Looking to add an intercom. Mostly for kids rooms who are too old for a baby monitor, but we want them to be able to call us. Current thinking is adding another SkyBell, but this seems like a heavyweight solution. Also would prefer to give kids more privacy, with SkyBell we could call into their room any time. Any other ideas?
Are you specifically looking for something through Alarm.com? I think this may be best served by a self-contained device if you are looking for in-home usage, but is the intention to receive a cell phone call when the button is pressed?
Are you specifically looking for something through Alarm.com?
Not necessarily, but it goes to the general integration conversation, if Alarm.com is my home automation platform of choice it’s preferred to add to that ecosystem vs introducing additional ones or standalone devices.
I think this may be best served by a self-contained device if you are looking for in-home usage, but is the intention to receive a cell phone call when the button is pressed?
It doesn’t have to call out to a smartphone, I would be open to having a standalone device, though not requiring an additional device is a plus. In pricing standalone intercom systems I was getting pretty quickly to the price of a SkyBell. In thinking about it more the SkyBell might be an ideal kid intercom, with a few caveats 1) would probably cover the camera for privacy, 2) doesn’t have a great desktop mounting story so will have to rig something up, 3) expensive.
It doesn’t have to call out to a smartphone, I would be open to having a standalone device, though not requiring an additional device is a plus. In pricing standalone intercom systems I was getting pretty quickly to the price of a SkyBell. In thinking about it more the SkyBell might be an ideal kid intercom, with a few caveats 1) would probably cover the camera for privacy, 2) doesn’t have a great desktop mounting story so will have to rig something up, 3) expensive.
I suppose using a Skybell HD would work for you then, if the audio is all that you are after you’ll be paying for a video device as well. If you have Alarm.com Cloud Video already and can add the cam then it fits, but it will still use video clip storage and quotas when the button is pressed, so I don’t think it would be ideal.
Intercoms are pretty low-tech by comparison to the integration discussion referenced. The available products are typically point to point devices, and are usually self-contained for the application you reference. Something like this is the common solution. Is there a benefit you are looking for with integrating it with the ADC app?
The Skybell HD may still be a solid solution, but I would have to recommend for this type of application using it with Skybell’s app so you are not using Alarm.com cloud data for video storage.
There are rumblings about audio through surveillance cams as well in the future, but again, that would be video based, and probably further away from the goal than a Skybell HD.
If you have Alarm.com Cloud Video already and can add the cam then it fits
It’s a good point, if I wasn’t already paying the extra $5/month I probably wouldn’t want to add $5/month just for intercom.
Something like this is the common solution
Yeah I was looking at that one too, it seems to be one of the few left. They have a single button unit that would be the kids unit. Amazon.com
Is there a benefit you are looking for with integrating it with the ADC app?
I think the main thing is not having to remember to carry an extra device. For example go out to sit on the patio after the kids are in bed, I always have my smart phone but would have to remember to grab the intercom unit. Plus going through the ADC app we have infinite endpoints (in practice, my smartphone and wife’s smartphone). Also could use remotely though that is not the main use case.
The Skybell HD may still be a solid solution, but I would have to recommend for this type of application using it with Skybell’s app so you are not using Alarm.com cloud data for video storage.
It could be configured to not record, no?
It could be configured to not record, no?
Heh, yeah sorry I guess I never really thought about using a Skybell HD with no intention of using the video portion, but yeah you could just stop all recording schedules for it.
Suppose it’s actually not bad for that purpose provided you have ADC Video and space for a camera without adding a video level. No cost increase.
It would also trigger at your cell phone regardless of your location, and you could manage it through ADC. I suppose aside from the product being more expensive and having a feature that is not necessary for the application it still does what you need.
IP intercoms can get pricey anyway, you’re right, approaching and exceeding the cost of a Skybell HD. Most that I am aware of are more commercial oriented and require SIP server setup and use voice calls rather than an app.
Thanks for the confirmation Jason, I think I’m coming to the same conclusion. It seems kind of silly to deploy a Skybell for this relatively simple application (and not even use the video) but comparing to even the Chamberlain analog intercom it’s a small cost increase for a significant functionality increase.
…and after thinking about it more we decided to go a completely different direction and got a GizmoPal. GizmoPal is a wearable cell phone for kids, basically has one button to call a parent, along with GPS tracking. I was stuck on a premise based solution (bedroom), whereas even better for us would be a kid based solution. The GizmoPal can meet the bedroom “intercom” use case, but also useful for outside the house. It’s another $5/month subscription, but since they cost almost nothing on eBay now we can use it for a couple years before getting to what I was ready to spend on a SkyBell.
Anyway thanks again for kicking around the idea, I still agree the SkyBell is a reasonable intercom solution.
I was stuck on a premise based solution (bedroom), whereas even better for us would be a kid based solution.
I could imagine Alarm.com integrating with a service like you describe, but we of course could not say for certain whether or not that would actually be implemented. It just fits in my mind, much more so than a point to point intercom. We’ll inquire.
Regardless that sounds like a great solution for you.
I could imagine Alarm.com integrating with a service like you describe, but we of course could not say for certain whether or not that would actually be implemented. It just fits in my mind, much more so than a point to point intercom.
My initial reaction was that I don’t see how this fits with Alarm.com, but on thinking about it I think you are absolutely right.
Alarm.com’s marketing is clearly targeting people who want to protect their families. I haven’t seen any data but I’m guessing that for residential use, most people who pay for central station monitoring are doing so to protect their families more so than their material items. Today, Alarm.com facilitates this goal by providing premise-based protection - your family is protected when they are home.
But what if Alarm.com could provide protection when your family is outside the home? It would be a strategic shift, certainly, but one that makes a lot of sense. I know that for me personally it would make Alarm.com more “sticky” if they could provide a protection ecosystem that extends outside the home, and I would be willing to pay for this (I’m about to start paying Verizon $5/month for the GizmoPal after all).
So what would it look like? Taking the GizmoPal as an initial use case, the basic function is providing the ability to locate and communicate with your kids wherever they are. It needs 3G cellular service, but Alarm.com already does this for panels, so that isn’t a big stretch. Since the device is providing location, the kids would seamlessly become potential triggers for geolocation events. It needs an app to show the location - this is something that Alarm.com could add to their app.
Now - if Alarm.com has added the ability to track kids’ locations in the app, they could easily let you track the whole family - after all they already have geolocation for anyone running the Alarm.com app on their smartphone. In our family we already do this using Apple Friend Finder, but that’s a closed ecosystem and only works with Apple devices, etc. It would make a lot of sense to integrate family location tracking into the Alarm.com.
Another use case for the “GizmoPal” type device is seniors or adults who need monitoring, and who might not want or be able to use a smartphone. This would fit in Alarm.com’s existing “wellness” bucket. I know nothing about Personal Emergency Response (PERS) pendants, but I’m guessing these are premise based; making this into a cellular device to provide the same kinds of protection outside the home would make a lot of sense to me.
Anyway I have no idea if this fits into Alarm.com’s strategy but I agree that it is a direction I’d like to see them explore.
Alarm.com has put development toward similar things in the past, so I would be surprised if they haven’t already kicked around something like this.
I believe that it ran into some sort of roadblock and is not currently in active development, but at one time they were anticipating a similar GPS cellular tracking integration with Tagg for pets.
I believe that it ran into some sort of roadblock and is not currently in active development, but at one time they were anticipating a similar GPS cellular tracking integration with Tagg for pets.
That is surprisingly spot on, I had no idea they had these kinds of skunkworks projects. Well here’s hoping they can get past whatever the roadblocks are.
Do you have any more of these Alarm.com features that never made it to production?
Off the top of my head, no. I’m going to ask about whether or not they’ve looked into a similar solution to what you found though. I’ll follow up here with any insights.
Have you checked out the Nucleus Video Intercom, it’s works with Alexa and Ring, not an ADC device but works great when you have a large home
By the by, I am hearing rumblings that there will soon be multiple models of ADC camera which support 2-way audio through the ADC app. This is only app-related, not Central Station 2-Way.
One, supposedly, is an interior table-top model with a push to talk button. I can’t really say anything more than that, but it sounds pretty similar to the original goal here.