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Posted: 7/27/2014 11:51:52 PM EDT
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I am looking for a small wireless camera to set on my window sill inside the home that looks out into my driveway. If I need to look outside [I keep my blinds closed] then I can just pick up my iPad and view the image. Not looking to store any images and want to just plug it into a nearby electric outlet for power.
What should I look for? Thanks |
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Do you want to go to the grocery store and buy hamburger or do you want to go to McDonalds and get a Big Mac all wrapped up? We wanted a Big Mac and bought a dropcam. $150, always works, no bullshit good quality. I know hamburger is cheaper and has a lot more options- I just wanted to KISS. |
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Search amazon and the like for "wireless IP camera". I've got four that do exactly what you describe.
Being able to view them from the internet at large will depend on your home internet connection - and whether your service provider scans for and blocks services running on your home network from being reachable on the wider internet. Viewing from inside your home network will never be a problem. |
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Bumping this because I have a similar question... my wife and I are expecting our first... she is/was dead-set on having a video monitor. The problem is that they are expensive, cameras are somewhat proprietary and all the systems have drawbacks... I suggested a wireless IP cam plus a normal sound-only monitoring system. We are currently weighing our options.
Question: For baby monitoring, night & day use, will we be able to see good definition using a 0.3 MP camera mounted ~6 feet above the crib? IE, with a 0.3 MP Pan/Tilt Foscam, will we be able to see if the baby has opened his/her eyes or do we need something better? The reason I ask is that it jumps up to $100 for 1 MP PT and $200 for 1.3 MP with PTZ; I can get 0.3 MP PT camera for <$50 and use it with our tablet to have a super cheap video monitor system if that is a clear enough picture... |
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Quoted:
Bumping this because I have a similar question... my wife and I are expecting our first... she is/was dead-set on having a video monitor. The problem is that they are expensive, cameras are somewhat proprietary and all the systems have drawbacks... I suggested a wireless IP cam plus a normal sound-only monitoring system. We are currently weighing our options. Question: For baby monitoring, night & day use, will we be able to see good definition using a 0.3 MP camera mounted ~6 feet above the crib? IE, with a 0.3 MP Pan/Tilt Foscam, will we be able to see if the baby has opened his/her eyes or do we need something better? The reason I ask is that it jumps up to $100 for 1 MP PT and $200 for 1.3 MP with PTZ; I can get 0.3 MP PT camera for <$50 and use it with our tablet to have a super cheap video monitor system if that is a clear enough picture... I'm generally all about IP cameras but personally I would go with a monitor. It's so much easier to clip the video monitor on your belt and just tap a button to turn it back on, plus it's lighter than a tablet. Our kids are 2 and 4 so it's been about a year since we last used a monitor and I'm always shocked about how small they have become. With a tablet or phone when you hear the alert tone go off you'll have to grab the phone/tablet, unlock it (you'll want it locked if you don't already because your kid will be playing with it), open the app, log in, etc. Being new parents you'll jump at any noise you hear (trust me on this) and unlocking the phone every 20 seconds will drive you mad. In a sleep deprived state you want simple and easy to operate. With a IP camera you'll be able to monitor it remotely if you are away from home, but I think most of the monitors these days allow you to do that as well. I say go with the monitor. Make sure it's digital. |
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Quoted:
I'm generally all about IP cameras but personally I would go with a monitor. It's so much easier to clip the video monitor on your belt and just tap a button to turn it back on, plus it's lighter than a tablet. Our kids are 2 and 4 so it's been about a year since we last used a monitor and I'm always shocked about how small they have become. With a tablet or phone when you hear the alert tone go off you'll have to grab the phone/tablet, unlock it (you'll want it locked if you don't already because your kid will be playing with it), open the app, log in, etc. Being new parents you'll jump at any noise you hear (trust me on this) and unlocking the phone every 20 seconds will drive you mad. In a sleep deprived state you want simple and easy to operate. With a IP camera you'll be able to monitor it remotely if you are away from home, but I think most of the monitors these days allow you to do that as well. I say go with the monitor. Make sure it's digital. I wasn't fully clear in my previous response. We plan to use the tablet as a "base-station" of sorts that always has the video pulled up but my wife will likely use her phone to view the video feed when she is on the go (moving around the house or working outside). So she will be using something that is already on her person; which would mean she doesn't have to carry her phone AND a largeer video monitor screen (vs a smaller, sound monitor). As far as why we want this approach instead of a dedicated video monitor is because we can't find a video monitor that has all the features we like. There are 2 different video monitors that come close to the features we like, but each one is either completely missing a crucial feature or that feature is degraded enough that we don't feel it will be effective. There are also many other limitations to video monitors like decreased range over sound-only monitors, uni-tasking tool (IP cam can always be repurposed later when it's not needed as a monitor), decreased battery life over sound-only monitors, etc. I just feel like a cheaper, sound-only, or sound + movement monitor augmented by an IP camera will work better for us. But your post does bring up some other important questions. When using an app on a tablet/smartphone to view an IP cam, do you have to log in every time? Or is it simply a matter of unlock phone, open app, view video? Is it possible to set it up to stay logged in? |
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Depends on the camera you are using. Most cameras stream to the web so all you need to do is hit the URL and you are in. If you need to log in you could just set your browser to remember password.
We used a Summer Infant model and it worked great, bought it when our son was born and used it for 4 years total. I was a bit shocked at how clear the picture was at night. The PTZ operation was also virtually silent. FWIW we were getting about 6 hours of off charger time with our monitor and had no signal issues in a 5600sqft house, those digital ones have pretty amazing ranges. |
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