A home-security camera that sees in the dark and alerts you to any problems
Icontrol’s Piper nv must have the highest specifications of any home-security camera we’ve ever reviewed. Its high resolution and night-vision camera capabilities are only the headline acts of a list of features that includes motion, temperature and humidity sensors; a two-way intercom; and an ear-splitting siren. What’s even more impressive, it can act as a controller for home-automation devices that are compatible with the Z-wave standard. So with extra equipment you could use it to remotely control lights and other devices. Z-wave compatible devices aren’t very widespread though.
If that all sounds a tad intimidating, the good news is that it’s very easy to set up. Simply install Piper’s app on an iOS or Android mobile device and it will quickly detect the camera and configure it for your Wi-Fi network. Once this is done, you can choose how Piper behaves if it detects sound or motion when you’re at home, out of the house for a short time, or away on holiday. Options include recording video of an intruder in the act, notifications via text or a phone call, setting off a siren, or activating any Z-wave devices you have – switching on a light, for example.
The app charts your home’s temperature, humidity and other vital signs over time, which could be useful if you have a pet and want to make sure they’re not too hot or cold. Pet owners can adjust the motion sensitivity to avoid false alarms. You can watch live video within the app, though all recorded videos triggered by an event are stored on Icontrol’s servers (free storage is included for up to 1,000 30-second clips). Unusually, the Piper nv has a battery backup and a small amount of onboard storage, so it remains active in the event of a power cut or sabotage, storing up to five video clips until they can be uploaded.
Piper’s motion- and sound-detection features and notifications worked reliably in our tests, but in some respects we found it disappointing. Icontrol claims that the Piper nv records video in ‘enhanced’ high-definition (HD), but the quality of live video and recorded footage was very poor in both daylight and at night. We also tested the standard Piper camera, which costs about £70 less. It has no night vision and records lower-resolution video. Its image quality was similarly disappointing. You’d be hard-pressed to identify intruders unless they got obligingly close to the camera.
Frustratingly, you can’t download and save recorded videos, to hand them over to the police, for example. There’s no PC or Mac software or even a web interface that would let you watch or configure your camera if you lose your mobile device. The net result is unclear videos you can watch only on your mobile device.
Despite the Piper nv’s obvious potential, it’s expensive, and it simply isn’t good enough at the basics. Instead we’d recommend the Y-cam Home Monitor HD.
VERDICT
A great list of features and undoubted potential can’t make up for the terrible video quality, especially considering its price.
SPECIFICATIONS
3.4 megapixel video resolution • Night vision • Microphone • Speaker • 105 dB siren • 266g • 158x88x61mm (HxWxD, on supplied stand)