Philips - Hue Wired Security Camera - White

I have several cameras from different brands that vary on the price spectrum. This camera has several features that I really like but some that are just disappointing. First off, the camera is solidly built and feels like it is made with quality material. I actually dropped it during outdoor installation, and it still works perfectly fine. I had it inside for a few days before that and it worked exactly the same. It is quite heavy, and I assume it has to do with the metal that helps the magnet base attach securely. It is pretty small and inconspicuous while capturing a wide angle image at up to 20ft distances at night. The magnet to base portion is something I found quite ingenious and love it, but there is one big downside. It is limited to where it can be placed on the magnet and the placement of the power cord prevents any magnetism from the bottom. This severely limited the angle I could place it in. The nice thing about the magnetic design though, is that I was able to attach it to metal features outside my home and it stayed attached strongly without a screw. I love this because I am able to easily switch locations if I change my mind about what area I want to surveille without leaving holes around my house. Also, the power cord is about 10ft long and the design to attaching it allows it to get through small places if it is necessary during installation. It requires the Phillips Hue app to access the videos and alerts. With the app, its features can be set according to preference. The clip length can be set from 15-60 seconds. Night vision can be turned on or off. A blackout zone can be set to avoid recording areas where perhaps neighbors will be in view. The motion sensitivity can be changed, and motion detection can be snoozed from 10-90 seconds to avoid recording constant movement alerts. It also allows you to set which kind of alerts to receive according to the AI beta feature that determines if it is person, vehicle, animal, or other. From the app, the camera can be set to be armed or away, an alarm can be triggered, and you can talk through it. The alarm is nice, not obnoxious in sound or volume but enough to alert unwanted people or animals that they have been caught. There is no nightlight or spotlight with this security camera. The camera records at a decent quality, it provides a clear and crips image at 30fps. The video is fluid and clear to see and the sound picked up is adequate. The colors look washed out though. I does its job, but there are better security cameras at the same price point with so many more features and no need for a subscription plan. The largest drawback is that it requires a subscription plan once the free month trial ends. Without a subscription, it will alert of activity but will not record anything. There is no slot for an SD card. For anyone that does not have or plan to set up a network of Phillips products, this is just another unnecessary monthly expense. This is the main reason I would not recommend this camera. Taking everything into account, I feel that this security camera falls short for its price point. It lacks several features, has a major drawback in design, and requires monthly payments for as long as it is in use. Unless someone already has Phillips products, I just cannot recommend it.

Quick Overview ================================= There are a lot of security camera options out there, from wired (network or power) to wireless (network or battery) and there are ecosystems built around each one. Philips Hue, known for their lighting solutions, also has security cameras and this Secure Wired Camera gives you the best of both: Wired power so you never need batteries and wireless connectivity for flexible placement. Overall build ================================= The Philips Hue Secure Wired Camera looks nice in white and the plastic housing feels durable (and it is with an IP65 rating for outdoors). The rounded base of the camera is perfectly shaped to meld with the magnetic mount inside of the mounting base. The cord that comes with it is nearly 10 feet and has a special rubber-sealed plug around the end that inserts into the base of the camera for weatherproof power delivery. This Philips Hue Secure Wired Camera comes with a 1080p sensor and a wide field of view (141 degrees) to capture more area. Inside the box you'll get a mounting screw and drywall anchor along with a sticker and card with the QR code needed to set it up. Performance ================================== First of all, this is a fast and responsive camera with a clear picture day or night. But let's also talk about the setup. I ran into a hurdle here that I hope I can help you avoid. If you had a Hue account previously with a Bridge that you no longer own (we donated our setup when we moved), then your account may have trouble setting up the camera. I couldn't get past the setup even though support said I didn't need a Bridge. The problem was my account was tied to the old Bridge, so I had to create an all new Hue account. Once I created a new account, setup was as easy as you'd expect. Install the app, login, scan the QR code after it asks you what device you're setting up, and that's it! Now, wait for some updates and then you'll name your location and the camera. The camera supports 2.4 and 5 Ghz (and Zigbee) unlike some older models. Now I had a "Front Porch" camera set up and ready to test! Starting up the camera is very quick - maybe quicker than my other popular cloud-based camera system I have. The picture was super-clear during the day especially compared to my older 720p cameras. My other 1080p cameras looked similar, but I might give a slight edge to the Philips (perhaps a newer sensor and less compression). Importantly, your video is encrypted end-to-end to protect your data. You can talk and listen through the app and even set off a siren. I felt like the two-way audio was much more responsive than my current system which always had a bit of lag, making it harder to have a nice conversation when needed. With other Hue components, you can trigger useful automations similar to a motion sensor: When a person or movement is detected, turn on the lights. After they leave the field of view, turn off the lights. Note, this would mean you have other Hue-compatible lights and a Bridge. The camera is hefty (in a good way) and I was worried that the mount might not hold it properly, but it's fine in a sturdy piece of wood. I didn't need to use a drywall anchor. One thing I don't love is that it's easy to take this camera down or knock it off since it's on a magnetic base that can swivel. A long stick or possibly very strong storms/winds could change the angle or knock it off from the magnetic base and disconnect the power cord. Most other outdoor security cameras have sturdier mounts that seem more permanent. You'll definitely want to mount this one out of the reach of a possible intruder. Conclusion ================================= To get the most out of this system (or any of the competitors) means you need more products in the ecosystem. For Philips Hue, that means more lights, a Bridge, and a paid subscription to store recordings and unlock more features like AI-powered people or animal detection, and more. You can pay monthly or annually (for a discount) with a Basic or Plus plan being your options along with how many cameras you'll want to include. Having said that, this is a great camera but I'm in the wrong ecosystem currently. Since I don't want to switch everything over, I'd recommend this for users that are already in the Philips Hue ecosystem for lighting controls. This camera (and their other ones) integrates perfectly, letting you do some neat automations and routines. I definitely enjoyed the high-quality video feed, responsive two-way audio, and the overall appearance of the camera.

If you're already invested in Hue lights, you might want to consider adding the Philips Hue Secure Wired Security Camera to your setup. I was looking for a second brand to add to my Google Home centric security system and was eager to try a Hue camera out. Design: The camera looks premium and reminds you of another camera that starts with “N”. It's got an IP65 rating, so you can stick it outside without worrying about the rain or snow. The magnetic mount makes it easy to adjust the angle. There's a desktop stand, but it’s not included in this package. In the pack, you get a screw and anchor that can affix the magnetic mount to a wall or fixture that is not magnetic. There aren’t any instructions on how to do this, however, but if you’re handy you’ll see on inspection that you need to TURN the bottom part of the magnetic mount counterclockwise to unlock the inner portion which has a plate that can be drilled into. You only get one, so make sure you get it right. Video: The camera captures 1080p HD video, which is pretty standard for cameras. The focus is infinite and you can zoom in digitally. The wide field of view seems to be around 140 degrees, so you can keep an eye on a decent-sized area. It handles mixed lighting conditions and movement pretty well, and the night vision is clear and black and white. When it detects motion, you'll get a notification on your phone with a still frame from the video if you have a subscription. Integration with Hue: This camera really comes alive when you pair it with your Philips Hue lights. You can set up the camera to trigger lights when it detects motion, which is super useful. Plus, you can customize the armed behaviors for when you're home or away. It's a great way to create a cohesive security system that's easy to manage. It’s what we all hoped you could do with Nest Secure until Google killed it. Let’s hope that you can wrap this all up with Matter in the future. I couldn’t get the direct video to work with Google Home, and I guess there’s supposed to be a hook to Home in the future, but as of today, I couldn’t get it to work. Subscription and Cloud Storage: To get the most out of this camera, you'll need to pony up for a subscription. There are three plans: a basic one for one camera, one for two cameras, and a plus plan for “All your cameras.” With the basic plan you get 30 days recording, with the plus you get 60 days recording. Both plans give you cloud storage, activity zones, and AI-powered detection that can identify people, animals, packages, and vehicles. If you're already a Hue fan, the Philips Hue Secure Wired Security Camera is a solid choice with caveats. This is especially if you aren’t using multiple brands of cameras. If you’re using several brands of cameras and are trying to tie everything in using Google Home, Alexa, or HomeKit, it’s currently not working except for the most basic sensor reporting, but it integrates seamlessly with your Hue lights and offers some great features with the Hue App with or without a subscription.

I’m not the type of person who only has one type or brand of security cameras, so I was excited to get this particular camera. Most of my cameras are white so I’m use to the color, however black cameras look better under rain and dirt after time. I just make sure to wipe them clean every month is so. It will prolong its life. Since this camera is wired, make sure you are close to a plug in or you will need an extension cord which isn’t good. Mounting only took me five minutes, nothing special needed to accomplish this task. I made sure to mount it outside under the eve of my roof so that when it rains, an unnecessary amount of water won’t be poured onto the camera. Again this will prolong the life. Also make sure it’s not in direct sunlight because over time it will change the coloring of the camera videos. You want a clear picture at all times. The quality is good. I can see peoples faces and sometimes the license plate details of my car. At night, I also get a decent picture but of course day time is better. Don’t expect Hollywood videos at night, lol. Make sure you do a decent amount of research before investing. I have google home, so pairing it was easy and took less than five minutes as well. The only draw back is our sketchy interest but that not the cameras fault. I don’t believe it’s pulling a huge amount of data for recording. I also have other items that can integrate with Philips, like light bulbs in my home so that’s cool. And I don’t have any subscriptions as of yet.

If you already use Phillips Hue products and want everything to be in the same system, then I might recommend this for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go out of my way to pick this camera over other systems. For one, the “wired” part of this is just the power. Which can be a good thing for most as it ensures it can catch motion without needing to be brought down to charge a battery, but it still needs Wi-Fi to function. However, the plug is just a bulky brick and the wire is not all that long. So, the position in which you set this needs to be within 9 feet of a power receptacle. Then, should anything happen to the cord, you have to get a new one from them because of the unique format. The worst thing about this is that you must have a security plan that you can pay monthly or annual for or else you just get a streaming motion detector. There is no recording unless you have a plan, not even to your phone, only motion is detected, so you can’t determine if it is a person, vehicle, animal or other and you can’t set activity zones. So, like in my setup, this meant a notification with the slightest breeze causing the shadows to trigger “other motion” constantly. With the plan you can at least disable the “other motion” activity detection, but then it might miss something because it didn’t realize it was a human, animal or vehicle yet. But, without the plan, you also don’t get any clip storage. Not even a free 7 days like some services provide. By the time you get the notification, load the app, and see the video, the item detected is already gone. On the subject of detection and clips, even with the plan active, you might miss stuff. Being that it is powered, it at least has a pre-record style function where it catches video before it notices the motion. Which has been decent as a vehicle zips by. However, at the same time you get a clip of a person and 10 seconds later the clip just ends and 20 seconds after that you get a new notification but you have no idea what the person did in between there. This is kind of an issue with many cloud based video systems where they want to minimize usage, but you miss out on what could be crucial information. One thing I found strange with this camera is that you have to treat it like a typical home security system. If you want it to notify you of motion and record clips, you have to arm it, either home or away. Otherwise it does nothing. As for setup, the device is pretty straight forward. However, you have this little card that it comes with that you must keep if anything changes, like your Wi-Fi, as that is the only way to activate it. The magnetic mounting system just requires you to put in 1 screw and holds the camera in practically any position. However, it is nothing to pull it off of there as well. It does have the typical ¼” mount screw if you want to get a separate mount for it. The last thing I want to mention is the video and audio quality. It is only 1080, which is decent enough to make out what is happening. But you aren’t going to be reading plates with it, even parked directly in front of the camera. It doesn’t have a night color-vision setting like some cameras have. As my front yard is pretty bright at night, I had to manually disable the night vision and there I could see color like my other system does. However, if my front house lights went out, now the camera doesn’t switch into night vision, leaving it dark. With every motion detection, the app notifies you and gives you the option to “Take Action” where you can trigger the alarm. It is noticeable, not all that loud, but enough to get your attention. What is really kind of useless though is the two-way audio. Unless you are right up on the camera, you are not going to have a conversation with someone. Overall, the camera itself is not the worst I have seen. I just don’t like the limitations without a plan and the other shortcomings mentioned above which would prevent me from personally recommending this to anyone.