Michael continues to monitor home activity when he's out and about
Developed by Samsung Techwin, a part of the Samsung family, the SmartCam HD is a single wi-fi camera solution for delivering a 1080p live video stream of activity from a location within the home. Along with the camera unit, which can be freestanding or wall-mounted, this kit consists of a power lead with two- and three-pin adapter plugs, Ethernet cable, mounting screws and rawl plugs. You'll need to download a free app from the iOS App Store or Google Play for setting up and controlling the live feed from the camera with a smartphone.
The camera features a built-in microphone, speaker outlet and a micro-SD card slot, which provides storage for any captured content. While reasonably well made, the camera is rather lightweight, and I found it had a tendency to topple over in free-standing mode, until I placed a weight on the stand to alleviate this problem. This is a design issue that needs to be resolved.
Using the app, you'll need to create a free account in order for the camera to function. This account will require the entry of a user ID, a password, plus your name and email address. Once the account has been registered, you'll be led through the setting up of a link between the Samsung device and a home network, either via the supplied Ethernet cable or wi-fi. In the case of the wi-fi link, my chosen route, the process took approximately three minutes, with an on-screen clock providing a countdown.
With a link established, you can give the camera an appropriate name, such as its location, and add a protective password. The SmartCam app gives you the option of adjusting various settings categorised as General, Network, Time, Event and SD Card. Depending on the particular category, you can adjust the volume levels for the speaker outlet and microphone, turn on the night vision feature, switch to another LAN, select from different time zones, adjust the motion and audio detection sensitivity, plus create a link to a Google account in order to receive email alerts of possible activity.
When viewing the live streaming feed from the camera on a smartphone, you have the option of landscape or portrait orientation. Personally, I preferred landscape orientation rather than the letterbox view offered with portrait mode. Video clips and still images can be captured and stored on an SD card. A two-way talk feature can be used to communicate with whoever is in the vicinity of the camera, while soothing music can be played if the camera is being used as a baby monitor. Other options allow you to adjust brightness and opt for the highest video setting of 1080p if your smartphone can handle such quality.
All in all, the Samsung Techwin SmartCam HD unit is easy to set up and delivers reasonable video quality, without necessarily matching the definition delivered by some competiting products. However, you do get a wide range of features that provide a greater functionality, which could be the deciding factor for some. Michael Fereday
Plenty of features but requires stability assistance.