Spec me an IP camera

Simi · 2 Jun 2017 at 09:25

Wasn't sure which forum to ask this but hopefully I can find some help here (although GD doesn't always equal help

)

My Dad has dementia and I need an IP camera with a nice easy set up that I can view live either on my phone or browser, although it will mostly be used on my phone. Just to make sure that he's being taken care of when I can't be there and to give me peace of mind.

I was looking at the Y-Cam EVO on the rainforest but noticed loads of other recommendations and realised that choosing the right one is a minefield so hopefully some people here use IP cameras and can steer me in the right direction.

Budget £150 or under (would prefer under) but mainly want it to do the things I need without dropping wifi connection, freezing, complicated setup/interface.

Thanks in advance

BDEE · 2 Jun 2017 at 09:32

Check out the Fosacam range. I have one. Does exactly what you specify well within your budget. The range is vast.

ZXSpectrum · 2 Jun 2017 at 09:41

Or Tenvis, they use pretty much the same internals as Foscam. I do believe that Either Netgear or D-Link also do a cheap setup if its for internal use.

Simi · 2 Jun 2017 at 09:42

Sorry should have specified, yes, it's just for indoor use.

Finglonga · 2 Jun 2017 at 10:30

BDEE said:
Check out the Fosacam range. I have one. Does exactly what you specify well within your budget. The range is vast.

*Foscam

I have a three of these Foscam cameras and they are very good. Only downside is they stop recording when the SD card is full. However mine are 6years old now so new ones may loop record.

chillidog · 2 Jun 2017 at 10:51

ip camera's on the swann nvr4-7285 are great with audio ,i got two of these front & back of house picture quality is fantastic and full audio live /playback even on on the phone & browser the audio you can hear a pin drop half way up the street. so far over year use no wifi drop outs these be ideal for your dad

Simi · 2 Jun 2017 at 16:33

Looking at the Foscam range, would the R2 be the best one on the right side of my budget or are the cheaper ones (FI9826P) just as good?

Brenn47 · 2 Jun 2017 at 17:28

Nice looking camera that FI9826P, make sure you can get the app for your phone though.

Also is being able to view in the dark important, the FI9826P doesn't look like it has the usual IR LEDs.

EDIT: Just read the specs, it does have IR LEDs!

BDEE · 2 Jun 2017 at 19:55

Finglonga said:
*Foscam

I have a three of these Foscam cameras and they are very good. Only downside is they stop recording when the SD card is full. However mine are 6years old now so new ones may loop record.

Thank you for correcting what was a clear typo. What with "a" being next to "s" and all.

Caged · 2 Jun 2017 at 20:05

Nest Cam

Simi · 2 Jun 2017 at 21:52

Brenn47 said:
Nice looking camera that FI9826P, make sure you can get the app for your phone though.

Also is being able to view in the dark important, the FI9826P doesn't look like it has the usual IR LEDs.

EDIT: Just read the specs, it does have IR LEDs!

Yeah it looks nice. The R2 in't much more expensive on a certain site though so think I'll go for that one.

Thanks for the help, everyone.

Brenn47 · 2 Jun 2017 at 22:10

I love Foscams, got 2 myself.

To save you having to log into the camera each time you want to view the camera, set a bookmark in your browser to a URL command, like
http://xx.xx.xx.xx:port/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=snapPicture&usr=admin&pwd=xxxx

And set the bookmark to open in a sidebar (Firefox) .. there'll be a live video stream command as well as URL commands for ALL the cameras functions. I haven't used the Foscam GUI interface for years.

Brenn47 · 2 Jun 2017 at 22:17

Here's some more for moving the camera about.

Here are the commands to move to camera:
MoveLeft:
ipAddress/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=ptzMoveLeft&usr=xxx&pwd=xxx

MoveRight:
ipAddress/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=ptzMoveRight&usr=xxx&pwd=xxx

MoveUp:
ipAddress/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=ptzMoveUp&usr=xxx&pwd=xxx

MoveDown:
ipAddress/cgi-bin/CGIProxy.fcgi?cmd=ptzMoveDown&usr=xxx&pwd=xxx

Change ipAddress to your ipaddress and the usr and pwd to your devices credentials.

Here's a Firefox addon I wrote to replace the GUI > https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ip-cam-ptz/?src=userprofile

And here's a simple timelapse client I wrote > https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-timelapse/?src=userprofile