Monitor your home with this excellent
surveillance camera
You're on holiday, thousands of miles from
home and someone breaks into your house, stealing your most valuable
possessions. The Y-cam HomeMonitor home security camera can't prevent such a
calamity, but it can record high- quality color footage of the burglary that
you can give to the police. You can even see the camera's Iive footage through
a web browser or mobile app.
Setting it up is simple and we didn't need
to install any software on our PC to get started. Instead, everything is
managed using a web interface which worked flawlessly on our PC and tablet.
Every step is clearly explained and illustrated in the instructions.
Monitor
your home with this excellent surveillance camera
By far the best thing about this camera is
its motion detection feature. Whenever something moves in front of the camera,
it starts recording and saves the footage to an online Y-cam account for seven
days before its deleted.
Setting up motion detection is easy using
the Y-cam's web interface. You can select two areas for the camera to detect
motion - by a door and window. For example - and there's a sensitivity setting
to adjust how big a movement needs to be to trigger the camera. You can also
change when motion detection is turned on, so it can be activated only at night
or during the day when the house is empty.
Setting
up motion detection is easy using the Y-cam's web interface
When the camera detects something moving it
sends you an email containing a link that takes you to footage online. This
happened instantly when we tested it. This video can be downloaded to your
computer if you need to keep it. If you want to keep it online for longer, an extra
30 days of storage costs $45 per year, per camera.
Despite the low resolution of 640x480 pixels,
video quality is excellent and sound clearly audible. The Y-cam can also record
at night. While night-time video quality isn't as good as in daytime, it still
gives a clear view of people's faces if they are within around five meters of
the camera.
The
Y-cam justifies its high price with ease of use and good- quality footage
stored online
Watching live video on a smartphone or
tablet is easy using apps for Android and iOS. However, the apps are more
limited than the web interface because you can't use them to change the
camera's settings or download footage. It's a little expensive at
$225, but the Y-cam justifies its high price with ease of use and good- quality
footage stored online. If you want peace of mind away from home, abroad or in
the UK, then it's a good choice.
Our Verdict
Although it's not the cheapest security
camera available, the Y-cam is a doddle to use and comes with online video
storage at no extra cost.
Key points
Easy to set up • No extra software required
• Motion detection • Night vision • Android and iOS apps for watching live and
archive footage
Best price online
Website: www.snipca.com
Price: $225
Alternative
D-Link Wireless N Day & Night Camera
Price: $100
A great-value security camera with
excellent night vision, but the My D-Link interface is poor
