This is the third Hootoo PTZ camera I have bought and installed in my home security system. I also have a Foscam, and an Agasio. I like all three brands. The Foscam does seem to work best, but the Hootoo cameras are right there too, and seem to give the most bang for the buck. I can highly recommend this Hootoo camera to anyone thinking of getting a PTZ, pan-&-tilt, wireless ip camera.Configuring any of these little ip cameras can be a challenge to the novice. Instructions that come with them are usually written by people who do not clearly understand English. Thus, can be pretty confusing. They also depend on the user having working knowledge of wireless and wired networking. In addition to configuring the camera, the installer should know how to configure the router for reserved ip addresses on your local home network, port assignment and forwarding, and DDNS to view the cameras from phones and other remote/off-site computers.
Most routers come with pre-set DDNS providers, which you will need to establish accounts with (either paid, or free) prior to configuring your router, if you intend to be viewing from remote locations outside you home network.. The cameras can also be setup independent of the router for DDNS. However, the DDNS providers the cameras are pre-set to were all in China. I would think that users in other countries might have problems with that, because when they view their home networks remotely while traveling, they would be viewing them via China. Personally, I wanted a provider with servers on my home soil and closer to home. So, I chose to use one of the DNS providers pre-set in my router, which was in my home country (the U.S.).
So, before you start to configure your camera, be sure to become familiar your router, and be comfortable with making "advanced" configuration changes to it. Each router has a different look and feel (even sometimes different models made by the same company). As stated above, probably a good idea to get your account with a compatible DDNS service too, prior to starting the install.
Once you know your way around your router, then connect your camera directly to the router via Ethernet cable to one of the empty LAN ports, and let the camera boot up. When it has completed it's boot, then install the software on the CD that came with this camera ... This "ip camera tool" program will find your camera and report the ip address it has been assigned by your router. Enter that address into the address window of your browser and then connect to the camera.
It will ask you for a username and password. The username is "admin", and there is no password (i.e. just type "admin" as the username, and then press the "enter" key). I recommend you set your own password. Once you pass the logon, then you will be into the little web-server in the camera.
The camera will show you a live streaming video of what it is seeing. I like to just play a little first. To make sure the camera does all the basics. Play with the controls, set the resolution, etc. Look at the different menus and settings you can configure.
For basic wireless use, you will need to configure the SSID of your router into your camera. If you have wireless encryption set, then you will also need to program the password and encryption type (WEP, WPA). You might want to reserve an ip address (the one initially assigned is usually best) and set a port for your camera in the router at this time. Then configure those in the camera, too. Once that is done, then you should be able to remove the Ethernet cable, and reboot your camera. It will connect wirelessly. Refresh the connection in you browser. Then test it out and finish your other setups.
One note on the transceiver (radio) and little 3dbi antenna that comes with. It doesn't have great range. The picture will be choppy and controls will be slow, if you have a weak radio connection between the router and camera. I replaced the little antenna on one of my cameras with a huge 9dbi to get it to work better when the camera was about 20 feet away from the router, and separated by a couple walls. I've got another Hootoo, and a Foscam in an enclosure, about 100 feet away, and have them coming in through a wireless range extender.
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About picture quality, etc.
This is a low end video camera that costs less than $100 .... If you want HD picture quality that matches your HD TV, on a ip camera that can pan and tilt, then pay the $500 (or more) for an HD, pan and tilt, ip camera, and another $300 (or more) for professional IR illumination lights!!! You get what you pay for. However, with these cameras, I've gotten my complete money's worth!
I find that the picture quality for this camera is great during that day. Exactly like a low-end video camera should be. At night, the LEDs on the camera illuminate the area and return a viewable picture to about 20ft. I have had to add some IR illuminators to the areas that I want to view better (I bought two 40-LED illuminators on Amazon, $12 ea). Also, the microphone and speakers work great. Although, they do not work with any browser, except Internet Explorer, with ActiveX (ActiveX is just a Microsoft software add-on that mimics Java). If you have ActiveX configured properly in IE, the little viewer onboard the camera works like a charm for all features, and with any of the PTZ cameras. I'm currently using one IE browser to monitor four of these cameras (two Hootoos, an Agasio, and a Foscam) ... The software is not perfect, but it's free!
I also view my PTZ cameras on my Droid smartphone, and with third party video security software ... The various software and platforms work perfectly with all of the cameras.
The camera had some thin strings of glue on it apparently from the packaging. I couldn't easily remove the glue, so I left it on the camera. There wasn't any glue on the lens. The camera is about the size of a can of coca cola so it was a little bigger than I expected.
Setup was nice and easy. I opened the CD and copied everything to my computer (MacBook Pro). I then connected the camera (with the network cable) to my router, and started the camera software. It easily found the camera, and after a few clicks, I was able to make the changes to the settings to match my environment. I then disconnected it from the router and placed it on my desk. I was able to set the camera to do motion detection and send copies via FTP of the pictures to my computer. The software is easy enough to figure out so that I didn't even have to read the manual.
The pictures are nice and fairly clear for what you would expect out of VGA (640x480). The web interface is nice, and the camera scrolls up/down and left/right.
My concerns: On motion-detection, the camera sometimes detects motion and sometimes it does not. However, this may be due to the sensitivity setting that I chose (5 out of 10). And, I have the camera pointed outside, so if the wind blows the tree limbs, it will take pictures. And, one out of every 50 images, the image will be a little messed up where the bottom 1/3 of the picture is blank.
I could not get my router to properly forward the IP address and port number to the camera, so I couldn't test it to see if I could connect to it outside of my home network. This is probably a limitation on my router. But, I was able to use my iPhone to connect to it inside my network, and the software worked well. The buttons to control the camera are a bit small on an iPhone. It also worked on my iPad, and the buttons were a little easier to control.
It works well enough that I am planning on buying a couple more of these cameras.
Overall, despite a few concern but because of the price and features, I will still give it five stars. I will come back and amend my review if I find out anything important to report.Great bang for the buck device. Bought 2 originally to test, and bought 2 more for other areas of the house. Motion detection, Night vision, email alert, PTZ work. It may be seem a little quirky at first and the instruction booklet may be small, but it works. The first 2 cameras took a little over an hour to set up completely. This includes router configurations and my phone app. I am an IT guy though.I just set it all up and seems do work, took a little tinkering while reading the manual, but its doable, i would recommend haveing a little knowlegde on routing and routers!Took a few minutes to figure out the port forwarding on the router but after that the camera worked great. Emails come instantly and my phone has no problem accessing the camera. Great value for the price.
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