I was attracted to this camera since it's one of the very few IP cams with greater than VGA resolution.Setup was straightforward, typical of this sort of product. Understanding networking basics helps a lot. Couldn't get video using Firefox, it tried to use a Quicktime plugin, and couldn't handle the stream. Works OK with IE though. Web server is an enhanced version of what is supplied in the Smarteye H-series camera, very straight-forward to use.
The main problem is just a profound lack of sensitivity. It is far less sensitive than a cheap Foscam I use. In dim room lighting, I get nothing in daylight mode. Totally black. Turning on IR mode, I get enough light for maybe 3-4 feet of range, with brightness cranked full up. I do have the camera mounted upside down, it's possible the IR cut filter is always active, which would explain the lack of IR performance. I'll experiment next time I have the chance.
Performance with daytime lighting is adequate, noticeably better than VGA quality. Motion detect seems inconsistent, but that seems to be common in cheap IP cameras from what I've seen.
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Update after a couple more weeks of use. I was afraid I might have been a bit harsh. Not so. Motion detection is terrible, I'm using a sensitivity of 40 which gives some false alarms due to cloud movement. Camera is pointed down towards the ground from the second story, but shadows still trigger. Unfortunately, sometimes a truck can drive right through the middle of the scene, and the camera won't trigger, or won't trigger until it's already through. Also, the thing can crash when you're administering it, requiring a power cycle to recover it. Real inconvenient when it's 40 miles away.
Anyway, for me, this camera finally was a good deal, and I already bought two more to set up my home surveillance system.
I still dont want to give it more than 3 stars, because it shouldnt be necessary to go through such a struggle in order to obtain a decently working product.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
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The camera hardware itself is probably ok, but there are too absolute dealbreakers:
1. The camera seems to be shipped with an outdated firmware (V1.4.0.1.3), full of bugs (brightness bug as mentioned in the above review, cannot set rtps streaming port, cannot access h.264 stream via lan, etc). I looked at the Demo NCH-536MW that the company put up on their website, and the firmware version is V1.4.0.1.4. Here, brightness bug is resolved, I dont know if the stream bugs are also resolved. Furthermore, I stumbled across their downloadable user manual, showing a firmware version V2...
2. Now the crazy thing: I understand, that sometimes products are shipped out prematurely, often with (hopefully) minor bugs still lurking to be discovered. And I am also fine with doing the one or other firmware update on these products myself. But after discovering that firmware updates for this camera can not be found anywhere on the web for download, I sent a friendly request to Wansview for a firmware update. Here is the entire conversation:
Hello, I am desperately looking for a new firmware for my NCH-536MW (purchased via Amazon, but problems with brightness adjustment).
Can you email it to me?
Thank you so much!
J.B.
Dear J.,
I am glad to help you.
But the firmware for NCH536MW is not allowed to be sent.
Dear Wansview Team
The software on my camera is buggy (similar to other users that bought this camera on Amazon just have a look on Amazon!).
The software on my camera is an older version than the software on the Demo camera on your website (my camera has software V1.4.0.1.3, the camera on your Demo site has V1.4.0.1.4 and does not have the brightness bug any more).
The software on my camera is an older version than the software shown on the user manual (user manual shows a software version of V2...).
And you cannot give me the newer version??? Are you serious???
No AnswerThe main attraction of this camera is the tradeoff between the cost and the full list of features it possesses. Comparing it to other brands it is unbeatable: for the cost you get the full featured camera: IP, Pan & tilt, WiFi, SD card, Motion detection, 2 way audio, Infrared, etc. Similar brands with the same list will cost 2X and more.
On top it has higher resolution than many other security cameras, namely HD.
It took me a while to activate it, since I am not a PC wizard, but all features of the camera worked just fine. I tried to activate them all: IR, motion detection, save into the SD card, etc.. no malfunctions. Infrared view at night was great up to about 5 meters, sound quality is reasonable. Pan and tilt are great, huge range, quiet operation.
Picture quality is not perfect, I expected somewhat better from HD, but for a security camera it is OK.
2 minor issues:
1) Infrared was turned ON all night, although I set it to AUTO. I was expecting it to be turned ON only when you access the camera or during a motion detection event.
2) When I tried to access the camera from a notebook with Windows 7 Starter operating system I could not obtain the video, although I could access the camera settings and audio. Not sure what the problem was. I guess it has to do with the ActiveX stuff (whatever that is...). Anyways: with Windows XP is works great.I did not bother to investigate it further since XP is my operating system of all my PCs.
Summary: great value for the money. I consider buy few more for my business security.I am amazed by its clarity of video. It takes some time to set it up and get it running and I hope later on this product will be easier to configure.
But so far, this a great video monitoring product especially for the price. I highly recommend it.The cam is attractive, produces exclusive output. The cam provides bright videos, I gate much clear video at dim light. Total configuration of this cam is sufficient, very easy to configure. Sound quality is very much clear. Infrared at night is really great.
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