Hey y'all, it's Rose, and I'm finally ready to share my Blink XT results with you. Based
upon your votes, we're going to compare it to Arlo Pro.
Both are battery-powered home security cameras that you can use outside.
The first major difference here being price.
You can buy a Blink XT starter kit for $129.99, an Arlo Pro starter kit starts at $227.99.
So we're going to try to answer the question today: Is Arlo Pro worth an extra hundred
bucks?
Both cameras are battery-powered, but they are not 100% wire-free as they both require
base stations.
Arlo Pro's base station has a built-in siren, features USB local storage backup, and requires
constant power and ethernet.
Blink's sync module doesn't require ethernet but does require power.
It doesn't have a siren, and it doesn't offer local backup though they claim to be working
on this feature.
A Blink siren should be on the way, but it'll be sold separately and will also require that
you have the coming soon, new and improved sync module, which includes 4G cellular backup.
Both systems allow you to use a mobile app to check-in via a live stream on-demand from
anywhere.
On the top is a recording from Arlo, which records in 720p HD and has a 130-degree field
of view.
On the bottom is Blink XT which has a 110-degree viewing angle.
Blink also promised FHD with the XT, and it is 1080p capable, but for now it's max resolution
is 720p.
However, they're still promising to introduce FHD video via a firmware update in the future.
Both cameras also use infrared night vision.
Again on the top, we've got footage from Arlo Pro. On the bottom, footage from Blink XT.
I've been running the two cameras side-by-side at different sensitivity levels to see who's
the most accurate. (Medium Sensitivity)
Accuracy was very close.
However, Arlo caught more events at night, it's easier to manage as it includes a motion
sensitivity test, and it's slightly more accurate.
In part because adjusting its sensitivity level pulls in the motion sensor.
When you adjust Blink's, it still detects motion within the same distance, it just detects
less of it.
In addition to motion detection, Blink XT has a temperature sensor with both high and
low alerts.
You can also control the camera's retrigger time, ask it to stop recording when motion
is no longer detected, and control the recorded clip length.
Arlo Pro has a sound detector.
You can also adjust clip length and it can also stop recording when motion is no longer
detected.
Arlo Pro also has two-way audio though mine's not working right now and I didn't want to
delay this video even further by waiting on support.
Which is a little bit slow by the way.
Arlo includes several premade modes including geofencing, which arms your system when you
leave home, disarms it when you arrive home.
Or you can add your own mode.
Simply add a name, decide which devices you want to use for this rule, decide if you
want it to detect motion, motion and audio, just audio.
Then you get to decide which device you want to have video recorded for.
Next, you decide if motion is detected, or if audio is detected,
if the camera should record , do nothing, or maybe record video and turn on your siren.
You can also decide if you want it to record until activity stops or you can pick a fixed length of time.
Blink has a native geofencing feature, but you have to pay for it.
For free, you can only use geofencing via IFTTT which is not nearly as reliable.
Regarding modes, you can arm and disarm and manually select which cameras should detect
motion.
Both cameras also support schedules and they offer free cloud storage.
Arlo offers 7 days of free cloud storage or you can pay for more.
Blink will store 7,200 seconds of videos for free.
I haven't reached my limit, so as you can see, I have videos dating all the way back
to 2015.
That said, I've been using Blink for nearly two years and haven't had to change its battery
yet.
Arlo Pro, on the other hand, needs recharged about every two months.
Both cameras also play with others.
Blink works with IFTTT and Amazon Alexa.
They're also launching monitoring plans which require a monthly fee and the new sync module.
The $9.99/month plan will add 4G backup and support for the Blink siren, keypad, motion
sensor, and water sensor.
This plan also adds advanced motion detection and native geofencing.
For $19.99 per month, you'll also get professional third-party monitoring.
Arlo Pro works with SmartThings, Wink, Amazon Alexa, Stringify, IFTTT, and it can even stream
to the new Amazon Echo Show.
I tried to hit all the bullet points in this video, but I do try to keep videos
short and sweet.
So if you want more detail, I linked to a written review in the description below.
Or feel free to ask questions in the comments below.
I appreciate y'all spending time with me today, and I will see you soon.