Saved doorbell clips limited to 34 sec?

[TouchOfGray]

After clicking through a maze to reach the button to save an event from my nest doorbell, the app only saved a 34 seconds clip of a 1 minute plus event to my photos library. This is unacceptable for a paid cloud nvr. 

[EmersonB]

Hello TouchOfGray,

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community. We understand where you're coming from. Don't worry we'll help you out. To confirm, how do you create your clips? Are you using the Nest app or the Google Home app? Do you have a Nest Aware subscription? Let us know your update here.

Regards,
Emerson

[TouchOfGray]

Firstly, I have a Nest Aware subscription. I am not aware of any way to save a clip using the Google Home app on my iPhone. I investigated and saw no buttons for the task. Instead, I followed a YouTube demonstration that used the Nest app.

[EmersonB]

Hi TouchOfGray,

Thanks for getting back to us. To confirm, do you have the Nest Doorbell 1st gen? If so, then you really need to use the Nest app to save clips.

Give these steps a try:

When you make an instant video clip, the app will search for the beginning and the end of activity near the time you've selected,create a clip of that activity, and save it in the app.

1. Open the Nest app.
2. On the home screen, select your Nest Camera or Nest Doorbell.
   Video history in the Nest app
3. In your Nest Camera's video history timeline, rewind to where you want the clip to begin. Note: You can either scroll through the timeline or tap on an activity mark on the timeline.
4. Tap New clip to automatically create an instant clip. It will take a short time to create your clip and save your clip in the Nest app.
5. Choose what you want to do with your clip:

• Tap Save to photos to download the clip to your phone or tablet.
• Tap Share link for options for how to share the clip.
• Tap Cancel to delete the clip.

Hit this link for more information and let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Emerson

[TouchOfGray]

Emerson, that is precisely what I had done. Yes, I have a 1st hen doorbell. I used the Nest app to create the clip since there was no option visible in the Google Home app. After tappi g on the event, I selected Create Clip. The app responded that it was adding the clip to my Nest account (Didn’t know one still existed. Pretty sure Google retired those.) The result (each time I tried) was parsed. Only 34 seconds of the one minute plus event was saved. 

[EdmondB]

Hello there,

Thanks for the information. Have you tried downloading the clip through the Web App? If not, here are the steps:

• Go to https://goo.gle/2qjvVSU and sign in.
• Select the camera that recorded the video you want to use.
• Select Clips in the lower right corner of the screen.
• Choose Create Clip.
• Sliders will appear on your timeline. Drag them forward or backward to select the start and end times for your clip.
• Name for your new clip, and choose Save.
• A popup will appear that says, "Your clip is ready. View your clip." Pick View your clip.
• If you're satisfied with the clip, select Done.
• If you're not happy with the clip or would like to select different start or end times, select Delete to erase it and go Back to start again.
   

Let me know if that works.

Regards,
Edmond

[TouchOfGray]

I tried your suggestion using my iPhone. Unfortunately, the phone’s Safari browser isn’t supported. I will try the desktop browser tomorrow.

[EdmondB]

Hi there,

That sounds like a plan. Please let us know if you are able to get a minute of the video clip using the Web App on your desktop browser.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
Edmond

[TouchOfGray]

Your suggestion worked. However, I found that the web tool’s UX was convoluted, and feel the inconvenience is unjustified. I’m cancelling my Aware subscription and going to replace the doorbell with a product that is more useable with my Apple phone.

[EdmondB]

Hey there,

I genuinely understand the inconvenience you have faced. I am in on this right away! Just a few questions: Have you tried using a different device aside from your iPhone, like an iPad or tablet? Did you have the latest iOS version on your iPhone? 

Best,
Edmond

[TouchOfGray]

With all due respect, the issue is not my phone’s web browser. The issue is that the video doorbell isn’t adequately supported by the Google Home app or Nest app. The latter is a retired product, but it was designed to support the 1st gen doorbell. I can forgive that the Google Home app doesn’t support older hardware.

If I were to replace my doorbell with a 2nd gen model, will the Google Home app make it simple to create clips on an iPhone? Or will it require a visit to a web page on a desktop device?

[EdmondB]

Hello there, 

With the 2nd generation Nest Doorbell wired, you can only download video clips from detected events in the video history and cannot download video clips from footage with no activity in the Google Home app. 

Best,
Edmond

[TouchOfGray]

I imagine I would be satisfied with that as it would eliminate a lot of non consequential footage. However, if One wanted to save a non-event clip from an Aware 24 hour recording, how would he do it? Using the web site tool? 

[EdmondB]

Hi there,

For saving a non-event video clip what we usually advise is to use a screen capture or screen recording on your phone. 

Best,
Edmond

[EdmondB]

Hi there,

Checking in to see if you still need help. Let me know if you have additional questions.

Best,
Edmond

[TouchOfGray]

You can close this discussion. I’ve ordered a 2nd gen video doorbell. Hopefully, the process of saving an event clip will be simpler with the Google Home app on my iPhone.

[EdmondB]

Hey there, 

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, and I'm happy to hear that this has been sorted out. If you need further help, let me know.

Best,
Edmond