Netatmo doorbell, leaked Hue gear, and our picks for 2020 on the HomeKit Insider Podcast

HomeKit Insider: A new AppleInsider podcast

On this year's final episode of HomeKit Insider podcast, your hosts discuss leaked products from Hue, the Netatmo Doorbell launch in the US, a listener question, and our top HomeKit picks from 2020

We round out 2020 by breaking down our favorite HomeKit gear and software of the year. We touch on everything from our favorite cameras to macOS Big Sur and what we hope 2021 will bring.

During this year-ending episode, we also take time to answer one final listener question and reveal some last-minute news ahead of CES 2021.

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5 Comments

sebnolan11

said about 3 years ago

Netatmo doorbell: We have been waiting for this product for a long time. On their website, in the specs, operating temperature says -10 to 40 degrees. It’s a real joke for those who live in the North. Are we all moving south? Pure joke! ❄️ ☃️ 🌴

AppleZulu

said about 3 years ago

Regarding the Circle View doorbell, it appears that it features an LED spotlight to allow for "full color" night time video. Reading the device's FAQ, this LED spotlight will remain on all night unless you disable it using the Home app. They recommend as an alternative that you leave your porch light on all night, or you attach your porch light to a motion sensor that will turn it on when motion is detected.

Maybe some people would like that, but the better option would be for them to use an infra-red spotlight and camera function, like they do with the Netatmo doorbell and also Circle View's regular HomeKit cameras. I have a couple of those, and a set of Arlo cameras that also use infra-red tech for night vision. The resulting video is black-and-white, but the cameras aren't disruptive to me, my neighbors or nocturnal nature. Given how often the cameras are triggered at night by passing cars, raccoons, rabbits, and other wildlife, I'd hate them if they used visible spectrum spotlights. Some of us like it to actually be dark outside at night. This doorbell camera's dependence on visible-spectrum light takes it completely off my list.

jeffythequick

said about 3 years ago

AppleZulu said:

Regarding the Circle View doorbell, it appears that it features an LED spotlight to allow for "full color" night time video. Reading the device's FAQ, this LED spotlight will remain on all night unless you disable it using the Home app. They recommend as an alternative that you leave your porch light on all night, or you attach your porch light to a motion sensor that will turn it on when motion is detected.

Maybe some people would like that, but the better option would be for them to use an infra-red spotlight and camera function, like they do with the Netatmo doorbell and also Circle View's regular HomeKit cameras. I have a couple of those, and a set of Arlo cameras that also use infra-red tech for night vision. The resulting video is black-and-white, but the cameras aren't disruptive to me, my neighbors or nocturnal nature. Given how often the cameras are triggered at night by passing cars, raccoons, rabbits, and other wildlife, I'd hate them if they used visible spectrum spotlights. Some of us like it to actually be dark outside at night. This doorbell camera's dependence on visible-spectrum light takes it completely off my list.

I'll let you know how it behaves... My Logitech Circle camera is arriving today to replace the Arlo I bought a couple of weeks ago. It was one of those, "oh crap... I just bought this because there were no Homekit doorbells in the US..." Then, AppleInsider had the article...

AppleZulu

said about 3 years ago

jeffythequick said:

AppleZulu said:

Regarding the Circle View doorbell, it appears that it features an LED spotlight to allow for "full color" night time video. Reading the device's FAQ, this LED spotlight will remain on all night unless you disable it using the Home app. They recommend as an alternative that you leave your porch light on all night, or you attach your porch light to a motion sensor that will turn it on when motion is detected.

Maybe some people would like that, but the better option would be for them to use an infra-red spotlight and camera function, like they do with the Netatmo doorbell and also Circle View's regular HomeKit cameras. I have a couple of those, and a set of Arlo cameras that also use infra-red tech for night vision. The resulting video is black-and-white, but the cameras aren't disruptive to me, my neighbors or nocturnal nature. Given how often the cameras are triggered at night by passing cars, raccoons, rabbits, and other wildlife, I'd hate them if they used visible spectrum spotlights. Some of us like it to actually be dark outside at night. This doorbell camera's dependence on visible-spectrum light takes it completely off my list.

I'll let you know how it behaves... My Logitech Circle camera is arriving today to replace the Arlo I bought a couple of weeks ago. It was one of those, "oh crap... I just bought this because there were no Homekit doorbells in the US..." Then, AppleInsider had the article...

I would appreciate that; thank you. I’m also curious about the HomePod chimes associated with HomeKit doorbells. My understanding is that there’s only a single default chime sound right now, so I’m waiting to see when/if they let you choose or customize that sound. With HomePods, it’d be possible to have both proper chimes and quirky sounds available for that.

jeffythequick

said about 3 years ago

AppleZulu said:

jeffythequick said:

AppleZulu said:

Regarding the Circle View doorbell, it appears that it features an LED spotlight to allow for "full color" night time video. Reading the device's FAQ, this LED spotlight will remain on all night unless you disable it using the Home app. They recommend as an alternative that you leave your porch light on all night, or you attach your porch light to a motion sensor that will turn it on when motion is detected.

Maybe some people would like that, but the better option would be for them to use an infra-red spotlight and camera function, like they do with the Netatmo doorbell and also Circle View's regular HomeKit cameras. I have a couple of those, and a set of Arlo cameras that also use infra-red tech for night vision. The resulting video is black-and-white, but the cameras aren't disruptive to me, my neighbors or nocturnal nature. Given how often the cameras are triggered at night by passing cars, raccoons, rabbits, and other wildlife, I'd hate them if they used visible spectrum spotlights. Some of us like it to actually be dark outside at night. This doorbell camera's dependence on visible-spectrum light takes it completely off my list.

I'll let you know how it behaves... My Logitech Circle camera is arriving today to replace the Arlo I bought a couple of weeks ago. It was one of those, "oh crap... I just bought this because there were no Homekit doorbells in the US..." Then, AppleInsider had the article...

I would appreciate that; thank you. I’m also curious about the HomePod chimes associated with HomeKit doorbells. My understanding is that there’s only a single default chime sound right now, so I’m waiting to see when/if they let you choose or customize that sound. With HomePods, it’d be possible to have both proper chimes and quirky sounds available for that.

Ok... Setup easy peasy. I'm an electrical engineer, so hooking up 6 wires was not very challenging, and the instructions are very clear. I wish there was an option to print them out, but I didn't find it. Having the iPad up on the ladder where the doorbell is isn't my idea of fun, but putting it on a nearby table (and there was only two wires to re-route to the doorbell actuator, so there it is...

Attachment to our home - easy. There's three options, and I had to use the scan the code one, rather than the hold the iPhone near the doorbell button one.

Options on the Home doorbell entry are a bit overwhelming and underwhelming. The option to ring all of the HomePods is nice, but the worst is the activity notification. I live in a pretty lightly travelled street (4-6 cars/hour), and this thing notices when one pixel is off from the last millisecond's picture. When we had the notifications on, I was being inundated with notifications, so we turned it off. Since I'm doing the "work from home" thing, and I'm upstairs, having the camera on the Mac while I work on my job's PC, I can keep track of things at the front door, should I want to.

Videos are kept on my iCloud account, but I just don't know where. I haven't dug into where these files are being stored, but sooner or later I will.

Your concerns about the light going on incessantly (we had that too), was solved by setting the activity to go from sundown to sunup, and turning the light on for a minute if activity is seen. Also, the white light is turn off-able in the settings. The status light is off, and the night vision light is on, so I get decent night vision without the "Hi! look at me! I'm a doorbell cam!" look about it.

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. It has already been used in a high value investigation by Amazon where they said a package was delivered at 6:47pm, and the camera showed no delivery person there. That is when I had the settings at the "send notifications all the time" on, and I have about 380 minutes of video somewhere that didn't have a delivery person delivering a 12 pound package of aluminum extrusions.

I hope this helps