Today we will be comparing three of the top home security providers in Xfinity Home Security, Scout Alarm, and Link Interactive. So let’s dive right in and see how they stack up! We’ll go over equipment, monitoring plans, and more!
We understand that shopping for a home security system can be difficult due to the amount of information that must be sorted through. We've broken down some of the top security companies' products and services to make the process easier for you. Today, we'll look at and compare the services provided by Xfinity Home Security, Scout Alarm, and Link Interactive.
Xfinity is widely known as a provider of cable, phone, and internet services. Just like many other cable companies, Xfinity also offers a security system to their customers called Xfinity Home. Xfinity has a offers a full colored touchscreen control panel that is packed full of features. It has a very thin designed which means it can be placed pretty much anywhere. The panel works by connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network. If your WIFI is down the Xfinity Home touchscreen control panel has a cellular chip as a backup so it will still continue to work even if your internet is down. It is powered through an AC power source so you want to make sure you have one nearby. If your power does go off, the touchscreen has a backup battery. The touchscreen displays the current time and weather in your specific area. You can also arm and disarm your system, add sensors, and view video right from the touchscreen. Xfinity Home control panel is pretty expandable as well, and you can use other branded devices with it.
To see an alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option, check out our home security system at Link Interactive >>
Scout Alarm offers a really nice control panel as well that connects all of your security equipment and other devices to one singular place. Their control panel is called the Scout Hub. The Scout Hub is a wireless control panel that connects all of the security sensors and other devices to it wirelessly. It works by connecting to your home’s WIFI network but also includes a cellular backup just in case your internet goes down.
The Scout Hub includes an internal 105-decibel alarm that can be easily heard no matter where you are in your home. Their hub is powered through an AC power source, and it does include a built-in backup battery just in case your power goes out. One really stands out feature that we like about the hub is the way the Scout Hub uses zones. The Hub will tell you exactly which zone (sensor) has been triggered which will give you a better idea of where and what is exactly happening in your home.
The Scout Hub also includes Z-Wave technology which will allow you to expand your system to include the use of some smart home devices. All equipment that is sold to you by Scout Alarm is DIY (do-it-yourself) which means that you will need to set up the equipment yourself.
See our cutting-edge control panel by Qolsys >>
Link Interactive has a couple control panels for you to choose from. Link’s best selling control panel is the Qolsys IQ Panel 2 control panel. This control panel has the most features, and has a sleek thin design that is sure to look good inside any home. It is a wireless and cellular system, but you can connect to your home’s WIFI so that you have double the connection. It is powered by an AC power source, and it includes a backup-battery. You can control your system and any connected devices right from the IQ Panel 2’s 7-inch full colored touchscreen. The touchscreen also displays your system’s status, time, and local temperature. It has a 5 MP front facing camera that will trigger to take a snap shot when your system is armed or disarmed. The IQ Panel 2 includes Bluetooth arming and disarming which is feature that will automatically arm and disarm your system when you leave or return home. One really standout feature for the IQ Panel 2 is that it has a built-in glass break detector that will listen for the sound of breaking glass. This panel also includes an internal siren that will sound if your system or any connected devices are triggered. The IQ Panel 2 includes a Z-Wave protocol that allows you to use a variety of other branded smart home automation devices with it like smart locks, making it super expandable.
See our cutting-edge control panel by Qolsys >>
Xfinity Home offers every sensor you could need to keep your family and home totally protected. The first type of sensors they offer are door/window sensors. Their door/window sensors are wireless and battery-operated. You will be instantly notified whenever these sensors have been triggered. Xfinity Home also offers motion sensors. Their motion sensors are wireless and battery-operated. Xfinity Home offers a wireless and battery-operated keypad as another way for you to arm and disarm your system. The Xfinity Home keypad has a push button design that allows you to easily arm and disarm your system with a push of a button. Xfinity Home offers a smoke detector as well. Their smoke detector is wireless and battery-operated with a battery life up to 5 years. When smoke has been detected the Xfinity Home smoke detector it will make an audible alert, and you will also be sent an instant notification that this event has taken place. All of the basic security equipment that is mentioned above is installed via a Xfinity professional installer so you do not have to worry about setting up the equipment yourself.
Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive >>
Home Automation
Xfinity has a lot of great add-on equipment that allows you to really expand your system. They have some great home automation equipment that can help cut down on your home’s energy costs per month. Xfinity Home offers Zen Thermostats. The Zen Thermostat has a LED touch display and works for the majority of HVAC heating and cooling systems. The Zen Thermostat works by connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network, and it is powered by it being directly wired to your home’s power source. The Zen Thermostat allows you to set custom timers for when your heating and cooling system comes on and goes off which can save you money on your home’s energy bill. Xfinity Home also offers a smart outlet. Their smart outlet plugs directly into an AC power source, and works with a variety of small appliances. You can set timers for when the appliances connected to the smart outlet come on and go off. There are also a wide variety of other branded smart home devices that will work with the Xfinity Home system such as Phillips and Yale. You can find a list of compatible devices on Xfinity’s website.
Video Monitoring
When it comes to video surveillance equipment Xfinity Home offers their indoor/outdoor camera. Their indoor/outdoor camera can be used for providing video coverage for the areas that are on the outside or the inside of your home. It is a wireless camera that works by connecting directly to your home’s WIFI network, and it is powered by an AC power source. Xfinity Home’s indoor/outdoor camera can capture HD video clips, and it comes with night vison technology that allows you to capture images when there is little to no light around.
Scout Alarm offers a nice variety of basic equipment that you can use with their control panel. You can purchase their Door Panel which is a pretty different type of intrusion sensor compared to other intrusion sensors that are out on the market today. The Scout Alarm’s Door Panel is a larger sensor meant to be placed on the outside of an entryway door. This sensor will alert you any time it has been opened and closed. This sensor can also be used to quickly arm and disarm your system by tapping an RFID sticker to the Door Panel or using Scout’s key fob. These stickers can be placed on anything that is easy to move around. When you tap these stickers on your Hub or Door Panel, they will automatically arm or disarm your system. The Door Panel also includes a 105-decibel alarm built in. The next basic sensor that is offered by Scout is their Access Sensor. These sensors are used to protect the door and windows of your home. They are battery operated and will alert you to anytime a door or window has been opened. Scout also offers motion sensors that are wireless and battery operated. Scout’s motion sensors use PIR technology to detect motion and have a 90-degree field of view. Scout Alarm offers glass break sensors that are wireless and battery operated. Scout Alarm’s glass break sensors are used to detect the sound of glass breaking within a 15 ft. range of the sensor. Scout Alarm offers key fobs that are battery operated and have a push button design. Their key fob remotes allow you to quickly arm and disarm your system with the touch of a button.
Lastly, Scout Alarm offers Smoke, CO, and flood sensors to help protect your home from environmental disasters. These sensors are battery operated and wireless, and they will make an audible alert any time they are triggered. These sensors along with Scout Alarm’s other sensors will all trigger your system to cause an event any time they are triggered.
Additional Equipment
Scout’s control panel has Z-Wave technology which means you can use other branded home automation and security products that are not offered by Scout. For example, one of the most popular Z-Wave devices used with the Scout system are Yale automated door locks. The Yale automated door lock has an illuminated touch pin pad that allows you to create custom user codes. It is battery operated and allows for quick one-touch locking and unlocking of this lock. The Yale automated door lock can also be unlocked and locked on the go, and any user codes for it can be enabled or disabled at any time.
Scout Alarm also offers an indoor camera as a part of their line of add-on equipment. Scout Alarm’s indoor camera is wireless which means it works by connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network, and it is powered through an AC power source so make sure you have one nearby. Their indoor camera records in full HD (1080P) video resolution so that you will receive crystal clear images. This indoor camera has a 155-degree field of view and comes with night vision so that you can view video even when there is limited or no light. The Scout indoor camera also has a built-in motion detector that will trigger the camera to start recording whenever motion is detected near the camera.
Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive >>
Link Interactive wanted to make sure you could really expand your Link Interactive security system to give your home total coverage which is reflected in the selection of basic equipment. All the basic equipment we will be going over is wireless and battery-operated. Link Interactive offers a variety of intrusion sensors. Link offers door/window, gate, tilt, glass break, motion, and image sensors. The gate sensor is unique in that it is a door/window sensor but for the gates/doors of the outside of your home. The image sensor is another unique sensor due to it being able to take snap shots when motion is detected in an area it is placed. Tilt sensors are used for the garage doors of home, and they will alert you to when your garage door has been opened or shut. Link Interactive offers a secondary full colored touchscreen remote. You can control all of the basic functions for your IQ Panel 2 through this keypad. Link interactive offers a panic button that will immediately trigger your system if the button is pushed. To protect your home from the elements, Link Interactive offers a temperature/smoke sensor and a CO sensor. Their temperature/smoke sensor will detect for smoke and detect rises and drops in temperature while their CO detector will monitor for dangerous rises in CO gas. If these are detected these sensors will make an audible alert while triggering your Link Interactive security system. All equipment offered by Link Interactive is DIY, but a step-by-step setup guide for a fast and easy installation is included.
Recommended: An alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option called Link Interactive >>
Home Automation
Link Interactive has a ton of home automation and video surveillance equipment you can use with the Qolsys IQ Panel 2. Today we will only be going over some of these items. If you are looking for a more complete list you can visit Link Interactive’s website at https://www.linkinteractive. Link Interactive offers a few different smart locks that you can buy directly from them. The smart locks offered by them have a push-button keypad that allows for quick one touch arming. You can create custom user codes along with remotely control the smart locks offered by Link Interactive through their smart phone app. Links offers smart lights and modules in where custom timers can be set for when they come on an off. These devices are great at cutting down on your home’s energy consumption down, and they can also be remotely controlled through the Link Interactive App. To remotely control the garage doors of your home, Link Interactive offers a garage door controller. You will also receive push notification anytime your garage doors have been opened or shut. To make your home a little greener you can add a smart thermostat from Link Interactive to your system. The smart thermostat offered by them works for the majority of HVAC heating and cooling systems. Custom timers along with remote control of this thermostat is just some of its features.
Monitoring/Cameras
Link Interactive also offers a huge selection of indoor, outdoor, and video doorbell cams. The basic features for all the cameras include HD video resolution, motion sensor, 2-way audio, and advanced night vision. Due to the IQ Panel 2 having a Z-Wave protocol you can also use other home automation equipment not listed or offered by Link Interactive with your Link Interactive security system.
Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive >>
All three companies offer professional, self, and video monitoring services. For self-monitoring, the apps are free to download and work for Apple and Android devices. Their apps will allow you to remotely control your system and all connected equipment while you’re on the go. You will also receive push-notifications whenever your system is triggered. You can also view and stream video through their apps. Professional monitoring services work the same. You will have a professional monitoring station watching over your home 24/7.
Recommended: For the best way to control your safety, look at our security system here at Link Interactive. Our system comes complete with Crash and Smash protection, and all the bells and whistles of a modern day home security system!
The winner: Link Interactive. A Link Interactive system is one of the few Alarm.com powered security systems on the market (the gold standard in home security), that not only fits your budget, but blows every other security system on the market out of the water in terms of features and reliability. Don’t believe us? Try a Link system for yourself, hassle-free and with no obligations for 30 days. Click here to see Link Interactive’s offer >>
We encourage you take a look at Link’s offer here, get a quote and compare. You can also call direct at 1-877-826-5443 for further details and speak with a rep!
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