A Two-Way Intercom Security Cam Keeps You Connected

We have reviewed a number of really good home security devices before, but the Piper security cam is the first one that incorporates a two-way intercom.  Just picture it, you can see what’s going on in your family room live…and talk to your kids, pets, aging parents, etc. from your phone from afar.  Now that’s pretty cool.

The Piper security cam gives you the best of both worlds – it can help you watch over your home in case of intruders and helps you stay connected to home by checking in with  your family or pets while you’re away.

Home Control

But Piper does even more, it houses a well-established connected home technology called Z-wave that allows your Piper app to control your lighting, appliances, etc., right from your phone.  Control your lights, know when a door has been opened, and more with other Z-wave devices.

We have a number of devices using Z-wave.  I installed GE Z-wave light switches and plugs in our house (you can get them from Home Depot) so I can control them from my phone.  I set up these Z-wave devices years ago and needed to get a $200 device to help control them.

The Piper security cam comes with a built-in controller, so you get the security cam and home control all packed in for one, much lower price.  

Piper has two security cams available, the Piper Classic and the Piper NV.  If you are interested in exploring the amazing things you can do with home automation, I encourage you to buy the Piper NV.  It’s $80 more, but it packs a lot more punch.  It houses a more advanced Z-wave 500 series controller, which makes it easier to connect with other Z-wave products.

The Piper NV security cam also includes Night Vision, and you’ll be amazed at how well you can see what’s going on…even with all of the lights off.  Lastly, the Piper NV has a higher resolution camera at 3.4 megapixels versus the Piper Classic at 2.1 megapixels. 

Did You Remember to Set the Alarm???

With traditional home alarm systems, they are only as good as the last person out the door…who remembers to set the alarm.  When family members are in a hurry or have a lot on their mind, it’s likely the alarm won’t get set.

Piper solves this problem in a couple of ways…

1.  Forget to set the alarm? No problem, just press the Away button in the Piper app from the car, office, or shopping mall.
2.  Too much work to press a button in the app? Download and install the free Life360 app on each of your family member’s phones.  Life360 is a great family locator app where you can see on a map where each family member is located (really, where their phone is located).  The Piper app works in conjunction with the Life360 app to automatically “Arm” Piper once that last person (with Life360 on their phone) leaves the house.  It’s simple and brilliant.

I’ve used the Life360 for several years now, it works great and a fantastic tool for keeping connected with your family…and best of all, it’s free!  Know when the last person left the house.  Know when your child reached…and left his/her school.  Know when your child left Summer camp for home…all with Life360’s helpful GPS boundary fences.

Three Security Modes

Piper has three main security modes that are customizable to work around your preferences.  For example, you can choose what Piper should do if it detects motion, loud sounds, or if the temperature changes.  You can be notified by email, push notification, text, or email.  If you want everyone in your Life360 family to know of the sound, motion, or temperature, all you need to do is slide a button.  You can choose different options for each security mode.

They three modes are…

Armed Away — Used when everyone is away from home.  You can decide to automatically record after motion or sound is detected and whether or not you want a siren to go off.

Armed Stay —   Used when everyone is home – best at night after everyone has gone to bed.  You can set rules accordingly and decide whether you want an alarm to sound off or not if motion/sound is detected.

Disarmed — Piper continues to provide live video and all of its features, but it does not enforce the custom security rules you created, with regards to sending notifications.  

Piper Security Cam Uses 

The Piper security cam can be used in any room you’d like to have surveillance.  In fact, you can connect multiple Pipers in rooms throughout your house to the Piper app if you’d like.  For my family, we have one set up in our family room.  

But I have also set it up to…

• try to see if we have a mouse in our pantry
• see if the kids are trying to see their presents in our secret hiding place
• watch over our two new playful puppies to see what they are up to when we are away from them

You could also use Piper to…

• watch over and even speak to your baby
• capture who comes to the front door by putting Piper in a window facing the door
• check on your older kids when you’re away to ensure they are working on their homework
• capture who or what is near your pool, by putting Piper in the window looking out onto the pool
• keep an eye on your aging parents who insist on living in their home as long as possible
• allow you to watch over things while you’re on vacation
• download moments caught on video while your family was gathered together in front of it
• view the video clips to see where you set the remote control!
• capture Santa Claus coming through the Chimney???

What’s the Annual Fee?

Nothing!  Absolutely nothing!  Unlike other security cam providers, Piper does not charge a monthly fee.  If you set Piper to automatically record video clips after detecting sound or motion, it will record and upload the footage to the secure Piper cloud, so you can view a clip from any timeframe…way back until the time you first installed Piper.  

And because it’s on the cloud, the video footage is not taking up valuable space on your phone.  I have video footage all the way back to October that I can access straight from the app.  This is an amazing advantage over other security cams.  Others will offer 1-7 free days of video clips, on a rolling basis, but if you want more days, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee for it.

Features:

• Captures video after detecting motion or sound
• 180 degree camera with panoramic view and pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities from the app
• 3.4 megapixel camera with fish-eye lens
• Motion sensor
• Provides battery compartment with three AAA batteries for backup power
• Can sound a very loud 105dB siren via the app or when it senses motion/sound, if set up to ring
• Offers full HD video (1920×1080) resolution
• 2-way audio to listen to and talk to family members or pets while away
• Comes in white or black finish
• Includes a snap-on mounting panel for hanging on a wall
• Features a Series 500 Z-Wave controller to control other Z-wave devices in the home
• Includes sensor for and provides timeline reports on temperature, light, sound, and humidity

Pros:

• The camera view is excellent, whether day or night
• The alarm siren is extremely loud at 105 dB
• I love the ability to push a button to talk to family members at home.  This was handy to remind my daughter to keep studying while away from home
• The built-in Z-wave controller is a great value-added feature to begin controlling your home in a piece-by-piece manner as you’re ready to add other Z-wave devices, such as light switches, outlets, open door notifiers, and more
• Video clips are stored to the cloud, not to your phone
• Videos are stored on the cloud for you to access for an indefinite time
• There are absolutely no monthly fees
• The fish-eye lens is great – from one streaming view, I could watch the floor, counter, door, and ceiling of our pantry with the app (great when trying to catch mice on film!)

Cons:

• Video clips are only accessible from the app, you cannot access them from the web
• If you do not have Internet access, you cannot view or download your video clips from the cloud
• Piper looks obvious as a camera up close or even from a distance at night due to is glowing infrared lights that helps the camera’s Night vision
• Can’t record from Piper on the spot – only if you have rules set up for automatic recording on sound/motion

Besides tracking motion and serving up video clips on your app, Piper is also collecting temperature and humidity readings to alerts you if there are issues in the  home you need to know about ASAP.

And with the free Life360 app, Piper NV detects when family members leave home and arrive home and transition from home and away modes without needing to worry about it.

The Piper security cam packs a lot of value into one package and opens the door to explore home automation as your interest guides you.