Protecting and thinking about your loved ones is your number one priority. Still, you might not have a Cloud Camera at home. The thing is you might not think you need one until you have it. And most of the time it’s too late. I have been using TP link NC450 at home for the 15 days to avoid that, and I must say I am planning to get one for myself.
The NC450 HD, Pan/Tilt Wi-Fi Camera, has a 1 Megapixel CMOS sensor (F:2.0 / f:3.6mm) which can record HD video (1280×720 pixels / H.264 video compression) at up to 30fps and with a field of view of 75 degrees. Its most reliable “pitch” is not really it’s video quality but rather its extra features so aside the Pan (360 degrees) / Tilt (150 degrees) functionality thanks to its motorized dome, its 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, PoE (Power Over Ethernet) support, Night vision mode via 850nm IR LEDs (illuminate up to 26 feet) and its microSD card slot which can be used to store both videos and pictures the NC450 also offers two-way audio so not only can you hear what’s happening on the other end via a built-in microphone but you can even speak through an integrated speaker. If these weren’t enough, however, TP-Link has also made it possible for the NC450 to send you both motion and sound alerts two features I don’t really see with similar models. The NC450 also supports remote cloud access via TP-Link’s tpCamera Android and iOS app.
What’s in the Box?
All pieces of the bundle are wrapped inside plastic bags and placed inside a piece of cardboard with several compartments. Along with the NC450 HD Pan/Tilt Wi-Fi Camera, you will also get a wall base with its mounting screws, detachable antenna, PoE adapter, AC power adapter, power extension cable, RJ45 Ethernet cable, warranty information papers and a quick start guide. The NC450 is a dome type camera that measures 104mm in height, 109mm in depth, and 104mm in width. As expected from one such model the lens of the NC450 don’t feature optical zoom (the NC450 does feature digital zoom). Two small perforated sections are placed on both sides of the camera (probably for the speaker/s). At the rear we find the antenna port, microSD card slot, RJ45 Ethernet port, DC in and the WPS/reset button. TP-Link has placed a total of 8 IR LEDs around the lens (850nm).
TP-Link iOS App
The application will also show you how to connect the camera to your network and will ask you if you want to use it wired or wirelessly. After that, you will be asked to name your camera and select your time zone. From the main application screen, you can access all your cameras and the video and picture archives. You can pan and tilt the camera by swapping your finger onto the feed, and as you can see here, we got up to 106KB/s in bitrate. From within the settings tab, you can turn on/off the activity LED, change the time zone, and upgrade the current firmware. Here you can see both day and night quality when recording in my living room. You can also zoom in by tapping your finger twice on a location on the screen. The whole setup is actually quite easy, and it didn’t take me even 5 mins to understand the entire thing and how it works.
When i got hold of NC450, the first thing that caught my attention was its Pan/Tilt capability since it’s really tough to find this quality for masses. Panning and tilting feature is best used when you are not at home, and you have to watch your pet in a large room. Just as heads up, I did notice there is some lag after giving the instruction to pan/tilt, but it’s not a deal breaker. The 2-way communication feature works very well, although I have to admit that I’d like to see a slightly louder speaker than used here. As for the wireless function, I didn’t spend much time testing it, but from when I did, I can’t say that I was impressed with signal quality even when just 2 rooms away.
With a price tag currently of under 400 AED inside Noon.com. The NC450 HD Pan/Tilt Wi-Fi Camera is a great value device. The video and image quality can be a let down for people looking for Full HD quality, but then at this price range, you will be getting a pretty good deal. NC450 offers more than what I had expected from such a camera in that budget, and for that, it gets my thumbs up.
