| Panasonic BB-HCM371A Outdoor Wireless Network Camera | 
 enlarge | Buy New: Too low to display
Buy New/Used/Refurbished
Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 9 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3599
Category: CE
Publisher: Panasonic
Studio: Panasonic
Brand: Panasonic
Label: Panasonic
Media: Electronics
Autographed: 0
Memorabilia: 0
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6
Dimensions (in): 11.6 x 7.5 x 5.5
MPN: BB-HCM371A
Model: BB-HCM371A
UPC: 037988809776
EAN: 0037988809776
ASIN: B0009PD0ZI
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Features:
| • | Two-Way Voice Communication | | • | CCD Sensor for Enhanced Image Expression | | • | SD Memory Card Recording | | • | Simple Ethernet Connection - No PC Required | | • | One Year Warranty |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This camera can be viewed and controlled from a standard Web browser, video display, or even a compatible cell phone or PDA. Place it in your home, office, vacation home or almost anywhere else that you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required on location! It is easy to install and operate and require no additional software for the PC that you're viewing them on. The camera also comes with a free Web address, which can track the camera automatically. All you need is a regular Web browser to view it on your PC, as all of the other required software, including control software (TCP/UDP) and e-mail software (SMTP), is already inside the camera. This camera can communicate wirelessly with standard 802.11b/g wireless devices, allowing the flexibility to install and operate the camera without running network wires, and utilizing SSID filtering and powerful 64/128/152 bit WEP encryption helps to protect your wireless network from illegal intrusion. Since the camera is attached through an Ethernet connection (or router) and power source, you don't need a computer at each location you want
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Software Has Problems August 20, 2008
I purchased this camera because I didn't want to run Ethernet cable to my router. If this is not a problem for you, I would recommend you check out the BB-HCM311A. Note that with the BB-HCM371A, you still have to run wire for power, which sort of defeats the wireless concept.
Be warned that you still need an ethernet cable to plug into your router for set up.
Speaking of setup, if you don't know your network settings, this camera will be a pain to setup. For example, if you don't know the IP to your DNS, you're in trouble. Fortunately for me, I managed to configure it successfully and I'm no system administrator.
Physical installation was straight forward. I mounted my camera high and I was afraid I was going to drop it while threading it to the mount. Panasonic really should have come up with a safety system where you can tether the camera while you screw it in place.
My biggest gripe is the web-based software. It's feature-rich, but I cannot capture images the way I like. For example, I cannot acquire a time lapse movie of an overnight shot. I either get the first few seconds or the last few seconds. If a prowler saunters into camera shot at 2:00AM, I wouldn't see him. There's also a bug when you play the time-lapse motion image. Once you play it once, you cannot play it again. :-(
Also, downloaded images are in PCN form. What the heck kind of image format is that?
Another gripe is that night vision isn't great. In this day and age, a camera like this should perform better in terms of night vision.
 Excellent webcam July 27, 2008
The BB-HCM371A is easy to setup if your router supports Universal Plug'n'Play (I'm using a late model Linksys 54G). If you're using several other cameras in addition to this one, you may have do some manual configuration of the router ports. Panasonic's setup instructions are adequate but clearly they've been translated from Japanese. Picture quality is good for a camera in this price range. Camera is best mounted out of direct sunlight... underneath a roof overhang is ideal.
 Worth it February 15, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've used this camera for the better part of a year now. I've used it in a variety of locations and conditions. It's presently mounted outdoors and transmitting wirelessly to a router sitting indoors 340' away. I use dynamic DNS to access the camera remotely via DSL. The framerate is decent, but still-picture quality (clarity) could definitely be better -- especially when the subject is moving. The motion detection is good and triggers reliably to upload images to an FTP site. The camera is very configurable, but best-suited for the tech-savvy. Plus, it's evident that a lot of the instructions written into the camera firmware were done by a non-native English-speaking individual. I've successfully viewed the camera remotely via my Motorola Q. Sound quality from the camera is very good. I can hear the frogs chirping in a nearby riverbed right now.
For what it's worth, I also own a very expensive Axis camera. The bottom line is that, although this camera has room for improvement, it still comes pretty close to justifying its cost.
 Too PC-dependent and lacks WPA for wireless security October 10, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I just received this unit and have to state that I'm rather disappointed. First, we are an all-Mac household with a SonicWall firewall but this unit is so heavily PC-dependent that it would not work out the box with either.
Another reviewer said it would work with the Macintosh but I couldn't even see the unit in the ARP cache or the DHCP leases of the firewall. The only way I could initially talk to the unit was to dig out an old PC and use the enclosed CD. It would be nice if there was a switch that could be flipped manually to tell the camera to use DHCP instead of UPnP (which I don't find "that universal").
The second thing that really surprised me was that this unit only supports WEP wireless security instead of WPA. For all the talk about security in the documentation and in the setup tools, WEP is a very poor choice. To use this unit wirelessly in my network, which is why I bought it, I will have to gut the security of the rest of my network. This is a serious shortcoming, in my opinion, especially for such an expensive camera.
Finally, I'm finding the Panasonic support site clumsy and limited in scope and utility. This product has potential but it its shortcomings get in the way of its utility. Until they add WPA, I can't recommend this unit. If you're a Mac user, make sure you have access to a Windows machine to get it out of UPnP. I think it defaults a 192.168.x.x. address.
Not very impressive!!! August 9, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
Purchased this Camera expecting it to operate as good or better the the much less expencive BL-C20A did. The picture quality was sub-par for a camera that was 400 dollars more, I expected more. The wireless set up was a ritual in frustration, reset the camera multiple times, repowered, downloaded the updates, packaged it up and am sending it back.
I think for a camera that is 650 dollars, it should preform considerably better.
The Weather Proofing and WiFi was why I purchased it, so I will look elsewhere for another product.
|
|
|
