Panasonic BB-HCM311A Network Camera w/ 2-Way Audio

Good products. Very reliable. I used many brand network webcams this is the best one.

Gotta make this short so I'm using bullets. I've owned two of these for over two years. One is used as a grandma cam, the other a dog cam. I've tried the High-end Toshiba and Axis and sent them back because good recording software is critical for later review.

PRO's
- Absolutely flawless reliability.
- Great Included Recording Software (Far better then Toshiba & Axis)
- Motion Sensor setting are spot-on and highly configurable.
- Easy to setup free DDNS service.
- Regular and reliable BIOS and software updates from Panasonic Japan.
- Great Web Management Screens and Camera Monitoring/Control Screen.
- The two-way audio works well and comes in very handy on occasion (I can talk to people at my front door though a window... way cool!)
- SD slot is great for basic buffered image recording (works well as a backup if your pc running the recording software gacks or looses connectivity for some reason.

CON's
No Cons, you just have to consider if you gotta have/need the newer features of the latest versions of this model (Core website: http://panasonic.co.jp/pcc/products/en/netwkcam/ )

If you need:
Outdoor Use: Go with Model 331
Outdoor Wireless: 371
Ceiling/Dome Mounted: 403

Newer MPEG-4 & JPEG Models:

MP4 & JPEG Output: 511 (Jpeg better for phone viewing, MP4 for not having to download the Panasonic java applet as well as having universal shareable file format).

Outdoor version: 531
Higher Res & Multi-point/adaptive auto-contrast adjustment: 515

Just decide what features you really need (vs. want) and you won't go wrong.

Hope this helps!

I bought this camera so that the grandparents of my children can watch and hear them play from the other side of the earth. The benefits of something like this is that it is very simple: just connect, set a few things, and anyone with the right login/password can look at the camera and audio streamed live in a web browser. I was looking for 3 things: ease of use, quality, and featurs, in this order.

Ease of Use:
Ease of use was the most important thing to me because I've tried the route of sharing out a webcam on a computer. The results were poor to say the least. And leaving a computer turned-on 24/7 seemed like a waste. This network camera is another story altogether. It's a rectangular box and the only connections needed are the power and ethernet cables. If you want to hear what the watcher have to say, you can connect an external speaker to the output jack. Network configuration was very easy as the setup software quickly found the camera on the network as soon as I connected it. After a few quick configurations and installing an ActiveX control on the browser, I had fully streamed video/audio on the LAN. Getting the grandparents setup amounted to sending them an email with the URL, login id/password, and to say "Install/Run" when the ActiveX pop-up is shown. In less than a minute, they were seeing live footage of my livingroom complete with rampaging kids. The camera consumes very little power so it can be left on even when no one is watching it.

Quality:
At this price point, quality is often the casualty of tradeoffs as manufacturers try to cram in more eye-catching features. But I have the opinion that no amount of features will make up for poorly exposed, blury, noisy, or jerky video. Packed with a CCD sensor, the BB-HCM311A offers video quality that is better than the cheaper CMOS type. In fact, it uses the same CCD sensor on the much more expensive cameras in Panasonic's line. The camera also offers 15fps at 640x480 and a full 30fps at 320x240. You will have to spend much more money to get appreciably better video performance. The stream feed produced by this camera is also very efficient, able to provide the full rated fps when viewed through another broad-band connection. While I don't know what the grandparents are seeing half a world away, they report that the video is fluid at 320x240 and "less so" at 640x480. The audio is voice-grade, about as clear as the best local telephone service you can imagine. There is about a second of delay in the stream, but the video and audio are in-sync. Given the relative price of this camera, I am very happy with its performance. The build quality of the camera is also good judging by the look and feel of the case and pan/tile mechanism.

Features:
Between quality and features, I preferred quality versus features. Two key features that I would have liked but went without are optical zoom, and wireless network connection. However, optical zoom is typically only available on much more expensive cameras if you want to maintain the video quality. I also decided against wireless network connection because Panasonic only offers WEP security, which is completely unacceptable for my WPA-AES secured wireless LAN. Instead, I purchased a Netgear "game adapter" that is essentially an ethernet-to-802.11b/g bridge with built in WPA-AES security. While this solution is not as simple and elegant, but it cost less and is far more secure. Aside from these two features, the camera has all of the other features I was looking for: remote controlled pan/tilt, audio, camera position presets, and encrypted streaming. The included mount is simple but effective, allowing for easy adjustment of the camera's default position.

I was initially kind of weary about spending this much money for what is essentially a webcam. But having used this camera for a few weeks, I think the price is well worth what this unit does and does so well.

I looked for a camera such as this one for quite a while, don't be fooled by the rating for your digital zoom, it pixles out so bad after just one or two times magification. If, I had known how bad it was I wouldn't have bought two of them. Only buy IP Cameras with Optical Zoom's.Learning was expensive.......