Trendnet TV-IP512WN review
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
Trendnet produce many very good and also very affordable ip cameras, in the last years I have used a lot of them in different projects that I have been involved in. A few months ago I review Trendnet TV-IP100W-N here on the page, it is a great camera, so I was quite very excited when I was offered to test and review the successor to exactly that camera the Trendnet TV-IP512WN
Trendnet TV-IP512WN and Trendnet TV-IP512P
Trendnet TV-IP512WN is a ip camera with allot of new functions never seen in any camera from Trendnet before, is has been updates in countless ways compared to the Trendnet TV-IP100-WN. You can get it in 2 different versions, TV-IP512P with Ethernet connector that support PoE and TV-IP512WN with a standard Ethernet connector and built-in wireless network radio. Please notice that TV-IP512P supports PoE, that means that you only need one cable to the camera as it gets the power from the Ethernet cable.
The wireless version TV-IP512WN, the one I have had for test, has a built-in 802.11N radio. The extra bandwidth you get with the N radio makes it possible for the camera to send video in a higher frame rate.
Trendnets camera now a days are made in all white plastic, and TV-IP512WN
is not any different, it feels rock solid and has mount holes both on top and underneath for the bracket also included in the box, this way you can mount the camera to the ceiling or use it on the table. Trendnet also put a wall bracket for mounting the camera on a wall and all necessary screws are also in the box.
TV-IP512WN has replaceable 6 mm. lens with manual focus, the lens socket is made of metal and seems very solid even though it is not something that needs to be changed often.
On the backside of the camera are all the connectors the camera uses, it is Power, network, audio and also the two antennas are mounted here. There are also terminals for external add-ons and for input and output ports.
Setup
TV-IP512WN has as must other IP cameras a built-in Web server that handles
all configuration of the camera, so all configurations is done on this web server. The first time you turn on the camera you need assign it an ip address, this is done by running a tool on supplied CDROM that can find and configure the wired network on the camera. It took me only a few seconds to get contact to the camera and watch the first pictures from it.
Wireless Network
I you buy the WN version, the one I have for test, you probably want to use the wireless radio instead of the wired, this way you can place it everywhere as long as you got power and are within the range of you wireless network,
and you can move around as you feel like.
All configuration of the wireless network is done via the web server so you need to have it connected to the wired network the first time you use it or you can use the WPS button on the camera if your router supports it. WPS stands for Wireless Protected Setup and makes it is a much easier way of configuring the camera. First you logon on to your Routers webpage and press “add WPS device” then you push the WPS button on the camera and thats it.
Video Quality
TV-IP512-WN records video in MPEG4 format up to a resolution of 640×480 in a frame rate up to 30 frames per seconds. This is until now unseen quality
for a camera of this type and price. Most IP camera needs a lot of light for the picture quality to be decent and that also seems to be the case with Tv-IP512WN. According to Trendnet the camera can work down to 0.5 lux but then the picture is very blurry. I think TV-IP512WN delivers a great picture much better that TV-IP100W-N.
2 ways audio
Trendnet has put in a microphone in TV-IP512WN so you can hear what is going on were the camera is, and if you put in a speaker in the speaker plug on the back of the camera you can talk to people near the camera, it is done from the website of the camera. I really like this feature, you can use the camera as a door phone or maybe just sit at work and yell at the dog.
Add-ons
TV-IP512-WN has a replaceable lens, you can replace it with a nigh view
version. A night view lens is a lens that can see in complete dark by using infrared light. The Night view lens is connected to the terminal on the back of the camera.
There are also 2 input and 2 output ports on terminals that can be used for a door sensor or heat sensor to detect movement that can trigger the cameras record function when a door opens or a person moves in front of the camera.
Recording
With most IP cameras you need to have a place to put your recording to be able to record, this us usually a PC, NAS or FTP server, but Trendnet TV-IP512WN can actually be a completely standalone unit. On the side of TV-IP512WN there is a SD slot for a secure digital flash card up to 16 gb. where the camera can save the recording. This is a great improvement to the camera, and something I have not seen before on a IP camera. You can also save the recordings to a ftp server, a NAS, a pc and there is countless ways to configure triggers for when and when not to record. On the supplied cd-rom there was a new version of IPview that installs on a PC and basically make it a very advance surveillance station.
Conclusion
Trendnet TV-IP512WN is a great ip camera, it is without doubt the best ip camera I have ever played with to date. The setup with very fast and the camera has been improved in countless ways from its successor. I really like the way to record directly on a SD card as a standalone camera, it makes it an ideal camera for the summerhouse or other places where there is no internet or maybe even network.
I have not run to any problems of any kind in week I have spend with the camera and I can clearly recommend Trendnet TV-IP512WN for home or business use.
