The IP Camera Store and IP Cam Blog

US Expansion

Network Webcams is moving into the US! Following our success in Europe and the UK, we have opened an office in the Big Apple and launched an IP camera store dedicated to the North American market. The new site, www.networkwebcams.com, went live on 14th March 2008 and will be offering a wide range of quality IP products in a quickly expanding IP video market.

Panasonic Promotion

Celebrating the move, we have re-launched our UK and European store on www.networkwebcams.co.uk with a spectacular offer giving away Free Software with any four Panasonic BB range cameras, saving customers a massive £239 (Euro 322).

Y-cam Introduction

With the launch of the US store we are also bringing Y-cam to the American market and these units are now available from within the US for the first time ever.

To learn more about Network Webcams and what we do, visit our group website on www.networkwebcams.net.

Network Webcams - The IP Camera Specialists

This is a small HOWTO: guide which will help you reset your Panasonic BL-C1 or BL-C20 IP camera should you forget the password and find yourself unable to connect.

This guide will be suitable for the following cameras:

• Panasonic BL-C1
• Panasonic BL-C20

Read more

Whenever a router is connected to the Internet it receives what is known as a public IP address. This is your identifier on the internet and is unique all over the world. However, internet service providers (ISPs) only have a set number of IP addresses which they can give to their customers. Because of this most ISPs will rotate their customers’ IP address each time they connect or reconnect to the internet, or as sometimes is the case, whenever they feel like it!

This can be a problem whenever you set up a camera using a domestic level broadband account. A fitting analogy would be to consider your home telephone number changing whenever BT felt like it. How would you be able to call home if you didn’t know your number?

There are however ways to combat this. You can often liaise with your ISP to secure yourself a static IP address, meaning your public IP address will never change, but you will often pay extra for this service.

The other alternative is to set up a dynamic DNS account. In order for this to operate a piece of software has to be set up on your router, camera or a local PC. This software periodically sends an update to the Dynamic DNS service to renew your IP address, keeping it current. It also has an added benefit of giving a meaningful name to your camera instead of an IP address making it easier to remember and will keep your camera connected to the Internet at all times, even if you change your ISP!

Many camera/router manufacturers support this feature in their devices. This article will look at how this is configured in a Panasonic camera using their free Dynamic DNS service: Viewnetcam.com.

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Exciting New Features

We’ve been using the Panasonic BL-C131 for a while now and we have not been disappointed with Panasonic’s upgrade to their hugely popular BL-C30 model. It holds the same key features as its predecessor, i.e. it’s a wireless, pan/tilt network camera with a built-in web server meaning that you can view it remotely from any location over the Internet or call up the images using any browser-equipped mobile phone.

Let’s a take a closer look as what it offers:

Read more

Having a wireless IP camera is great. It allows you to place it practically anywhere in your home where there is a spare power supply. This is ideal for home security when you want to keep the camera as discreet, and unseen as possible.

But, if you’re having trouble setting up your camera to work wirelessly then it can sometimes be a thorn in your side. Not to worry though, we are at hand to make the whole process much easier and you’ll find that using the following guide means you can have your camera set up in a matter of minutes. Read more

We’ve been in discussion with Panasonic over the last week trying to gather some information about whether or not the latest version of their Network Camera Recorder software, BB-HNP15, will be available to ‘try before you buy’.

Here is an update of what we know so far:

• Panasonic will be offering both versions (the other verion in BB-HNP11) side-by-side. Therefore BB-HNP15 does not actually replace the previous version, instead it offers support for the new features found in their latest camera models.
• Panasonic have informed us that they cannot currently offer a free trial of the BB-HNP15 software from their website due to licensing issues connected to the MPEG-4 license agreement.
• Panasonic have also told us that trial versions of BB-HNP15 will be shipping with the appropriate models of camera by the end of the year. The models supported will be their domestic BL and BB ranges excluding the BL-C1 and BL-C20. Until then these cameras will still ship with a free 1-camera license of BB-HNP11. The downside is that this trial version will be a single camera version but contain watermarks on all recorded images stating it is for demo purposes only. To fully utilise the new software means having to purchase the licensed version, even if you only have one camera. BB-HNP11 software will still continue to be available for download from the Panasonic website but this won’t contain any of the additional features such as MPEG-4 or megapixel recording.

We think this is messy and inconsistent, and unfortunately may lead to confusion and customer upset. We would like to see our customers being able to benefit from the new functionality of the trial software if they have purchased a camera with these available features, just like they can with the existing HNP11 software.

We will continue post any updates as soon as we have new information.

Related articles:

What’s New in Panasonic’s BB-HNP15 Network Camera Recorder Software?

Panasonic have recently released their BB-HNP15 Network Camera Recorder software. This will be sold alongside their BB-HNP11 version. So what are the key differences?

Well, the software is aimed at those who have recently purchased any of the new Panasonic network camera models such as the BL-C111, BL-C131, BB-HCM511, BB-HCM531, BB-HCM515, BB-HCM580 or the BB-HCM581. Let’s look at the key additions in the latest version of the software: Read more

Just a quick post on the latest imminent IP camera releases from Panasonic.

To carry on with their product redevelopment we shall see the new BB-HCM580 and BB-HCM581 models arrive this month. These (kind of) supersede their previous pan-tilt-zoom models the BB-HCM381 and BB-HCE481. Read more

We’re quite excited. Panasonic have just released a new range of cameras which supercede the BB-HCM311 and BB-HCM331 models, and have also, in a first for the range, launched a 1.3 Megapixel model. Yes, we’re excited. We’re excited because we have just taken delivery of the new BB-HCM531 and we also have the new megapixel model, the BB-HCM515 for testing…

Panasonic have launched the BB-HCM511 which is an indoor Pan-Tilt camera, directly replacing their BB-HCM311 model. They have also launched their outdoor-ready product, the BB-HCM531, as a replacement for the BB-HCM331 which is a very popular choice for discreet outdoor surveillance and monitoring. Finally the new BB-HCM515 is the same indoor camera as the BB-HCM511 but incorporating a 1.3 megapixel sensor which means sharper and more detailed images.
Here’s a brief comparison of the key differences between the old discontinued models and the new models:

• Simultaneous MJPEG and MPEG-4: The new MPEG-4 mode (the Panasonic BB-HCM331 only offered MJPEG video) allows full video streaming at 30fps across all resolutions including VGA 640×480 giving a much smoother performance at the maximum image size. (max 7fps in 1.3 megapixel mode BB-HCM515)
• Power over Ethernet: These cameras now support the IEEE802.3af PoE standard meaning that the camera can be powered through the same cable as the data. (using a separate PoE midspan or switch)
• SD Audio Recording: Unlike the Panasonic BB-HCM331 the new cameras offer simultaneous recording of image and sound to the internal SD memory card.
• Full Screen Mode: The Panasonic BB-HCM531 now offers a full-screen mode which enlarges the field of view significantly when monitoring your camera
• Improved User Interface: The setup menus within the cameras are much improved over the Panasonic BB-HCM331, particularly around event management

We’ll be taking a closer look at the BB-HCM531 and BB-HCM515 later when we do a full evaluation of the products. For now though, you can take a look at the detailed specifications for each below:

BB-HCM511 Indoor Ip Camera Pan-Tilt Audio D/N PoE
BB-HCM531 In/Outdoor IP Camera Pan-Tilt Audio D/N PoE
BB-HCM515 Indoor 1.3 Megapixel IP Camera Pan-Tilt Audio D/N PoE

If you have any questions about these products, please leave a comment and I’ll be glad to answer.

As of today we are discontinuing the sale of the following Panasonic cameras:

• BL-C10
• BL-C30
• BB-HCE481

These models have been superceded with new up to date models. To find out more, keep reading… Read more

We’ve just taken delivery of a Panasonic BL-C131, the new successor to the amazingly popular BL-C30. We’ve had a play, and here’s a list of the key improvements that the new model offers over its original:

• Simultaneous MJPEG and MPEG-4: The new MPEG-4 mode (the Panasonic BL-C30 only offered MJPEG video) allows video streaming at a full 30fps across all resolutions including VGA 640×480, giving a much smoother performance at the camera’s maximum resolution. As this relies on an Active-X plug-in this feature is compatible in Internet Explorer (IE) only.
• 1-way Audio: The BL-C131 now offers 1-way audio support by using a built-in microphone allowing the viewer to listen in on sounds where the camera is positioned. We found the microphone to be extremely sensitive and work rather well. Again, this is reliant on ActiveX, so IE only.
• Motion Detection: The Panasonic BL-C30 could only trigger events based on the thermal sensor input. The new BL-C131 offers built-in motion detection support as well as thermal sensor detection. A nice addition. With clever use of triggers you can now reduce the number of false positives you would normally recieve from a camera alarm using these detection methods. For example, if you set up both motion and thermal detection and you recieve an alert from both then you know, with much more certainty, that there is a person in front of the camera as it has detected movement and heat.
• Full Screen Mode: This improved model now offers a full-screen mode which enlarges the field of view significantly when monitoring your camera. In any other browser it seems to display at the same size but in IE it is significantly larger than VGA (640×480) so this is probably reliant on the Active-X control again.
• IPv6 Compatibility: To future-proof the camera it now comes as standard with IPv6 support out of the box. Probably not required right now but handy to have when it’s needed.
• Improved User Interface: The configuration menus within the camera are much improved over the Panasonic BL-C30, particularly around event management and it seems much more emphasis has been put on automatic setup.

A full evaluation of the product will be available shortly.

We’re taking orders right now for this camera and its sister model the BL-C111 (wired ethernet equivalent/non-wireless), please see the links below for full specification and ordering details:

Panasonic BL-C111 Compact IP camera Pan/Tilt Audio Heat Sensor
Panasonic BL-C131 Wireless IP camera Pan/Tilt Audio Heat Sensor

We know that one of the benefits of having Panasonic network cameras in the home is the added security they bring. This is nowhere better illustrated than their ability to detect motion and send a series of images to your email address.

If you always wanted to set this up but you weren’t sure where to begin then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will take you step by step through the whole process and is designed to be as painless as possible. Read more