A smart security camera is only worth it if its the best value out there, which is why Im comparing the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery to the Ring Spotlight Cam Wired as well as the Nest Cam Outdoor, two similar indoor/ outdoor cameras at the exact same price of $199. Media Company. Well tell you everything there is to know about theRing Spotlight Cam Battery; its video, audio, and night vision qualities, its storage options, smart platform integrations, and artificial intelligence capabilities, but also its overall convenience and value. But what about those precious seconds we lose every time the connection slows down? The camera is available in black and white, plus it has built-in LED light strips. 
And wed love to see Ring incorporate a few more advanced features, like AI facial recognition. To learn more, read our full review of theRing Spotlight Cam Wired. It has the best of both worlds, but its also slightly more expensive at $229. This process means there could be a short delay of one to two minutes (depending on your connection speed) between when youre notified of an event and when the recording is available for viewing. ring spotlight cam camera battery solar wireless security cameras wire powered system wen0 outdoor Again, it all depends on personal preference. Jaime Fraze has 16 years of writing and editing experience, with seven years spent writing about emerging technologies. After receiving an alert, we clicked through to watch the cameras infrared night vision2 come to life, working in tandem with those nifty LEDs to produce some pretty impressive night vision footage. (2020). For this review, we really got our hands dirty and both installed and rigorously tested the Ring Spotlight Cam. The different shapes make it a bit clunky looking but hey, this is no beauty contest. The IP rating stands for ingress protection, and the first digit refers to its protection from small solids like dust. 
On the other hand, the second digit refers to ingress protection against liquids. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery has color night vision if the spotlight is on plus infrared night vision from LED sensors. Most of the outdoor security cameras that dominate the market come with HD picture quality, night vision, sirens, and two-way audio. If you want to get motion alerts only at night, you can adjust for that, too. So we selected it, and it was the best fix for us. (2020). In the Ring cameras case, the 5 rating means it can handle water projected by a 6.3 mm nozzle. 
Those features alone put it in the same level as high-end outdoor cameras, and for a high-end camera, $199 is a reasonable price tag. At $199, we think theRing Spotlight Cam Battery is definitely worth the money, but it makes more sense for some people as opposed to others. Lets see who comes out on top! Daytime video quality: During the day, the Ring Spotlight Cam will pick up almost every angle of your yard or around your home with a 140 field of view and bright, HD-resolution picture quality. Are We Ready for AI-Powered Security Cameras? But keep it away from water jets and dont immerse it in water. And Ring Spotlights IP55 waterproof rating means you wont have to worry about exposure to the elements no matter where you mount it. Rechargeable Battery Pack (1 included, holds up to 2), optional solar panel, Requires a minimum upload speed of 1Mbps, but 2 Mbps is recommended for optimal performance, -5F to 120F (-20.5C to 48.5C), Weather Resistant, Vertical or horizontal surface for mounting. And since we mounted it above our driveway, we got to use it a couple of times as an unorthodox way of greeting guests: Hi, come on in, doors open!. Ring Spotlight Cam helped spark a trend with a wider viewing angle and an integrated motion-triggered spotlight. we realized the camera was picking up motion every time a car passed by. Perhaps thats why Ring, made by Amazon, is consistently a top seller in home security and why so many customers sing its praises they make it so easy to customize, even for the DIY-averse. spotlight camera ring security weather rainproof resistant silicone protection sunproof compatible skin case outdoor frienda cam battery By fine-tuning our zones, rather than being alerted every time a car revved past our house, we received alerts we could use: like this friendly DoorDash driver delivering dinner, in the video below. 
From there, we continued fine-tuning the cameras settings to our liking. Her degree in education and her background as a teacher and a parent make her uniquely suited to offer practical advice on creating safe environments for your family. For folks like us, who want to build our smart home with convenience in mind, this would be a really useful upgrade. But its not just limited to smartphones and tablets; if you have a Mac or PC, you can download the Ring app there, too. Ring doesnt technically require that you purchase a Ring Protect Plan, but at a starting price of $3 a month for 60 days of recorded event history, its hard to pass up. Safewise.com utilizes paid Amazon links. That $3 month plan, called Ring Protect Basic, only covers one camera. wired 1pack noticebreeze glare This is a rubric that we apply to all of our home security cameras to make sure theyre up to snuff in terms of video, audio, night vision, and more. Its a bit bulky and oddly-shaped, with a rounded rectangular prism at the top and a dome-shaped PIR sensor on the bottom. x 2.99 in. Still, storage is a definite drawback of the Nest Cam Outdoor. 
x 2.72 in. When this happens, its rarely a sign of weakness with the brand or their network; more likely, it could just be a slowdown in your local network. Sure, were glad Ring has a desktop app Arlo and Wyze dont but at times the live view failed to load properly once motion was detected. It lives up to its reputation for long battery life, clear HD-quality picture, and easy installation. That said, wed be very interested to see what Ring can do with artificial intelligence in future generations of their cameras. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery is very easy to install. For instance, you can tell it to arm or disarm its motion sensors. Pro Tip If you place your Ring Spotlight Cam near a street, but you dont want to keep getting motion alerts every time a car passes by, we found that turning on People Only Mode was the best fix. Color isnt our biggest priority, but this is another nod to versatility with Ring that some other brands lack. Does the Ring Spotlight camera work with Alexa? What comes in the Ring Spotlight Camera box? Ring says breaches are avoidable if you use security best practices for internet-connected devices: We still recommend Ring products but encourage users to take these precautions. 
Feel free to read more about Wyze in our hands-on Wyze Cam review. Ring offers 1080p HD quality, which produces clear, sharp images and is a standard feature in most major-market cams. So wed be very interested to see what Ring can do with artificial intelligence in future generations of their cameras. Going further, were pleased to see Ring level up over past models in motion zones, giving us lots more control over our footage. officeworks Getting help by phone isnt always easy when youre dealing with large corporations, either. Sign up now on Amazon. ring camera spotlight wireless In fact, there are high-end outdoor cameras that cost more than $300 each, like the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro we reviewed. 
Then, like that scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy walks out of her swept-up house and onto the Yellow Brick Road, everything suddenly appears in color. We can recommend the robust features and reasonable price of the Ring Spotlight Cam Batterywithout reservations. Were not sure if our neighbors heard it, but our dog definitely did. As our home security camera expert, she has hand-tested and reviewed every major security camera brand and has written more than 300 articles on the topic. Check out our Ring cameras troubleshooting guide. For more information, read our full review of the Nest Cam Outdoor. See which DIY Find the right alarm system to protect your UK home. Note If youre really concerned about lags, perhaps a fully monitored home security system like the ones offered by Vivint or SimpliSafe is the way to go, as this issue generally does not happen with those systems. Now lets talk about the Ring Always Home app. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own. The Ring app, as youre surely aware, is the best way to keep tabs on your home from anywhere. FYI Youll notice there are two compartments in the camera for a battery. 
For this review, our team of home security experts got our hands on the Spotlight Cam, the versatile, wire-free home security camera from Rings Amazon-backed suite of cameras. This camera gave us good quality audio, allowing us to communicate with visitors with ease. Rings outdoor cameras include a loud 110-decibel siren that is sure to scare off anyone human, animal, or maybe even vegetable who might be a threat. The siren can scare off would-be burglars, and the two-way talk lets you speak to visitors when youre not home. The cameras built-in spotlight gives you crisp, brilliant video during the day, and excellent night vision. The ultra-bright LED is meant to spook bad guys, and the built-in siren releases 110 decibels to send them fleeing. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. The best evidence of the excellence of these cameras, in our opinion, is its video quality. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | How We Rank and Review |. Mounting the camera requires drilling in the mounting plate and from there, you can move the camera around with your hand. You do have to contact Ring and present a police report to get your replacement. Setting up motion zones can save you from unneeded alerts as well. Location is as vital to home security as it is to real estate, so we wanted to be smart and strategic when choosing where to place our camera. This, in addition to our doorbell and additional Stick Up and Floodlight Cams from Ring, rounded out a stellar camera setup for our modest single-family home. We know this purely by accident; were here to tell you that hitting the big red siren button on the app does, in fact, trigger the siren. Another advantage of Ring is that its still being offered, unlike the Nest Cam Outdoor that has been scrubbed off of Nests lineup as of 2021. We really liked this. Yes, Ring works with Alexa. The Ring Spotlight Camhas all the features you need in an outdoor security camera, including motion detection, battery power options, and an integrated spotlight. Welcome to Neighbors. Amazon owns Ring, so it doesnt come as a shock that the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery integrates with Amazon Alexa, allowing for voice commands. *SafeWise has conducted impartial research to recommend products. Thats there in case you want to insert a second battery, for longer life. 
We did feel a bit shortchanged, though. 
We think its worth mentioning that there was a roughly two-second hiccup on the audio, which is a common issue in some other cameras weve tested. camera wired spotlight led close We offer professional one-stop services with diversity I.T products that cover from technology consultation, systems design and programming, software and hardware development, systems integration and installation to maintenance and support. For more ideas on battery cams, we rounded up the best battery-powered cameras available right now. For most issues, we found solid feedback on Rings community page.3 And if we couldnt find answers there, we always had the option of calling Rings customer service line, which has super-flexible hours: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Both cameras have 1080p HD video display, infrared night vision, two-way audio, and integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Business Wire. The Ring Spotlight Cam is programmed to record when the motion sensors detect movement, but you can adjust the sensitivity using the Ring app. With Ring, you get a full suite of security products that communicate almost seamlessly with one another, making it easy to add multiple devices to the same account. ring wired spotlight cam 1080p security camera Since this is a battery-powered camera, we made sure to charge the battery using the provided USB cable before we installed the camera.But we also know that Ring Spotlight is available in four configurations: Wired, Battery, Mount, and Solar. Her work and product testing in the security and safety field spans the past four years. Youll never have to worry about charging the battery, although installation will become a bit more difficult. Seeing in the dark is never easy, but with infrared, youll see lots more detail at night. FYI Remember the 9-30 rule. Of course, Nest Aware includes person detection and even facial recognition, so you do get some more value than just storage. It might seem a bit excessive initially, but keep in mind that the brightness of the lights is crucial to the performance of the camera, especially if youre trying to track activity at night or at a distance. Now its time for our Necessary Features Test! This easy to install camera has a two way audio communication system so you can see, hear and speak to anyone on your property from anywhere in the world. If you had an older version of the Ring app, youll recognize this feature called Ring Neighborhood as the community platform that was integrated as a separate tab. Spotlights are a great feature weve seen in other cams, like the Swann Wi-Fi camera, but with Ring, the picture looked exceptionally bright from our app and now, we had motion-activated lighting, which is a huge boost in peace of mind, especially at night. Heres what it was like. If you have a display screen with your Amazon Echo or similar setup, you can use it for hands-free control of your Ring camera. When it comes to features, though, the new Nest Cams are just as good if not better than the now-discontinued Nest Cam Outdoor, so theyre also better than the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery. Anytime we discuss home security cameras, we also have to talk about where to store all that recorded footage. hardwired ben0 When it comes to home security cameras, artificial intelligence is typically used for person detection and facial recognition. Read full disclaimer.Google, Google Nest, Google Nest Mini, Google Home and other marks are trademarks of Google LLC. That wasnt always the case, though. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery is a little more expensive than a typical outdoor camera at $199, but nothing about the camera is typical. Ring customer service couldnt have been more accommodating: they rushed us a free replacement camera, and weve been using and testing it hiccup-free ever since. The cameras infrared night vision produces a quality picture in the dark, which is no small feat. https://d2y5sgsy8bbmb8.cloudfront.net/v2/5611702e-1781-5852-a563-6cc360c7a030/ShortForm-Generic-480p-16-9-1409173089793-rpcbe5.mp4, LifeSmart Cube Switch Module (1 Way ), LifeSmart Cololight Strip Extension , Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor , LifeSmart Nature Smart Switch 1/2/3 Button 1/2/3, Imou H.265 Wireless Recorder NVR (4-Channel / 8-Channel) (4-Channel / 8-Channel), LifeSmart Blend Switch Pro Metal -- 1/2/3 Button // (), LifeSmart Blend Switch Pro Pro -- 1/2/3 Button // (/), Ubiquiti UniFi - Access Point WiFi 6 Mesh, MikroTik Ethernet routers RB5009UG+S+IN, 4.96 in. Start typing to see products you are looking for. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery and its sister the Ring Spotlight Cam Wired are exactly the same except for one thing: their power source. Amazon offers professional installation for a fee, but its unlikely youll need it. Best Home Security Systems for Pet-Owners, Everything You Need to Know About Home Security. spotlight wireless camera ring battery security 1080p 
Those LEDs, though very customizable, are made to be bright and noticeable. Ring Spotlight is a powerful lighting component as well as a reliable camera. Wed spring for that second battery so you can remove one battery pack to recharge using the USB port while the other battery keeps your camera online. 
In our extensive tests of Rings Spotlight Cam, we were sometimes troubled by the glitchiness of the app, which we were able to view on both our desktop computer and our smartphones. Those integrations mean that you can control the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery with your voice. 1 year warranty on parts with Lifetime Purchase Protection - if someone steals your camera Ring will replace it (terms and conditions apply). SafeWise is an independent review site. Those two features combined make for a pretty sharp picture, and most importantly, we were able to see it all in real time, from wherever we were.
And wed love to see Ring incorporate a few more advanced features, like AI facial recognition. To learn more, read our full review of theRing Spotlight Cam Wired. It has the best of both worlds, but its also slightly more expensive at $229. This process means there could be a short delay of one to two minutes (depending on your connection speed) between when youre notified of an event and when the recording is available for viewing. ring spotlight cam camera battery solar wireless security cameras wire powered system wen0 outdoor Again, it all depends on personal preference. Jaime Fraze has 16 years of writing and editing experience, with seven years spent writing about emerging technologies. After receiving an alert, we clicked through to watch the cameras infrared night vision2 come to life, working in tandem with those nifty LEDs to produce some pretty impressive night vision footage. (2020). For this review, we really got our hands dirty and both installed and rigorously tested the Ring Spotlight Cam. The different shapes make it a bit clunky looking but hey, this is no beauty contest. The IP rating stands for ingress protection, and the first digit refers to its protection from small solids like dust. On the other hand, the second digit refers to ingress protection against liquids. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery has color night vision if the spotlight is on plus infrared night vision from LED sensors. Most of the outdoor security cameras that dominate the market come with HD picture quality, night vision, sirens, and two-way audio. If you want to get motion alerts only at night, you can adjust for that, too. So we selected it, and it was the best fix for us. (2020). In the Ring cameras case, the 5 rating means it can handle water projected by a 6.3 mm nozzle. Those features alone put it in the same level as high-end outdoor cameras, and for a high-end camera, $199 is a reasonable price tag. At $199, we think theRing Spotlight Cam Battery is definitely worth the money, but it makes more sense for some people as opposed to others. Lets see who comes out on top! Daytime video quality: During the day, the Ring Spotlight Cam will pick up almost every angle of your yard or around your home with a 140 field of view and bright, HD-resolution picture quality. Are We Ready for AI-Powered Security Cameras? But keep it away from water jets and dont immerse it in water. And Ring Spotlights IP55 waterproof rating means you wont have to worry about exposure to the elements no matter where you mount it. Rechargeable Battery Pack (1 included, holds up to 2), optional solar panel, Requires a minimum upload speed of 1Mbps, but 2 Mbps is recommended for optimal performance, -5F to 120F (-20.5C to 48.5C), Weather Resistant, Vertical or horizontal surface for mounting. And since we mounted it above our driveway, we got to use it a couple of times as an unorthodox way of greeting guests: Hi, come on in, doors open!. Ring Spotlight Cam helped spark a trend with a wider viewing angle and an integrated motion-triggered spotlight. we realized the camera was picking up motion every time a car passed by. Perhaps thats why Ring, made by Amazon, is consistently a top seller in home security and why so many customers sing its praises they make it so easy to customize, even for the DIY-averse. spotlight camera ring security weather rainproof resistant silicone protection sunproof compatible skin case outdoor frienda cam battery By fine-tuning our zones, rather than being alerted every time a car revved past our house, we received alerts we could use: like this friendly DoorDash driver delivering dinner, in the video below. 
From there, we continued fine-tuning the cameras settings to our liking. Her degree in education and her background as a teacher and a parent make her uniquely suited to offer practical advice on creating safe environments for your family. For folks like us, who want to build our smart home with convenience in mind, this would be a really useful upgrade. But its not just limited to smartphones and tablets; if you have a Mac or PC, you can download the Ring app there, too. Ring doesnt technically require that you purchase a Ring Protect Plan, but at a starting price of $3 a month for 60 days of recorded event history, its hard to pass up. Safewise.com utilizes paid Amazon links. That $3 month plan, called Ring Protect Basic, only covers one camera. wired 1pack noticebreeze glare This is a rubric that we apply to all of our home security cameras to make sure theyre up to snuff in terms of video, audio, night vision, and more. Its a bit bulky and oddly-shaped, with a rounded rectangular prism at the top and a dome-shaped PIR sensor on the bottom. x 2.99 in. Still, storage is a definite drawback of the Nest Cam Outdoor. 
x 2.72 in. When this happens, its rarely a sign of weakness with the brand or their network; more likely, it could just be a slowdown in your local network. Sure, were glad Ring has a desktop app Arlo and Wyze dont but at times the live view failed to load properly once motion was detected. It lives up to its reputation for long battery life, clear HD-quality picture, and easy installation. That said, wed be very interested to see what Ring can do with artificial intelligence in future generations of their cameras. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery is very easy to install. For instance, you can tell it to arm or disarm its motion sensors. Pro Tip If you place your Ring Spotlight Cam near a street, but you dont want to keep getting motion alerts every time a car passes by, we found that turning on People Only Mode was the best fix. Color isnt our biggest priority, but this is another nod to versatility with Ring that some other brands lack. Does the Ring Spotlight camera work with Alexa? What comes in the Ring Spotlight Camera box? Ring says breaches are avoidable if you use security best practices for internet-connected devices: We still recommend Ring products but encourage users to take these precautions. Feel free to read more about Wyze in our hands-on Wyze Cam review. Ring offers 1080p HD quality, which produces clear, sharp images and is a standard feature in most major-market cams. So wed be very interested to see what Ring can do with artificial intelligence in future generations of their cameras. Going further, were pleased to see Ring level up over past models in motion zones, giving us lots more control over our footage. officeworks Getting help by phone isnt always easy when youre dealing with large corporations, either. Sign up now on Amazon. ring camera spotlight wireless In fact, there are high-end outdoor cameras that cost more than $300 each, like the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro we reviewed. 
Then, like that scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy walks out of her swept-up house and onto the Yellow Brick Road, everything suddenly appears in color. We can recommend the robust features and reasonable price of the Ring Spotlight Cam Batterywithout reservations. Were not sure if our neighbors heard it, but our dog definitely did. As our home security camera expert, she has hand-tested and reviewed every major security camera brand and has written more than 300 articles on the topic. Check out our Ring cameras troubleshooting guide. For more information, read our full review of the Nest Cam Outdoor. See which DIY Find the right alarm system to protect your UK home. Note If youre really concerned about lags, perhaps a fully monitored home security system like the ones offered by Vivint or SimpliSafe is the way to go, as this issue generally does not happen with those systems. Now lets talk about the Ring Always Home app. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own. The Ring app, as youre surely aware, is the best way to keep tabs on your home from anywhere. FYI Youll notice there are two compartments in the camera for a battery. We did feel a bit shortchanged, though. We think its worth mentioning that there was a roughly two-second hiccup on the audio, which is a common issue in some other cameras weve tested. camera wired spotlight led close We offer professional one-stop services with diversity I.T products that cover from technology consultation, systems design and programming, software and hardware development, systems integration and installation to maintenance and support. For more ideas on battery cams, we rounded up the best battery-powered cameras available right now. For most issues, we found solid feedback on Rings community page.3 And if we couldnt find answers there, we always had the option of calling Rings customer service line, which has super-flexible hours: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Both cameras have 1080p HD video display, infrared night vision, two-way audio, and integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Business Wire. The Ring Spotlight Cam is programmed to record when the motion sensors detect movement, but you can adjust the sensitivity using the Ring app. With Ring, you get a full suite of security products that communicate almost seamlessly with one another, making it easy to add multiple devices to the same account. ring wired spotlight cam 1080p security camera Since this is a battery-powered camera, we made sure to charge the battery using the provided USB cable before we installed the camera.But we also know that Ring Spotlight is available in four configurations: Wired, Battery, Mount, and Solar. Her work and product testing in the security and safety field spans the past four years. Youll never have to worry about charging the battery, although installation will become a bit more difficult. Seeing in the dark is never easy, but with infrared, youll see lots more detail at night. FYI Remember the 9-30 rule. Of course, Nest Aware includes person detection and even facial recognition, so you do get some more value than just storage. It might seem a bit excessive initially, but keep in mind that the brightness of the lights is crucial to the performance of the camera, especially if youre trying to track activity at night or at a distance. Now its time for our Necessary Features Test! This easy to install camera has a two way audio communication system so you can see, hear and speak to anyone on your property from anywhere in the world. If you had an older version of the Ring app, youll recognize this feature called Ring Neighborhood as the community platform that was integrated as a separate tab. Spotlights are a great feature weve seen in other cams, like the Swann Wi-Fi camera, but with Ring, the picture looked exceptionally bright from our app and now, we had motion-activated lighting, which is a huge boost in peace of mind, especially at night. Heres what it was like. If you have a display screen with your Amazon Echo or similar setup, you can use it for hands-free control of your Ring camera. When it comes to features, though, the new Nest Cams are just as good if not better than the now-discontinued Nest Cam Outdoor, so theyre also better than the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery. Anytime we discuss home security cameras, we also have to talk about where to store all that recorded footage. hardwired ben0 When it comes to home security cameras, artificial intelligence is typically used for person detection and facial recognition. Read full disclaimer.Google, Google Nest, Google Nest Mini, Google Home and other marks are trademarks of Google LLC. That wasnt always the case, though. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery is a little more expensive than a typical outdoor camera at $199, but nothing about the camera is typical. Ring customer service couldnt have been more accommodating: they rushed us a free replacement camera, and weve been using and testing it hiccup-free ever since. The cameras infrared night vision produces a quality picture in the dark, which is no small feat. https://d2y5sgsy8bbmb8.cloudfront.net/v2/5611702e-1781-5852-a563-6cc360c7a030/ShortForm-Generic-480p-16-9-1409173089793-rpcbe5.mp4, LifeSmart Cube Switch Module (1 Way ), LifeSmart Cololight Strip Extension , Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor , LifeSmart Nature Smart Switch 1/2/3 Button 1/2/3, Imou H.265 Wireless Recorder NVR (4-Channel / 8-Channel) (4-Channel / 8-Channel), LifeSmart Blend Switch Pro Metal -- 1/2/3 Button // (), LifeSmart Blend Switch Pro Pro -- 1/2/3 Button // (/), Ubiquiti UniFi - Access Point WiFi 6 Mesh, MikroTik Ethernet routers RB5009UG+S+IN, 4.96 in. Start typing to see products you are looking for. The Ring Spotlight Cam Battery and its sister the Ring Spotlight Cam Wired are exactly the same except for one thing: their power source. Amazon offers professional installation for a fee, but its unlikely youll need it. Best Home Security Systems for Pet-Owners, Everything You Need to Know About Home Security. spotlight wireless camera ring battery security 1080p 
Those LEDs, though very customizable, are made to be bright and noticeable. Ring Spotlight is a powerful lighting component as well as a reliable camera. Wed spring for that second battery so you can remove one battery pack to recharge using the USB port while the other battery keeps your camera online. In our extensive tests of Rings Spotlight Cam, we were sometimes troubled by the glitchiness of the app, which we were able to view on both our desktop computer and our smartphones. Those integrations mean that you can control the Ring Spotlight Cam Battery with your voice. 1 year warranty on parts with Lifetime Purchase Protection - if someone steals your camera Ring will replace it (terms and conditions apply). SafeWise is an independent review site. Those two features combined make for a pretty sharp picture, and most importantly, we were able to see it all in real time, from wherever we were.