Totally Wireless HD Camera That Is NOT A Toy

Is your picky customer interested in swapping out a bulky battery once a day? Because that's the only way you're going to get a "truly and completely wireless camera".

I guess we'll have to wait for years for this to reach the market as a viable and affordable enough commercially available product.

Is Arlo just a watered-down version of Vue?

I'm really trying to understand the requirement here A.

So you have a really picky customer who doesn't want any wires showing anywhere, yet is fine with changing batteries and recharging batteries or replacing batteries every X number of days?

Have you read this discussion, esp. Michael Silva's excellent post: Customer Does Not Allow Exposed Cables Nor Raceway Channels?

"C":

Well, to be honest, the original goal was to welcome any suggestions of the latest and greatest 100% Wireless HD Cameras readily available comercially in the market to offer a good deal for my customer, so that he doesn't have to pay an extra $19 hundred dollars.

Why $1,900 ?? you may ask...

Choice #1 was:
- $200 (for drilling holes and openings in the house's gypsum drywall, fishing & wiring ALL the concealed cables through the inner studs of his living room, bedrooms, kitchen and patio centrally to a power supply and repairing the gypsum afterwards) multiply that times 8x cameras = $1,600
- Add another $300 (for searching/buying the closest paint-color "which sort of matches" his existing wall color --with NO WARRANTY whatsoever from our part that it will match 100% (the house is NOT that new and the walls had received lots of UV sunrays already) and then painting the gypsum with this "original" color.
- Time for completion (including 8x cameras installation): 24-36 Hours / 3 workers including the gypsum guy.

Choice #2 was:
- Just put up the wireless cameras on each placement point, connect and configure wirelessly.
- Time for completion: 3-4 Hours Max. / 2 workers including the IT guy.

But then the discussion evolved naturally towards "the factibility of using powerbanks as in smartphones, etc." and it's main disadvantage (very well mentioned by "B" by the way): constant attention, replacing battery packs constantly and worrying about cameras running out of battery juice.

I guess that (from my point of view at least) the main takeaway from this very interesting discussion was:

- It seems people will NOT mind charging their personal smartphones every night, but will disapprove replacing their security cameras batteries every morning when they leave the house.

- Even the latest cutting-edge research on batteries has NOT yet solved the "power-hungry problem" that wireless HD cameras represent.

- And 100% wireless cameras are either UGLY, BULKY unfit for indoor use, or lack the resolution clarity (VGA 640x480, anyone ??) that customers desire (everybody wants HD/Full-HD nowadays).

I guess my customer will have to go with Choice #1 and pay extra ; ) : ) ....

Probably too late for this install, but there's hope on the horizon via Amberella's new S2Lm:

The reference design enables fast development of a new generation of small, high-quality, battery-powered Full HD security cameras suitable for both professional and consumer security applications. The reference design is based on Ambarella’s new S2Lm ultra low-power HD camera System-On-Chip (SoC), which can start recording Full HD 1080p30 video in less than 500ms from wake up, and provides up to six months of battery life

The Ambarella S2Lm reference design supports a feature set similar to that found on high-quality AC-powered IP cameras. Advanced image processing provides clear video in challenging lighting conditions...

How much video can you get in those six-months, I don't know. Btw, does anyone think they really mean high-quality AC-powered IP cameras?

Late to the party here as well, but in case it's still relevant (and for future reference), here are some thoughts:

1. Consider alternate mounting locations to ease wiring. If a camera is going in a room with a bunch of A/V gear, consider mounting it in the A/V cabinet/closet/etc. There will plenty of power available, as well as the possibility of using powerline networking if necessary. Pinhole models like Axis' P12 series may work well in this instance.

2. Manage expectations. How much of the day is backlighting a problem? A couple hours in the morning? All year long, or only in certain seasons (eg. winter, when the sun is lower)? Obviously it won't be an issue (or not as much of one) when it's cloudy - is this an area where overcast is more likely (eg. Pacific Northwest) or where sun is the rule most morning (Arizona)? True WDR greatly limits your options, so maybe that needs to be sacrificed on at least one or two cameras.

3. Reality check. What is the customer looking for with these cameras? Intruders and theft? Those are far more likely to be at night, where backlighting is moot. If it does happen during the day, it will be when the customer is away - close the blinds or curtains in the window to negate any backlighting.

4. If you can't deal with backlighting, avoid it entirely or use it to your advantage - put the camera near the window looking into the room. Your view will benefit from the additional lighting when the morning sun is streaming in the window.

Finally.... surely ALL EIGHT cameras aren't in the living room?? Backlighting and wiring can't be the same problem for ALL of them?

- It seems people will NOT mind charging their personal smartphones every night, but will disapprove replacing their security cameras batteries every morning when they leave the house.

Yes, but these are two very different activities. Charging your phone is a simple part of the bedtime ritual - pull phone out of pocket, plug it in, and set it on the nightstand. Changing multiple camera batteries is an outright chore, especially if the battery packs aren't readily accessible. Most smartphones also don't require you to remove the battery for charging.