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Add to SafariWhen comparing Simplicam vs Samsung SmartCam HD Pro, the Slant community recommends Simplicam for most people. In the question“What are the best home-security cameras?” Simplicam is ranked 6th while Samsung SmartCam HD Pro is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Simplicam is:
If you are getting false alarms often, you can configure the sensitivity and even choose which parts of the frame to watch and which to ignore (the app can divide the picture into 25 different zones, and you can select zone by zone which to watch and which to ignore).
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Very configurable
If you are getting false alarms often, you can configure the sensitivity and even choose which parts of the frame to watch and which to ignore (the app can divide the picture into 25 different zones, and you can select zone by zone which to watch and which to ignore).
Pro Facial recognition support
When you get notified of movement, the Simplicam will be able to tell you who it is so you know if you can ignore the notification or not without needing to open the app.
This feature requires the subscription.
Pro Android and iOS support + web app
Some cameras only support Android or iOS, but that is very inconvenient for families that have members using both major mobile operating systems (you're still out of luck with Windows Phone unless you use its browser). Lucky, this camera has support for both Android and iOS. There is also a web app that can be accessed through any computer with internet access.
Pro Night vision
There are built-in infra-red LEDs that let you see through the camera even when its pitch black. They illuminate the center of the picture well, but the edges of the frame remain very dark, effectively reducing the field of view further at night.
Pro Scheduling available
You can configure your camera to turn on and off depending on a schedule you create. If the house is typically empty from 9am-3pm, you can set it to turn on then and when you go to bed. This cuts down on notifications, because if its on all the time it will constantly be sending you notifications and could feel like its invading your privacy if its always recording you when you're at home.
Subscription required for this feature
Pro 2 way audio
This camera has both a speaker and microphone, which allows you to have conversations with whoever is in/around your house at the time.
Pro Convenient installation
This camera comes with a wall/ceiling mount, and the stem is flexible allowing you to change the direction the camera is pointing even after installation.
Pro Works over Wi-Fi
Pro Customizble features
You can manually adjust the speaker and microphone volumes, as well as wide dynamic range settings to balance the brightness of the video. Sensitivity of both motion and audio sensors can be adjusted as well.
Pro Night vision
The SmartCam HD Pro is equipped with infrared LEDs. These illuminate dark rooms for the camera, while being invisible to human eyes.
Pro Speak and listen capable
You can have a conversation with somebody through your phone while they're in front of the SmartCam. This is useful as it allows you direct communication with babysitters, contract workers, house sitters or anybody else around your camera.
Pro Local storage
There is a SD slot which allows for local storage. This means that as video is captured, it is recorded straight onto the local storage, while most cameras don't offer local storage (instead they upload it directly to a cloud service, and often charge a monthly fee to download these videos).
Cons
Con Low resolution video capture
At 720p, the video is usable, however it isn't crisp and depending on the distance of the movement you may not be able to make out exactly what is happening.
Con Relatively small field of vision
While the 107 degree field of vision should provide enough sight for most installations, other cameras offer up to 180 degrees of vision which covers a lot more ground. With this camera, there may be blind spots depending on where you install it and which way its facing.
Con Face detection could use some work
Face detection is technically a beta product, and doesn't work very well yet. It can confuse people for each other sometimes, and can have a hard time distinguishing between known faces and unknown people. This feature is getting worked on, and is promised to get better with time. At this point though, it's correct most of the time - but you won't want to leave your home security to be mostly secure.
Con Subscription required to access all features
$5/month ($50/yr) keeps videos for a single day, and allows you to save 1 hour of video.
$14/month ($140/yr) keeps recordings for 11 days, and you can save 3 hours of video.
$23/month ($230/yr) is the highest plan, and will keep videos for 21 days and allows for 5 hours of saved clips.
Con No local storage
Everything is uploaded directly to the cloud, and there is no local storage on the Simplicam.
Con Legacy designed app
The app looks like it was created more than 3 years ago. There are different tabs and menus, and often times features aren't where you'd expect them to be. There are also few labels - icons dominate the app, and it isn't always obvious what the icons do.
Con Uninspiring build
The design of the SmartCam HD Pro is polarizing. While it looks functional from a distance, getting closer to it will reveal its physical shortcomings. It's bigger, chunkier, and feels like it's made out of cheap plastic. The glossy plastic front panel makes it feel much cheaper than it actually is.
Con Sub-par video quality
While it has a 1080p camera, the recordings don't match the same quality as other slightly more expensive 1080p cameras. This makes detail harder to make out, although it's usually still clear enough to figure out what's happening in the picture.
