Philips - Hue Outdoor Floodlight Camera - Black

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• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Needs a Phillips Hue Bridge for its full potential

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 1000 Contributor

  The Hue Outdoor Floodlight Camera is an attractive floodlight that also doubles as a security device. The enclosure (aside from the LED floodlight cover) is made out of sturdy aluminum, no cheap plastic here. It is heavy, feels substantial, and looks quite nice on the wall. However, if you hope to use this floodlight/camera to its best ability, you will need to have a Hue Bridge. I’ll explain that in more detail further on. Installation of the physical device was quite easy. I pulled an old outdoor light fixture off that is mounted by my garage door and followed the rather confusing set of drawings on the small instruction booklet included in the package. Fortunately, I’ve done plenty of wiring and light installations, so there wasn’t anything that caught me off guard. Once I got it installed and turned on, I downloaded the Hue app from the Android store. I don’t have any Phillips Hue products, and as such I did not have a Phillips Hue Bridge. I noticed after installing the app, the first thing it said was if I had a Hue Bridge I needed to install it first. I didn’t have a Bridge, so I skipped that part in the app. That’s when I discovered that without a Bridge, this floodlight/camera is not going to give you full accessibility and customization of the Hue Floodlight Camera. Without the Bridge, you can install the camera and Security Center in the app and have full control over the camera and security options of the camera, but no control over the light part of the floodlight. Or, if you choose, you can just control the floodlight, but have no control over the security functions. After trying to figure out why the app would only let me do one or the other, and several application resets and a floodlight/camera reset, I was able to find some information on the internet that said full usability required a Hue Bridge. Sigh… Fortunately, I had one Best Buy about 25 minutes away that had a Hue Bridge in stock. A run there, another 60 dollars (plus tax), and I had a Hue Bridge. I got home, installed the Hue Bridge on my network, and bingo! I had the ability to install and customize both the floodlight and the camera within the app. Sweet! It wasn’t all smooth sailing at that point, still. For me, the Hue app is not very user friendly. Trying to navigate through to ensure that I had the Floodlight Camera set up the way I wanted took a couple of hours. That being said, an option that is really, really useful is the Automations. This menu function in the app allows you to select lights within your infrastructure and program them for different behaviors that take place at the times you select. I set one up to turn my floodlight on at 8 PM and another to turn it off at 5 AM. I couldn’t get any of the automations to work at first, and ended up power cycling things and rebooting my router. After some attempts, suddenly the automations started working. It was a hassle to get everything set up, but afterwards it worked like a charm. Now, onto the light and camera themselves. The floodlight is very bright, and can go as high as 2250 lumens. This is bright enough that I can see it clearly in the bright morning sun of Las Vegas. I myself don’t run it at that brightness, and the app allows you to lower the brightness down to whatever percentage you want it to be at. I run around 60% brightness, which matches the other porch lights in my yard. In addition, should you choose, you can change the color of the light to just about any color you might want. I’m not very fancy, but if you wanted to have some fun you can even have it move through a palette of colors throughout the night. The camera is excellent. 1080p video comes in without any issue. Streaming is instant, better than I can say about some of the other wireless cameras that I have on my network. Video quality is immaculate. Night vision picks out all the details. My favorite aspect of the floodlight/camera is the AI motion detection. I was getting constant alerts for motion because I have a small tree near the camera that waves in the constant breeze here. I found an option in the app that allows the user to select what kind of motion to receive alerts for. I turned everything off except for person (that’s all I am worried about, in all reality). The AI motion detection ignores everything else and just picks up a person walking in my driveway. I absolutely love this! There are a few things I don’t like about the Phillips Hue Outdoor Floodlight Camera. First, you have to have a Hue Bridge to be able to customize and utilize all the functions. For someone who was not looking to get into the Hue infrastructure of products (I just wanted a camera/floodlight with a siren), I was bummed that I immediately had to spend more money to get things going. Second, the app isn’t user friendly. Trying to find the different options between the camera, motion detection, and light is difficult. I got frustrated several times just trying to figure out what exactly I needed to do to set the motion detection area or the light brightness. Third, if you want the more advanced options of the Hue Outdoor Floodlight Camera, you have to pay an annual subscription fee. For example, if I want to keep the AI motion detection, I have to pay that annual subscription fee (you do get 30 days for free). There is no option to record motion clips to a hardrive either. If you want to save clips of motion or other alerts, you have to pay the subscription fee. That being said, I will recommend the Hue Outdoor Floodlight Camera, particularly to those who are already invested in the Phillips Hue system. This will be an easy addition. If you are not already deep into the Phillips Hue infrastructure, you may want to consider different options. At the least, you will need to add on the Bridge so you can control and customize the Hue Floodlight/Camera to its full capability. Or, if you are on one of the other many home security systems that are out there, you may prefer something that matches closer to what you have. I’ll keep my Hue Floodlight/Camera because I like the AI motion detection ability, the bright and customizable LED floodlight, and the camera quality.

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  Posted 1 year ago by Derek

• Rated 3 out of 5 stars

  Bright Light, Clear Camera, Requires Hub & Plan

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  This is my first Philips Hue product, and while this could be a great security camera and floodlight combo, it’s hobbled by the fact that you need to purchase a separate hub and subscribe to a plan to unlock its full potential. I’m disappointed that this fact isn’t made abundantly clear on the front of the packaging, though there is mention of it on the back of the box and in the fine print. Since I do not have the hub, I can only describe how the product functions without one. The instructions are illustrated but not described, so there is no text explaining exactly what you need to do. If you’ve installed any electrical lighting before and are replacing an existing fixture, installation is fairly straightforward, and it can be completed in a few minutes. I liked that you can use the camera’s security cable to hold up the fixture while you connect the wires, making it easy for one person to do on their own. You should take note of the fixture’s size, 5”W x 8.5”H, as it is slightly wider than a standard 4” mount, and I had just enough clearance for it. The housing of the fixture is made from a durable, weather-resistant metal, and there is a strong magnetic, rubberized mounting point for the camera that allows it to pivot, rotate, and tilt freely. At the bottom of the floodlight’s housing are the camera’s power cable and a metal security cable which will prevent the camera from falling to the ground if it becomes disconnected from its base; however, it won’t prevent theft as it can be detached. To control the camera and light you’ll need to download and install the Hue mobile app. During setup you can add the light or camera first but must do them separately. If you do not have a hub, you won’t be able to connect the “second” device to your existing setup, so you will need to add a new system by creating a “new setup” in the settings. I recommend skipping account creation the second time around, so you do not have multiple accounts. You will end up with a ‘camera-only home’ and a ‘Bluetooth’ setup, and you will need to swap between them to control each portion of this device separately. Note that with the Hue hub, you would be able to create automations in the app that include both devices, for example, when the camera detects motion, turn on the floodlight, but this option isn't available without the hub. The camera itself has 1080p video that is clear with natural looking colors, saturation, and brightness. It has a nice wide angle and its easy to adjust its position on the magnet mount. At night, the night vision kicks in and produces a very good grayscale image that appears almost as light as daytime footage without washing out. You can also listen to audio captured by the camera and engage in two-way audio communication via the app. You cannot, however, manually start a video recording or take a snapshot during live view natively in the app. Video clips will only be captured during motion events, per your settings, and only if you are on a subscription plan. Without a plan you'll just have access to live view, though can always take a screenshot or use a separate screen recorder app. As a security system, you can ‘arm’ and ‘disarm’ the system with or without a delay and specify separate settings for ‘home’ and ‘away.’ Arming the system simply enables push notifications to your phone about events. Tapping notifications will bring up the camera’s live view or the event's recording with a subscription. From the live view, you can tap the “Take Action” button in the app to manually call an emergency contact, call local emergency services (911), or sound a siren built-into the camera, but note that none of these actions will happen automatically. If everything looks good after an alert you can tap “All Safe” to dismiss the alert. This device comes with a 30-day free trial of Hue’s “Plus Secure Plan” which enables features like video clip history up to 60 days, advanced alerts using AI to detect and distinguish motion events like people, packages, animals, or vehicles, and define specific activity and blackout zones. I found that the package alert successfully detected when I placed a package down in the detection zone, and it accurately alerted me if a person versus an animal passed through its field of view. However, when the package was removed from the detection zone, it did not subsequently let me know that the package was no longer present, although a person event did trigger. Subscriptions can be purchased on annual or monthly plans for up to 2 or up to 10 cameras. The floodlight, which is controlled separately in the app, can be set to any color using the RGB color wheel or select from a range of warm white to cool white colors. The brightness can be adjusted from 1-100% and at its brightest is able to illuminate much of my backyard and steps leading up to the house. The one thing I don’t like is that it is Bluetooth controlled; since I don’t have the Hue hub that means I can’t access the light if I’m more than 30 feet away from it. This makes it a little less useful as a security device as the light won’t come on when the camera detects motion like a person at night, and if I’m not home, I can’t control it either. Overall, as a security device, without the hub and/or a subscription plan this “system” falls a little short on delivery. The camera and floodlight are not fully integrated as a single device, so it’s more like buying two separate devices within the Hue ecosystem that happen to share a single mount. Those who have or are willing to get the hub may find it more useful since you'll get access to automations. However, you'll also need a subscription if you want to access video clip history and features like AI detection for custom notifications. Even with both of these, I feel it’s no replacement for a monitored system as it will not sound the siren, call your emergency contact, or notify emergency services without your manual intervention; if you miss the notification on your phone, you could also miss your window of opportunity to take action.

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  Posted 1 year ago by ReviewedByPhil

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Illuminating Security for Your Home

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  The Philips Hue Outdoor FloodLight Camera combines a powerful and multi-colored LED floodlight with an HD security camera, offering both illumination and surveillance for your outdoor spaces. This smart device integrates seamlessly with the Philips Hue ecosystem, allowing for easy control through the Hue app or voice commands via compatible smart home systems. Setup Setup was super simple. I put this unit up outside of my garage door to replace a fixture that was already in place. It was a simple three wire installation (positive, negative and ground). Once it was plugged in, the floodlight turned on and the camera began to sync. After a few minutes, the camera notified me that it was ready to be configured. During that time frame I got the unit mounted to the existing wall can. I then went to my Hue app on my smartphone to search for the fixture. All I did was search for the new device and it found the floodlight first. The app informed me that I would be setting up the camera separately. I followed the setup instructions on the Hue app and I was done within about 5 minutes. I then turned to the camera, which required configuring a connection to my wifi followed by a firmware update which took another 5 minutes. Once all updates were complete, both the floodlight and camera appeared in my Hue app. I then proceeded to set up the advanced settings. I was able to configure the fixture to turn on and record video when the camera sensed motion at dusk. All of the advanced settings were easy to configure and came with really concise and descriptive instructions in app. Pros: - Dual functionality: Combines lighting and security in one device - Not 4K but I was impressed with the 1080P HD video feed - Integration with Philips Hue ecosystem - Apple Homekit Compatible - Weather-resistant design for outdoor use - Motion detection capabilities - Customizable light settings (brightness AND color) - Night vision for 24/7 monitoring Cons: - Potentially higher price point compared to standalone floodlights or cameras - Requires Philips Hue Bridge for full functionality Conclusion The Philips Hue Outdoor FloodLight Camera is a versatile addition to any smart home setup, especially for those already invested in the Philips Hue ecosystem. While the price may be higher than some alternatives, the combination of powerful lighting and security features makes it a worthwhile investment for homeowners looking to enhance their outdoor spaces. The easy setup and user-friendly app contribute to a positive experience.

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  Posted 1 year ago by amarks94070