In Operation: Y-Cam CubeHD 1080

Once the camera is initially configured using the setup utility it can be accessed using a web browser.

The simple, fuss and clutter free, web interface allows for access to the live view, and provides additional configuration settings and fine tunings which enables it to be effective in a range of environments.

There are five key sections to the website: Camera, Network, Storage, Task, and Tool together with links for Live View, Configuration Wizard, System, Support and Reboot.

The Camera section includes a number of subsections: Camera Setup, Stream Setup, On Screen Display Setup, and Nightvision Setup.

Key configuration settings under these sections include the ability to enable privacy mode (which replaces captured images with a test-card), flip and mirror the image, enable/disable the microphone, enable/disable on screen display, configure black and white mode, moonlight mode, and the IR cut filter, and configure three video capture streams: Primary, Secondary, and Mobile Stream.

Video streams can be configured with a range of image sizes from 176×144 pixels up to 1920×1080 (secondary stream has a maximum of 768×432 whilst the mobile stream has a maximum of 256×144). Additionally, the frame rate can be stepped from 1 up to 30 frames per seconds whilst video bitrate can be configured together with MJPEG, JPEG, and Audio quality.

Importantly, a prerecord can be configured of either 3, 5 or 10 seconds.

It is difficult to give any indication of performance as this, and throughput, can be highly subjective as they depend on a number of factors which can vary from environment to environment. The secondary stream is useful if you plan to access using a lower bandwidth connection (e.g. over the internet).

For accessing the streams users can be added with an administrator assigned for managing the settings. Anonymous access can also be configured for public display areas.

Storage of captured video can be configured for the onboard microSD card or for Network Attached Storage (NAS) (not both at the same time). NAS is very straightforward to configure which needs just the remote NAS path (e.g. //ip_address/sharename) together with any account details (username/password).

A specific folder can be set and the number of files and maximum storage space limited.

It is a shame there is not an option to verify the storage is setup although you can tell this by clicking on Browse Storage tab and checking the first entry. If a number is listed under “Files” then it should be working.

Setting up an SD Card is even simpler than the NAS: format the SD card using the “Format SD Card” option (if a format is necessary), then specify just the optional folder and storage limits.

The Task section is where many of the key interactions will occur. In this section motion detection can be configured together with recording schedules and task management including email notifications and periodic snapshots. Motion detection can include up to four resizable zones (windows) each with their own threshold and sensitivity. Night vision Setup includes the ability to enable/disable, or set to automatic, Infrared LED control, Black and White mode, Moonlight mode, and IR cut filter control.

For viewing the live stream either a web browser or mobile device can be used – just point it at the network address of the camera. Y-Cam provide a free MultiLive app which supports a range of cameras. The app is functional however it is currently very basic.

Overall image quality is good – click on the fish pictures for examples of 1920×1080 and 1280×720. There is a slight softening around the edges of the image together with some rounding off of the image but on the whole the image is pretty good and the extra image you get from the high definition is a plus point.

There is no focus control which is a shame but image quality can be improved a little by increasing the quality of the stream (depending on your bandwidth availability).