A few weeks ago we took a quick look at a newly released IP Security Camera (see Keep Another Eye On Security With A New IP Security Camera) where we said that a good security camera can make a huge difference.

All too often a basic video surveillance is put in place and largely forgotten about – until it’s really needed – at which point you find out just how bad the current solution really is – this can be blurry images, low resolution, choppy motion, or even faults that no one has detected. Fortunately, video surveillance has come a long way from its humble beginnings so it’s worth looking at again for that extra peace of mind.

The EyeSpy247 Ext network camera has some interesting features which warranted a further look, including Wi-Fi, infrared illumination, and live streaming as well as access to an online monitoring platform, so in this article we’ll be taking a closer look at the EyeSpy247 Ext Outdoor Wi-Fi Internet Network Security Camera.

The network security camera arrived in a compact package with all the key elements required to install the device either internally or externally including a power adaptor, cables, stand/mounting bracket with swivel connector, antenna, user guide, CD, and water sealing caps.

Fitting all of the components parts is straightforward and it was good to see a power extension cable provided so you can mount the cable a good distance from a power source if necessary (for example up in a ceiling space).

Setup of the camera was really straightforward, just plug it into the LAN (using the cable) then put the installation CD in the CD drive – its worth noting that plugging a LAN cable into the device disables the wireless interface (the two cannot be operated at the same time).

To give an indication of size, the camera itself can just about be held in the hand so it’s pretty small, and light, though it is obviously designed to be installed somewhere out of the way!

Inserting the CD for installation of the software offers four options: Setup Camera, Install Decoder, Install Utility and User Guide. It is worth reading through the user guide to gain a familiarisation of the various functions of the camera and the administrative interface.

Clicking on the “Setup Camera” option brings up a dialog screen allowing the camera to be identified and configured – on our setup it picked it up immediately, and displayed the Device ID, IP/Subnet/Gateway, and which point you need to enter the administrator and password details. After this point you can view/change the Device Name, Description, Time Zone, Date and Time – which you can also sync with your PC. The next step is to configure the IP address with choices of Fixed IP, Dynamic IP, PPPoE (for connection with a broadband modem), and wireless settings  (802.11b/g/n). The camera needs to be restarted once the configuration is complete.

Next, the Network Camera Surveillance Utility needs to be installed and the first time it is launched a search needs to be made so the camera can be added to the interface. Up to 9 cameras are supported under the software. Click on the Settings section, add the camera (which may be automatically detected), specify a name, IP address, login information, port, and stream type (MPEG4, MJPEG, or H.264). To use MPEG4 you may need to install the decoder from the installation CD.

The Viewer interface has a number of view layouts from a single camera, four cameras, a six camera view (1 large image with 5 smaller images), and a 9 camera view panel – as we only had one camera to try it with we put it on single camera mode. As well as viewing the available camera feeds, you can record video, take a snap shot, mirror images (vertically and horizontally), set the volume control, and  you can even digitally zoom in on a camera (up to 4x).

There is also a web management feature for the camera which offers the ability to view the video (using a Java plug-in).

For administration of the device there are four main sections, Setup, Video & Audio, Event, and Administration.

• The Setup subsection allows you to register the camera with the online service, configure the system settings (name, description, date/time, led enable/disable). You can fine tune and configure network settings for both cable and wireless configuration including UPnP, Bonjour, and Multicast. A useful feature is the Dynamic DNS section which allows you to keep the synchronisation between the device and the web service during those times when the broadband providers changes your dynamically assigned IP Address. Supported services include DynDNS.org, TZO.com, ChangeIP.com, and 3322. There are also some IP filtering features that allow you to allow/deny given IP address traffic.
• The Video & Audio subsection is where you can fine tune the streaming settings. The maximum resolution is 640×480 at up to 30 frames per second for MJPEG, MPEG-4 and H.264 but you can also choose 160×120, 320×240 with frame rates right down to 1 if you are having bandwidth issues or storage is limited. You can cater for fluorescent lighting by adjusting the power line frequency between 50Hz and 60Hz, set the white balance, brightness and sharpness. You can also choose the Day/Night switching method. The microphone, speaker, and other settings can be adjusted (including the ability to overlay text). You can also configure user access and security access in this section.
• The Event subsection is one of the more interesting sections as you can define motion detection parameters, audio detection, set the email server address (with a primary and secondary email service), and up to three email notifications, FTP access (primary and secondary) allows you to upload images. HTTP notification allows you to send updates to a web server, and SMB/CIFS allows you to alert a supported server, and you can set schedules for each of the services to be triggered.
• The Administration subsection allows you to configure the administrator logon and password,
  upgrade the firmware, backup and restore the configuration, restore factory defaults, and restart the camera. A status screen offers information on the System, Network, Wireless Summary, and Streaming Information (format, resolution, video quality and frame rate). There is also a raw Log and you can enable Syslog reporting too.

A clever feature allows the camera to switch between night and day mode to take advantage of the infrared illumination (the night vision mode has a distance range of 10 metres).

The integration into the web based monitoring system, at www.eyespy247.com is clever, from the online interface you can manage your connected cameras, setup alerts, and schedule automatic video captures. You can also search through previously captured video and download them all to your local computer. From the online interface you can also configure SMS and email alerting services activated from the motion detection alerts. A novel feature is that you can setup temporary guest accounts (up to five) who can also view the video streams.

You get an introductory amount of credit with the camera and you can top it quickly using the online shop.

Overall, the EyeSpy247Ext Network Camera is quite straightforward to setup and operate and the added benefit of the online portal makes it a robust system that is pretty hard to beat.

You can learn more at the EyeSpy247 website.