On the hunt for a simple indoor IP camera to utilize as...

[jasauders 0]

...a baby monitor. With the news of our first on the way I began to consider things we'll need. Being a tech guy I of course was disgusted with the prices of actual baby monitors, but I know I can get a pretty sweet setup for significantly less if I go the video surveillance route.

 

I currently have a Foscam fi8918w, which works very well video wise, however its audio is downright terrible. I even purchased an external mic (since it has an available mic port) but that made no difference. Some Googling suggested that this camera suffers from awful audio quality. When I would stream it over VLC I would hear an incredible amount of noise that just wasn't existent in the room the cam/mic was in. A lot of the time it sounded like someone had a bass guitar, strummed it, and it just ran indefinitely, drowning out at least 3/4 of what sounds you would hear anyway from it. It wasn't near any computers, fans, etc., just a quiet corner of the basement. Evidently Foscam released instructions to an array of users suggesting that if they solder some sort of internals together it fixes the issue, but not a single person reported it as working, and all of the users never heard a further response from the manufacturer. I understood Foscam to be a decent quality company, however they are one I'll absolutely be avoiding this time around. Everything else is wide open, though!

 

As for the other side of the monitor system, I have a spare Atom based laptop with a 12 inch screen which I have Lubuntu running on it currently (Ubuntu + LXDE desktop environment). I plan to put this laptop on the nightstand and let it stream via VLC from the surveillance camera when we're asleep. That way based on the noise I can see immediately what's up and determine if the little guy/gal is just making some noise while sleeping or if I need to tend to them asap.

 

As for the camera, here's my list of requirements:

 

- At least 640x480 resolution.

- Framerate of 10-15 would be optimal.

- Wireless (at least G).

- Infrared.

- Microphone port for extended mic OR super super sensitive onboard microphone.

- And of course, decent audio quality.

- Capability to stream through VLC (haven't seen an IP camera that didn't, though)

- Not Foscam.

 

The single most important feature is the audio quality. I want to utilize my external, so a mic port is huge (unless there's one without a mic port that can pick up a pin dropping a half mile away, then I'd absolutely consider it). It seems as if these parameters are super easy to hit, especially even under the 100 dollar range (hell I found a truckload for under 75 bucks at that). But the only curve ball is I can't exactly test audio on these cameras before I purchase them online, and the fact that 98% of users are interested in the video quality, I figured I'd post here to see if anybody could recommend anything they've used.

 

Appreciate it!

[Owain 0]

Vivotek FD7132 has external audio ports for both speak/listen. Not sure if it's Wireless G though.

 

However any decent reseller should be able to put a camera online as a demonstration for you, including audio if you arrange a 'conference' at a certain time.

[jasauders 0]

Oh man, that's one expensive baby monitor... I'm more curious about the 100 dollar range, maybe up to 150 if at all possible. Hasn't anybody tinkered with anything like that with better-than-awful audio?

[Owain 0]

could you handle the audio separately using an IP speakerphone, set to auto-answer when you call it over SIP. They're available quite cheaply if you get an ebay auction bargain.

[jasauders 0]

I suppose it's always an option, but I'm ebaying right now and I'm only finding old IP based desk phones and cell phones. I'm not seeing any sort of IP based two way system. Given that scenario, part of me is just leaning towards using the camera for video and an old school audio-only baby monitor as the audio. It'd just be nice to have both things integrated into one unit, and it is beyond frustrating to find so many cameras downright suck with providing even mediocre audio quality.

[Owain 0]

I suppose it's always an option, but I'm ebaying right now and I'm only finding old IP based desk phones and cell phones. I'm not seeing any sort of IP based two way system.

 

2 x IP desk phones set to work back-to-back with auto-answer.

 

Or use one (or 2) Rapsberry Pi

 

http://mattkaar.com/blog/2012/12/01/raspberry-pi-as-a-baby-monitor/

[jasauders 0]

I actually have two Raspberry Pi's, and I followed those EXACT instructions before I posted here, however I got held up on the last step as:

 

arecord -D plughw:1,0 -f dat | ssh -C user@remoteip aplay -f dat

 

threw an error about not being found or something like that. I had changed all of the parameters for the ssh section too, so I eventually gave up on that.

 

Anyway... camera with audio that isn't terrible... is this a lost cause all together?

[Kawboy12R 0]

Are the criteria IP, wireless, awesome audio, and under $75?

[jasauders 0]

I'd do 150 if someone told me "hey I used this camera personally and the audio is pretty clear." I just can't put into words how terrible my Foscam audio is, and considering my Foscam is a clone of 100 other manufacturers it makes it feel like a null point to begin trying others on a hunch. I just don't really care to do 300, because at that point I'd rather bail on the idea and use an audio based monitor with the Foscam I have...

 

640x480-ish, PTZ isn't necessary, IR of some sort (it'll be short range, so even a miniscule number of IR lights would be good. Can it be done?

[Owain 0]

I'd persevere with the RasPi as you've already got them.

 

If you get a command not found error you probably have to install the relevant package first. RasPi forums should be able to help on that.

[jasauders 0]

I could, but the Raspberry Pi's come with an inherent issue though, seeing as though they are hard wired. I've heard that you can get wireless adapters for them, but I'm not sure I'm all that interested in it considering both USB ports and the NIC are bound under the same singular USB bus, so speed issues are inevitable except for ultra light duty things (part of the reason why I moved the RaspPi off of being my server).

 

The command I got wasn't necessarily a command not found, but when I Googled around, RaspiForums included, I got nothing.

 

Overall, I really cannot put into words how much I'd rather just get a new camera and use that... After all, to utilize a client for the RaspPi you need to deal with SSH things, which is great, but I want this to be easy for myself and my wife. Being able to utilize a standard wireless camera would be the best of all worlds 100 times over again, because that way we could easily set it up from our phones, HTPC, laptops, etc., that way we've have multiple baby monitor who can tap into the wireless camera just like that.

[meyerovb 0]

We're in exactly the same boat buddy... http://goo.gl/76eUN (see link within that post, explains it's due to foscam's audio decoding algorithm)

 

LiveCamsPro creator recommended d-link (see page 3 http://goo.gl/otWzw), but personally I want a PT cam so I won't have to upgrade when the rugrat starts crawling around. Also an amazon review said the 932L suffers from static as well.

 

Anyone out there able to recommend a sub-$200 cam with IR, PT, and good sound?

[Kawboy12R 0]

My experience says stay faaar away from the DLink 950G, but you probably (hopefully) can't buy them anymore. What an unstable piece of crap that was. That reminds me- it's still in a drawer somewhere. Must throw it out before someone else unwittingly wastes time on it.

[meyerovb 0]

Willing to do a sub-$150 (hopefully sub-$100) non-PT cam w/night vision and clear audio. Any recommendations for that?

[jasauders 0]

I'm beginning to get frustrated enough with this hunt that I may just blindly purchase a camera and see how it goes... of course, one that isn't a Foscam or any sort of clone. There are so many clones it's the definition of a pita to find something different. Ultimately I think I'll just be looking for something that is physically very different from the Foscam I have, as that would significantly lessen the chance of a direct clone.

 

I hear you on the PT options too, but I think I'm going to pass on them. I really haven't ever used the PT functions of the Foscam I have, but in my case whenever I've placed the camera, it's always been in a corner far enough that I can see the entire room to begin with. Plus once you introduce PT it begins ramping up the price and/or sacrificing other features/quality of the camera, unless you're prepared to dish out bigger bucks.

 

When I was looking a while ago, I was particularly interested in a Y-Cam as well as a Tenvis. I know nothing about the Tenvis, but I heard a few people report good experiences with them... however nobody directly commented on their audio. I was interested in these because they are vastly different from the Foscam/clones I was seeing littering the internet.

 

http://www.y-cam.com/y-cam-black-s/

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1EF0H19589&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

 

The price of the Y-Cam is a little steep for what you get, imo. Wireless b/g, 640x480 @ 230 bucks? Eh. But hey, if it's a home run, it's a home run. On the flip side, the price of the Tenvis, if anything, has me nervous. 60 bucks seems far too good to be true...

 

Meh.

 

EDIT - I'm now looking into the Polaroid IP200 and IP300 camera. They seem to be available for 80 and 90 dollars respectively. The specs seem to be a little more uplifting in terms of the way they talk about audio:

 

"The Polaroid IP-300 has a high quality intercom system with built-in microphone and speaker"

 

...but I'm also no sheep who will take a spec sheet as the gospel. I'm trying to find reviews on it now... but so far it seems to be slightly differently designed, suggesting it may not be a direct clone of the Foscam. I do however find it a little off-putting that it's not listed anywhere on the Polaroid site, and it seems as if it's largely available on target.com and amazon... Hmm...

Edited December 26, 2012 by Guest

[Kawboy12R 0]

I haven't played with anything other than the 950G. It soured me for indoor IP cams. I didn't have much of a serious use for one anyway so I never bought another.

[meyerovb 0]

FYI, I've been looking at Baby Monitor HD iOS app because it supports 'away mode' (automatically switches from local ip to remote ddns url). They have a list of supported cams:

 

-Sharx SCNC2700 (also supports the SCNC2607, but apparently the 2700 has better vid quality)

-Y-Cam YCB004/YCK004 (black/white) (also supports YCBL03 which has PoE, always a nice touch)

 

You can grab a used YCK004/YCB004 for $100 with a 30-day return policy on amazon. You wanna give it a try?

[jasauders 0]

That price is more like it, however I'll have to talk to the wife first. We just got ourselves rocked this Christmas so dumping 100 bucks when the baby won't be here till August might be asking a lot. I would certainly trust Y-Cam sooner than many other brands out there if I was forced to pick one on a whim. I also love how the Y-Cam is listed as NAS ready. I love it when cameras have the capability to write to Samba shares. It just makes life so much easier if you need to do any recording (assuming you don't want to dish out for an actual NVR/DVR system). My Vivotek IP8332's are saving 247 around the clock to my Ubuntu Server nettop... love it.

[meyerovb 0]

Mine is due in April... I grabbed a YCB004 ($94 used with amazon prime, so easy returns) and will PM u access to the stream once it's set up so u can evaluate if u like it or not.

 

P.S. I'm impatient so it's arriving tomorrow

[jasauders 0]

Mine is due in April... I grabbed a YCB004 ($94 used with amazon prime, so easy returns) and will PM u access to the stream once it's set up so u can evaluate if u like it or not.

 

P.S. I'm impatient so it's arriving tomorrow

 

LOL - I like your style! I'll surely be keeping an eye on my PMs.

 

I am curious... how do you intend to utilize this camera for monitoring? Are you just going to pull the MJPG stream over VLC or something?

[meyerovb 0]

Baby Monitor HD iOS app. I see very little use in watching a camera on a full computer... Plus as I said above that app auto-switches between local ip and remote ddns, and has nifty stuff like dimming mode so u can keep the phone on all night like a regular monitor.

[jasauders 0]

Baby Monitor HD iOS app. I see very little use in watching a camera on a full computer... Plus as I said above that app auto-switches between local ip and remote ddns, and has nifty stuff like dimming mode so u can keep the phone on all night like a regular monitor.

 

I see. I do intend to utilize computer systems though for monitoring, but that might be the IT guy in me speaking out. My plan is to put some sort of a netbook or my Raspberry Pi in the bedroom. This will run 247 at night so if we hear something we can look up and quickly see on the screen what the little one is doing. Since our HTPC is, of course, built on a computer, I intend to have a similar setup there so we can quickly see what's up if it's nap time and we're out watching TV. On top of that, my office is downstairs, but I'm surrounded on 3 sides by a desk with 5-6 LCD monitors. It's a geek's heaven... so naturally I'll have a screen going so I can see what they're doing when I'm downstairs working on projects.

 

That said, for my mobile solution I'm just going to utilize IP Cam Viewer Pro on the Android platform (phone & tablet). I already have DDNS set up, so I'll likely use that full time whether I'm on the LAN or not (I already have that set up for my two IP8332's I use for outdoor surveillance).

[meyerovb 0]

I'm unable to get nat loopback functioning in my setup, so I cannot access the ddns url from within my LAN, hence the need for a mobile app that automatically switches between local and remote addresses for a single video feed. I'm just a humble software engineer, not a network technician, so I just figured I'd get the away mode app and move on with my life, rather than putting in yet another router with dd-wrt and adding a firewall masquerade rule (http://goo.gl/mnWvg).

 

In terms of always seeing her... I'm never without my iphone (and app has audio working in background), but yeah, these cams can have feeds up everywhere (u android people...)

 

As an aside... u really think it's healthy to have video feeds of your newborn showing in PIP and in multiple rooms of ur house? Kinda Orwellian if u ask me

[jasauders 0]

I'm unable to get nat loopback functioning in my setup, so I cannot access the ddns url from within my LAN, hence the need for a mobile app that automatically switches between local and remote addresses for a single video feed. I'm just a humble software engineer, not a network technician, so I just figured I'd get the away mode app and move on with my life, rather than putting in yet another router with dd-wrt and adding a firewall masquerade rule (http://goo.gl/mnWvg).

 

In terms of always seeing her... I'm never without my iphone (and app has audio working in background), but yeah, these cams can have feeds up everywhere (u android people...)

 

As an aside... u really think it's healthy to have video feeds of your newborn showing in PIP and in multiple rooms of ur house? Kinda Orwellian if u ask me

 

I'm failing to see why anybody wouldn't want to have eyes on their newborn at all times. Based entirely out of the security of the child, it only makes sense. If the child were a 17 year old we'd be having an extremely different conversation. Considering the fact that the HTPC is on the other side of the house, along with the fact if I'm downstairs working in the office I'd never hear any fussing upstairs, it only makes sense to utilize a solution that allows for flexibility - something a computer/VLC or Android/IP Cam Viewer provides. That way I don't have to worry about if I'm outside on the deck, downstairs working, watching something on the HTPC, etc. I'm always connected and available.

[meyerovb 0]

In regards to your previous post, tenvis seem to be y-cam/foscam clones. http://goo.gl/NKuuq

 

Also an amazon review put the Polaroid as very bad night image compared to astak. That would be a deal beaker for me, but I saw u already responded to that review. Personally the Polaroid just feels sketchy to me, especially since they don't list it on their site.