorbell will not function well under such conditions, which seem to be similar to yours. I will find out after I install the Ring doorbell and use it for a while. Time will tell.

Offline jwlv

  • *
  • 1470
Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2016, 12:51:24 am »
Good luck to you. I really liked the Ring Doorbell. I just can't deal with the high number of false alerts and missed alerts.

Jwlv,

I ordered the Ring doorbell - it should arrive in a few days. I read your message about IR heat affecting the Ring doorbell sensor. My front door faces west. During the summer months, the front area of my townhouse is extremely hot as it's bathed in full sunshine from around 3 pm until late afternoon.

I am concerned that my Ring doorbell will not function well under such conditions, which seem to be similar to yours. I will find out after I install the Ring doorbell and use it for a while. Time will tell.

nycomet

Re: Ring Doorbell
« Reply #14 on: January 16, 2016, 12:37:17 pm »
Just installed the Ring doorbell. I went for the $30 annual cloud recoding feature. I'm thinking the sun might not be a factor in the summer as the entryway is covered, providing shade.