Saturday, October 17, 2015

Canary, Netgear, Best Buy, Slingtv, Geek Squad Fit Together Like A Dream Come True

** The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free **








We recently had the opportunity to try a Canary home security system from Best Buy. The first thing that jumped out at me as being possibly the best part of the deal? No monthly fees to run your Canary home security system! (There are other options, but I am happy with what we get with the basic package.) You can opt for more tags, more cloud storage, it all depends on exactly what you will be using it for. Even with the prices of a plan, it's unbeatable! For example, $4.99 per month for 2 day timeline, 25 bookmarks, and unlimited video downloads. Every Canary comes with a free starter package. This includes: access to the last 12 hours worth of events and up to 5 bookmarked videos. 

The Canary system is so simple to set up, straight from the box, that even my 5 year old would be able to do this. Granted, he is technically inclined, thanks to video games, my cell phone, and my laptop) but, this is something you could be comfortable with when purchasing for an elderly family member or neighbor or anybody who's technical skills stop at replacing a remote control battery. Out of the box, you have a few minutes to set up! You will be impressed with what this sleek, indoor, wireless, high definition, security system has to offer. 

What is quite impressive with the Canary, is Since the March 2015 launch, nearly 75 known burglaries, home invasions, caretaker abuse and other emergency situations have been captured by Canary, resulting in multiple arrests. 

Before I share all of the sweet specs of what I personally consider, something that every household should have, I have to admit, i am a weather nerd. I not only love weather but I also love technology. The Canary will actually give you the temperature, humidity level and let you know if the air quality in your home is safe. From virtually anywhere. Because, yes, you just install an app in your Smartphone and you can see what is happening from wherever you are! 

The Canary Indoor Wireless High-Definition All-In-One Home Security device helps keep your home safe and sound with motion detection notifications, a 90+ dB siren and HomeHealth Technology. It learns the cadence of your home so it can send you accurate notifications with fewer false alarms triggered by pets or other regular activity in your house.
 Stream live video from your home anytime: Canary's free mobile app let you see what's happening from anywhere with your iPhone® or Android smartphone
·         Capture everything: vivid HD 1080p resolution allows you to see small details on your screen, the 147° field of view which lets see more with minimal blind spots, and infrared night vision lets you see in the dark – you can keep an eye up to 20' away when there's little to no light
·         The device is a great way to check in on kids or caregivers. If the device is set to “Arm,” you'll receive a notification when someone arrives in your home. Use the “Watch Live” feature to check on everything from homework being done to house rules are being followed 
·         Gives you a complete picture of what’s going on at home, it puts you in control of how to react when something goes wrong.
o   Canary is the only solution with a 90+ decibel siren and a localized emergency call feature, which lets you contact authorities close to home from anywhere in the world 
o   Notifications keep you informed: receive movement-detection notifications that contain recorded footage and give you the options to watch live or sound the 90+ dB siren




Now, back to our experience with Canary.... My husband and I are still thinking of of reasons why this is such a great system and why and how it would benefit us. Not only can we keep an eye on things when we are away, whether on vacation, or out running errands. We have ours in the kitchen since this is where our door leads to and also, where most of the "living" happens. We have it in a place where it can see pretty far in the laundry room and living room. Another bonus we came up with, is when our oldest might be home alone for a bit after school, we can keep contact with him and see what is going on at all times. (We can also see how many minutes he adds onto his Xbox Live time so we know what to deduct when we get home!) Speaking of the Xbox, one thing we took notice to and this is not a negative thing by any means, but , more something to let you know about, just in case you might be having a similar issue....
So, the app shows color video and does have a slight time lapse, (which is understandable and expected and not a problem.), however, we seemed to notice it jump from color to black and white at times and we couldn't figure out why. The Netgear Nighthawk DST Router we received for this review, is absolutely flawless! And by flawless, I mean, just total brilliance! I can't even find the words, I am totally speechless! Ok, more on that in a bit. So, our 12 year old brought his Xbox upstairs for a couple of days and we started to see in the video on the app, that when he would turn it off and walk away, it would flip instantly back to color!



Is it a problem? Nope. Just another reason to turn off the Xbox and put it into hiding until the kids earn more video game time. Besides, black and white is crisp and clean enough to see what is happening. 

I find myself sitting here in another room of the house, just watching in awe, on my phone, because the picture quality is really something you assume you would be paying a lot of money for. (At $199 this thing just can't be beat!) 

One thing I think we will try is, putting our Canary upstairs for a few hours one night, just to see what kind of creepy things it can pick up. Halloween is und the corner and this would make a real nice ghost hunting camera! 

This router, this gorgeous piece of heaven that dropped down onto my doorstep one sunny afternoon. I was entranced with the Netgear Nighthawk DST Router and DST Adapter's striking beauty. 


Did you know that the average household has 7 connected devices? This high performance router was built to support up to 10 devices. Did you ever have slow wifi, dropped calls or dead zones? This is most likely due to putting a strain on your network, especially your router. We have had such a fantastic time with this router, i can't believe I lived back in the cave days all of this time! There are no dead zones anymore and we can have all of our devices connected and talk about speed!! I will no longer accept anything less. 

The Netgear Nighthawk DST Router is a brand new router that was developed exclusively between Netgear and Best Buy, to help provide consumers with an easy, all in one solution to support their home's connected devices. You get one DST (Dead Spot Terminator) adapter with your new router and all you have to do is plug it into a section of your house that gets little or no signal. If you have additional dead zones, you can purchase additional DST adapters. 

With your router purchase, comes Geek Squad. You will get one full year of Geek Squad which includes set up and support, over the phone and online, for one full year. No more waiting for an appointment for support, because, with geek Squad, you can call 24/7. Whenever you need help. Not just when you planned it. (Exactly.) 

Are you one of those people who doesn't subscribe to cable or satellite, due to the extremely high prices? Or maybe you are like me and rely on watching tv via Youtube on your phone because you are stuck in the kitchen, blogging, cooking, cleaning, and serving a ridiculous amount of lunches, after school snacks, and more snacks? (It gets so tiring I just made my office right here at the kitchen table and used a leftover chair to stack my agendas and binders.) I like to watch a few different television shows and I have to catch my Pittsburgh Penguins at least sometimes. But, living in the kitchen makes this hard and when I do get to experience live tv, I can't hardly contain myself. I have to make sure somebody isn't playing a trick on me and most of the time, it is a trick. My husband comes in the living room and wants to watch his recorded zombie soap opera or somebody needs help with homework, a bowl of cereal, dinner, and here I am. 

Best Buy offers a quick and painless way for all of us moms who have to hunker down in their kitchens and rely on Youtube or checking the Penguin's Facebook page for scores and checking the threads for updates. Sling TV offers live television from popular channels, including ESPN, HGTV, AMC, TNT and more! The base package costs just $20 per month. You can add premium channels such as, HBO or get extra entertainment packages for additional fees. 

You can sign up for a free 7 day trial of Sling TV online.   
Where can you watch Sling TV? Well, anywhere yo would like! I can watch it in my kitchen, on my porch, on a long drive, or even let the kids watch it on my phone on busy errand days. 

There are no hidden fees, no contracts, and Sling TV is compatible on the following devices: Smartphones, Xbox One, tablets, laptops, computers, Tv and video players, including Amazon Fire and Roku. (Gosh, I might even tell my husband about this secret so he can watch his shows when he's stuck in his truck overnight!) Then maybe I won't have to sit through zombie and ghost shows when he comes home each week!! 

If you do choose to check out Sling TV, you may be interested in this promotion through Best Buy.
There is also a $50 off compatible device offer – available with 3 months of prepaid Sling TV service; this offer is available in Best Buy stores only, and not online; the $50 discount is given in the form of a Best Buy store coupon.

I'll be getting back to you about this router and Canary. We plan on purchasing a few more so we can get our whole house covered. I will also update on any ghosts we can spot on the camera!

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