I purchased several of the TriVision NC-107W (appears to be similar to the Sharx Security SCNC2607), TriVision NC-107WF (this unit, similar to the Sharx Security SCNC2700 with a non-detachable antenna), and TriVision NC-306W (appears to be similar to the Sharx Security SCNC3605N) wireless IP security cameras over the course of the last month. All three TriVision camera models provided very good first impressions, but in several cases those good first impressions diminished. If it were not for the stability problems of some of the NC-107WF units, this camera would easily achieve a 5 out of 5 rating; as a direct result of the stability problems, as a _security_ camera this model would be lucky to achieve a 3 out of 5 rating.
Positives:
* Extremely compact design at about an inch deep, making it easier to disguise as something other than a security camera. The power light may be disabled, and black electrical tape works well to cover the white lettering on the camera body. The infrared lights may also be optionally disabled.
* Very well written manual.
* 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per second is likely higher resolution than old style CCTV type DVRs solutions (the resolution may be set to a lower value and the sound quality is adjustable).
* Video is recorded in Apple QuickTime standard format, which is viewable by the Windows 7 Windows Media Player (but not the Vista version of that program) and the video format is compatible with the Windows Live Movie Maker application (free from Microsoft).
* Includes MultiLive software that allows simultaneous connection to as many as 36 TriVision cameras per computer. The MultiLive software features motion detection, with automatic recording to a specified file location (this capability was tested for a week with a single camera, motion detection works but was slower to activate than the motion detection built into the camera, and the Windows 7 color scheme automatically changed to Basic when the MultiLive software was running).
* Includes an automatically downloaded ActiveX control that allows viewing live video from a camera using a web browser.
* Includes a NC Setup utility which quickly locates Trivision cameras on the network (all cameras send a full broadcast packet to port 22330 roughly every 3 seconds the NC Setup utility sometimes fails to see any network attached cameras, even if a Wireshark packet capture shows the full broadcast packets).
* Integrated storage of video on MicroSDHC cards (all cameras tested with SanDisk 32 GB MicroSDHC cards).
* Automatic upload of video and still frames to FTP servers (tested with Microsoft Windows 2003 Server's FTP service and a Synology DiskStation DS212+), a feature which seems to require the additional cost memory card.
* Automatic sending of still frames to email (not yet fully tested, did not seem to be successful in sending to an onsite Microsoft Exchange server).
* Allows remote viewing of camera video from outside the network (not yet attempted, but there seems to be no reason why this would not work once the network firewall was configured to permit connections and port forwarding was enabled on the firewall this setup is supposedly automated with routers that support universal plug and play (uPNP)).
* Connects wirelessly to 802.11b/g/n WEP and WPA2 encrypted networks (tested with multiple Cisco Linksys E2000 routers acting as access points, and industrial class Cisco Aironet 1252 and 1262 access points) with and without SSID (network name) broadcasting, and wired through a 10/100 Ethernet port.
* Automatic light intensity adjustment, automatically switching to black and white night vision if the automatic infrared lights are enabled (the lights must be disabled if the camera faces a window).
* Two-level user access security to the camera for administrators and regular users.
* Allows download of video from the optional integrated storage media, so that the video may be played back on a connected computer once the download completes.
* Allows defining four motion detection sensitivity areas on the camera so that motion in one or more areas of the camera picture does not trigger video capture.
* Allows periodic (for example once every 30 minutes) capture of the camera picture to an FTP server or email.
* Recorded video may be broken up into 60 second intervals (configurable between 10 and 600 seconds) to make certain that the video is transferred quickly to a FTP server recording will continue for a user specified duration after motion detection ends. Continuous recording is also possible, but only to the optional internal memory card.
* Supports mobile devices (iPad, Android, BlackBerry) through third party software, as outlined in the manual (tested as working OK with the "IP Cam Basic" app on a Motorola Xoom when setting the camera manufacturer to Sharx, also works with the Synology DiskStation Surveillance Station when setting the camera manufacturer to Y-Cam).
* The mounting stand, while a bit primitive, works well for mounting the camera to a window sill or attaching to a metal beam with a user supplied beam clamp.
* Configuration is not terribly difficult, but is a bit time consuming when multiple cameras need to be configured.
* Cameras are able to automatically synchronize with external time sources (NTP servers found on the Internet), however the time on the cameras tends to drift a bit more than what is acceptable.
* Very good color accuracy in captured video.
Negatives:
* 640 x 480 resolution is decent if the subject captured by the camera is within about 15 feet of the camera; however the need for high definition video capture is quite clear after watching several thousand video clips created by the cameras.
* While the camera probably is capable of 30 frames per second at 640 x 480 resolution, motion in recorded videos is often accompanied by several short pauses in the motion.
* Viewing the cameras using the MultiLive software seems to temporarily disable the built-in video capture and FTP uploading capability, this also seems to be true when using the Synology DiskStation Surveillance Station to monitor cameras.
* The live web-based video stream of the camera is only compatible with Internet Explorer, and the video stream does not scale down in size if a smaller zoom percentage is specified in Internet Explorer, although the edges of the video stream will be cropped at smaller zoom percentages. The restriction of only working with Internet Explorer means that, for instance, a Motorola Xoom tablet cannot be used to watch live streams of video from the cameras through a web browser.
* The NC Setup utility seems to be a bit unreliable, intermittently not able to see cameras from one computer, while the software works fine from another computer at the same time; the broadcast packets sent by the cameras, which is used by the NC Setup utility, cannot be disabled.
* Retrieval of video from the internal memory card is often a slow process.
* Uploads to FTP servers (both types tested) occasionally fails, leading to some corrupted videos.
* There are two options for taking still frames when motion is detected and uploading those videos to an FTP server one of those options does not honor the specified destination directory setting.
* While the cameras connect wirelessly to 802.11b/g/n networks, and also work with 10/100 wired Ethernet connections, the stability of those connections is poor on all EXCEPT the TriVision NC-306W outdoor cameras and two of the TriVision NC-107WF cameras that I tested. Problems include complete lock ups where the cameras record nothing to the internal memory card (possibly heat related, seems to happen most often when the NC-107W / NC-107WF cameras are exposed to direct sunlight for more than a few minutes the white colored version of the cameras might survive better in direct sunlight); falling off the network (happens even when a Cisco Linksys E2000 is moved within 12 feet of the camera) and not attempting to reconnect ; losing DHCP settings and failing to recover (one camera automatically reverted back to using the IP address 192.168.0.100 twice, while an hour later one of the other cameras kept repeatedly broadcasting DHCP requests every 3 to 7 seconds despite the DHCP server responding to the camera roughly 0.0002 seconds after each request hardcoding an IP address is a work around for this problem; and inconsistent ping times that might cause network monitoring software to false alarm outages (3456ms ping time surrounded by a 21ms ping and a 23ms ping).
* The automatic light intensity adjustment feature may contribute to some areas of the picture becoming completely whitewashed due to indirect sunlight this problem seems to affect the NC-107W camera much more than the other camera models, although there occasionally appears to be a slight whitewash effect near the top of the NC-107WF camera's video.
* Motion detection seems to still need a bit of development. Moving an object (a person or a car, for instance) directly toward the camera may not trigger motion detection until the object is within 10 to 15 feet of the camera. Motion detection seems to work well when the object is moving from one side of the picture to the other side, often triggering in a second or less. On a windy day with a couple of cameras pointed through windows, it is not uncommon to see 500+ one minute videos of tree branches swaying in the wind during a 10 hour time period.
* Long term durability of the cameras is still a significant unknown.
Description of the Attached Video:
The video shows an example of video captured by several NC-107WF cameras, and a color accuracy comparison with a NC-107W camera in an industrial setting. The first half of the video shows some of the problem areas of the camera when the cameras are pointed through a window and image issues when the cameras are exposed to varying degrees of sunlight. The second half of the video shows video clips labeled "Caught on Camera" (demonstrating the cameras' motion detection capabilities), and a color accuracy comparison with the NC-107W camera. The video clips were imported into the Windows Live Movie Maker application where subtitles were added, and the video was output as a 640 x 480 resolution WMV video file with no apparent video or sound quality loss the occasional pauses in the video were present in the MOV files recorded by the cameras. The timestamp at the top-left of the video was added automatically by the cameras during recording.
There is essentially one supplier of the Trivision security camera, ATC LLC, so I thought that I would also provide a comment on the supplier in this review. Individual orders of the NC-107W and NC-107WF security cameras shipped quickly through U.S. mail, with the camera enclosed in a thin cardboard box inside a large plastic mailing envelope. A larger order of four NC-107WF and NC-306W cameras shipped by FedEx, arriving the day after shipment except that the four NC-306W cameras were not included in the box and no packing material was included in the larger box to prevent the smaller boxes from shifting position in the larger box. At 6 AM the morning after the package arrived, I received a somewhat frantic email from the supplier stating that they mistakenly shipped eight of the NC-306W cameras, rather than the four that were ordered due to a "system's issue", with a request that I either return the four extra cameras (prepaid return shipping was offered) or pay a discounted rate for the extra four cameras (thoughts of toner pirates were dancing through my head as I read the email). An hour after the supplier's email was sent I returned a replying email requesting tracking numbers for the eight NC-306W cameras, since none were included in the package that was received. 24 hours after the original email I received a response from the supplier stating that due to a "system bug", none of the NC-306W cameras shipped four of the NC-306W cameras arrived the next day. While this shipment resulted in a bit of panic, I am willing to consider this problem to be caused by a computer glitch and not a case of a supplier attempting to over-ship a product and then expect the recipient to pay for the over-shipment (one of the methods employed by a toner pirate). In all orders, the cameras were shipped without shipping charges.
0 comments:
Post a Comment