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Wisenet SmartCam D1 Video Doorbell Review

Wisenet SmartCam D1 Video Doorbell (SNH-V6435DN)

"The Wisenet SmartCam D1 has some great features, but it's not enough to chase the nest and ring off your porch."

Slim form factor

Comprehensive installation kit and instructions

Bright, vivid imaging

Expensive

Basic issues with Wi-Fi connectivity and usability

A subscription is required for cloud storage and motion zoning

No integration of Google Assistant / Amazon Alexa

While the category of intelligent doorbells is still in its infancy, we have already seen a number of shining stars illuminating the way. Our current favorite, Nest Hello, is a treat that offers great features, design and performance at a great price. Ring Video Doorbell 2 and August Doorbell Cam Pro are not quite the same heights, but they are certainly both serious competitors. However, all three smart home specialists need to be up to date as the inevitable flood of competitors rolls off the assembly line. The $ 229 Wisenet SmartCam D1 video doorbell is the newest challenger trying to beautify the country's porches.

Wisenet. Wise decision?

The brand may not be known, but the company, formerly known as Samsung Techwin, has a solid reputation. In recent years, a number of high-quality, affordable smart cameras have been released that have been a good choice for both households and businesses.

We were expecting the company's first doorbell to sell in a similar fashion at the price of category-defining asterisks like the Nest Hello for $ 229, but with the price parity, the SmartCam D1 has a lot to offer.

The wired installation requires basic knowledge of home improvement

Like the competition, this device is designed for private households with a wired 16-24 VAC doorbell (check your hallway for a small ring when you press the doorbell). A little rewiring is required, but nothing is more difficult than yesterday's Radio Shack electronics projects. A comprehensive installation kit includes everything you need to get started, including drills, screwdrivers, and friendly step-by-step instructions.

Terry Walsh / Digital Trends

We replaced our simple wired doorbell in less than 30 minutes, but two problems caused frustration. First, we couldn't configure the doorbell with an Android phone – although this was supported, the camera refused a Wi-Fi Direct connection. Installation with iOS was fine. Second, our mechanical doorbell initially refused to ring after being connected. After carefully checking our cabling, we found that the Wisenet app secretly deactivates the carillon by default. An imperfect introduction, to say the least.

Slimmer and more insidious than other intelligent doorbells

The SmartCam D1 is slim enough to fit on a door frame and has interchangeable surfaces that suggest a hint of quality. Although these faces appear to be made of brushed metal, they're disappointingly plastic, meaning the D1 lacks the premium feel you expect at this price.

The SmartCam D1 is slim enough to fit on a door frame and has interchangeable surfaces that suggest a hint of quality.

What saves the hardware in width gains in height – at 5 inches, Wisenet is bigger than Nest Hello, and the black plastic bezel means that it stands out a little more than we would like. Depending on your house construction, positioning is less problematic than with the square August Doorbell Cam Pro, but we prefer the compact, reserved quality of Nest Hello.

Packed with intelligent functions, but performance delays

Let's talk about imaging. High-resolution images are bright and vivid, if a little too sharp, but a wide 150-degree field of view supports a generous view of the veranda. If you have sufficient network bandwidth, you should override the default low resolution setting to enjoy the best views of the doorbell. Do you need optimization? Wisenet offers manual brightness settings, a wide dynamic range and a reduction in lens distortion to optimize image quality.

However, our initially positive impressions of the doorbell declined, with frequent Wi-Fi quality issues and dropouts that reduced live streaming quality and caused a delay of up to 30 seconds. It's not the first doorbell to experience network problems in our brick test house. The August Doorbell Cam Pro did not appear to be ready to maintain a strong connection in the same position. However, we have no problems with Nest Hello, which supports the faster 802.11ac standard. As always, when it comes to home networks, a lot depends on your house construction and the location of the access points, but on a comparable basis, the Wisenet SmartCam D1 could not impress.

Our initially positive impressions of the doorbell were associated with frequent problems with the WLAN quality.

We found the D1's face recognition to be reasonably effective, but it lacked the speed and intelligence of Nest Hello. In side-by-side tests, Nest's doorbell triggered a notification identifying the person approaching the doorbell and ringing, while the SmartCam D1 could only offer a timely but vaguely written “Human Detection Alert” . When we jumped into the app, we could see that Wisenet's doorbell matched the face to a previously registered one, but didn't make the necessary connections in time to show a registered name in the notification.

1. Wisenet SmartCam

2nd Nest hello

The lack of intelligent assistant integration – for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or other players – is also a failure. If you have Amazon Echo or Google Home devices all over the house, it can be a real convenience to have visitors announced. However, this is currently not available on the SmartCam D1. We keep our fingers crossed for a future update.

However, it is not all bad news. The bidirectional communication audio via the D1's capable microphone and speaker was clear at both ends, while the Wisenet SmartCam app is both attractive and easy to navigate. Up to three motion detection zones can be quickly defined with just a few taps, reducing the possibility of false alarms.

Finding and reviewing captured clips in the cloud is a breeze. Thanks to clear segmentation and search filters, you can quickly locate events based on their trigger. Regular readers may have suspected that cloud recording and motion detection zones are only supported on a subscription basis. A $ 5 monthly starter plan provides access to activities for the past 30 days. A free 15-day trial version is available for testing.

Warranty information

The Wisenet SmartCam D1 video doorbell is protected by a one-year guarantee against material and operational errors.

Our opinion

The Wisenet SmartCam D1 is a brave attempt to compete with established players in the smart doorbell market. While it looks good and offers some advanced features, it doesn't offer the quality, reliability, and performance we expect at this price.

Is there a better alternative?

Nest Hello ($ 229) is the same price as the Wisenet SmartCam D1 and offers better performance, more features, and a smaller form factor. If you're looking for a completely wireless solution, the Arbor video doorbell has some special features, but is worth a look.

How long it will take?

With the support of the parent company Hanwha Techwin America, you should expect the Wisenet SmartCam D1 to be supported with firmware and app updates. The company offers web and phone support in North America for support requests.

Should you buy it

If the price were $ 50 cheaper, the Wisenet SmartCam D1 would be a capable, if compromised, challenger to smart home executives like Nest, August, and Ring. At $ 229, Wisenet placed the D1 firmly at the top of the market, and unfortunately it misses out on the best. There's a lot to admire – a slim form factor, bright, vivid imaging, intelligent notification, and ease of use. However, the device is hampered by patchy wireless connectivity and lack of third-party integrations.

If at this point you like to spend top dollars on the best smart doorbell, you should look elsewhere.