Vivint Indoor Camera Pro

Aug 04, 2023

The Indoor Camera Pro ($249.99) is the first Vivint product we've tested that you can install without professional help. It's simple to set up, can send intelligent alerts, and records decent 1080p video. But it's an expensive proposition considering that its best feature, the ability to continuously record for 10 days to local storage, incurs a hefty one-time fee of $299. Furthermore, using it with a required Vivint Smart Home security system increases your subscription cost by $5 per month. If you don't use the Vivint platform or don't want to pay this much for an indoor security camera, look to the Wyze Cam OG ($23.99) instead. Although that camera also tops out at 1080p, it costs much less, supports IFTTT, offers color night vision, and has a weatherproof build.

The Indoor Camera Pro's dark gray shell houses a glossy black camera unit, while a black metal stand attaches it to a square base with a mounting arm that lets you tilt, swivel, and rotate the assembly for optimal viewing. You can set the camera up on a tabletop or mount it to a wall or ceiling using the included hardware. Taking the stand into account, the device measures 4.2 by 2.6 by 2.6 inches (HWD).

The camera uses high dynamic range (HDR) technology to enhance contrast levels, has a 1080p resolution, and captures a 150-degree field of view. For comparison, the Wyze Cam OG has the same resolution but a narrower 121-degree view. In addition to the lens, the camera has a microphone, a pair of infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision, and a status LED that glows green when the camera is ready to connect, blinks green during pairing, and turns white when the camera has an active connection to your network.

An 8.4-foot, hardwired power cable extends from the back and connects to a power brick. The bottom of the assembly houses a speaker and a rubber cover that protects a microSD card slot. The box includes a 64GB card, but to access any local recordings you have to purchase the Vivint Playback DVR feature for a one-time fee of $299. That add-on unlocks 10 days of continuous video recordings that are accessible even without a Wi-Fi connection. If you already use a Vivint Smart Drive as part of your security system, you can set the camera to record to that instead. It starts to record whenever it detects motion and can tell if a person is the cause of the disturbance.

The top of the camera has a button that pairs it with your home hub. Once the camera is up and running, you can use that same button to place a video call directly to a mobile device (a feature you might remember from the Vivint Ping camera). Under the hood is a Wi-Fi 6 radio that connects the camera to the Smart Home Security panel.

As with other Vivint cameras, such as the Outdoor Camera Pro Gen 2, you must use the Indoor Pro with a Vivint Smart Home Security System and pay a $5-per-month service fee on top of your existing subscription (plans start at $49.99 per month).

The camera doesn’t support HomeKit, IFTTT, or Matter and it won’t stream to Amazon Echo Show or Google Hub displays, but you can still use voice commands to stream video to your Vivint Smart Hub. Of course, it integrates seamlessly with other devices that are part of your Vivint security system, including door locks, lights, entry sensors, and other cameras.

You can view event videos using the same mobile app (available for Android and iOS) that you use to control your Vivint security system. The Indoor Camera Pro gets a dedicated panel on the Cameras screen along with any other Vivint cameras you have. This panel shows a still image of the last captured motion event and has a play arrow that launches a live stream.

The live stream screen includes a button for rewinding through a timeline of recordings, a button that takes you to the Locks screen where you can lock and unlock any connected doors, a two-way talk button, and a photo button that snaps a still image. An Events button shows thumbnails of all recorded motion events. Tap any thumbnail to view, download, or share it.

Press the three dots in the upper right corner of the main camera screen to access device settings. Here, you can enable Privacy Mode (which temporarily disables remote viewing and recording capabilities), configure notifications and playback settings, create rules for the camera to trigger other devices in your Vivint system or vice versa, and enable person detection. Other settings allow you to set up detection zones, adjust the detection sensitivity, select one of five video quality and bandwidth settings, enable audio recording, and toggle Quiet Mode (which turns off the camera’s microphone).

The Indoor Camera Pro is easy to install, but unlike most cameras, you must add it to your system via the Vivint Smart Hub rather than an app. Simply tap the three dots in the lower right corner of the hub's dashboard screen, enter your four-digit PIN, tap Devices, choose Add Device, and select the camera from the list. The hub should prompt you to plug in the camera and press the button on top until you hear the camera say “release now for WPS,” at which point the camera and panel begin the pairing process. After around 30 seconds, both the panel and the camera should alert you that the connection is in progress. To complete the setup, all you need to do is give the camera a name.

The Indoor Camera Pro delivers relatively sharp 1080p video. Colors show good saturation, while black-and-white night vision recordings are sufficiently bright and contrasty. The camera’s 150-degree range provides a wide view of a room.

Audio communications sound loud and clear via both the two-way talk button in the app and the call button on the camera. Motion alerts arrive quickly and correctly identify any people in the frame. Furthermore, it's seamless to stream the camera feed to a Vivint panel using Alexa voice commands. A Vivint rule I created for my side door to lock when the camera detects a person worked without issue.

If you want to beef up your Vivint Smart Home Security System with indoor video monitoring, the Indoor Camera Pro delivers reasonably sharp 1080p video. It's just not a very good value considering its high starting price and required fees. It also lacks features like color night vision, third-party integrations, and full voice control. Our Editors’ Choice winner for indoor security cameras, the Wyze Cam OG, also tops out at 1080p, but it offers a lot more features, including color night vision, IFTTT support, and complete Alexa and Google Assistant voice integration at a fraction of the price. If you want higher-resolution capture, meanwhile, the $54.99 Eufy E220 Indoor Cam, is another Editors' Choice winner that records in 2K, has pan and tilt controls, and works with HomeKit.