Podcast #955: eufy Security Indoor Camera

eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K

We are always on the lookout for new home automation/security devices. Especially ones that really deliver and don't cost a lot of money. The eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K does exactly that. At just $40 a pop, this is an absolute no brainer! Add the fact that it works with Amazon, Google, and will work with HomeKit in July, this is the camera that every HT Guys listener should own.

Features

• Detect Pets vs Humans
• Encrypted video stored locally. Cloud based storage available if desired
• Setup multiple Activity Zones
• Two-way Audio
• Night viewing
• iOS and Android app
• 1080p HD Video

Setup

Plug in, connect via the app and join Wifi. That's it! There are settings you can customize in the app that include rotating the image 180 degrees if you mount the camera to the ceiling (upside down). If you want local storage you can insert a mini SD card. You can buy a 64GB card for about $10 which gives you a ton of storage. Or you can opt for cloud based storage for $30 a year or $100 for ten cameras for a year. The cloud storage gives you a rolling 30 day record of events for each camera.

Performance

It works great! Video is clear. Detection of Pets vs humans was very good. Audio is what you would expect from a tiny speaker but it's passable. There is an alarm feature that has decent volume. Not sure how effective it would be in deterring a burglar but maybe if you had multiple cameras with all of them blaring it might do something.

The Activity zones worked well and we were able to cut down on false alarms by creating a zone that had no objects in it but would trigger if a human walked through. The camera did a good job in detecting animals vs humans. But there were some false alarms. Mind you we had to get an old stuffed animal from when my kids were little and tie it to a string to make it move across the floor. We suspect this will improve as Eufy fine tunes their AI algorithm.

There is even sound detection that can be turned on and off. It has the ability to detect a crying baby which we didn't test. Unlike finding an old stuffed animal we did not have access to a baby nor would our kids pretend to be one! There is a sensitivity setting for this feature that can be used to fine tune it.

Smarthome Integration was not tested because we tested in Ara's house which is a HomeKit home and that functionality has not been activated yet, But according to the literature it does work with Google and Amazon which means you can speak to your device and get the video on screen provided you have a device with a screen. A plus for Apple users, when HomeKit does come to the device, it will support secure video to iCloud. So if you have an iCloud device your videos will be stored encrypted at no cost beyond your iCloud fee.

Bottom Line

The Eufy Indoor 2K Camera provides you with great looking video and motion detection that is typically found on more expensive cameras. It supports Alexa and Google Home today and will support Homekit in July. Really the only drawback that we see is that it is a fixed camera. But if you can afford a whopping $10 more ($50) you can get the eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K Pan and Tilt. We'll take a look at that camera in the future.