First Impressions
I wanted a camera for inside the garage, so after a bit of research I picked up a TRENDnet TV-IP562WI. The specs are quite impressive for something less than £70:-- 2 way audio
- Night vision up to 5 metres
- Receive motion & sound detection video via email or FTP
- Record to MicroSD card or network storage device (samba server)
- Free mobile apps
- Wireless N networking
- Built in mic + external speaker socket
- Dynamic DNS (support for NO-IP.com or Dyn.com)
- Max 20 user accounts.
- Video Codecs/Resolution
- H.264: 1280 x 720 up to 30 fps
- MPEG4: 1280 x 720 up to 30 fps
- JPEG: 1280 x 720 up to 5 fps (or 640 x 480 up to 30 fps)
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| TrendNet TV-IP562WI - Wifi Camera |
It looks pretty good, small enough to easily fit in my hand, and it comes with a solid metal stand that doubles as a mounting bracket. Also in the box was a small 5v PSU, a cat5 cable for initial config, a software CD and assorted fittings for the stand.
I ran the software from the CD and had the camera up and running in less than 10 minutes. All you need to do is set the admin password and configure your wireless settings, then once it restarts you continue using a web browser. But that's where my problems started.
Mac Problems
Yeah I know, serves me right for owning a mac,.. but I did manage to solve the problems without resorting to a windows box. My newer Mac (running OSX 10.10) wouldn't display the login box, so it kept failing authentication. I tried using Firefox instead and updating Java, but looking online it appears it has problems with El Capitan.When I switched over to my kid's Mac Mini, which was running 10.9, it worked perfectly. I was then able to continue config, renaming the device and setting it to run on port 82 rather than the standard 80. (This I did so that I could set up port forwarding on my router and see it on the web).
Mounting the Camera
My wifi signal is a bit weak in the garage, but mounting it high up on the wall got around any potential problems. The mount itself has a sturdy metal ring base with 3 mounting holes and a gimbal jointed adapter to a standard 1/4" thread. This gives you pretty much unlimited mounting options, but it's not overly robust.I used a couple of ½ inch screws to fasten it to one of the wooden rafters, so it's out of reach, and unlikely to be tinkered with.
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| View from the installed camera using night vision mode |
Updating the Firmware
Initially I added the App software to my iPhone and iPad and it worked without a problem. The app is pretty straight forward, search for devices and then enter the login details. Simple as that really,.. but it didn't work on my wife's iPhone. (I suspected I need to update the firmware.)You update the firmware by downloading the image from TrendNet's (slow) website and use the camera's mini website to apply it. After a few failed attempts in Safari I switched to Firefox, but it still didn't complete properly. Instead of automatically restarting after the file uploaded I had to use the reset to factory defaults before it reported the new firmware number. After that it worked properly on my Mac using El Capitan.
Solving that iPhone Problem
I tried my wife's iPhone again, but it still didn't work. It was an identical phone to mine, running the same version of iOS. It had to be something else.I compared the network settings of both devices and the only difference was one was using a web proxy. I disabled this and the problem went away.
Thanks for this - that spec for the price you've paid - I'm sold.
ReplyDeleteI sympathise with your problems with El Cap. The cameras I've been using have a control interface using ActiveX! (so windows only) But there is a reasonable API so I've been able to write a control / viewing app myself. (To be fair that's with their older cameras, but when you're buying secondhand, those are the ones you get).
There are a lot of cameras for less than fifty quid, but initially I found the lack of known brand names a little off-putting. But at that price (and I'm talking as little as £25) you can take the gamble.
ReplyDeleteThere was even one that had an integrated a wifi repeater so it boosted your signal range at the same time. (neat)
I went for the more expensive one because it did two way audio, but so far I've only used it to listen. You need an external speaker to "talk back" and I will be investigating this during the holidays, as I fear this will be a required function.