Smart Home

Review: LSC Smart Connect – Video doorbell and security cameras

Review: overall, LSC Smart Connect - Video doorbell and security cameras are a nice addition to the existing collection of smart products from LSC
4.4/5 - (15 votes)

LSC Smart Connect – Video doorbell and security cameras – At the end of 2019, we took a detailed look at the first products from LSC Smart Connect. LSC Smart Connect is the smart home brand of retail chain Action and works via the WiFi protocol and the Tuya platform . Action has since expanded the range further. In this review we look at the Smart Doorbell, Smart Indoor IP Camera, Smart Outdoor IP Camera and the Smart LED Flood Light with sensor, i.e. the video doorbell, indoor camera, outdoor camera and the outdoor lamp with motion sensor.

You can control the products of the Action’s LSC Smart Connect with the LSC Smart Connect app, which is available for iOS and Android. You don’t need a hub, because you can connect these products directly to your WiFi network (2.4 GHz only). LSC Smart Connect products use the Tuya platform. Tuya provides the underlying technology and cloud traffic via the 4A IoT platform. You can read more about it here . You buy these four new smarthome products in the Action stores. Online ordering is not possible, but you can view the collection on the website of Action .

Smart Doorbell

The Smart Doorbell from LSC Smart Connect looks exactly the same as the video doorbell from Marmitek. Other brands also use exactly this housing for their ‘clone’ doorbells. There are often some internal differences between all these cloning bells. Action does it with this LSC Smart Connect Smart Doorbell for a very good price. This video doorbell costs 37.95 euros and comes with a Full HD resolution (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) and a viewing angle of 145 degrees, night vision up to 5 meters, a WiFi range of 25 meters and two-way communication. You can save images with a micro-SD card up to 128 GB and the video doorbell has an IP54 certificate and is therefore somewhat resistant to water and dust (splash-proof). The video doorbell may not like a real downpour, because more expensive brands often have better certification and are therefore more waterproof. That is something to take into account.

You use the Smart Doorbell in combination with the LSC Smart Connect app or one of the other Tuya apps. In the box you will find the video doorbell and the back wall, mounting material, a plate to change the viewing angle and a tool that can serve as a screwdriver.

Nevertheless, there are some differences with the Marmitek video doorbell. The Smart Doorbell (12V) of the Action is not so easy to connect to your existing doorbell connection, but simply comes with a five-meter cable and a plug that actually serves as a transformer. So you just put the plug in the socket and you can get started. Don’t feel like extending the five-meter cable along your existing doorbell cable? Then you can also use your current doorbell cable. Cut the cable on the adapter side of the new doorbell, connect the doorbell to your existing doorbell cable and remove the other end from your existing transformer. You connect this to the adapter from Action and you’re done. The Marmitek video doorbell is easier to connect to your existing gong and is therefore just a bit more versatile.

Whichever method you choose or know how to invent, your existing chime cannot be included in the whole. Although, not standard. This is of course no problem for the handy handyman, but you will have to make some adjustments yourself. I have also seen nice solutions with smart plugs and the existing gong that are linked together by means of an automation rule. It is certainly possible with this doorbell, but perhaps too difficult for the ordinary consumer.

You are now dependent on your phone to hear when the doorbell rings. That is of course a big downside. Fortunately, there is a handy solution for this. We already discussed the Marmitek video doorbell earlier in this review. Marmitek also has the Bell ME gong that is available for 19.95 euros. This works via RF and can also be connected to the Action video doorbell within two seconds. Press the button for two seconds to pair, then the doorbell button on the doorbell and you’re done. Now you just have a (wireless) chime connected to your new video doorbell from Action.

We can be quite brief about the video doorbell itself. This is fine, especially when you look at the price of 37.95 euros. The video doorbell has sometimes been on sale at the Action for 29.95, which is of course quite a bargain. The image and sound quality are good and you quickly receive a notification on your smartphone, after which you can watch the live stream within two seconds who is at the door. Of course, this depends on your WiFi network and your phone also determines how quickly the image is opened. We tested it with a two-year-old Oppo Reno and a Sony Xperia 1 II, last year’s flagship Sony. A new and more powerful smartphone shows you the live stream 1 to 2 seconds earlier than a device with less powerful specifications. You also need to have good WiFi coverage at your video doorbell, this can make a big difference.

The Smart Doorbell from LSC Smart Connect is really a video doorbell with basic functions. Don’t expect facial recognition, adjustable motion zones and more advanced features like that. The doorbell rings, you receive a notification on your smartphone and you open the live stream. You can now see who is at the door and can communicate with your visitor. That all works well. You won’t find another video doorbell in this price category that offers so much for so little money.

Smart Indoor IP Camera

You can buy the Smart Indoor IP Camera at Action for 19.95 euros. A very compact and small security camera on a foot with a Full HD resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, a viewing angle of 105 degrees, night vision up to 10 meters, two-way communication, a WiFi range of 25 meters and support for a micro SD card. up to 128 GB.

It is a nice little camera of 10.5 centimeters high with a flexible leg that you can place and stick on anywhere thanks to the supplied 3m tape. A plug and a cable are also included in the box. The leg and foot are made of rubber and feel sturdy. The camera itself is inexpensive white plastic, but that’s what you can expect in this price category.

You can easily install the camera via the LSC Smart Connect app. Click on the plus sign at the top right, go to Security, choose the indoor camera and click next. In the app you will be asked to reset the camera first. Save yourself the trouble, because this is really not necessary with a new camera. In fact, after the reset it took two or three times before the camera was actually added. It is better indicated in the paper manual. Enter your WiFi password, let the camera scan the QR code and you’re done.

The image quality is reasonable. It’s a decent fisheye lens, which means that the edges of the image are quite distorted. In the middle the image is better, but it cannot compete with a more expensive camera. The sound is also not very good, but with some effort you can understand a conversation reasonably. It is in particular the speaker on the camera that has a lot of trouble making voices heard properly. The camera also supports motion detection and sound detection, so you will be notified if something is wrong in the house that shouldn’t be happening. This motion notification works reliably and quickly, which gives this camera real added value. The sound quality is actually just below par, but for the money the camera can actually do very little wrong.

Smart Outdoor IP Camera

In addition to the Indoor IP Camera, Action also has an Outdoor IP Camera from LSC Smart Connect in the store. First of all, the specifications. For 34.95 euros you get a security camera for outside that has a Full HD resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, a viewing angle of 130 degrees, night vision up to 10 meters, two-way communication and an IP65 certificate. This means that the camera can withstand almost all weather conditions and the outdoor camera has a better certification than the video doorbell or the outdoor lamp below. You can save images with a micro SD card up to 128 GB.

The black camera looks like a small tube on a movable base. You can attach this base to the wall and then tighten the camera to the desired angle. The Smart Outdoor IP Camera from LSC Smart Connect comes with a very long cable and a plug for the socket. The camera itself is also equipped with an antenna to ensure a good connection outside. The WiFi range is 25 meters. Build quality is pretty solid. The camera therefore seems to be able to take a beating.

The installation works identically with the Indoor IP Camera. Click on the plus sign at the top right, go to Security, choose the outdoor camera and click next. You skip resetting again and then enter your WiFi password and scan the QR code with the camera. The camera has exactly the same functions as the indoor camera. The motion sensor also works great on this model and you can talk to your (unwanted) visitor via two-way communication. The speaker is slightly better compared to the Indoor Camera. You can be heard better through the speaker on the camera. The sound is not great, but sufficient.

The Smart Outdoor IP Camera is an affordable camera to monitor the house from the outside. The viewing angle is reasonable, but the image quality is fine. The night vision also works very well, so you can see who is possibly unwanted in your garden in the dark. This camera is recommended, especially for this money.

LED Flood Light with sensor

The LED Flood Light with sensor is a bit of a strange product. It is in fact an outdoor lamp with a motion sensor that you have to connect wired. The lamp costs 13.95 and is therefore a bargain, but the build quality leaves something to be desired. This is mainly due to the large hole at the back where the wiring goes in. Well, the wires themselves make a big bend in the housing, so that rain will not enter directly, but the question is whether the outdoor lamp will survive a heavy downpour. The outdoor lamp also (only) has an ip44 certificate, which means that it is splash-proof. The outdoor lamp will therefore not survive heavy rain. You prefer to hang this outdoor lamp under a shelter.

The lamp itself has no less than 1500 lumens, which is a decent beam of light. The motion sensor works well and has a motion angle of 160 degrees. The light spreads at an angle of 110 degrees. The WiFi range is 25 meters. The lamp itself must be able to last for 15,000 burning hours and be switched on and off 10,000 times. You can adjust the brightness and duration via the app.

If you have a covered space outside, it is a cheap solution for an outdoor lamp. The ‘smart’ part of the outdoor lamp is negligible and perhaps a bit redundant, although useful if you want to turn the light on or off at fixed times. Such a lamp should simply light up when detecting movement, which is also possible without an app. For 13.95 it is a bargain, but this outdoor lamp is certainly not without its drawbacks. The design is also not fantastic, so you will not like to hang this lamp by your front door. In the shed or in the backyard is a better choice, provided you take the splash-proof housing into account.

Good and affordable products, but …

The overall impression of the four products is good. For a bargain price they deliver exactly what you can expect. Yet we are not satisfied with everything. First of all, the weather resistance. The video doorbell has an ip54 certificate. Mainly the second number is important here. The 4 stands for splash-proof, which is of course not useful in the pouring rain. The 5 in the beginning indicates the degree of protection against the penetration of, for example, dust. Do not hang the video doorbell in a place where the weather has a lot of influence, but hang it under a shelter. In comparison, the Ring Video Doorbell 3 is IP65 certified, the Arlo Video Doorbell also an IP65 certificate. The same also applies to the outdoor lamp, which you should definitely hang under a shelter. Thanks to the IP44 certificate, a heavy downpour is not recommended. The outdoor camera does better with the IP65 certificate. You don’t have to worry about that.

All basic functions can also be found on the video doorbell and both security cameras. There are no advanced functions such as face recognition or movement zones. That is not bad either. You know what you are buying with these products. The app shows a timeline with all events and this is not always user-friendly. Sometimes you have to search hard to find that piece of video you actually want to watch. An advantage of the app is that you can link these products with other products from LSC Smart Connect via the smart functions with automations. For example, let the smart lights flash when the doorbell rings. There is no support for Google Assistant. As many people know there must be a logo on the box when this support is present. For example, you will find this logo on the lamps and smart plugs of LSC Smart Connect, but not on the video doorbell and the security cameras. So you cannot view images on your Google Nest Hub. Finally, storage is also a thing. You can insert a memory card in the video doorbell and cameras, but there are no other options. If someone takes your cameras or video doorbell with them, all images are also gone. Any optional cloud storage would have been useful. The comparable smarthome products from If someone takes your cameras or video doorbell with them, all images are also gone. Any optional cloud storage would have been useful. The comparable smarthome products from If someone takes your cameras or video doorbell with them, all images are also gone. Any optional cloud storage would have been useful. The comparable smarthome products from Kruidvat do offer that option.

LSC Smart Connect – Video doorbell and security cameras – Conclusion

The new products from LSC Smart Connect in the Action are a nice addition to the existing collection of smart products. They are of reasonably good quality and very affordable. In this price category you cannot escape the negatives. The weather resistance could be better, you only have basic functions and in the LSC Smart Connect app it is sometimes difficult to find the right video. However, if you take the downsides into account, then these are good products for a very affordable price. We are most enthusiastic about the outdoor camera, followed by the video doorbell. The indoor camera performs just below par in terms of sound and the outdoor lamp has smart functions that you don’t really need. In conclusion, we can say that Action is once again on the right track in bringing affordable smart home products to a large group of consumers. And we can only praise that.

Pros

  • Very affordable
  • All basic functions available
  • No subscription required
  • Outdoor Camera is a top product
  • Easy to install
Negatives

  • Weather resistance could be better
  • Difficult to find fragments in the app
  • Smart functions of outdoor lamp are negligible
  • Video doorbell without chime
  • Only storage via micro-SD card