The Remo+ DoorCam ($199.99) is a completely wireless security camera that you hang over the top of your door so you can see who is outside without having to open the door.
It installs in minutes and provides sharp 720p video and clear two-way audio, but its unusual design prevented me from closing and locking my doors, and its position at the top of the door does not provide an ideal viewing angle.
Moreover, it requires a cloud subscription to view motion-triggered video.
For $50 more, Netgear's Arlo Pro is a much better deal for an outdoor security camera.
Or you can use a video doorbell.
Design and Features
The DoorCam ($160.00 at Amazon) is unique in that it attaches to the top of your door with the camera housing on the exterior and the Wi-Fi circuitry and battery compartment on the interior.
It's a bulky device; the interior component measures 6.7 by 3.2 by 1.8 inches (HWD) and the exterior measures 1.8 by 4.8 by 1.8 inches.
They are connected by a ribbon cable and a piece of metal that is used to hang the device on the upper edge of a door.
There are two screws on the top of the interior component that can be loosened to adjust the metal hanger to fit different door thicknesses (1-3/8 to 2 inches), and two pre-drilled holes for attaching the camera to the door.
Included in the box are two mounting screws, an Allen wrench for adjusting the hanger, three D batteries, and a quick start guide.
The exterior component is weather resistant and can withstand temperatures of 0 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
It contains a camera that records video at 720p with a 160-degree field of view and uses two infrared LEDs to provide up to 9.8 feet of night vision.
It has a microphone and speaker for two-way audio and a PIR (passive infrared) sensor for detecting motion.
The interior component houses three D-cell batteries and 802.11n Wi-Fi circuitry.
It has a Status button you can use to initiate a "ring" video recording, which doesn't make much sense because the button is on the inside of the door.
There are also two LED lights that blink green during setup and glow solid green when setup is complete.
A Reset button is located behind the removable panel that covers the battery compartment.
The Remo+ mobile app (for Android and iOS) lets you see who is at the door when the camera detects motion.
It sends a push alert with a choice to accept or decline the video feed.
Tapping Accept launches a live stream with a microphone button for two-way audio communication, speaker and volume buttons, and an End button that stops the stream.
(The camera launched without a way to view the video stream on demand, but that feature has since been added.) The DoorCam's motion sensor will trigger video recordings, but you need a $30 per year cloud storage subscription to view, share, and download the last 30 days of video.
The app opens to a Recent Activity screen that lists missed, answered, and declined motion events with an accompanying video thumbnail and a time stamp.
If you have a cloud subscription you can tap any event to play, share, download, or delete the recorded video.
Tapping the three-bar icon in the upper left corner takes you to a screen where you can access device settings such as video quality (Best, Average, Low), enable motion detection and push alerts, and adjust motion sensitivity and alert frequency.
Here you'll also find a battery power gauge.
Other settings let you change passwords, set the time zone, and view Wi-Fi signal strength.
Installation and Performance
Installing the DoorCam took just a few minutes.
I downloaded the app, created an account, and tapped Add Device on the opening screen.
I chose DoorCam from the list, selected my time zone, and when the status lights began to blink, I connected my phone to the camera using my phone's Wi-Fi settings.
I returned to the app, selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my password, and the camera was up and running.
However, when I attached the DoorCam to my front door the metal bracket blocked the door's interlocking weather stripping.
As a result I was unable to fully close or lock the door.
I had the same problem with my back door, but was able to install it on a side door that uses foam weather stripping.
Even so, that door was very difficult to open and close with the camera installed.
The camera's daytime video is relatively sharp, with good color representation, but if the person at your door does not look directly up into the camera, you'll have a hard time positively identifying who it is as you're looking at the top of their head.
Anyone wearing a hoodie or baseball cap will be virtually unrecognizable, especially if they keep their head down.
Motion detection works perfectly, however, and I always received a push notification when the sensor was triggered.
Two-way audio is loud and clear as well.
Night vision video appears sharp up close, but there is significant purple tinting and the image becomes muddy beyond 10 feet.
Conclusions
The Remo+ DoorCam earns points for its easy installation, two-way audio, and motion detection features, but its shortcomings are numerous.
For starters, it does not fit every door as advertised; in fact, it would not work with the two main doors in my house.
Although it provides a fairly crisp 720p image, you may not be able to positively identify who is at your door unless that person looks up into the camera.
Night vision was sharp in testing, but the image had a significant purple tint.
The camera does not work directly with other smart home devices, nor does it support IFTTT integration (although support for Amazon Alexa was recently added).
And you'll need a cloud subscription to view recorded video.
All this makes it hard to recommend the DoorCam as a home security camera.
The Netgear Arlo Pro offers a completely wireless 720p solution with free cloud storage and support for other smart home devices and IFTTT recipes.
It also offers geofencing support and audio detection, but it requires a hub.
If you want a 1080p solution, consider the Arlo Pro 2; it's a lot more expensive than the DoorCam, but it uses pre-buffering to provide recorded video of activities that occur a few seconds before a triggered event.
And if you're primarily interested in seeing and recording who is at your front door, check out the Ring Video Doorbell.
The Bottom Line
The Remo+ DoorCam is an over-the-door Wi-Fi security camera with too many drawbacks to recommend.
