Ring Video Doorbell 4 review
Our Verdict
Get the Ring Video Doorbell 4 if the view from your front end door is partially obscured, and you need a wireless model. But Arlo offers more features for the price.
For
- Pre-roll much improved
- Works as wired or wireless model
- Large ecosystem of compatible devices
Confronting
- No stop-to-terminate encryption
- Minor vertical field of view
- No package detection
Tom's Guide Verdict
Become the Ring Video Doorbell 4 if the view from your forepart door is partially obscured, and you need a wireless model. But Arlo offers more features for the cost.
Pros
- +
Pre-roll much improved
- +
Works as wired or wireless model
- +
Large ecosystem of compatible devices
Cons
- -
No end-to-end encryption
- -
Pocket-sized vertical field of view
- -
No package detection
Ring Video Doorbell four review: Specs
Size: 5.1 x two.4 x one.1 inches
Camera resolution: 1080p
Field of view: 160° horizontal, 84° vertical
Bombardment/Hardwired: Yes/Yep
Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/northward (2.4 & 5GHz)
While its name suggests otherwise, the Ring Video Doorbell 4 is probably the tenth such device to come from Ring and reflects the continual refinement of the form. The new feature for this way is color Pre-Curlicue, which gives you lot a better glimpse at who'southward coming to the door.
This Ring Video Doorbell 4 review volition look at just how good colour Pre-ringlet is and if Band's newest midrange video doorbell should become a function of your smart home.
- Best video doorbells
- Ring vs. Nest: Which video doorbell should you go?
Ring Video Doorbell 4 review: Price and availability
The Ring Video Doorbell 4 went on auction in April 2021 for $199. It's currently i of vii video doorbells offered by Ring and sits roughly in the middle of the price range. Above information technology is the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($249), while below information technology is the $99 Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen) and Ring Video Doorbell Wired ($59).
Ring Video Doorbell 4 review: Design
Ring'south video-doorbell design is standardized to the indicate of being boring. The Ring Video Doorbell iv looks exactly the aforementioned as the Ring Video Doorbell 3, Ring Video Doorbell 2, Band Video Doorbell, and Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen). Simply hey, if it works, right?
The top third of the doorbell is sleeky black, while the bottom section is silver (Ring calls it Satin Nickel). You tin change this section to a bronze-colored faceplate if you choose.
At about 2.4 inches broad, the Ring Doorbell 4 will fit on your standard door frame, but it's non equally svelte equally the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2. Then again, the Ring Video Doorbell four needs to be big enough to house a battery.
Similar the Ring Video Doorbell 3, the Ring Video Doorbell four can be hardwired into your home'southward electrical system, or can run on battery power.
Like the Ring three, the Ring 4's bombardment is removable, so you don't have to take the unabridged unit off to recharge it, every bit yous do with the Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen).
Band Video Doorbell 4 review: Video and audio performance
Unlike the Band Video Doorbell Pro two, which has a 1536 10 1536 image with a 150-degree field of view both vertically and horizontally that lets you see a lot of your front porch, the Band Video Doorbell 4 has the more traditional horizontal aspect ratio. I couldn't see things as close to my door equally I'd have liked — the lesser of the video was a good three feet from the door.
Otherwise, the quality of the 1080p video was very adept. I could brand out details in visitors' faces, though details in objects farther away, such as cars on the street, were less clear. Sound was also crisp, every bit I was able to hear visitors conspicuously.
The biggest new characteristic of the Ring Video Doorbell iv is that it has color Pre-Scroll. Introduced with the at present-discontinued Band Video Doorbell 3 Plus, Pre-roll is a system whereby the camera is continuously recording a 4-2nd video loop. As soon every bit there'southward an event recording — such as someone coming to your forepart door — this four-second clip is added to the front of the event video, which in theory gives you a ameliorate view of who's coming to your door.
The Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus was the showtime battery-powered Ring doorbell to have this feature. Withal, in order to conserve energy, it was in depression-resolution blackness-and-white. This limited its usefulness as it was difficult to make out just who was on camera. With the Ring Video Doorbell 4, Pre-Roll is now in color and at a somewhat college resolution, so the transition between it and the rest of the video is smoother.
At my house, part of the path to my front door is blocked past a large evergreen tree. By the fourth dimension some video doorbells choice up the fact that someone is budgeted and start recording, the person is ordinarily at the forepart door.
The Band Video Doorbell 4's Pre-Roll feature, though, was able to show people the moment they appeared from backside the tree and followed them all the way to the front end door. All the same, the Pre-roll video is a fleck fuzzier than the rest, and then you lot can't brand out the details of a person's face up. (Band'southward wired video doorbells with this characteristic, such as the Band Video Doorbell Pro ii, take a total-color, full-resolution Pre-Roll.)
Ring Video Doorbell 4 review: App and features
Within the Ring app, yous can view recorded events either via a scrolling timeline or on a vertical list. Both features could apply piece of work. The timeline can exist tedious to ringlet through, and the list view doesn't show thumbnail images — as you become with other video doorbells — so you have to select numerous clips to find the 1 you want.
As with virtually video doorbells, Ring lets yous conform motion sensitivity and set upward customizable motion zones, then you lot don't go fake alerts if you lot happen to alive on a busy street.
A Smart Alerts feature will let you filter out motion events and then that you get alerts simply when the camera detects people. Even so, Arlo'due south and Nest's video doorbells — and in the fall of 2021, HomeKit-enabled doorbells — can go a pace further and tell you when packages arrive. Ring is a bit tardy in rolling out this feature.
Lastly, a Quick Replies characteristic will play one of four preset responses and take a bulletin from visitors if you can't respond in time. Automated message responses include "Nosotros'll be right in that location," "Pitiful, we're not interested," and "Please exit the bundle outside." The last 1 would exist much more useful if the Ring doorbell could identify that someone was actually holding a package.
Ring Video Doorbell 4 review: Security and privacy
After a number of negative headlines, both deserved and non, Ring has taken a number of steps with regard to security and privacy issues. The Ring app at present has 2-cistron authentication and Ring recently introduced end-to-end video encryption for many of its video doorbells and home security cameras. Unfortunately, bombardment-powered video doorbells, such every bit the Ring Video Doorbell 4, aren't uniform with this latest characteristic.
To gainsay concerns most its partnership with law enforcement agencies, Band inverse its policy regarding how video clips are shared with police. Now, agencies must make a public request for video in Band'southward Neighbors app; it's upward to individual owners whether or not they choose to respond. However, the company's continuing partnerships with law enforcement agencies — is something that has made many uncomfortable.
Within the Ring app, you tin also manage how long you want videos to be stored in the cloud; by default, it's ready at threescore days if you're subscribed to Band Protect, merely y'all can reduce that storage fourth dimension to as niggling every bit ane solar day. Regardless of how long videos are stored, they're e'er encrypted in the cloud.
Band Video Doorbell 4 review: Subscription costs
Unless you subscribe to Ring Protect, you lot can view just alive footage from the video doorbell. If you want to record videos, you lot can subscribe to i of two plans. Ring Protect Basic ($3/month, $thirty/year) provides coverage for ane camera, while Ring Protect Plus ($10/month, $100/yr) covers all the Ring devices at 1 location.
Each plan offers threescore days of rolling deject storage, while the Plus program as well provides 10% off Band devices, extended warranties, and professional monitoring if you have a Band Alarm system.
To meet how Band'southward storage plans compare to Arlo and others, check out the best security camera storage plans.
Band Video Doorbell four review: Smart home connectivity
Because it's owned by Amazon, in that location'due south a pretty deep integration betwixt Ring and Alexa devices. You can view both live and recorded video on an Amazon Repeat Show or other Alexa-enabled smart display. Nevertheless, you tin't use Ring'due south video doorbells with Google Assistant, the Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max, or Apple HomeKit.
Band'due south suite of products, such every bit its smart lights, motion sensors and home security systems, likewise tin be linked to its video doorbells. So, for instance, if you have Ring Solar Pathlights, yous can ready the Band Video Doorbell to automatically outset recording if the Pathlights discover motion.
Ring Video Doorbell 4 review: Verdict
The $199 Ring Video Doorbell 4 sits between the Ring Video Doorbell three and the Ring Video Doorbell Pro. If your front door looks out on a partially obscured view, and then it's worth spending the extra $twenty over the Ring Video Doorbell 3 for the much-improved Pre-Roll feature. For $50 more, the Band Video Doorbell Pro 2 has a sleeker design and more chiefly, an attribute ratio that shows more than of your front stoop — just information technology requires a wired connectedness.
Among the best video doorbells, the Ring Video Doorbell 4 is yet another solid entry. Nevertheless, its express field of view means that you can't see as much of your front door as you can with the Nest Hello or the Arlo Video Doorbell. Moreover, the lack of package detection — something also found on those 2 competitors — besides makes the Video Doorbell 4 a less useful device.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/ring-video-doorbell-4
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