Most apartment doors have a peephole so that you can see who is standing in front of the door. This offers a wide field of view with a fish-eye effect via a lens, with which apartment users can observe what is happening in front of the door from the inside. If you want to monitor your door better with a digital solution, you can also use smart doorbells (purchase advice) and surveillance cameras (topic page) or swap the entrance lighting for a courtyard light with an integrated surveillance camera (best list)out. However, these solutions are largely unsuitable for rented or owner-occupied apartments, as they are generally not approved by the community of owners due to structural changes to communal property. But there is a solution to the problem: digital door viewers. This allows tenants or apartment owners to replace the classic door viewer without violating the building regulations of the community of owners. If you want to use such a model, you should still get the consent of the other residents for data protection reasons.
How do digital door viewers work
A digital peephole uses a small camera instead of a lens to record what is happening in front of the door and transmit this information to a small screen located at the other end of the camera on the inside of the door. The monitor and camera are usually powered by rechargeable batteries or batteries. You will look in vain for a motion detector or WLAN connection with simple digital door viewers, but they are also available for little money.
Smart variants are significantly more expensive, but they also offer significantly more performance. High-resolution cameras and screens are standard here. In addition, they often integrate an intercom function and can be controlled via app thanks to WLAN. This allows you to communicate with a person at the door, such as a parcel carrier, even when you are out and about. This is convenient and a real advantage, especially for people with walking aids.
The digital version of the door viewer can often do much more. For example, a night vision function is integrated into most models, which allows you to see outside the door even in the dark.
In addition, smart door viewers not only allow videos to be recorded when motion is detected, but also to be saved. Most models use a microSD card as the storage medium, but this is usually not included in the scope of delivery.
Many of the cheap digital no-name door viewers also offer a bell function. The bell button is often located directly under the camera unit.
