INTRODUCTION

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

       Where i live most people leave their houses to go on vacations between the months of July-August/November-December and so it comes as very little surprise that the amount of burglaries gets to increase many times over during those 4 months of the year (remember home alone?). However even though this is a known fact to everyone only a handful of people i know have installed IP camera systems and motion sensors inside their houses while even less have complete security systems connected directly with the local police department and/or private security agencies. What really surprised me however after asking a few of them is that most of them (if not all) are not even aware that they can build a surveillance system on their own without much fuzz and certainly without spending much in the process. So since Christmas holidays are just around the corner today we will be testing yet another brand new IP Camera model, this time however an indoor one by TRENDnet the TV-IP672WI.

 

   TRENDnet is a global provider of award winning networking solutions to small and medium size business and home users. Building networking solutions since 1990, TRENDnet enables users to share broadband access, multimedia content and networked peripherals for true anywhere connectivity. TRENDnet's diverse product line includes Wireless, Fiber, Switch, Gigabit, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM), Internet Camera, Print Server, Powerline, Bluetooth, Storage Server, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and Multimedia Accessories. Based in Torrance, California, TRENDnet maintains branch offices in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Central America, South America, and Asia. TRENDnet’s management system is ISO 9001:2008 certified (click here to view certificate). TRENDnet emphasizes continual improvement as an essential component of its quality management system. This ensures rigorous process standards across the entire organization with respect product development, product quality and all other pertinent enterprise functions. TRENDnet's 250-plus product portfolio is distributed in over 125 countries. The TRENDnet brand is consistently recognized for high quality, exceptional performance and professional support.

 

   The main difference between indoor and outdoor IP cameras is the housing material and so whereas outdoor models feature weatherproof/vandal proof aluminum/metal IP66/67 certified housings (some even feature heat/cold air systems for extremely harsh environments) indoor models (the majority anyways) come with just a basic hard plastic housing which naturally is more than enough for indoor use. Personally although i understand that keeping the cost of a unit into a minimum is extremely important (and so naturally hard plastic comes much cheaper) i hope that in the near future we will see IP camera models suitable for both indoors and outdoors use. Moving the product at hand the pan/tilt TV-IP672WI IP camera features a maximum resolution of 1280x800 pixels, can record video in H.264/MPEG4/MJPEG/3GPP formats, comes ready with night vision mode (7.5m), has both wireless b/g/n and wired 10/100Mbps connectivity and can also store images and clips on a Micro SD card. I always liked pan/tilt IP Cameras so without further delay let's see just what TRENDnet has in store for us with the TV-IP672WI.

 

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRENDnet ships the TV-IP672WI inside an black/orange medium sized box with a large product picture at the front right above several icons representing its main features.

 

The installation steps along with two product images used to showcase the units components are placed at the right side.

 

At the left side TRENDnet has placed the features and bundle contents lists.

 

Several pictures and a few words about the product in 7 languages is what we see at the rear.

 

 

 

The TV-IP672WI IP Camera is placed inside two thick pieces of Styrofoam with the wall base placed ontop and the rest of the bundle inside another cardboard box.

 

 

 

So along with the TV-IP672WI and the metal wall base you will also receive the wireless antenna, software CD, AC power adapter, quick installation guide, Ethernet cable and a small pouch with all the necessary wall mounting screws.

 

 

 

THE TV-IP672WI

 

 

 

 

 

 

The glossy white TV-IP672WI wireless IP camera is quite small for a pan/tilt/night vision model and measures just 113mm in length, 113mm in width and 130mm in height while weighing a total of 515g.

 

 

 

The 1/4" CMOS sensor can record video of up 1280x800p@30fps at an horizontal angle of 51.8 degrees, zoom up to 4x (digital) and thanks to the 6 IR LEDs placed around it the TV-IP672WI has an effective night vision range of up to 7.5m (it could be better but in our tests it did better than just 7.5m).

 

 

 

TRENDnet has placed their logo on both sides of the unit’s upper body. 

 

 

 

At the lower front we see the WPS/LNK and Power LEDs (blue and red/pink LEDs), the Omni-directional microphone (small hole) and the privacy button. 

 

 

 

Ventilation holes are placed on both the lower and upper body of the TV-IP672WI.

 

 

 

The company logo along with the product name is placed at the rear of the tilt section (lens part). 

 

 

 

Moving at the lower rear end we see the Ethernet 10/100 port, DC power plug, WPS button, line out mini-jack (audio out), reset button, Micro SD slot and the antenna connector.

 

 

 

A nice touch is the anti-glide rubber coating of the entire base which makes it ideal for placement pretty much everywhere. However if you decide to use the wall base you will need to remove the pre-cut spots. 

 

 

 

As a pan/tilt (PTZ) IP camera the TV-IP672WI can move an total of 340 degrees (170 on each side) around its horizontal axis (pan) and a total of 115 degrees (90 degrees up, 25 degrees down) around its vertical axis.

 

 

 

Overall the TV-IP672WI looks and feels great (would like to see more IR LEDs at the front but what can you do) but the time has come to test what it can do.

 

 

 

WEB INTERFACE

 

 

 

 

 

 

The TV-IP672WI is a new product and so up until this day TRENDnet has not released a firmware update, however that may soon change so i really suggest checking their support page before all else.

 

 

 

As with pretty much every IP camera out there the best way to configure and use the TV-IP672WI is via your preferred web browser and as always the very first screen you will see has a large live feed area (you will need to play with the image settings a bit to get the best results).

 

 

 

The first time you enter setup the setup wizard will launch and after you are done configuring the basics it will require roughly 60s to store the new settings and restart the device.

 

 

 

Under the system tab you can change the current password, add/remove new user accounts, enable/disable authentication protocols, adjust the OSD settings and enable/disable the privacy mode (you can also use the front button for that).

 

 

 

The network tab is quite forthcoming so through here you can set the IP address (manually or automatically through DHCP), open ports, enable/disable UPnP, enable/disable the Bonjour service, enable/disable wireless mode, set the wireless security and finally enable/disable the dynamic DNS service. 

 

 

 

In the video/audio tab you can adjust the presets for the 4 available profiles, enable/disable night vision mode, enable/disable audio in/out and also adjust all of the image settings to get the result you want. 

 

 

 

Most of the settings contained under the action tab have to do with recording on the Micro SD slot.

 

 

 

You can set the motion detect area, motion sensitivity and enable/disable recording in the motion detection tab.

 

 

 

The tools tab allows you to save the current configuration onto a file, load a configuration from a file, reset the device to the factory settings, reboot the IP camera and perform firmware updates. 

 

 

 

The device logs and information is accessible from the advanced tab.

 

 

 

SECURVIEW PRO SOFTWARE

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRENDnet packs their latest version of the SecurView Pro surveillance software with the TV-IP672WI (one of the most complete ones available in the market currently).

 

 

 

Once you launch the SecurView Pro software suite the wizard will take you through the steps required to detect and setup the IP camera. You can also setup the SecurView Pro software to be used as a broadcast server allowing access the feed from pretty much anywhere.

 

 

 

 

After you complete all the steps you will see the live feed on the main box (by default the SecurView Pro is divided into 5 small boxes and one large one).

 

 

 

You can divide the program screen into 16 small boxes each of which can be used with 2 IP cameras so you can control up to 32 IP cameras from the SecurView Pro software suite.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

   PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) IP cameras always have and will be my favorite ones since they allow you to cover a much wider/larger area than normal stationary models without compromising in quality and features. Certainly interior IP camera models in general don't feature the best possible quality materials because quite honestly they don't really need the best build quality (although i agree it would be a nice feature to have). The TV-IP672WI is one such model and although the hard plastic glossy exterior could never withstand harsh weather conditions it's more than enough for indoor use. The range of the night vision mode may not be the best we've ever encountered with a similar model over the years but the advertised 7.5m should be sufficient for indoor use although in our tests the 6 IR LEDs managed to slightly illuminate a distance of well over 20m. Using the wireless N mode was very easy and made it possible for us to control the TV-IP672WI from a distance of 16m with 3 concrete walls in between. My only objection is with the default image quality of the unit which was way too dark and although we did manage to bring it to good levels by adjusting the image settings (had no problem with the resolution) some people may not bother to do that (yes it happens) so i hope TRENDnet releases a firmware update to correct that. Finally the omni-directional microphone worked very well (better than most IP cameras we've tested in the past) while the SecurView Pro software suite is really filled with valuable features one wouldn't expect to find for free.

 

   TRENDnet has always followed an aggressive price policy with their products and so you can currently find the TV-IP672WI Megapixel Wireless Day/Night PTZ IP camera for USD231.83 inside the USA (Amazon) and at around 190Euros inside the EU. The price may not seem low to some of you out there and you can always opt for a stationary model to save a few bucks/euros but once you've used a good PTZ IP camera i really don't think you can ever go back to using a stationary model, trust me on that. Well not much left to say so if you're out looking for a good cost-effective indoor IP camera and you could use the wider range covered by an pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) model then you should seriously consider getting our Gold award winner, the TV-IP672WI. 

 

PROS

- 1280x800 CMOS Sensor
- Size
- Pan 340°/Tilt 115°/Zoom 4x
- Night Mode (7.5m)
- Wireless b/g/n
- Two-Way Audio
- H.264/MPEG/MJPEG Support
- Works With IP Cam Viewer Lite/Basic/Pro For Android
- SecurView Pro Software
- Price (For Some)

 

 

CONS

- Default Image Quality Settings
- Plastic Glossy Exterior (Not Very Sturdy)