RLC 420 Purchase and Set Up - Newbie is Confused

Hi

I'm a total newbie and I want to install a Reolink 420 on the outside corner of my house. I'm confused about what I need besides the camera. Do I need some sort of poe device too? How is it all hooked up? I tried to find a guide but it's confusing.

Here's what I want to accomplish:

I want it to be hard wired, I don't want to mess around with batteries.

I want to be able to access it with a smart phone and desktop computer

I want to be able to control the cameras movement and swivel with a smart phone and desktop computer

I want it to be accessible over the internet. In other words, when I travel overseas, I want to be able to get on the internet and access the camera video and controls.

I'm confused about how to hook it up so it's broadcast on the internet. Do I just plug it into my existing router? One diagram shows a power cord hooked up to the camera and the other cord pluged into my existing router, is that how it works? What's the point of the POE device? And if I need one, what is the least expensive but workable one I can get?

I would like to avoid putting a hole in my house to run cables, is there a way to keep everything outside?

What do I actually need to buy and hook together to get this going?

All help is appreciated.

Thomas Falater

Wallup, WA

Welcome to the forum and hopefully others will join in to assist. I think we have all been where you are now just getting into playing with security cameras. I will say that you made a good decision going with Reolink, and let me see if I can answer a few of your questions above.

You said, "I want it to be hard wired, I don’t want to mess around with batteries."

If you are looking for a hardwired solution, you will need to drill a hole in the house, or use an existing hole somewhere. For the model you have purchased, you will need at least one hole, and maybe two. If you do not want to go the battery route, such as the Argus, holes for cables are required.

You said, "I want to be able to access it with a smart phone and desktop computer"

You can do this with the existing Reolink Desktop and Mobile applications. Reolink has you covered here.

You said, "I want to be able to control the cameras movement and swivel with a smart phone and desktop computer"

Again, the Reolink client will provide you the features allowed by the camera such as Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ)

You said, "I want it to be accessible over the internet."

This is supported by the products UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) and P2P protocols. Plug it in and in most cases you will be able to access it via the Internet. There are more secure ways of doing this via a VPN, but Reolink provides a way to remotely access your camera(s).

Questions on Hooking up:

The camera you referenced supports (but does not require) Power Over Ethernet (POE). If you have hardware in your home that supports POE such as your switch or router, you simply can connect the ethernet cable to the camera and back to the POE supported device and one cable transmits data and power to the camera. One hole in the side of your house instead of two. The camera does have a power jack if you need to power it this way instead of using POE if you do not have it. If you do not use POE, you would need two holes in your house or place the camera near an outside power source. Another things you can do is buy what is called a POE injector. This is a small unit that takes a non-POE switch or router and provides a means of injecting/passing through a POE (power) connection. If you search for POE Injector on Amazon, you will see what they look like.

If you do not have a POE supported device, you will need to either buy a new switch or router having it, plug the unit in directly to power, or get an injector. Once that is up and running, the camera should be reachable via the Internet or while at home using the Reolink client.