I don’t think it’s “incorrect behavior” at all. The problem is that the “correct behavior” is insufficient and needs improvement. You have to round a corner to get to my front door. There is about 5 feet between the corner and the camera. So a delivery person can come around the corner, drop off the package, and be gone in less than 5 seconds. The video doorbell never misses a delivery, but quite often, it only captures the back of the head of the person making the delivery as they are leaving.
Usually, the video starts after 2-3 seconds after the person rounds the corner. At best, the video starts about 1 second after the person rounds the corner, which is super impressive. But what I’d like is the video to start 1 second BEFORE the person rounds the corner, hence the buffer.
Why did you choose the battery doorbell then? The wired version has a buffer and continues recording on its way. 5 feet also is not a lot distance… Mounting height, sensitivity, sunlight, temperature and zones can play a role, too…
The problem is that “correct behaviour” for you is different for everyone. We all have different houses and setups and therefore tweaking is important.
In some cases I expect that a video doorbell is not suitable for monitoring a front door. One could then put a eufycam up or something for the approach and leaving of a person at the door.
I chose the battery version because I really had no choice (not wired for doorbell). The supposed buffer on the wired version doesn’t actually buffer much (see my post #2 above).
Yes, 5 feet is not a lot of distance, and other factors exist. None of which negate the fact that the correct behavior is to begin recording about 1-2 seconds after motion is detected (technical limitation). IMO, that’s not very secure. You write that there are cases where “a video doorbell is not suitable for monitoring a front door.” This should NEVER be the case, and this is what I am trying to “fix” through this discussion.
This is an easy software fix. And we all know that Continually Record option is coming soon. The question is, who will be first?
I agree with you that 1-2 seconds is quite long if there is no long approach route for the person coming to the door. I think this is inherent to the use of a battery doorbell, as the camera is shut off to save power. So that’s really what I mean with not suitable for every house. It’s because of current technical limitations, maybe eufy gotta release a new generation to make it more suitable.
Also, the battery doorbell will likely not get continuous recording because using the camera requires more power than the wires provide.
It’s not an easy fix, the latest ring 3 plus battery doorbell has a buffer which has a lower quality preroll which tbh is just rubbish, but better than not having one.
Hard wired is the safest way to go, I was hoping for a hybrid to help if there was a power outage.
I don’t know all the power requirements but if my ring pro can work off the same house doorbell wires and include a 4 second buffer and never miss a thing, do we need a doorbell wire power booster like ring uses to give a doorbell what it needs for 24/7 action plus a little extra to charge?
Unless the camera is on all the time, I think eufy cannot fix it. Mostly because it’s how the hardware is set up and for one person it works fine, and the other misses events.
Absolutely. Which is why I restarted this conversation by stating that we need an option to power the doorbell through 100-240V AC power. To call something SECURITY, you need to provide real security. Which means context. Which means you need to know what happened BEFORE an incident happened. Which means you really need the camera to be constantly recording even if it’s not constantly saving the recording, i.e. using a buffer.
The “not possible” that we are referring to is the battery version. With current technology, 24/7 on a battery doorbell is a practical impossibility as batteries don’t last long enough (recharging the doorbell monthly is not considered practical). The Nest Hello is a wired product. It is probably the best video doorbell in the market today. Unless Eufy comes out with a video doorbell that provides real security (e.g. 24/7 recording or a reliable buffer), I’m switching out in 1-2 years even though I’m $2000 invested in Anker/Eufy products. If you cannot go see what led up to the event taking place, then it’s not a security product.
@onstar the new wired doorbell pro is exclusive to BestBuy and it can record 24x7 for upto 5 days and it has 32 GB internal memory.
There is a $60 discount going on at the moment
I ran into that issue and found a solution by using a motion detector to trip the doorbell recording early. I hacked a case from a blink camera so the detector doesn’t get wet and use it to trigger an automation that will record on my wireless doorbell and an additional camera that’s aimed at an area of the porch that isn’t covered by the doorbell cam. That way, I get video of everything that moves on my front door and porch. You have to walk by the detector before getting to the porch so it gets everything.
To do a buffer requires continuous recording, even if you then dump it. Not a problem if you designed it for that, but if there is some reason it can’t continuously record it might be hard to add later. Hopefully they will be able to, that would be a significant improvement.
