Keep an eye out for visitors with the DoorBird Video Doorbell

Bird Home Automation has announced the DoorBird Video Doorbell, a new smart doorbell for connected homes. This doorbell includes a video camera and connects to your Android device, letting you see and communicate with people outside your home no matter where you are using either Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. The DoorBird will be compatible with a number of smart home devices, possibly including the Nest as well as a number of standards, such as Apple's HomeKit. Bird Home Automation expects the DoorBird to be available to consumers at some point in the spring of 2015.

The DoorBird's video camera lets you see who is at your door. When someone rings the bell, DoorBird will take a picture of that person, automatically saving the last 20 visitors for later review. Bird Home Automation will also be offering the BirdGuard add-on video cameras, which connect to the DoorBird for extra coverage. The company will introduce a subscription-based cloud service for storing video at some point later this year.

For a limited time, pre-orders of the DoorBird are available for $299, a discount from the regular price of $349. Add-on BirdGuard cameras will cost $199 each.

DoorBird – The Smartphone Video Doorbell Announced

Secure "Always Home" video-entry system features remote audio & video and remote unlocking

Berlin, February 18th, 2015 – Bird Home Automation GmbH today announced that the DoorBird Video Doorbell, the smartphone-connected doorbell and video entry system, has gone into production. DoorBird will be available worldwide from Spring 2015. The state-of-the-art, feature-rich system enters a burgeoning Android and iPhone doorbell market with an unrivaled feature set.

The "Always Home" system means visitors can be viewed and spoken to on any iOS or Android device, over Wi-Fi or remotely over 3G/4G. The video image is streamed to the smart device, whether at home or anywhere in the world. Users can then see and speak to the visitor from anywhere. DoorBird uses adaptive video speeds to ensure streaming doesn't impact the two-way voice conversation.

If used with an electronic lock, DoorBird users can unlock the door remotely. Remote unlocking allows users to grant trusted individuals such as friends, children with lost keys, or deliveries, access to their home.

The DoorBird app can display live video of visitors, even before they ring the bell. The act of ringing the doorbell takes a snapshot of the visitor, whether or not the doorbell is answered. DoorBird always keeps a record of the last 20 callers that can be reviewed later. The ultra wide-angle hemispheric lens, can see 180°, and features infrared night-vision, meaning callers can always be observed, day or night.

A motion sensor that reports any activity in its range means that the DoorBird doubles as an effective security device. BirdGuard add-on security cameras can additionally be employed to provide additional surveillance to cover blind spots or interior hallways. Multiple DoorBird and BirdGuard cameras can work together to serve larger homes with multiple entrances.

The German engineering team at Bird Home Automation has a proven track record of delivering robust, high-end commercial video-entry security systems. The engineering experience gained while working on these systems is key to delivering a consumer-installable product that retains the same reliability and quality that commercial users demand.

DoorBird is simple to install without professional help or special tools. It will work with existing electronic locks, door chimes, or on its own as a video enabled doorbell. It is outdoor ready, and can cope with rain, snow, heat and frost*.

DoorBird will be your door to the smart home of the future. Compatibility with other smart home devices, and standards such as Apple's HomeKit, is planned in future updates. A subscription service offering secure cloud-based video storage will be made available later this year. This will fully comply with the stringent European data security and data privacy laws.

Joseph Keller