The only reason I have not replaced my Canary devices with Netatmo Welcome devices is that when it comes to GPS Geo Fence capabilities the Canary feature set wins. Netatmo does a great job of giving you the ability to limit recording based on both GPS location and facial recognition however it does NOT give you the ability to enable/disable monitoring based on a geo fence. In simple terms this means although the device will not record you it will not prevent an authorized viewer from using the live monitoring feature to view you. If you have a family member that is concerned about live monitoring then Canary is a better product. Overall Netatmo provides a LOT of features related around privacy that cannot be overlooked. This includes everything from storing data locally on the device to notifications and integration with HomeKit. I should point out that I still use Netatmo Presence cameras for outdoors but have stuck with Canary for my indoor requirements. If and when Netatmo supports the ability to enable/disable live monitoring via geo location I will reconsider my use of Canary.
I purchased 4 of these cameras, and I use them to monitor my cats while I'm away on vacation. I use them with Apple HomeKit, and overall I'm happy with them. However, they are not perfect.
Pros:
• Easy to setup
• The Netatmo app for iOS is fairly easy to use
• Works well with HomeKit
• The hardware is attractive
• Facial recognition makes this a better camera than competing HomeKit cameras
• Motion detection is better than competing HomeKit cameras.
• Automatic uploads to DropBox
Cons:
• I purchased 4 cameras. Two of them needed to be replaced due to hardware issues.
• Although facial recognition is a cool feature, it takes several weeks for it to learn faces.
I also own a DLink Omna 180 camera. I prefer the Netatmo camera, because it has better facial recognition, better motion detection, and automatically uploads videos to DropBox.
Great camera! Facial recognition works...after training. It recognizes the lady who comes over to walk my dog but, after two weeks it still doesn't recognize the dog!
I love that I can archive recordings to my own "cloud" storage. I setup an FTP server on a Raspberry Pi to store videos. (If you're not that geeky there's an option to store them on Dropbox too.)
So, why not 5 stars? 1) HomeKit compatibility is promised but has not arrived. 2) There's no "geo fence" feature. I'd like for this camera to start monitoring when I leave home and stop monitoring when I return. Right now I'm using a location based reminder on my phone to remember to do it manually...with the app.
Netatmo's Welcome is, so far in the time since I've had it, one of my favorite cameras. Since the camera just came out I'm hoping that the software, app, and integration with other products (including the weather station) will come along soon. I'm also looking forward to seeing what there might be coming in the form of additional filters for distinguishing faces, more on this later.
There are a few good things and bad things that I've found with this camera, so I'll start with the good things.
Good-
-My face and my fiancé's face were easily recognized, and after uploading a photo from my camera roll, Welcome was able to distinguish us much faster than before, even in low light conditions.
-Other people entering my home have been "recognized" easily, and quickly which prompts me to either identify them or to delete them from the memory.
-The camera can recognize when I'm home, can notify me of movement based on rules I set up, etc.
-MAJOR PLUS- the camera records to my phone and to a micro SD card, so no fees!
The bad (because there has to be right?)-
-(1/2 Star)Welcome "recognizes" faces on TV when I'm watching the news, so I have to go in and manually tell it that all of those recognitions were false positives. I would move the camera to a different place, but the only location that faces the door, also faces the TV, so…
-(1/2 Star)The app asks for my location, and unlike Netatmo Weather, it is always on. This is strange, because I can't see why my location is needed at all times if it also needs to recognize me? Even my other cameras that use my location, don't use it this much.
In Summary, Netatmo's Welcome is awesome to a degree. I didn't mention that the video is pretty good, until you download it, then it is great. The app could use some work, and I bought the camera for both it and the app functionality. The recording ability, specifically the ability to pay no fees, is how customers should be treated.
The Netatmo Welcome is by far the best option for Apple users with the same criteria as stated below. I have owned and RETURNED multiple camera systems and camera doorbell systems over the last two years; due to my dissatisfaction with them. The #1 thing for me is that Netatmo Welcome sends the CORRECT alerts to your phone, mac or pc, with no monthly service fee. This is very important, because other camera systems fail miserably in one way or another in this regard. The Netatmo Welcome recognizes up to 32 different faces. The more times that it records a person, the more accurate it gets. The app keeps a meter by everyone’s name which shows how accurately it can recognize a saved individual. This meter gets higher and changes from red, to orange and eventually to green, with more recordings of that individual. Within a day, it is 98% accurate at recognizing my face and the meter by my name isn’t even to green yet. It recognizes me from 15 feet away in the dark while only viewing a portion of my face for a split second. It connects to the internet via wifi or through an ethernet cable. The second most important feature for me is that the Netatmo Welcome streams a live feed to my phone within 2 to 3 seconds when I’m in the same network as it and within 3 to 6 seconds when I’m outside of my home network. This seperates the Netatmo Welcome from all of the other camera systems. I have experienced 30 to 45 second delays when streaming live video feeds to my phone with other big name camera brands that I have owned. The delays defeated the purpose of what I wanted to achieve. One really should have an Apple TV fourth generation or higher to serve as the home hub in which you are using the Apple Homekit App in order for the Netatmo Welcome to be utilized to its full potential. Ipads may also be used as the homehub, but only if the ipad is always on and never removed from the home network. The third most important feature is that the Netatmo Welcome can record sound. All while being much smaller than one would gather from viewing pictures on the internet. I would advise to get the dimensions of the camera in order for you to know the correct size of the camera.
The negative features for the Netatmo Welcome are that it heats up fast, it runs hot, it needs to be placed in a well ventilated area, it needs to be placed on a flat surface, it would not do well if exposed to the elements in the slightest, night vision on the camera makes a red light appear on the camera unit which would prevent you from being able to hide it well, it only comes in the one gold color and it doesn’t have as good of picture quality as some other cameras. The Netatmo Welcome needs to be plugged into a wall outlet for daily usage. I don’t mind having it plugged into an outlet, because charging batteries for cameras gets old real fast.
In retrospect, the Netatmo Welcome is the perfect indoor camera for Apple users that want to add a security camera to their smart home! I hope that My review will save you some time with your camera research. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t pull the trigger on purchasing the Netatmo Welcome sooner, because it has been available since 2015. I was always concerned about the picture quality. The picture quality is better than I expected, but it is still not as good as some others.
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!!!!!
Feature Product
- PROTECT YOUR HOME: receive home intruder alerts direct to your smartphone
- RECEIVE CUSTOM ALERTS: Welcome uses facial recognition to distinguish between intruders and your friends and family
- ROUND-THE-CLOCK SECURITY: use the app to watch Full HD footage of what happens in your home, 24/7
- PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY: disable video recording and notifications for familiar faces via the app
- FREE VIDEO STORAGE: store your videos at no additional cost and stream them whenever you want
- ALARM DETECTION: receive an alert when the system detects an alarm coming from the Siren or Smoke Detector
- EFFORTLESS SETUP in a few minutes: place the camera indoors, facing your entrance, plug it in and download the app.
Description
Receive home intruder alerts direct to your smartphone
Welcome is a new-generation smart indoor security camera. Unlike the usual motion alerts which require you to waste time watching footage, Welcome sends an immediate alert if an intruder has been detected in your home, complete with a picture of the person's face and a video recording. The camera uses facial recognition technology to help you look after your children or elderly parents, sending their name to your smartphone to let you know they are well. You can also use the app to disable video recording and notifications for familiar faces. When Welcome hears an alarm, whether it be a smoke alarm, CO alarm, security alarm or the Siren, it will send a notification and record a video. Welcome's setup is quick and easy: place the camera facing your entrance, plug it in and download the app to connect it to your home Wi-Fi network. Identify your loved ones with a simple click. That's it. Your home is now protected against break-ins!
Specifications:
-Video sensor: 4 MP
-Full HD: up to 1920x1080
-Field of view: 130°
-Infrared night vision
-Local data storage: MicroSD (8 GB Class 10 card included)
-Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
exceeded expectation. bought this to keep an eye on my father's caregiver. its been doing its job.
minus 1 star however because every now an then the camera will disconnect and takes about 20minutes to connect again. this has happened 3x in few months.
also cannot zoom in.
but vid and voice quality is good.
The cámara does what it promises and very well, I bought three at the end and all work seamlessly, my family is identied and not recorded and new faces are instantly announced. Motion is detected and in most cases may animals are recognized.
It’s stands alone, no need to buy other things, it connects to your WiFi and I have watched my house from around the globe.
I purchased this camera when it first came out. I've been very please with the camera so far. Netatmo has been very quick to release firmware updates and the technical support has been great. I have seen were people have complained about the heat issues, but it's more like warm to the touch. I do wish that you can somehow move data to a NAS like Synology so you can archive the videos. I like the alerts as well. Will be purchasing another one soon
I have both the indoor version and the outdoor floodlight version, and I’m happy with both. The indoor facial recognition works pretty well after learning from a bunch of images over time. You guide it using the app to tell it which images belong to which person it’s learning about. The floodlight version recognizes objects out of the box.
Setup of the floodlight was simple and straight forward. The light is pretty bright and works as a fine replacement for the dual floodlight fixture it replaced.
The indoor version gets a bit warm. I had a couple snafus getting it set up at first, and the documentation is pretty sparse. But after a couple attempts, I got it working.
A shelf near each entry door is a good place for the indoor units, but it will still recognize faces from 8 feet away. The outdoor unit actually detects animals two houses down (maybe 50 or 60 feet away) in the corner of the screen.
Bought this on a recommendation. It is nice, but slow. I bought it right before moving, so I haven’t had a ton of time to learn how to best use it. Main benefit is that the video recorded locally to the SD card and can be configured to where ever you want to send it.
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