Video Doorbell - Skybell vs Ring

Hardware
1

I am considering purchasing a video doorbell, and want to get some perspective from the forums. The features that I am most interested in are recording activity, making use of existing chime and wiring, do not disturb mode, iOS notifications with either screenshots or video.

Since I want to make use of the existing mechanical chime and wiring, I don’t think that DIY solutions will work for me. But if you have something that might work, Id be open to hearing about it.

Skybell looks attractive because of the no fee cloud storage, and also the ability to switch on do not disturb via HA. But the Skybell HD will not fit where the current doorbell is installed. The component documentation mentions that it only works with Skybell HD. Is it confirmed that it will not work with the Skybell Trim Plus? I’m assuming this means you can’t use one of the Alarm.com versions available on Amazon as well.

The Ring Pro will fit better aesthetically, and based on some reviews, seems to have better camera. But I am not too crazy about having to pay to get access to recorded video.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

2

Did you consider Doorbird? I’ve recently bought one of them. It has an open API, so you can use it with HA.

3

I’ve used ring and now am using a doorbird (because of their open API), but I must say… The ring was not that bad either… Doorbird does have some issues (current api is under heavy development)

4

Doorbird does look pretty nice. I hadn’t looked at that one before. Might be a touch outside of my budget though. The API is definitely a selling point.

5

with doorbird, is use of their cloud service required or can everything be done locally? i have a NAS for recording video. can doorbell notifications be sent quickly through HA?

it sounds like their cloud is probably required for app functionality, but i’m wondering if it can (at least mostly) be avoided.

6

You can do it locally. Just use their open API: https://www.doorbird.com/api