a review by Tom Piper
I’ve been a video doorbell user for several years with a SkyBell. At CES 2016, I was introduced to another competing vendor with a very robust product.
The DoorBird Video Door Station D101 with a white polycarbonate housing has been my test model for the past few weeks. It allows me to speak with my visitors and open my door (if I had an electric lock) by my iPhone (or iPad) from anywhere in the world. It can actually be paired with up to 8 devices (like iPhones, iPads, and Androids). With this unit, I will not need to miss any more deliveries or visitors since I will be informed right away when the person rings.
It really has a broad field of vision. Thanks to the integrated high-end motion sensor, I can know what happens in front of my home with the 180° camera lens and infrared motion sensor can which has the ability to set off an alarm without ever touching the doorbell unit.
It has a durable all-weather case with temperature-resistant from just below 0° F to over 100°F, and rain water protection (in accordance with IP54 industry standard), all packaged in a stylish product design (high quality stainless steel models also available). This smart solution is of the highest quality and made in Germany. It has many features which are summarized at below.
Installation was relatively easy, in spite of a multi-language instruction book with tiny print. Thankfully, an easier-to-read online version was conveniently available online. It initially seemed complex only because of the international power unit with adapters, wide variety of connections, wire assemblies, and mounting screws included in the package. A few minutes of reading clarified that it really was easy to install. Downloading and installing the DoorBird app was also simple.
At about 1.5” x 3” x 6”, this unit is rather large for external mounting to replace the doorbell button, but the quality of the speaker, microphone, video camera, and motion detector certainly justify this size. I was amazed at how quickly I was notified of a visitor when the doorbell button was pushed, even when I was out of town. The very wide field of view allowed me to see the visitor plainly, even when they stood close to the door (the infra-red feature is also nice for night vision). I also like the ability to turn on the camera remotely just to view the area in front of the house using my iPhone (cannot yet be viewed from my computer screen, probably later).
If I had an electric front door lock or garage door opener, with the indoor and outdoor add-on of BirdGuard, I could even see what the visitor is doing after I had opened the door. To go even further, I could send potential burglars packing with a siren of 100dB or a loud announcement using their external speaker. Unfortunately, the DoorBird is not HomeKit compatible.
The DoorBird Video Door Station D101 can be viewed and purchased for $349.00 at doorbird.com (available colors are black, grey, white and yellow). This innovative idea was developed by the Bird Home Automation Group located in Berlin and San Francisco. The also have nine other models and four accessories to enhance the functionality of this innovative unit. This is a very nice, well-made unit.
Comments