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Take a look at this garage-door-controlling camera

Garager is a $129 garage door controller and camera that does a lot, but still lacks the smarts to be your best bet.

Molly Price
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1 of 10 Chris Monroe/CNET

The Alcidae Garager

Garager is part security camera and part garage door controller. A white plastic housing holds a round camera eye on a thin stem.

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2 of 10 Chris Monroe/CNET

Installation

Garager attaches to the bottom of your existing garage door opener either by magnet or by two screws. 

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3 of 10 Screenshot by Molly Price/CNET

The Alcidae app

In the Alcidae app, Garager's home screen shows a live feed of what Garager sees, as well as icons for two-way talk, photo or video recording and full-screen mode. 

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4 of 10 Chris Monroe/CNET

Connecting Garager to your opener

Garager includes two wires for connecting to the open and close command terminals of your existing opener. 

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5 of 10 Chris Monroe/CNET

Installation instructions

To determine which wires go where, you'll need to take a look at your garage door opener's manual.

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6 of 10 Screenshot by Molly Price/CNET

Garager notifications

Notifications for motion and sound detection appear on your device's home screen or as a banner. Notifications can be customized for levels of sensitivity. 

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7 of 10 Screenshot by Molly Price/CNET

Time-stamped activity history

The Alcidae app displays a time-stamped list of recent activity and access to video clips if a video storage subscription is active. 

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Garage door control

From the app, a small green button controls the opening and closing of the garage door. 

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9 of 10 Screenshot by Molly Price/CNET

Video storage subscription

For $5 per month, Garager will create clips when sound or motion is detected and store up to 7 days of recorded footage. 

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Two-way audio

In the Alcidae app, the microphone button allows two-way audio and a live feed of the garage. A speaker on the side of the Garager plays the audio picked up by your device's microphone. 

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