If you already have a Vivint system, this camera is well worth the investment.
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro Review
4 min readThis video doorbell currently isn't available for individual purchase. But if you're willing to spend the big bucks to turn your place into a Vivint home, you can expect a lot from the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro (say that 10 times fast).
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro features
This is a pretty awesome theft deterrent
Pretty much every feature of Vivint's doorbell camera is designed to fight off package theft. This camera is focused on keeping folks from laying their hands on your stuff.
While package theft deterrence isn’t the only use for a video doorbell, we like that this camera is honed for a specific purpose. It makes it easy to know what to expect from optimal video performance.
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro features:
- 180° field of view
- Two-way talk
- Night vision
- Person/package detection
- Customizable motion zones
- People detection
- Package detection
- Smart Sentry
Field of vision
The 180° view is bigger than many video doorbell cameras and cameras in general. You can see pretty much everything around your porch. Yes, even more than with the Ring Pro, which is an excellent doorbell camera in its own right.
The wide view makes it easier for the camera to see packages left on your porch, even if they aren’t close to the doorbell.
Customizable motion zones
The Vivint Doorbell Pro offers highly customizable motion zones (designated areas where the camera detects movement). You can make triangular and other more irregular shapes, not just rectangles and squares like with many other cameras. The more specific customization makes it easier to cover very particular locations.
Smart Sentry
The Smart Sentry feature adds an extra layer of property protection beyond the typical package and people detection.
You’ll get an immediate notification asking you if you want to turn on the Smart Sentry Deter feature when the camera detects a package. You can choose to Deter for a set period, like 15 minutes or two hours. Or you can leave it in force until you turn it off.
When you turn on Deter, anyone who approaches your package will be greeted with a preset sound. The default tone is a sharp whistle, which would startle someone the first time they hear it, but which we think most people would start ignoring fairly quickly. (Unfortunately, you can’t customize the sound to something more off-putting, like a scream or a dog barking.)
But regardless of the Deter downfalls, we think the little bit of extra detection could go a long way in making porch pirates think twice before approaching your packages.
The Deter default tone is a sharp whistle.
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro pricing
This isn’t going to be cheap
The cost for the video doorbell camera? $249.99—on the surface, anyway.
The hidden cost is much larger because, at this time, you can’t have the camera installed without a Vivint system. Which means you have to pay for the system up front plus system monitoring and camera storage.
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro price and details
Data effective as of 02/14/2023. Offers subject to change.
A Vivint camera requires a Smart Home Video plan, which rolls up the system monitoring and video storage for a single camera into one big monthly bundle. If you want more than one camera, you’ll pay $5 per additional camera per month.
Or, if you’d like longer than two weeks of storage, you can pay extra to buy a Vivint Smart Drive. This piece of equipment continuously streams video and saves it for 30 days. Technically, it’s a local storage solution, but you can still access the clips from your app or your Vivint Smart Hub. No SD card transfer necessary.
But whatever you do, you’ll be spending big bucks. For the system, video doorbell, installation, and first month of the storage plan, we estimate you’re looking at the better part of $1,000. And that’s without the Smart Drive.
Continuous recording vs. motion-triggered recording
If you don’t get the Smart Drive, your cameras will use what Vivint calls “Smart Clips.” That means that, instead of 24/7 recording, you’ll get a video clip when the camera senses motion.
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro home automation
The home automation is okay, but we couldn’t get the voice control to work.
This camera works with numerous other Vivint devices. It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. (We aren’t sure whether it connects with Z-Wave like the Vivint home security system.)
What products does Vivint offer?
Vivint sells quite a few smart products, such as the Vivint Element smart thermostat and Vivint Kwikset smart lock.
Google Assistant connected to the Vivint Smart Panel but not the cameras, while Amazon Alexa connected directly to the security cameras, skipping over the panel. However, neither of them was able to show us camera feeds.
While we don’t have a Chromecast, which may have explained the lack of Google connectivity, we have several Alexa-enabled devices with screens. But either way, neither smart assistant worked with the Vivint cameras as described.
That doesn’t mean Vivint’s untruthful; we may have been doing something wrong. But if so, it’s not encouraging that experienced users like us couldn’t figure it out.
Vivint app
Overall, we found the Vivint interface on the app and Smart Panel pretty easy to use. We were able to find and adjust camera features relatively quickly.
We especially like that the app notifies you when a package arrives and asks if you want to use the Deter feature. It makes the whole process incredibly easy.
Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro installation
Professional installation is par for the course with Vivint
Your Pro installation requires, well, pro installation.
If you buy the camera as part of a Vivint system up front, it’ll be installed alongside your system. The whole process, system and camera, took about four hours to complete for us, even though the tech only installed a moderate number of pieces vs. putting sensors and cameras across the whole house.
Doorbell hookups
The Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro doesn’t use batteries. You need a wired doorbell setup before a technician can install your Pro.
If you choose to get the doorbell later as an add-on, a Vivint tech will set an additional appointment to come out and install it.
Recap: Is the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro good?
We wouldn’t say no to the Pro
This doorbell camera has the potential to be a strong anti-package-theft deterrent. So if you have or are thinking of getting a Vivint system, we 100% encourage you to get the doorbell camera with everything else.
Features: This camera has multiple features designed to prevent package theft.
Pricing: You’ll pay a pretty penny for the entire Vivint kit and caboodle.
Home automation: The Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro has modest home automation levels but works with other Vivint products.
Installation: A Vivint installer will wire your doorbell camera for you.
If you aren’t interested in getting an entire Vivint home, we would recommend a different doorbell camera to you. It’s much more affordable to get a standalone device. Or, if you want an entire security suite but feel Vivint’s not right, we have a full home security systems review.
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Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro FAQ
Still have questions? Check out our answers.
Theoretically, you can use a Vivint doorbell camera without a storage plan, but it won’t record clips, so you won’t be able to review the video later. That would make the camera . . . less than useful.
If you have or plan to get a Vivint Smart Home setup, you might wonder which cameras you should invest in. Honestly, the best camera for you depends on your personal circumstances (such as budget, lifestyle, and security concerns).
Our Vivint cameras review gives an overview of each camera, making it easy to compare the three options. If you aren’t sure about the video doorbell, you might like Vivint’s outdoor or indoor camera more.
We wouldn’t say that the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro is better than a Ring video doorbell, just different. The Doorbell Camera Pro has Smart Sentry and a wide field of vision, while the Ring doorbells are much easier to connect with a smart assistant and other smart home products.
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