[HH] [e-] Interesting Newegg deal

[Tom Metro]

Drew Van Zandt wrote:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1GK0FG3029&cm_sp=Spotlight-_-9SIA1GK0FG3029-_-12052012

Foscam with a stand?

(Not literally a Foscam. Apparently there are dozens of knockoffs.
Though not so clear whether the knockoffs are actually any worse than
the "name brand" models. The main down side is you won't get tech
support from Foscam, which apparently isn't that great anyway.)


> Note the part where it mentions that it runs Linux.

And if they refuse to supply source, as these Asian vendors typically
do, what good does that do you?

I'm of the opinion that Linux - or at least as it is overloaded with
junk in these cameras - is the wrong tool for an IP camera. I want an IP
camera to run a really simple embedded OS and have a feature set limited
to spitting out compressed video streams and accepting pant/tilt
commands. Nothing more. (It should also have a hardware watchdog timer.)


Page says:
> Support DDNS ... SMS/Skype/e-mail alarm. ... Motion detection
> setting, Support Email photo, FTP photo, FTP record, message etc.

Lots of features that are usually loaded with bugs and contribute to the
product's instability. (A problem seen on name-brand cameras costing 4
or 5 times more.)


> VGA (640*480), QVGA (320*240) MAX Resolution 

Hardly worth bothering with if you actually want a security camera. VGA
resolution itself would be acceptable, but with a cheap lens and a noisy
sensor, you're not likely to be able to capture a recognizable image of
an intruder in low light.

Although reviews don't seem to complain about the image quality. One
even praises the night vision.

Still, probably the least expensive P/T camera I've seen. Though you can
get a Foscam for $85 I think, with a much more extensive history of
customer reviews.

On the other hand, $50 is a great price for a Wi-Fi controlled P/T
platform. Forget the camera and mount something else to the head. :-)
(Wired P/T mounts for security cameras are actually quite cheap. Often
$30 or less.)


David Stokes wrote:
> Many cameras like this use a proprietary, Windows/x86 native plugin,
> which is unfortunate.

Indeed. And the ActiveX approach was obsolete 3 or 4 years ago when
these vendors started doing this. It's really antiquated now.

Some of the cameras (TRENDnet), if you're lucky, will optionally use an
embedded Java client.

Just spit out a standards-compliant MJPEG or MPEG stream at a documented
URL/port and let me deal with the client.


> I wonder if it has a serial port, or at least headers for a serial port.

The Foscams, some TRENDnet, and other models have a GPIO header with
screw terminals that let you do things like attach a real hardware PIR
motion detector. This is one of the best upgrades you can do for cameras
like this, as the built-in software motion detection is useless.

This camera shows no external GPIO ports in the picture, but the feature
list says it has an alarm input. Maybe that's applicable to a different
model. The I/O port might still be on the PCB.


Kurt Keville wrote:
> You have to figure it has an OpenWRT variant in there... that seems to
> be the trend on these devices...

Since when? I've never heard of the lineage of the Linux found on these
Asian cameras being traced back to OpenWRT. But maybe I've missed seeing
that info.

I'd love to see a community developed firmware for one of these IP
camera platforms. Even the more name brand cameras with US sales
divisions (like TRENDnet) that comply with GPL by providing source, I've
yet to see 3rd party firmware.

But maybe I'm not looking in the right corners of the net. Where do
camera hackers hang out? (I haven't found them on D-I-Y security forums,
or even the forums for related products, like ZoneMinder.)

 -Tom