There are
many affordable and good performing entry- level IP cameras in the market, but
the majority of them only stream video at a 640 x 480 resolution that’s usually
good enough to make out the face of the intruder, but not the number plate of
the car he escaped in. If this VGA resolution just doesn’t cut it for your
needs, and you’re willing to fork out a bit more for a higher quality
surveillance footage, you might want to take a look at the Prolink PIC1007WP,
which retains most of the useful features in last year’s PIC1006WN that we
quite liked, but streams 720p footage at 30 frames per second.
The
PROLiNK PIC1007WP True Plug & Play Wireless-N Pan/Tilt IP Camera is an easy
to
set up IP Camera with no complicated router settings or network configurations.
There are
several wired and wireless ways to get the PIC1007WP onto your network. Since
our router has a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature, the easiest way for us
was to press this WPS button on both the camera and router to establish a
connection between the two, and then used Prolink’s currently free mLiveViewPro
mobile app (available for Android and iOS) to scan the QR code that comes in
the box to connect our smartphone to the camera. Even if your router doesn’t
support WPS, there’s an alternative method you can fall back on that takes just
a couple steps more. If surveillance on the go is all you need, the setup
process actually ends here.
High
definition 720p with 1280x800 resolution at 30fps.
Supports the latest H.264 technology in video compression
Besides live
video streaming, the mobile app also lets you manage the camera settings,
record videos and store them on your device (or on the camera as it has a
built-in microSD card slot), as well as take snapshots. The app’s UI is okay,
but we did experience occasional hangs, and sometimes, adjusted settings
weren’t saved. For desk-bound users, you can perform the same tasks and more
with the desktop LiveView software (available for both Windows and Mac OS X,
though the Mac version isn’t as polished and is behind in terms of features)
that you install using the bundled CD.
Depending on
the ambient light level, the PIC1007WP alternates between the day and night
lenses automatically. The increased image sharpness is certainly welcome, and
we didn’t notice any adverse impact on our network. Night vision performance is
good too, recording video in total darkness up to 10 meters away (with the IR
LED on). Color rendition during daytime is slightly less accurate though due to
the lack of an IR-cut filter. The camera’s built-in speaker and microphone also
let users keep in touch with those around the camera. Coupled with the
motorized pan/tilt functions, motion and sound detection, and temperature
monitoring, we can see enterprising parents repurposing it as a baby monitor.
There
are several wired and wireless ways to get the PIC1007WP onto your network
The ProLink
PIC07WP is decidedly still an entry-level IP camera, though it’s a nice step up
for those unsatisfied with the VGA quality the majority of such cameras offer.
The near idiot-proof setup process, variety of information you can derive from
the sensors, and two-way communication justify its higher price tag.
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Specifications:
·
Image sensor: 2
x ¼” color CMOS ·
Processor: RISC
CPU, hardware video processing and compression ·
Max connection:
Up to 36 cameras and 20 unicast users simultaneously ·
Resolution:
1,280 x 800 ·
Video: H.264
(MPEG-4 AVC) ·
Memory: Built-in
Mirco-SD slot (up to 64GB) ·
Communication:
Ethernet (10/100Mbps) WLAN (802.11b/g/n) ·
Alert &
Monitoring: PIR sensor, • Motion detection, Sound detection, Temperature
monitoring, Notification via Email/FTP, Push notification on iOS and Android
devices ·
Price: $299
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