How Does Blink Outdoor Camera Work

When nosotros reviewed the original Blink Home Security Photographic camera arrangement back in 2016, we gave it loftier marks for its reasonable toll, precipitous 720p video quality, and free cloud storage, only dinged it for its lack of integrations and inability to provide on-demand video and two-way audio. The company is now owned by Amazon, and its new Glimmer Outdoor ($99.99) is a weatherproof camera that is once once again reasonably priced, but this time around offers 1080p video and works with Alexa voice commands and IFTTT applets. Deject storage requires a subscription, only you can store video locally, view video on demand, and utilise 2-fashion audio to talk to visitors. It'south a solid bargain, but our Editors' Choice, the Wyze Cam Outdoor, is half the price and offers more features.

Design and Features

The Blink Outdoor system comes with a small 2.seven-by-two.vii-by-1.2-inch (HWD) camera and an fifty-fifty smaller 0.7-past-2.iii-by-2.5 inch Sync Module (hub) that connects to your home Wi-Fi network. The photographic camera is black, has an IP65 weather-resistance rating, and is powered by 2 AA batteries that are rated to last upwardly to two years before needing to exist replaced. To replace the batteries, just loosen the spiral on the dorsum of the camera and popular off the cover.

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The camera offers video move detection and captures 1080p footage at 30fps. Information technology has a 110-caste field of view and uses an infrared LED for black-and-white night video, and it contains a speaker and microphone for two-way audio and a temperature sensor. A pair of status LEDs on the front of the enclosure let y'all know when the camera is active and when night vision is enabled.

The Sync Module is powered by a mini USB Ac adapter and contains a ii.4GHz Wi-Fi radio for connecting to your abode network and an RF radio for communicating with the camera. It has Wi-Fi and power status LEDs on the front, and a USB port on the side that tin can be used to connect to a USB storage device, such as a pollex bulldoze (not included), to shop consequence-triggered video clips.

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If you prefer to shop video in the cloud, yous can subscribe to i of Blink'south Cloud Storage plans. The Bones program will toll you $3 per month or $thirty per yr and gives you lot 60 days of rolling storage for one camera. It also gives you admission to Blink's Photo Capture feature, which has the camera take a withal image every hr. The images are then assembled into a short video clip, allowing you lot to see what transpired right before a move-triggered event. The $10 per month/$100 per year Plus program also offers Photograph Capture and provides threescore days of rolling storage for an unlimited number of cameras.

The Blink Outdoor uses the Blink Home Monitor mobile app for Android, Burn OS, and iOS devices. It opens to a domicile screen with panels for each installed camera. Each panel contains a however image of the camera'southward field of view and has a push button for taking a snapshot and a button for launching a live stream. You can view the live stream in full-screen manner by turning your phone sideways, and initiate two-way talk by pressing the Talk button. A motility icon appears in the upper right corner when motion detection is enabled, and side by side to that is a settings button.

The Photographic camera Settings screen is where yous go to check on the bombardment level, view the current outdoor temperature, and prepare temperature threshold alerts. Here you can also create motion zones, configure movement sensitivity settings, determine video clip length, configure video quality settings, enable/disable the microphone, edit Wi-Fi settings, and enable the Photo Capture characteristic.

Blink app screens showing live stream view, activity log, and camera settings

Dorsum at the home screen there are Home, Play, Settings, and Neighbors buttons positioned along the bottom edge of the screen. The Domicile push button takes you lot back to the home screen and the Play button takes y'all to a screen with a list of triggered events and video thumbnails for each. Tap any thumbnail to view, share, or delete the video. The Settings button takes you to a screen where you can edit your business relationship information, access photographic camera settings, create recording schedules, and manage local storage. Finally, the Neighbors button takes yous to a screen where you can download the Band Neighbors app, which lets you receive prophylactic alerts from your neighbors, local police, and the Band News team.

Installation and Performance

Setting up and installing the Blink Outdoor camera was quick and painless. I downloaded the app, created an account, and followed the on-screen instructions to install the Sync Module. Using my telephone'southward camera, I scanned the QR code on the module, created a organization name, and plugged in the module. After 15 seconds or then when the LEDs were blinking blue and solid greenish, I tapped Discover Device and connected the module to my Wi-Fi network. I entered my Wi-Fi password and the module was immediately continued to my network.

Afterwards a 30-2nd firmware upgrade, I was set to add together the camera. I tapped the plus icon in the upper right corner, selected the camera, and scanned the QR code located in its bombardment compartment. I added the camera to the system that I had merely created and it was recognized within 15 seconds. After some other xxx-second firmware update, the camera was ready for mounting. I attached the mounting base of operations to a mail service on my backyard deck, snapped the camera onto the base, and the installation was complete.

The Glimmer Outdoor delivered sharp, colorful daytime video in testing. There was a trace of barrel distortion, but it was minor and didn't bear upon overall movie quality. Blackness-and-white night video appeared relatively precipitous out to around ten feet or so, but became muddy across that point. Move alerts arrived apace and false alerts were few and far between. Additionally, I had no problem viewing video on an Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands.

Conclusions

Long battery life, 1080p video, and easy installation make the Blink Outdoor a good choice for anyone looking for an affordable outdoor camera. Although it requires a hub to connect to your network, information technology comes in the box and has a USB port for local video storage. The camera delivered sharp daytime video in testing, and movement alerts were accurate and arrived quickly. That said, our Editors' Pick for affordable outdoor security cameras, the Wyze Cam Outdoor, is but $fifty and offers sharper nighttime vision and support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant vocalisation commands. It likewise supports tertiary-party integrations via IFTTT applets and features a Travel Manner that allows you to take the camera on the road without the need for an internet connexion.

Glimmer Outdoor

Cons

The Bottom Line

The Blink Outdoor is a battery-powered weatherproof 1080p security camera that offers motility detection, deject and local storage, Alexa voice control, and support for third-political party smart devices.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/blink-outdoor

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