2019-09-01_Computer_Shopper

30 SEPTEMBER 2019 |COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 379

EVENTHOUGHTHENest Cam IQ Outdoor

(Shopper378) was the first camerawe

reviewed to have a4Kresolution,it

downsampledthe footage to 1080p for

uploadingto the cloud. That makes the Arlo

Ultra the first securitycamerawe’ve seen that

can actuallyrecord in Ultra HD resolutions,

meaningit producessome of the best footage

we’ve seen. Since the camerais completely

wireless,this is even more impressive.

LOWRES

However,you can’t record in 4K straightaway.

Althoughyou get ayear-long subscriptionto

the Arlo Smart service at the Premiertier,

which gives you 30-dayvideo history forup

to 10 cameras,this only supports1080p

recording,rather than the camera’s native 4K.

If you want to upgradeto 4K recording,

you have to add on the option and payan

additional£1.49 per month per camera.

This seems abit cheekytous, given that

one of the main selling points forthis

camerais its 4K resolution.

Fortunately,there is away to get 4K

recordingforfree –or, at least, the cost of a

microSDcard. Slot this intothe Arlo Ultra’s

hub unit, and you can turn on local 4K

recording.Unfortunately,this option has its

problemstoo, not least that you can’t view

footage stored on amicroSD card via the Arlo

app; you have to remove the memorycard

and plug it intoaPC. By default, Arlo even

disables4K streaming:you can turn this on in

the app,but doing so disablesthe automatic

trackingfeature,where the system zooms

intodetected movement.

Limiting4K footage is quiteannoying as,

when it’s enabled,the clarity of the footage is

unrivalled. During the day, video is super-sharp

and provides alevel of detail that other

camerascan’t reach. At night, the Arlo Ultra

uses acombinationof IR and its colour sensor

to produceafull-colournight image that

preservesmuch of the detail that’s lost with

traditionalcameras.It’s simply stunning.

There’s alot else to like about this camera,

which can be installedinside or out using the

handy magneticmount (there’s ascrew

mount option if you want abit more security).

One of the main problemswith battery-

poweredcamerasis that theyrely on PIR

motionsensorsto detect movement,then

wake up the cameraand record whatever is

happening.It’s not aparticularlydiscerning

wayofdetecting what’s going on.

ARLOUltra

★★★★★

£450•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT

TheArloUltrashootsthemostdetailed

securitycamerafootagewe’veeverseen,but

4Krecordingwon’tworkoutofthebox

SMARTSECURITYCAMERA

To help,the Arlo Smart app offers the

option of Cloud Activity Zones. The PIR sensor

is still used to detect motionand wake up the

camera,but as the camerastarts streaming

footage,cloud processingdetects if the

motionhappenedinside azone and works out

whetherto discardthe informationor not.

The benefit is ahuge reductionin

recordingsand notifications.Even better,you

can set Smart Notifications,which let you

choosewhat you receivenotificationsfor:

people,animals, vehiclesor all motion.

MAINTAIN FOCUS

With the combination of Zones and Smart

Notifications,we receivedrelativelyfew

notificationseach day. Even so,there are a

fewthings to watch out for. First, if you have

your camerapointed at an area of high

activity,the PIR sensor will be triggeredoften,

wakingthe cameraup and drainingthe battery

quickly.You really need to focus the camera

on areas of importance,being careful to filter

out parts of the image that you’re not

interested in. Doing so meant that we

estimated that we’d get around20 weeks

of use from asingle charge (the cameracan

be removed to be charged,or you can buy

spare batteries and acharger if you want to

perform aquick swap).

The other problemis that the camera

would occasionallyrecord motionthat

happenedoutsideof aZone.It’s an

improvementfrom when we first installedthe

cameraand Activity Zones were actively

ignored,but the system isn’t quiteperfect.

Additionalprotection is offered by the Arlo

Ultra’s spotlight,which draws attention when

the camerais recordingat night, hopefully

scaringoff intruders.Youcan also set off a

camera’s siren using its internal speaker.This

is more annoying than scary,and astepdown

from the Arlo Pro 2system’s hub (Shopper

378), which has afar louder integrated siren.

We’re much bigger fans of how easily the

Arlo Ultra can be controlled.Rather than

limitingyou to asingle camera,the Arlo Hub

lets you add additionalcameras,which can be

other Arlo Ultra modelsor the older 1080p

models,such as the Arlo Pro 2.

All camerasappear in the Arlo app,and

you can filter footage to find clips by camera

and motiontype.You can also use geofencing

to have camerasturn on when you go out

and turn off when you get home.Cleverly,

when you’re at home,you can have cameras

operateonaschedule:say, always having

camerasdownstairsturn on at night for

extra protection. No other camerasystem

provides this level of control.

QUALITYFEAT

There’s no denyingthat the Arlo Ultra is

expensiveand, given the price,it’s

disappointingthat you can’t record in 4K

by default. All that said, once 4K is enabled,

the Arlo Ultra producesthe best-quality

footage of any securitycamera.Throw in

the incrediblecontroland the fact that you

can add separatecamerasintothe system,

includingolder Arlo Pro 2Full HD models,

and you’ve got the makingsof one of the

most flexiblesecuritycamerasystems.

If you’re just after asingle outdoor

camera,however,the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor

is cheaperand offers continuousrecording.

DavidLudlow

SPECIFICATIONS

VIDEORESOLUTION4K(requiresmicroSDcardoradditional

subscription)•CLOUDSTORAGEYes(subscription

required)•NETWORKINGWirelessviaHub•WARRANTY

OneyearRTB•PARTCODENestCamOutdoor