The IP Camera and IP CCTV Blog

Today, Network Webcams announces the launch of SecurityStation, its own Alerts & Recording Platform (ARP). Designed with the user in mind, SecurityStation makes viewing and recording from IP cameras as easy as using a website.

The new service can be accessed using all common browsers and does away with the need for recording devices or software of any kind. All a user need is a camera and an Internet connection, SecurityStation does the rest.

Secure, offsite remote servers managed by Network Webcams store the data captured from users’ cameras. Via www.MySecurityStation.com users have instant access to their event recordings, live camera feeds and system control settings.

Frank Crouwel, Managing Director at Network Webcams said, “We expect that SecurityStation will become a great success and a market leader amongst other Alerts & Recording Platforms (ARPs). The fact that the service is fully web-based and is accessible from anywhere on demand makes it easy to use for anybody, and this makes it such a powerful product. It will open up the use of IP video to a much wider market.”

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Y-cam have been very successful with their IP cameras for the entry-level market. They have provided a small range of daylight viewing (Y-cam White) and night vision cameras (Y-cam Black/Knight) aimed for home and small business users but now they are launching something with the business user in mind.

The Y-cam Bullet

Enter the Y-cam Bullet, Y-cam’s first true day/night camera which is fully weatherproof and features wireless connectivity and 2-way audio.

The Y-cam Bullet is the next natural progression of the Y-cam Black or Y-cam Knight. It is a bullet-style camera which is self-contained in a weatherproof housing (no Y-cam Shell required!) and is the first camera from Y-cam to feature true infrared automatic day/night switching, Power over Ethernet connectivity and 2-way audio and comes with a new MJPEG optimised viewer for the iPhone.

Exclusive price until end of March 2010

From today we are selling the new Y-cam Bullet at a reduced price until the end of March. Buy from Network Webcams today and save £50 off the manufacturer’s RRP. See below link for details.

More information:

Y-cam Bullet true day/night wireless outdoor security camera
Y-cam Bullet product evaluation by Network Webcams

Y-cam have just released a new dedicated outdoor IP camera the Y-cam Bullet. Previously Y-cam had offered the Y-cam shell as an outdoor solution for their Y-cam range which is made from ABS plastic and offers IP66-ratedequivalent weatherproofing.

As you can see the new Y-cam Bullet seems to be a more streamlined, elegant solution in a metal case offering IP66-rated protection and to a much higher standard, with a proper weatherproof gland on cable entry. Also the addition of the external wireless antenna is bound to help the wireless performance over the Y-cam shell. However, appearances are not the only advantage of the Y-cam Bullet which now has true day/night switching, two-way audio capability and is compatible with Power over Ethernet as well as sporting a microSD card slot with all the functionality of the Y-cam SD.

Dimensions (WxHxD):

• Y-cam Shell: 125 x 135 x 170 mm (main body)
• Y-cam Bullet: 70 x 70 x 190 mm (main body)

Full product specification:
Y-cam Bullet outdoor IP camera
Y-cam Shell outdoor housing

Panasonic have recently released new network cameras the BB-HCM715 and the BB-HCM735 to replace the BB-HCM511 and the BB-HCM531 respectively. The cameras look the same, with pan and tilt control and can still be powered by Power over Ethernet, but they offer better image quality with a megapixel resolution and have H.264 video compression.

Key improvements:

• Both cameras now come with megapixel sensors which give 4x the resolution of the previous VGA models
• The addition of H.264 video compression allows the camera to efficiently encode video footage which is ideal for bandwidth restricted viewing such as over the Internet
• Improved low light performance including a 2×2 pixel binning which combines the light from 4 adjacent pixels and requires a minimum illumination of 0.3 lux, an improvement on the previously required 2 lux
• With the 4x resolution the image buffer size has been increased by nearly 4x from 350 images QVGA to 1290 images
• Improved weatherproofing from IP54 to IP55 (BB-HCM735 only) allows for better protection outdoors

Panasonic BB-HCM715 >>
Panasonic BB-HCM735 >>

Pelco have launched a free 4-channel video recording software solution, DS4U, which will now be bundled with every Pelco IP camera product for Windows and Mac users.

What DS4U offers is entry to their high-end Digital Sentry platform which allows users to manage data for multiple locations from a single client workstation.

DS4U is a free software-only video management solution, suitable for recording video from up to 4 Pelco IP cameras including HD support for Pelco’s Sarix range of megapixel IP cameras.

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These cameras are already out in the US and are the direct replacements of probably our best selling cameras, the Panasonic BL-C111 and BL-C131.

Due out very soon in the UK the BL-C210 and BL-C230 (wireless model) are both targeted to the home security market. If you look at their appearance you can see they are moving away from the silver finish of the previous models now come in that white finish which Apple have made very fashionable over the last few years. This of course makes them blend in a little better with modern interiors (home or business).

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