The IP Camera Store and IP Cam Blog

Y-cam White : £99.00 (ex. VAT)

We were actually tipped off about this camera from a gentleman on our forum. He made bold claims about it having as good a picture as a comparable Panasonic camera.

Not one to pass up on a challenge we got one in to take a look.

1. Accessories

1.1 Included in the box

The camera comes comeplete with an indoor power supply, camera mounting stand, setup CD-ROM and Quick User Guide.

The camera comes complete with an indoor power supply and flexible camera mounting stand with setup CD-ROM and Quick User Guide.

1.2 Additional equipment required

No additional equipment would be required. Everything included in the box would be enough to set up the average home user.

2. Installation

2.1 Power

2.1.1 How does the camera acheve power?

The camera achieves power using the supplied AC adapter. This will need to be plugged into a standard 240v mains socket. Input: 100-240V Output: 5V - 2A

2.1.2 PoE Compatible?

The camera does not have built-in support for Power over Ethernet.

2.2 Network

2.2.1 IP Setup Utility

The camera comes complete with an IP Setup Utility which you must install to your computer to identify the camera’s IP address.

2.2.2 Default Details

The default IP address of the Y-cam White is:

IP address: 192.168.1.150

When connected to a router the camera will attempt to obtain an IP address using DHCP.

The camera contains a default username and password:

Default username: admin

Default password: 1234

2.2.3 Ease of Setup

The camera is easy to initially set up and comes complete with a good setup utility which is easy to use when setting up local IP address information and port number.

However there is no heed paid to helping the user set up external access to the camera from the Internet at this stage.

2.3 Wireless

2.3.1 Wireless support?

The camera supports wireless 802.11b/g networking.

2.3.2 Encryption methods

This camera supports various wireless encryption methods as detailed:

WEP, 64bit, Ascii, 5 Characters

WEP, 64bit, Hex, 10 Characters

WEP, 128bit, ASCII, 13 Characters

WEP, 128bit, HEX, 26 Characters

WPA-PSK, TKIP, 27 Characters

WPA-PSK, AES, 27 Characters

WPA2-PSK, TKIP, 27 Characters

WPA2-PSK, AES, 27 Characters

(WPA Encryption has been confirmed by the manufacturer. To be confirmed.)

3. Viewing

3.1 Camera features

The Y-cam white is a static indoor IP camera:

It offers one level of digital zoom, magnification level unknown, somewhere around 5-10x.

3.2 Viewing formats

The camera is capable of streaming MPEG-4 only.
With a faster frame rate, MPEG-4 mode is better for smooth motion but image quality will be significantly reduced when there is a lot of activity in the image.

3.3 Viewing Technology and compatibility

3.3.1 Firmware

The camera was installed to the latest version of the firmware 1.29

3.3.2 Technologies

The camera uses Active Server Pages and ActiveX technologies. The user is prompted to download the proprietary ActiveX plug-in when they first view the image from the camera. The plug-in is downloaded directly from the camera.

3.3.3 Cross Browser/Platform Compatibility

The camera will only run on Internet Explorer (version 5.5+).

It only declares support for Windows 2000, XP and Vista although it doesn’t specify 32bit/64bit of differing versions of XP/Vista so I can only assume that it’s compatible for all.

3.3 Support resolutions

The camera supports the following resolutions:

640×480 pixels (VGA)

320×240 pixels

160×120 pixels

3.4 Frame Rate

The camera supports a maximum frame rate of 30fps at 640×480 VGA using MPEG-4 mode across all resolutions.

3.5 Image Quality

3.5.1 Lens/Sensor

The camera comes with a fixed lens. Focal length: f=2.5, Aperture: F2.0mm.

Viewing angles: Horizontal= 53.4 degrees Vertical= 40.0 degrees

Sensor: 1/6-inch CMOS sensor, approx: 310,000 pixels

3.5.2 Image Quality

I have compared the camera to its closest rival in the market, the Panasonic BL-C20. The Y-CAM comes off favourably, but not in all departments. See the example snapshots below:

Y-CAM White – Example 1 – Office

Panasonic BL-C20 – Example 1 – Office

We can see the Y-CAM is comparable to the Panasonic in terms of image quality and colour reproduction. If anything the image from the Y-CAM represents more natural colour than the BL-C20. The image does appear less exposed but I think that’s due to there being more light/window in the Panasonic image.

Y-CAM White – Example 2 – Bright light from windows

Panasonic BL-C20 – Example 2 – Bright light from windows

The above example displays the Y-CAM can handle the exposure better, allowing for a clearer view of the room against a bright window. The image is less prone to washing out compared to the Panasonic.

3.5.2 Image settings

Being an MPEG-4 camera there are very few adjustments you can make to the image except for adjust the bit-rate. The higher the bit-rate, the better quality the image.

Focus, white balance and exposure are all handled automatically.

3.6 Low light behaviour

3.6.1 Low light performance

The camera comes with a “colour low-light view mode” which automatically adjusts the brightness levels in low-light producing an image down to 1 Lux.

3.6.2 Day/Night operation

The camera does not have any day/night functionality.

3.6.3 IR Sensitivity

The camera is not IR sensitive.

4. Audio

4.1 Audio support

The camera supports 1-way audio meaning that you can listen in on what the camera is viewing.

Audio spec: 1-way, compression: G.726 (40/32/24/16Kbps)

I tested the audio capability and found it to work adequately, though the mic was not very sensitive.

4.2 Microphone

The camera comes complete with built in condenser microphone for 1-way audio

5.0 Events

5.1 Triggering methods

The camera can trigger events based on Motion Detection or periodical send (a timer).

Up to 4 motion-detection windows can be used, however there are no specific triggers per window, instead they are used to form exclusion zones, i.e. only the checked detection windows will trigger alarms.

Sensitivity can also be adjusted.

5.2 Image/Video transfer

The camera supports image transfer to an email and FTP server.

I tested both of these functions without a problem but I am disappointed that there is only one motion detection event and one periodical event.

5.3 Notification methods

The camera can be set to send a notification email when motion is detected, but because you can have only one event for motion detection this would mean you couldn’t also send images which renders the function ineffective for most people and applications at this price point and market this camera is aimed at.

6.0 Unique features

The camera has an interesting feature which allows a user to save a small video at any time.

You simply click the button on the viewer to start recording and click the button again to stop recording. It then saves a movie file in a pre-determined location. The size of the video can also be limited in the settings.

I found it worked rather well and the movie it saved played first time in Windows Media Player with no issues. It’s a great feature to have and it’s something unique which we haven’t seen before. While it’s not a particularly useful feature from a home security point of view it acts more like a (remote) video camera and it’s certainly a useful feature if you need to quickly record a small video clip.
The recording settings also contained a feature which will record a video clip (of a pre-determined length) when an alarm is triggered. This is much more useful for home security and provides an interesting recording solution for the camera, but with no organised means of playback and no archive control, the system could become unorganised quickly, especially for the average home user.

7.0 Protocol support

7.1 UPnP

UPnP is supported and is included in the initial start up of the camera. This is beneficial where external access to the camera can be achieved automatically without any hassle. A compatible UPnP router is required.
7.2 Dynamic DNS

The camera supports a range of dynamic DNS providers including DynDNS.org and no-ip.com.

8.0 Supplied extras

8.1 Extras

Unfortunately the camera doesn’t come with any extras. No trial software etc.

8.2 API Support

After speaking with the manufacturer I can confirm that they provide a full and comprehensive API suite allowing for application development.

9.0 Conclusion

We feel that we have to compare the Y-camto the Panasonic BL-C20. The design, even down to the packaging and the name of their ‘colour low-light view mode’ mimics Panasonic’s entry-level wireless camera. When compared though it comes out favourably for a couple of reasons. The picture quality looked as good, if not better than Panasonic’s model and it seemed to handle the bright light coming in from windows better too. The inclusion of 1-way audio is also a nice feature giving it something over Panasonic’s model. The recording of short video clips based on alarm triggers is interesting: performing a task which the Panasonic camera can’t.

On the down-side it’s not as flexible or anywhere near as mature as the BL-C20, allowing only one event to be triggered per alarm. The camera runs in MPEG-4 mode which means that while the frame-rate is improved the quality of the individual image will suffer, especially if there is a lot of movement either of the subject, or of the camera. The power cable is really short at about 1m which means it can sit on a desk fine but only if there is a power outlet close. While the initial set-up procedure is fine it’s not as mature as Panasonic’s especially when setting up external access for dynamic public IP addressing, this would not be quick and simple for users new to IP cameras. The build quality is not quite as good as Panasonic’s model but that’s probably to be expected from a camera which is more competatively priced.
Disappointingly, the camera has no support for non-Microsoft browsers (most functions depend on ActiveX). This is a crucial negative point in comparison with the Panasonic BL-C20 (or all Panasonic IP cameras) which has full Firefox/Mozilla/Safari support.

To conclude, for our money it’s really down to a matter of branding. The price is comparable to a Panasonic BL-C20 so what would make someone choose an unknown brand over an established brand like Panasonic? Well, after testing we can say that even though the Y-cam White does not come from an established brand we feel the picture quality is as good if not better the Panasonic’s model, and for a camera that really is the most important function but we don’t think that will be enough to sway the decision that is not made purely on initial cost.

Summary

Things we liked about the Y-cam:

The picture quality was good, outclassing the Panasonic BL-C20 in a lot of areas such as how it handled light and colour. (see example screen captures above)

Using MPEG-4 technology means it can achieve a frame-rate of 30fps which is double the frame-rate of a BL-C20, giving smoother motion.

An inclusion of 1-way audio gives it something substantial over the Panasonic BL-C20. We tested it and although the microphone doesn’t seem as sensitive as the built-in mic on a more expensive Panasonic model, it seemed suitable for purpose.

It can record a stream as a video clip. This can be done manually using the on-screen interface or can be set up to record automatically based on a triggered event.

Things we didn’t like about the Y-cam:

No cross-browser or cross-platform compatibility. As the camera uses ActiveX technology it will only work in Internet Explorer. Mac and Linux users can forget it.

No support for MJPEG. The camera soley encodes MPEG-4 which means it will achieve a higher frame-rate but if there is a lot of activity on the image, quality will suffer. MJPEG would produce higher quality images.

The setting up of external access is not handled as well as the Panasonic camera. There are instructions provided to help users but these are not part of the initial setup routine and they tend to make assumptions that UPnP will work every time. In our experience UPnP does not work every time and some users will require additional help to understand the concept of port-forwarding. There is good support for DDNS providers but I feel the manual could be expanded upon, indicating the steps a user must take to register with one of these services and the theory behind why they are registering. Although very straight forward, port-forwarding and Dynamic DNS are very alien concepts to the average home user.

10. Comparable products

Panasonic BL-C20 - Wireless Static Network Camera, max resolution 640×480 pixels, max frame rate: 15fps (at 320×240)

| Digg this | Trackback