Peq's Watchdog is far from perfect but has potential

[MUSIC] Hi, guys. This is Brian Ben for CNET, and right now we're taking a first look at the Peq Watch Dog kit. This kit essentially has the starter kit as well as a camera, and it's all packaged together to take care of basic home surveillance duties. And the whole price of the Peq watchdog kit is $200. So there are definitely things I like about the Peq watchdog kit and Peq as a whole. It's very easy to install. You get tons of help in the form of video tutorials, step-by-step wizards, and it pretty much just leads you through the process and you can have all your devices set up. In minutes. The Peq Watchdog Kit is part of the wider, broader Peq smartphone system. So that means you can install all sorts of devices such as a motion sensor. And there's even a smart thermostat, which can detect the temperature but also link to other temperature sensors around the house. We eliminate any hot or cold zones and if you are say sleeping or your away you can get text messages sent directly to your phone. So that you can know if something's happening that's not supposed to be like if the window's opening or a door's opening. Or if there's movement in your living room. There are some problems with the PEQ system. First of all the camera does not have a motion sensor in itself so you can't just install a camera and have it trigger to motion or sounds or anything like that. Also not very nice is that the camera is VGA only. It's low res it's not high res HD that other. Customers you know, have, I also don't like that as of now PEQ does not support in app. notification. So, if a camera takes a photo, or if it detects motion or something like that. And you wanna get an alert. That is not possible right now through the PEQ app. So, that's something that hopefully they'll change soon. Also be advised there is a ten dollar. Per month subscription fee. So, if you don't wanna spend any more than you do from actually just buying the device and the kit, outright, you have to be aware that you will be on the hook for a monthly payment. You really shouldn't judge the PEQ Lock Kit in a vacuum. And, again,. Stand-alone cameras from Belkin or Dropham. You know, they may offer more features at a lower price, but this kit basically will connect to a broader, wider, peak smart home platform, which in the long run may actually offer more functionality. Thanks for watching. Be sure to check a review of this device and other smart home products. At cnet.com, I'm Brian Bennett for CNet appliances. [MUSIC]