Vivint is a popular nationwide smart Home Security System company that offers its services to millions of customers across the United States. Vivint security services comprise wireless home security cameras, smart doorbells, intrusion sensors, and much more. Most Vivint packages also include other options like video storage where you can rewind and watch the events that prompt the use of cameras and detectors.
However, one significant concern that many Vivint customers have is how long it takes Vivint to retain your video recordings. Check below to get some information regarding the different video storage options provided by Vivint and the policies that govern the same.
Vivint's Video Storage Plans
Vivint offers customers three main options when it comes to storing and accessing video clips from their home security cameras:
- Vivint Smart Drive
- Subscription Video Storage Plans
- An example of interaction under the Vivint Smart Home brand is the clips that can be viewed through the app.
Now, let us examine how video storage works with each of the two options available above.
Vivint Smart Drive
The Vivint Smart Drive is an extra that the Vivint company can offer as an extension of their home security system. The Smart Drive is an internal hard drive that Vivint professionals install in your home to help you store more video from your Vivint cameras and doorbell cameras.
Incorporated with Smart Drive, Vivint will keep video recordings of any event that has happened in the homes for the past month. The customers, without the Smart Drive, can only watch video clips on average for up to seven days in most instances.
By using the Smart Drive accessory, you increase the periods that Vivint will retain the recorded videos from one week up to 30 days. Video is also recorded at your home because the Smart Drive works as a local DVR instead of a cloud-based one.
Subscription Video Storage Plans
Besides the Smart Drive, Vivint has a monthly subscription plan that is more appealing because it saves video recordings in the cloud rather than on the Smart Drive. There are a few different subscription plans to choose from:
Basic Cloud Storage:
- 30-day video storage
- Videos that can be viewed through the app of the mobile.
- Some plans are as low as $4. 99 per month.
- Premium Cloud Storage:
- The self-employed may also enjoy longer periods of video clip storage with up to 60 days of storage for videos.
- Video clips that can be accessed through a mobile application
- The subscription plan begins as low as $9. 99/month
Some of the features of cloud storage subscriptions include: In subscriptions, your video recordings are stored in the cloud by Vivint, not on the local storage of a device in your home. These plans may offer you more extended video storage at a cheaper price than with the installation of a Smart Drive.
The retention period provided by Vivint in their video storage includes Cloud Video Storage where the latter has the highest recording capacity of 60 days as of now across different subscription packages. Therefore, if the recording is important for investigation or review for more than 60 days, Smart Drive is still better because of other benefits despite the initial cost.
Vivint Video from the Vivint App
The third way in which customers can access video recordings from Vivint cameras is through the Vivint application on a mobile device. The app offered by Vivint allows you to review video clips from triggered events, and see live footage from your home security cameras at the same time.
If you want to use video clips through the mobile app for an unlimited time, you need to have installed Smart Drive or have an active subscription to cloud storage. In the case of a Smart Drive, the customer can download an application and get access to video archives for 30 days. Mobile application access is however limited under a cloud storage plan which ranges from 30 to 60 days depending on the plan.
If a person doesn’t have the Smart Drive or the cloud storage, then the video clip access is only up to seven days in the mobile app. Therefore it may be advisable to have one of Vivint’s storage accessories or subscriptions if you plan to get the maximum value of the system in the long run.
What occasions compel videotaping?
That said, knowing how long Vivint retains security footage based on the specific plan you signed up for should provide enough information to answer the question – what specific events caused Vivint cameras to begin documenting video clips in the first place?
Vivint security cameras have inherent motion detection that activates the cameras when they detect motion within their vicinity. The software makes the difference between a small movement such as a swaying tree branch and a big movement such as someone walking past.
In addition to motion, Vivint cameras start recording short video clips when other connected home security sensors are triggered, like In addition to motion, Vivint cameras start recording short video clips when other connected home security sensors are triggered, like:
- Door/window entry sensors
- Glass break detectors
- Smoke/CO alarms
- Smart doorbell cameras or the cameras that are set up at doors and the moment someone presses the bell it records.
The video also captures moments when the Vivint security personnel is streaming through the footage of the camera. This enables security personnel to have a look at a property in case an alarm has been raised and also to watch the recording of the specific incident.
You can always set your Vivint video to personal preference when you are not comfortable with the default settings.
Another feature that enhances the consumer experience is that through Vivint’s mobile app and customer dashboard, the users have a high level of control regarding how the security cameras in their homes or businesses operate and how they record videos. Settings that can impact video recordings and storage include: Settings that can impact video recordings and storage include:
- Fine-tuning sensitivity of motion sensor
- Switching the night vision feature on or off
- This in essence means that some areas in the span of a camera’s view will not be able to set off motion alarms.
- Determining certain situations where cameras should be on and at other times off
These settings should be reviewed at the time of installation or maybe after some time, you installed your Vivint system to understand when and how these particular areas can be recorded best. It will also let you keep only the specific recordings that you desire to retain and not the unwanted ones that would have taken up space.
For instance, you may wish to schedule the cameras to be turned off during the night or when everyone in the house is likely to be asleep and no movement is expected. Or there are cases when you would wish some of the indoor cameras to blur out private areas and thus stop recording when such regions would be in view during particular hours of the day.
Vivint takes the security solution very flexibly - do not lose such an opportunity to change the video options.
Some of the things that one is likely to learn
To wrap up, here are some key facts to remember when it comes to retaining and accessing video clips from your Vivint home security system:
- The default value for access to a video clip = no more than 7 days
- ASmartDrive for 30 days of local storage
- Cloud plans are there for the customers where they can store their data in a secure online mode for 30-60 days.
- It is also important to make use of a mobile application where stored video clips can be accessed.
- Motion is likely to cause most automatic recording
- Set the parameters to achieve the desired outcome of the recordings made.
Finding the best in your cameras and tweaking Vivint’s video storage to the best you desire could take some time. However, by using neck or wrist accessories and choosing the right plan, it is possible to save footage for over 30 days or more for future reference.
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