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Kaylon Mackey photo
Ukraine, Kiev
1 Level
722 Review
35 Karma

Review on πŸ“· Amcrest 4MP UltraHD Indoor WiFi Camera with Pan/Tilt, Two-Way Audio, Night Vision – Remote Viewing & 4-Megapixel @30FPS by Kaylon Mackey

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great camera for baby/pet monitoring!

I have had several different types of these cameras over the years. My first step into this camera format was when I bought a Foscam FI8918W as a baby monitor for my first child 10 years ago. These little cameras have come a long way! I love that this camera is powered by a standard USB connection, unlike the wall power supplies on my older cameras. It would be nice to have POE, but at this price point, there's probably a limit to how much technology can be packed into this small package. As a professional user, I set up and use the camera with the Amcrest View Pro app. . The instructions begin with the camera on a wired network before connecting it over Wi-Fi. Installation and initial configuration was very easy and straightforward. This is my 7th Amcrest camera in my house and I have recommended it to many other members of my extended family and friends. Barely familiar with the View Pro app, two-way audio worked great and PTZ controls worked flawlessly too. The View Pro app made it easy to view footage or a live camera on my smartphone. The camera's web interface is similar to other Amcrest offerings and I'm pleased to see that like other recent Amcrest cameras, the image stream does not require any additional plugins or settings and is displayed immediately. The web interface was consistent and easy to use in my opinion compared to other cameras I have. I configured the camera to detect motion and record it internally to the SD card via the web interface. It had no problem recognizing a 64GB micro SD card that I grabbed from the shelf and put in. For some reason I couldn't get the detection sensitivity graph to work properly in my current version of Edge or Chrome, and it would be nice if the PTZ function ran slower when the speed was set to "1", even at one quick short mouse click . The camera moved further than I expected. I also connected it to my Milestone DVR system for my own use. For some reason the Milestone Camera Wizard couldn't find the camera over my Wi-Fi connection, but I did find it the first time I connected to a wired connection. Use Milestone DVR software to set up the camera over a wired connection, then update the address to the correct IP address if connected over Wi-Fi. I was able to test the mic through the Milestone and hear the audio from the camera, but I couldn't get the speaker to output audio to the camera or get the PTZ feature to work. I believe this is a configuration issue on my end. I do not recommend connecting the camera to a dedicated DVR via Wi-Fi as it requires a lot of bandwidth with H264 or H265. I've had the camera for a few weeks now and my wife and I mainly use it to monitor our furry babies. (cats) ran around the house while we were away. It worked great and the IR night vision had no problem illuminating the room the camera was aimed at. I highly recommend these types of cameras over the traditional "baby monitor" style devices that can be found in major stores for over $200 since these cameras are available at home or on the go using your cellular data. As an IT professional, I recommend Amcrest cameras to people in my organization who are looking for advice on child and pet cameras where this camera is successful, or other offerings from Amcrest when something with a stronger focus on security is needed.

Pros
  • New
Cons
  • Almost OK