Dropcam Review: HD Monitoring with iOS, Android and Web

The Dropcam camera, which I will talk about today, was announced about a year ago, but in Russia, to my surprise, very few people know about it. Even on Habré there is not a single search result for the query “dropcam” (now there is).

Generally, two weeks ago I began to look for a system to monitor the office and my own apartment. Still, the "thieves" in our time, though not a frequent occurrence, but quite possible. We needed a system with the ability to connect multiple cameras, with a microphone and most importantly with a good image.
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The choice fell on Dropcam ...



I’ll say right away that the camera costs 7,500 rubles in Russia ($ 149 in the US), but from my point of view, the price is fully justified by the functionality and quality of Dropcam itself.

Separate conversation is design.

Photos not stolen, taken on a subject table

Appearance is really cool. With the frame that the camera is made of plated. The frame is clear, but on the camera body is painted black, but it is metal.



Installation:

In order to turn on the camera a lot of time is required.



First you need to connect it via USB to your Mac or PC. In the internal memory, there are already applications to install, although when they are opened, the browser starts up with the corresponding page for registering your Dropcam account.


Enter the mail, login, password and service offers one of the commercial offers.



- Free (Basic) - Live stream, 0 minutes to save video on Dropcam servers
- $ 10 (Plus) - Live stream, 7 days to save video on Dropcam servers
- $ 30 (Pro) - Live broadcast, 1 month for saving video on Dropcam servers

Each new Dropcam camera will have to be paid for separately, but if you have more than one, then all subsequent ones will cost 50% less. The annual subscription also comes with a discount.

And, by the way, the first two weeks, after registering an account, the Basic tariff is valid, free of charge.

Functionality and features

Dropcam works with HD-video and writes a pretty high-quality color picture (you can see it in the review). I did not understand with what codec the device interacts, but the super-fast Internet is not required. In the office, where two cameras hang, Yota 4G is installed, which, unfortunately, even 10 Mbit at the output and at the entrance rarely pulls. At home, the Internet works much faster. In this case, the camera writes and sound, and video and delays occur only in rare cases. In general, the manufacturer recommends 50 Mbit speed.

The camera has a speaker and a microphone. Both are sensitive and sound quality, both in transmission and in receiving - at the highest level.



Of course, it was not without a motion sensor. It activates the recording while moving, while saving space on the server (although, I already wrote that it is not limited. Only storage time is limited). But this can help in the case when the connection speed is very weak or when traffic is limited.

From the title of the article it is clear that Dropcam has applications for Android and iOS, and, of course, it works via the web.



The iPad application has full functionality, on par with the web version. On the iPhone, for some reason, you can only watch Live-broadcast, but you can say something through the microphone in realtime mode.

The fact that Dropcam perfectly “sees in the dark” also pleases (the video, again, you can see in the review).

findings



Personally, I am pleased to see the refined eco-system (albeit not great), so to speak a ready-made solution. Still, for companies and even small companies, Dropcam is an ideal choice, allowing you to monitor what is happening at any time and from almost any electronic device, be it a computer or a phone.

And, indeed, for those who do not mind 7,500 rubles or $ 150 (+ time spent), Dropcam will be useful in the home, as it is not only an excellent “identifier” of thieves, but also a great Baby Monitor.