5 Things to Know Before Buying a Roku Doorbell

The smart doorbell market is highly competitive, but Roku’s relatively new doorbells have done well thanks to aggressive pricing and a Walmart retail partnership. Roku is one of the biggest brands in media hardware and streaming, but the company’s foray into home security comes with Wyze. While the Roku Doorbell may just be a white-label Wyze doorbell, Roku has added some features that may help grab the attention of potential consumers.

With holiday sales just around the corner, many consumers will be looking to upgrade to a better home security and doorbell system. There are many reasons to buy a smart doorbellbut with the availability of many models from different brands, it is difficult to make a choice. Even Roku offers two different models of doorbells, so it can be difficult for consumers to choose one. Figuring out what each Roku doorbell offers and the differences between the two versions can hopefully lead to an informed decision if you’re looking to buy a Roku smart doorbell.

There are two versions of the Roku Doorbell

The Roku Doorbell is available in wired and wireless options. Leading Roku Video Doorbell great if the consumer already has an old existing doorbell to replace, while wireless Roku Video Doorbell comes with batteries, so wiring is optional. Roku estimates that two 3,250 mAh batteries will last three to six months. Although the initial installation of the wireless version may be easier, charging the batteries can be a problem. The batteries are also non-removable, so they need to be charged frequently as their capacity can decrease over time.

Aside from the power methods, there are significant size differences between the two Roku doorbells. The wired unit is smaller (1.5 x 3.3 x 0.6 inches) than the wireless one (5.5 x 1.8 x 1.1 inches), which is important to know if one wants to insert the devices in any way. The doorbells also differ in size, with the wired doorbell getting a smaller version (2 x 2 x 1.4 inches) and the Roku wireless doorbell getting a larger version (2.7 x 1.6 x 2.7 inches).

All features require a subscription

Installing a Roku video doorbell and doorbell gives consumers a two-week free trial of Smart Home, which is a 14-day trial of access to cloud storage of recorded video clips. The subscription also eliminates any delays between events and smart notifications. Without a paid subscription, the Roku Doorbell will not save any video clips, and users will only receive snapshots of security events and activities. Additionally, there is a cooldown period of at least five minutes between unsubscribed notifications. This monetization is the industry standard for smart doorbells; other brands like Ring Doorbell Pro and Arlo Doorbells have paid features.

A Smart Home subscription unlocks smart notifications: your device sends smart alerts about vehicles, people, pets and packages, making it easy to see what’s going on. The basic plan costs $3.99 per month or $39.99 per year. For $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, users can add up to 99 cameras to their Roku network. An advanced subscription is likely to be convenient for companies, shops or large houses.

No local storage for videos or notifications

One thing that might be a deal breaker for some is that Roku doorbells don’t record video locally at all. Instead, data is stored exclusively in the cloud. In fact, doorbells don’t even have memory or ports for local video storage. Consumers can view the live stream when needed, but event recordings are uploaded to the cloud for later access. Uploaded 12-second videos and photos are in high resolution, and Roku stores 14 days of content in the cloud, automatically deleting older recordings.

The companion app allows users to access any recorded material from their smartphone, and the chimes require a constant internet connection to work optimally. Both versions of the doorbell support a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection, while the wireless doorbell additionally supports a 5GHz frequency. It’s also currently not possible to send a Roku doorbell recording directly to Personal Storage. Consumers must manually download footage from the cloud app to their devices to keep a backup.

Different resolutions and lenses

Roku video calls come in different resolutions and lenses. The Roku Wired Video Doorbell features 1080p HD recording, which is more than enough for regular home security. The 1080p resolution is good for checking who’s at the door, filming random events, or giving instructions to the courier. The more expensive wireless version supports 1440p resolution. The Roku Wireless Doorbell’s high resolution means it captures more detail, which can be useful when checking videos with any nuances.

The wire doorbell has a wide-angle lens with a viewing angle of 120 degrees vertically and 88 degrees horizontally. The aspect ratio is 4:3, which Roku advertises as a “head-to-toe” aspect ratio. The wireless version has a field of view of 150 degrees vertically and horizontally and a square aspect ratio of 1:1. The Roku Wireless Doorbell captures a wider view, capturing more visual information in the frame. Both doorbells are also equipped with night vision thanks to small infrared lights in the camera section. The visual performance of the doorbell cameras is good for the price, except for the tiny LED light hidden inside the housing, which is usually not enough to fully illuminate the visitor.

Better integration with Roku devices

Roku remote control in front of a Roku-compatible TV

Charles McClintock Wilson/Shutterstock

Not surprisingly, Roku doorbells stack up well with others Roku productslike streaming devices and TVs. Roku doorbells can stream live to Roku-compatible TVs and can also use the company’s voice command features. With the push of a button, consumers can see what’s happening at their doorstep right on their TV. This feature is only available on Roku devices, so consumers with other smart TVs will not have this feature.

Roku doorbells also support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice services. Please show Roka who is at the front door can do the trick. However, Roku doorbells do not support Apple Homekit and are not compatible with IFTTT, the popular home automation program.

Overall, Roku doorbells are a good doorbell option available at a competitive price. Apart from the subscription-locked features, users won’t find much of a downside to the device. For consumers who already have Roku devices at home, any of Roku’s doorbells should be a great, relatively inexpensive choice if they’re comfortable with the extra cost of a subscription.