B
Brad Ward
Guest
We’ve reviewed a handful of smart home video surveillance products in the past, including the Netatmo Welcome and Piper NV. Both were OK devices that did what they were supposed to do, but lacked in a lot of other areas. Now, CleverLoop, a Kickstarter-backed project, is here with their own ultimate video surveillance system, and they think that they might have what it takes to be the go-to brand for smart home security systems.
And CleverLoop actually might be onto something. I’m truly blown away by the system.
Design
CleverLoop sells its home security system in three packages. The first is the base station with just one camera (USD$279), the second is the base station with two cameras (USD$349), and the third is the base station with three cameras (USD$399). Right off the bat you can see CleverLoop is offering its home security system in three flexible packages, all that don’t cost much. In contrast, it would take you $600 or more to set up a three-camera video surveillance system with other home security products, such as the Netatmo Welcome or Piper NV.
Even at its low price point, the CleverLoop package doesn’t feel cheap. On the contrary, its outdoor camera and indoor camera feel very robust. They also have a very neat design that allows you to angle the cameras in almost anyway you might need them to bend. Both the outdoor and indoor camera have mounting holes built into them for attaching to a wall or some other outdoor surface. Not only that, but all of the materials needed to mount these devices are included in the box. The only real downside is that the proper size allen wrench wasn’t included for adjusting the positioning of the outdoor camera.
There’s a microSD slot on the indoor camera, allowing you to save video footage onto the inserted microSD card. Interestingly, there’s no microSD card slot on the outdoor camera, which I thought was strange, as there was one on the indoor camera. However, that’s not a reason to not buy the CleverLoop, as the home security system stores video footage in a very smart way, a way that many other products aren’t doing (more on that later).
The CleverLoop home security system is designed very well, almost looking like they may have come out of a James Bond flick! The base station is designed just as well, though it was surprising to see just how small it was in comparison to seeing online photos beforehand.
CleverLoop definitely outdid themselves here.
Setup
The setup for the CleverLoop system is insanely easy. You don’t get a manual, except for a pamphlet telling you to download the application, which will take you through the entire setup process in just a few minutes. It didn’t take long at all to have things up and running perfectly and without any glitches! While I tested the product with the Android app, there’s also an iPhone app for those that would prefer to go that route.
One of the neat things about the setup beyond it being insanely easy already is that CleverLoop has created a bunch of tutorial videos to help you along if you don’t understand a step. Easy just got even easier!
The cameras and base station all connect up to your router via Ethernet cables or through a Wi-Fi connection. However, for the initial setup you have to connect up via Ethernet, but once everything is good to go, you can switch them over to Wi-Fi. I decided to stick with the Ethernet connection, as my Wi-Fi can be spotty at times.
Software
The software is truly the meat and potatoes of the CleverLoop home security system. The company has included a robust software system with the CleverLoop, allowing you to do a bunch of crazy things that you won’t ever find with the Netatmo Welcome or Piper NV.
One of the first things is that you can actually connect an external hard drive up to the base station, head into the web interface, and choose to store all of your recorded video onto that hard drive. I didn’t dig into it too much, as this is way beyond the scope of this review, but you can also store the footage on a Network-attached storage (NAS) server as well.
CleverLoop has a feature called Auto Arm. When toggled on, the system will continuously scan for activity, and if it finds anything, it sends a clip to the app. If you’re out and about, this is particularly helpful for calling authorities and even having some solid evidence to give in a potential investigation. It does a bit more than that, though. While CleverLoop’s algorithm tries to filter out certain activity, such as a dog moving around or an animal digging through the trash bins, sometimes it’ll still get confused and send a video clip to the app, which then sends you an “Unusual Activity” notification that can be reviewed from the app.
I truly think that everyone looking to outfit their homes with a security system should look into the CleverLoop. It works so you don’t have too. For instance, these “Unusual Activity” alerts stop while you’re at home. That said, if you head into the office to play some video games or watch a movie, it’s not going to send you a notification that someone mysterious walked into your office. It’s smart like that, as it takes advantage of your device’s location services. The home security system will, automatically, arm or disarm based on your device’s location.
Closing
Smart home technology is still in its infancy, with efforts like the Internet of Things (IoT) still in heavy development. However, if CleverLoop can get their home security system to catch on, they could have a big part to play as far as home video surveillance goes.
I was very impressed with CleverLoop’s option, and I’m sure you will be, too.
[Amazon][CleverLoop]
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