Disclaimer: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price, or for free.
We live in a bit of a crazy world. I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to locking doors, and windows. Pretty much the moment I enter my home, I’m locking the doors and setting the alarm if we’re in for the night. Yes, I’m that insane. You can’t take chances with the safety of your kids, right? The other thing is, my son has a habit of opening up the door to go outside, without, you know, MENTIONING he is headed outside. The alarm is set, so if he does, it goes off and scares the piss out of him. That’s right, I did it. He’ll never touch another door, or window, without letting us know, that’s for dang sure!
What was missing? Cameras. Our home isn’t huge, but when I’m working upstairs, and once the house is back together, the kids will have a play area downstairs. I’d just like to monitor that area while friends are over. Plus, monitor the outside of the house, especially at night, without having to open the door to check out a noise at the front door. Well, now I’ve gotten my wish! Best Buy hooked our family up with the Netgear Arlo Smart Home as part of their Connected Home campaign.
Now we’ve got cameras thanks to Best Buy’s connected home strategy
The four camera set created by Arlo by Netgear is only available at Best Buy. Sure, the cameras can be purchased at other retailers, but this set valued at $499.99, is only at Best Buy. It’s kind of cool, because all the cameras are motion-activated and can capture 720p video footage during the day, and at night!
Oh, but wait, the coolest part? Once the motion-activation kicks in, you get an email, or an app notification that it’s recording something. WHAT???!!! I know, I’m kind of in awe. My cameras rock! I want to name them. Is that wrong? What I learned the hard way while setting up the cameras, was to not hold down the SYNC button the Netgear base too long. Just click on it, let it go, and the light comes on. When you hold it for too long, the USB light starts blinking. It drove me nuts trying to figure out what was going on, but thankfully I was able to hunt around the HELP section of the Arlo website. PHEW. It was a sweet bit of torture, if I’m being honest.
THE DIRECTIONS WEREN’T CLEAR at all. It made it sound like you should click on it until you see the camera light on the base light up, which you do NOT. Just press it, release it, and it should give the all clear to sync up the cameras ONE AT A TIME. You live, you learn!
After it’s all set up, and you activate your alerts for your motion detection to be sent to your phone, you’re going to fall in love with these cameras. Usually, cameras don’t really work great in the dark. Well….I have to tell you, these cameras show a great image in the dark. I remember having a baby monitor for the kids, and it was set up to monitor in the dark. It was horrible, and you could barely see anything. These cameras, I guess because they are HD, give such great, clear video. It’s the little things in life, but man, those little things make a huge difference!
It’s not just about the cameras, though
Yes, the cameras are pure awesome. Best Buy also has the Netgear® Nighthawk™ DST Router and DST Adapter with Geek Squad included, which is brand new and exclusively at Best Buy. Netgear developed this router specifically for Best Buy. Can you handle it? I hope so, because I’m about to rock your socks right off your feet! The Nighthawk has a Dead Spot Terminator adapter, which helps eliminate WiFi dead zones. Guess what? It also was designed to support 10+ connected devices. In a house filled with WiFi, this is a HUGE bonus for us!
Now, the piece de resistance? Geek Squad Set Up and SUPPORT via phone and website is available for a full year. Hell yes, that’s pure awesome for someone like me who has insane anxiety when I have to mess with anything near my modem, or WiFi. I need the help, the support. Who am I kidding? I need my hand held as I do everything when it comes to technology! However, once I’ve done it once, I’m pretty good to go. Although, having the full year of help is kind of a big deal. Just saying.
Seriously, this is wicked cool stuff my friends. You’ve got to check it out for yourselves over at Best Buy.
