Dropcam Echo : Home Security Meets the Cloud
by Ganesh T S on August 11, 2010 7:50 AM EST- Posted in
- Gadgets
- IP cameras
- camera
- camcorder
The Dropcam Echo makes no effort to hide the fact that the hardware is actually the AXIS M1031-W. The front of the camera shows the AXIS logo in addition to Dropcam's.
Our main peeve with the M1031-W is that it is a VGA class camera. With Logitech introducing a 720p IP camera at a similar price point, the supported resolution of the M1031-W is indeed a minus point. However, for people on the go who rely mainly on streaming to the iPhone, QVGA (320x240) streams have a sharp enough quality. Despite the camera itself supporting VGA resolution, Dropcam makes it work at QVGA. As Dropcam is focused on the cloud experience and bandwidth optimization, the initial viewing is QVGA. Higher resolutions (upto 640x480) will probably turn up in a firmware update and it will not be necessary to buy a new camera.
Compared to the MJPEG used by similar cameras in its class, the M1031-W (as configured in the Dropcam Echo) encodes video in L4.1 Baseline H264 and 2 channel audio in AAC. Audio and video bitrates are around 80 Kbps and 60 Kbps respectively. A look at the datasheet specifications of the M1031-W reveals that the hardware has some pretty nifty features like two-way audio and privacy masks which don’t seem to be enabled in Dropcam’s firmware yet.
From an external perspective, the M1031-W lacks the PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) control found in the M1054 (which happens to be the 720p model). Also, the lens is fixed focus in nature, with a horizontal viewing angle of 47 degrees. The PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor) delivers excellent motion detection even in very low lighting conditions. Light from the camera also helps capture images in this situation.
The AXIS M1031-W can be had for $275 or so, but AnandTech advises investing a couple of dollars more and getting the Dropcam instead. The Axis software front end is, unfortunately, not very user friendly. Dropcam’s major innovation is the development of the firmware frontend from the ground up. This interfaces with a cloud backend, which is covered in detail in the next section.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
24 Comments
View All Comments
papounet - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
Very interesting product, yet one caveat:your security system relies on Internet being up; If you go on vacation and switch off the mains, you won't have either current for the cam, nor for Internet.
in europe, several companies are trying to lure small business into setting up IP surveillance cameras, intrusion detection and transmission onto a smartphone (on demand only, in order not to burst the data traffic cap). IP camera like the Axis) have both intrusion detection software onboard and a hardware current loop switch (which could be used for intrusion detector).
the largest issue with video surveillance as i see it: (on my remote screen ;-)) is the lack of support for the megapixel cameras such as the Axis 207MW which have been around for a decent price for some time now.
I highly suspect an artificial restriction by manufacturer of NAS on entry-level systems
I have setup a surveillance DVR 24/7 with a Qnap 219 and 2 * Axis 207MW with few issues except that the QNAP F/W for that hardware does not allow the use of the camera in megapixel res: i am stuck with 15fps 640*480 AVI recording
Yet, using curl, I was able to reach 10 fps at 1280*960 in JPG mode directly from the linux shell.
I am looking seriously into switching to synology because of their more honest way to handle additionnal camera through licenses
strikeback03 - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
Sounds like they have a good start, but I wonder if this model will be sustainable in the future. If a user installed more than one of these, or if/when they produce HD models, the bandwidth usage could quickly get out of hand for tiered access plans. Perhaps for a more extensive home installation they could offer some type of a base station, either a USB device or some type of nettop, that could handle the recording functionality of local cameras. This device could integrate its own access point, so that setting up individual cameras would be as easy as plugging in over USB or ethernet for an initial setup, then putting them on location. They could also then make the mobile app location aware, so that video would only be streamed to their servers when the primary phone was away from home, or on request. Then all other video, such as when they are sleeping and not watching their phone, can be stored locally and not take up bandwidth.rcc - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
The camera itself handles motion detection very differently. If set to motion detection the camera doesn't output data at all, until you have a motion event. Sounds like this is one of the features they disablled so they could charge you for continual recording.One of the advantages of IP cameras in general, and one of the things that makes them a bit more expensive that Analog cameras, is that there is a fair amount of intelligence built into the cameras for functions like this.
Axis makes many decent IP cameras, this one is near the bottom of their line, as expected given the price point that people will want.
Since drop cam is not making the camera, I think they should concentrate on the "cloud" end of things, and setup, and let the consumer pick from a range of cameras.
jmke - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
Cut power & internet connection; if possible from a street service panel accessible to anyone with a large cutter.Rick83 - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
And wake everyone who has a UPS in the entire block?Because figuring out which internet connection goes where isn't that easy.
And I expect the same for electricity.
And then you have to hope that there isn't a backup battery and backup wireless internet connection....
Probably not worth the hassle for a quick enter and grab....
Roland00 - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
But since it operates on wifi, and wifi is a very select range of frequencies usually 2.4 ghz or 5 ghz and sometimes 3.6 ghz, wouldn't it be possible to "overload" those bands in a short range with something that produces enough frequency noise.Thus anything that isn't using cables won't be able to communicate. Doesn't matter if the ip cameras are storing there info locally or to the cloud, if you can't talk to the router than the effectively can't communicate.
mados123 - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
This was on one of those CSI episodes where they jammed the signal. WiFi jammers do exists like any other wireless signal blocking.http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/...
rcc - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
As I recall, that camera also has an Ethernet port, and works off POE if Dropcam supports it.Hook up the POE switch, router, and modem to a decent UPS and you are ready to go through basic power outages. If you are really concerned about someone cutting your Internet connection, Talk to one of the companies that provides video over 3G cell phone networks. Pretty pricey tho.
strikeback03 - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
Would something like this even be valid evidence? Even if you had this camera running and recording an area where something was swiped, assuming the criminal took basic precautions such as covering their face and any other distinguishing marks all you would get from a VGA video is a basic idea of their size. Anything that is going to help bring a criminal to justice is going to come from more traditional investigation.I would imagine the use of this is more as a nannycam, or for example if holes are being dug in your yard and you want to see if it is the neighbor's dog, or a situation like the author described.
rcc - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
Look at the bright side. Reviewing the footage (byteage?) would show the forensics guys where to look for more evidence.