Product Listing

SpotCam Wi-Fi camera - A cloud-based video camera for indoor and outdoor monitoring

By Ng Chong Seng - 9 Oct 2015
Launch SRP: S$269

SpotCam Wi-Fi camera - A cloud-based video camera for indoor and outdoor monitoring

 

A capable video streaming and monitoring camera

There’s no shortage of wireless IP cameras in the market, and one that recently dropped by in our lab is the SpotCam from Taiwan.

A Wi-Fi video monitoring camera, the headline features of the SpotCam - judging from what the company has chosen to print at the front of the box and on its marketing collateral - is its cloud recording feature and the ability for you to see the video feed from anywhere on your desktop and mobile devices, the latter thanks to the free SpotCam app that’s available on the iOS App Store and Google Play store.

 

Specs at a glance

To be specific, there are two SpotCams that you can buy: SpotCam HD and SpotCam HD Pro. The Pro version is simply a tougher version of the non-Pro version designed for outdoor use, as it’s IP65 rated (for water and dustproof) and can operate in a temperature as low as -10°C.

Otherwise, the SpotCam HD and Pro sport the same specs, such as up to 720p video at 30fps, H.264 encoding for streaming, a wide 110° field of view (no auto pan and tilt), onboard speaker and microphone, and 12 infrared LEDs for night vision. So unless otherwise stated, the observations I’ve in the upcoming pages apply to both cameras. Items bundled with both packages are the same too, and these include some screws for wall-mounting the camera, power adapter and cable (alas, it doesn't run on batteries), and some documentation.

You can manually tilt the SpotCam to adjust where the camera is pointing at.

The Pro version (on the right) is IP65 rated, and therefore is more suited for outdoor use. Otherwise, it has the same features as the regular SpotCam (on the left).

The HD Pro version also has a marginally thicker body, with the speaker is placed at a different location compared to the HD.

A rubber sleeve in the power socket, a cover for the Wi-Fi mode switch - all these are to protect the Pro from the elements.

 

Setup

Installing the SpotCam is simple. The tube-shaped camera has a pivoting stand and a circular base; and because it’s rather hefty (about 200g), it sits pretty sturdy on a flat surface. To wall-mount the camera, simply screw the removable base cover to a surface and snap the camera back to the cover thereafter.

For what it’s worth, my SpotCam HD review unit has a glossy white plastic body, and the SpotCam HD Pro a matte black body (with a color-matching power adapter). The Pro’s body is also slightly thicker and has a couple of minute aesthetic differences versus the standard version (e.g., the speaker placement), which I posit are necessary to ensure that it passes the IP65 certification.

The SpotCam installer basically fires up your browser to walk you through the setup process. Nothing is installed on your PC. You can setup the camera using the mobile apps too.

From my research, SpotCam has been quite hardworking to fix bugs reported by its users. It certainly feels like a more stable product now.

Setting up the SpotCam can be done either on a computer (PC or Mac) or on a mobile device. For desktop setup, go to MySpotCam.com, download an installation app (click the ‘Add SpotCam’ button at the top right of the page) that will walk you through the creation of your SpotCam account, connect the camera to your Wi-Fi network and the cloud server. In between, you’ll need to switch modes on the camera, which shouldn’t be too confusing if you pay attention to the instructions. The process is largely the same if you prefer to setup the camera using the mobile app.

For those interested, here’s a walkthrough video made by SpotCam (the company):

 

Software & Performance

As long as you’ve Internet access, you can view your video on any device. On the computer, this is done through your SpotCam account in the browser; and on mobile, via the iOS or Android app. Configurations include toggling the night vision, toggling the microphone for two-way audio, rotating the video, and scheduling motion and sound alerts (both email and mobile notifications are allowed). If you’ve multiple SpotCams, you can name each of them as well. You can even share the video feed with other people or make it public. While both the web UI and app work well for the live view, the timeline view in the web UI (requires Flash, by the way) is arguably less fiddly to work with when you want to check when an event is triggered and scroll back to the correct time (down to the minute) to view it.

All in all, the UI is easy to understand (albeit bland), and the apps and server backend seem stable enough. Put another way, StopCam has taken a fairly safe approach with regards to its feature set, and doesn’t try to be fancy. This is good for the average user, but perhaps not so much for the power user looking for very granular control (e.g., there are only three motion and sound sensitivity levels: High, Normal, and Low).

You can set the camera streaming schedule, when to send alerts (motion, sound, offline), and which email to send these alerts to when they are triggered.

You can invite people to view your feed, or make it public for all to see.

With the free mobile app, you can the monitor the scene wherever you are. And alerts can take advantage of standard mobile notifications.

Image quality-wise, the 720p footage looks very decent and will do the job for most scenarios. There's typically a two to three-second lag in the live feed, which is pretty common for cloud-based cameras. There’s also digital zooming if you need it. Colors aren’t always the most accurate, but it’s no worse than most IP cameras. The black-and-white video during night time or low-light conditions also comes across as pretty clear, thanks to the 12 IR LEDs. Just don’t put it in front of a mirror or glass to prevent glare. Needless to say, you can download the clips for later review as well as photo snapshots. There's also an option to make a time-lapse video.

Speaking of video, it’s worth pointing out that since this is a cloud-based camera, the video is stored on the SpotCam’s cloud server (with SSL encryption). You get one day’s worth of recording stored in the cloud for free forever, anything more and you’ve to pay. A 3-day recording plan costs S$5.66/month or S$55.90/year; a 7-day plan S$8.53/month or S$84.57/year; and a 30-day plan S$28.60/month or S$285.23/year. In general, the paid tiers are for users who need the flexibility of reviewing past days’ footage, especially when the SpotCam is placed outdoors and used as a surveillance camera.

Straightforward controls with a timeline slider at the bottom.

The night vision mode works well.

 

Conclusion

The SpotCam is a very decent cloud-based video camera. I like that it’s easy to setup, supports two-way audio, and has a night vision that works well. I’ve heard that the web UI and mobile app can be glitchy at times, but those seem to be early issues (the product isn’t new) that the company has mostly ironed out in recent months. Other than a couple of crash-and-reload situations for the Android app, my experience with SpotCam has for the most part been smooth. Of course, with most of the stuff taking place on the web, your network's performance will also play a part in your experience. With constant app, feature, and backend improvements, I think SpotCam can only get better, and one to consider should you be in the market for a Wi-Fi-only, cloud-based video monitoring camera.

The SpotCam can be bought on Rakuten. The SpotCam HD costs S$269; the SpotCam HD Pro S$311.

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7.5
  • Design 7.5
  • Features 7.5
  • Performance 7.5
  • Value 7.5
The Good
Easy to setup
Night vision works well
Good build quality
Two-way audio
The Bad
Occasional app crashes
Web UI sluggish at times
Still requires power cable (cannot run on batteries)
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