A lot can happen when you’re away from home, especially if you work long hours or travel frequently. Pet cameras are a game changer when it comes to the ability to monitor and even communicate with pets while away from home.
The smart pet camera Petlibro Scout allows you to check on your cat at any time, with the ability to view live in the Petlibro app and tilt or open the camera for a better view. It features 1080p HD images, two-way audio, and both manual and automatic recording of key moments.
I bought myself a Scout smart pet camera and tested it for a few months. Here is my honest review.
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As a concerned pet parent with multiple elderly cats, pet cameras offer peace of mind. I know the convenience that comes with being able to check on your cats anytime, even when you’re away from home.
In our reviews here, we want to provide honest reviews based on real world experience with the product. I tested the Petlibro Scout pet camera for a few weeks, taking notes on its functionality, AI technology, app interface, and more.
Scout Smart Pet Camera & Petlibro Overview
I was surprised to learn that Petlibro was founded in 2019, because the popularity of their auto-feeders makes them feel like a very old brand. While they’re best known for their cat feeders and water fountains, Petlibro has also expanded into selling automated litter boxes and cameras to help build their Video Cloud AI subscription service.
The Scout smart pet camera is sold individually and bundled with other Petlibro products, helping you monitor your cat’s eating and drinking habits. Its main features are multi-animal detection, activity tracking, and automatic tracking using the camera’s 360° panning ability.
Features of Petlibro Scout Smart Pet Camera
The Petlibro Scout smart pet camera recognizes up to five pets, labeling videos and photos with their names. If you have Petlibro Video Cloud Service, which starts at $11.99/month, you can also get AI-generated short descriptions of their day and activity tracking. This tells you when your cat is eating, drinking, using the litter box, or “taking a selfie” (approaching the camera). Unfortunately, it’s not entirely accurate, especially for pets that look alike.
Setting up the camera is a breeze and takes just minutes. Place it on any flat surface or mount it on the wall using the included hardware. You can then choose an angle or enable automatic tracking, which allows the camera to track your cat as it moves around the room. Move the camera anytime using the app. Tilt it up and down and pan 360° to see your cat no matter where it is in the room.
When you’re away from home, you can also talk to your cat using two-way audio or play chirping bird sounds to grab his attention quickly.
What we liked:
- 1080p HD camera with night vision
- The camera pans 360° and can tilt up or down to view your entire space
- Two-way audio lets you talk to your cat and hear what’s going on at home
- Simple setup and easy to navigate phone app
- Several optional features are in-app, including human detection, automatic pet tracking, and more
What we didn’t like:
- Important features like job tracking and daily summaries require a subscription service
- AI technology often combines different cats or behaviors, even after consistent adjustments
- AI technology often recognizes objects as different as pets, especially packaging for cats or soft, furry objects
What Do Our Test Cats Think?
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At first, I was impressed by the Scout’s smart pet camera. Setup was a breeze, and I loved being able to adjust the camera from my phone. The camera can pan up and down and move, which allowed me to easily see my entire living room.
I enjoyed being able to talk to my cats and hear what they did during the day, and it was nice to get notifications as they moved around. You can also play chirping sounds with the camera, which is a nice detail.
It starts moving well, and the “person detection” feature works well, although its tendency to take a picture where someone is detected can lead to it not capturing the whole person or their face. A camera will let you know if someone is in your home who shouldn’t be, but it can be difficult to identify the intruder.
I’ve learned to be skeptical of lofty claims when it comes to AI technology in recent years, so I’ve been concerned about a lot of animal cognition and behavior. Unfortunately, this is where things went downhill.
My cats were always mislabeled in the app, even ones that looked completely different from each other. Of course, it was a struggle with cats of the same color, but it also confused my gray calico cat, and my buff tabby from my orange tabby. The pet recognition feature also didn’t seem to take the cat’s size or fur length into account, even when there was a big difference in appearance. It even confused the grandmother’s red cat hair!
Regular adjustments helped somewhat, but this mixing was still the norm. Videos and photos captured in the app also appear randomly, rather than capturing important moments.
There are also subscriptions required to monitor behavior, save and view video, share the camera with multiple devices, or for the camera to see multiple pets at once. Behavioral recognition was good at recognizing basic things like sitting or sleeping, but struggled with complex behaviors. The AI snapshots were good at first, but they quickly grew and were often inaccurate.
Overall, I think the technology still has a ways to go, and it’s not worth the extra cost–especially after accounting for the subscription service fees. That said, there’s a lot to like about this camera, including image quality, resolution, and an easy-to-use phone app.
What Do Customers Think of the Scout Smart Pet Camera?
Good Review
“The video quality is clear and the app is easy to use. I mainly use it to check on my pets when I’m away, and the motion alerts are helpful. The connection is stable and the two-way audio is smooth.” – Chloe on Amazon
“I travel for work and even though I have a good pet sitter, I like to check on my cats. This camera has the sound of birds chirping which makes my cats come running. I can talk to them and I can just check on their daily activities because the camera does a great job of following them.” – Nancy and her cats on Chewy
Reviewers love that the Scout smart pet camera has two-way audio and can play chirping sounds to get their cats’ attention. Many positive reviews say that the camera does well in identifying different pets, although this was not my experience with the product.
Negative Reviews
“Honestly, terrible product. It takes every single dog toy and I think it’s one of my pets even though I pay for the premium package so I can see which one of my dogs is walking around. It beeps all night saying there’s movement when my dogs are in bed with me.” – Wood on Amazon
“After ordering these I realized I would have to have two separate subscriptions to use two cameras if I wanted full functionality.” – Thomas Salvato on Amazon
Most of the negative reviews focus on the camera’s inability to distinguish between pets, poor image quality, and the need for a subscription service to access its advertised features. Some reviewers have also noted that the camera misplaces other items, such as pillows or dog toys, for their pets.
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Looking for other pet cameras like the Petlibro Scout smart pet camera? Check out our other reviews.