Compro Technologies IP540 PTZ Camera
by Cameron Butterfield on October 12, 2010 9:03 PM EST- Posted in
- IP cameras
- camera
- camcorder
- Gadgets
The IP540 is a HD camera, and it definitely has high resolution support to be considered a high definition camera. However it does not take images in a widescreen or 16:9 aspect ratio format, like the recently released Microsoft Lifecam 720p products. Instead, it utilizes the standard squarish aspect ratios of 160x120, 320x240, 640x480, and 1280x1024 which is still very common for devices of this type (as they are mostly used in a PC environment). Overall, it improves compatibility with a lot of camera software that do not yet support 16:9 webcam feeds. With a widescreen aspect ratio, feeds sometime end up looking compressed due to the aspect ratio not being recognized.
In order to judge of the image clarity and quality, some sample images were analyzed (they are reproduced below). The colors are reproduced with fairly good accuracy in medium light conditions.
Click to enlarge
The IP540 particularly excels at functioning in little or no light environments. Thanks to the 12 IR LEDs, It was capable of making pitch black rooms appear clearly, albeit in monochrome.
Click to enlarge
Video
The Compro camera supports a wide range of output containers and codecs depending on how the device is utilized. Recording manually from the web viewer saves the video in a MKV container using either MPEG-4 (DivX) or H.264. If event triggers such as motion or audio detection are used, the automatic recording is saved in the AVI container. With ComproView, the feed is exported in the WMV format. The WMV export can handle variable frame rates and required a new software update (as will be noted in the next section.)
| Video | |
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Video Compression |
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Resolutions |
160x120, 320 x 240, 640 x 480, 1280 x 1024 |
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Frame Rate |
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Video Streaming |
Dual H.264, MPEG-4 or MJPEG Video Streams |
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Image Setting |
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fausto412 - Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - link
Can we get a round up so we know what else the competition offers. i can't compare and see what i get at different price levels without a roundup.ganeshts - Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - link
I understand :) This is only our 2nd IP camera review. Look for a roundup towards the later part of the year.Right now, there are two options which we have used and tested :
1. Dropcam Echo : Perfect for the AnandTech readers' parents and those who don't want to read up manuals and documentation. Cost : $279 ; has cloud based support, easy sharing with friends by email address with sharing settings as private or public for a given time duration (all the stuff that comes in with cloud based services)
2. Compro IP540 : Perfect for the tech users who don't want to trust their security to the cloud. More business oriented compared to the Dropcam. Cost : $200
Zoomer - Friday, October 15, 2010 - link
Congrats compro for this major coup. :) However, activex support seems a little...quaint these days.Cameron Butterfield, what about reviewing these DVR-like systems that uses analog cameras? They seem to provide a ton of channels, record to hdd, etc, for a very affordable price. Like $300 for a 4 way system with recording capability.
gifpaste - Thursday, October 21, 2010 - link
Awesome! Looking forward to your roundupnanfy - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - link
This camera looks great but it isn't even for sale yet. Its on notify from mwave. They also have a PoE version and the optical zoom version but there is no place to buy them from yet.Dk0524 - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - link
Hi All,I have seen the Compro NC570 in stock at www.ipcam-central.com. That's the Compro HD camera with 12x optical zoom, Pan and Tilt and night vision.
Seems to be a quite powerful offering.
ganeshts - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - link
I am quite sure there must be some encryption for the stream.Cameron has the review unit in hand, and he will respond ASAP.
cbutters - Thursday, October 14, 2010 - link
Although there is obviously username/password protection on the interface, this camera does not currently support encryption on the stream, compro plans to offer https connection in future professional camera lines starting Q1 2011.nanfy - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - link
Some video samples with both IR on and off in 640x480@30fps and 1280x1024@15 fps would be nice.Thanks
vol7ron - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - link
agreed. also, is it just one camera per package? or are there packages that come with 4-8 like other comparable devices?