When comparing Icontrol Networks Piper NV vs Kuna, the Slant community recommends Icontrol Networks Piper NV for most people. In the question“What are the best home-security cameras?” Icontrol Networks Piper NV is ranked 2nd while Kuna is ranked 5th.
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Pros
Pro IFTTT functionality
Pro Built-in siren
The siren is very loud - rated at 105dB (louder than a snowmobile or motorcycle). It's loud enough to scare off virtually any intruder.
Pro Tracks the weather
With a temperature and humidity sensors on-board, the Piper NV can give you a good idea of what the interior 'weather' is like. It can also track outdoor temperature, and will warn you of local weather alerts.
Pro Great Android/iOS apps
The apps are simple to use, and designed to make sure the most important stuff can be accessed the quickest. Any important actions will give you feedback from the Piper NV itself so you can rest assured each action goes through.
Small details are included in the app as well - from adjustable motion sensitivity (for shadows, animals, and other small movements) to a trusted circle of contacts that will be notified each time an alert is triggered.
All features worked as advertised, notifications were delivered quickly, and the camera is very responsive to actions performed in the apps.
Pro Talk & listen supported
The Piper NV has both a microphone and speaker, letting you have a conversation with a person in front of the Piper while you are elsewhere with your phone. This can be handy for conversations with babysitters, deliverymen, or even talking with your children when you're away.
Pro Great video quality
The 1080p camera allows for up to 10X digital zoom. Without zooming, the picture is very crisp and clear which is immensely helpful when figuring out who is on the camera and what they're doing. The digital zoom will reduce this clarity, but allows for a close-up inspection of any small details.
The device can also tilt and pan - unique features that let you get the best angles of view.
Pro Night vision tracks even in pitch black
The NV in Piper NV stands for night vision. This product included infra-red LEDs that illuminate pitch black rooms so that the camera can still see (although human eye's can't detect this light).
Pro Wide-angle lense
With a full 180 degrees of vision, this camera can be placed on a wall and see everything around it. Because its fish-eye design, the edges of the image will be slightly warped, however this is required for such a high field of view.
Pro Can be set up to control light within a household
Z-Wave controller is built in.
Pro Built-in motion detector
Has a proper IR motion sensor, so does not image analysis to detect motion. This is very useful as it avoids the false alarms that many other camera are subject to when clouds change the lighting conditions.
Pro Built-in alarm
There is alarm functionality built-into the Kuna. The alarm is very loud at 100dB (similar to the volume of sound produced by a motorcycle or snowmobile), which should be sufficient to scare off most intruders.
Pro Stealthy design
From a distance, the Kuna looks like an ordinary outdoor light. Only when you get up close do you realize there's a camera hidden just beneath the light. This approach has a couple advantages - first it isn't an eyesore and acts as a functional outdoor light, and second is that intruders won't know they are being watched.
Pro Speak and listen
There is both a mic and a speaker on the Kuna, which lets you have a conversation with whoever is on your property whether it be a delivery man, maid, dog walker, or anybody else. With just a few taps you could also play one of three messages: "I'm busy right now", "Can I help you?", and "Sorry, not interested".
Pro Highly configurable Android & iOS apps
The app is easy to use, and gives quick access to important features. You can control the light manually through the app, set it to turn on or off based on a schedule, or whenever it detects motion. You can also adjust the motion sensitivity, which is useful if you are receiving false alarms from cars on the road or other distant or small movements. You can also adjust the speaker volume from within the app.
Cons
Con IFTT NO LONGER SUPPORTED
They cancelled all their IFTT integrations and hung all their customers out to dry.
Con No web app
Web apps can be handy if your phone is dead or misplaced at the time. They also allow access from any computer using just a login and password, which can be useful if you've run out of data on your phone and are out of Wi-Fi range. This also means that Windows Phone or Blackberry devices won't be able to control the Piper NV.
Con No removable local storage
There is no removable local storage available on the Piper NV - all media is immediately uploaded to the Piper cloud. This online storage is free, but is limited to 1000 clips before it starts overwriting old clips. If the camera is offline when a clip recorded, the video is stored on the device and uploaded once online again.
Con Spotty Wi-Fi performance
Even when placed reasonably close to the Wi-Fi router (~15 feet), the Kuna can lose connection for a few seconds from time to time.
Con Subscription enables basic features
Without the subscription, your videos will only be held online for 2 hours. Subscriptions start at $5/month as seen below:
$7.49/month (or $60 annually) retains videos for 7 days, unlimited video downloads, theft protection, and 5% discount off future devices. This price is charged per device.
$15/month (or $120 annually) keeps videos online for 14 days, has unlimited video downloads, theft protection, and 10% off future devices. This subscription can be used between up to 4 devices.
$30/month (or $240 annually) allows video storage for 30 days, still has theft protection and unlimited video downloads, and receives a 15% discount off future devices. This subscription can be split between up to 8 devices.