Panasonic BB-HCM371A Outdoor Wireless Network Camera

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 7.5 x 5.5 inches ; 12.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009PD0ZI
• Item model number: BB-HCM371A
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #22 in Camera & Photo > Surveillance Cameras > Bullet Cameras
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

See There When You Can't Be There
These cameras can be viewed and controlled from a standard Web browser, video display, or even a compatible cell phone or PDA. Place them in your home, office, vacation home or almost anywhere else that you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required on location! They are easy to install and operate and require no additional software for the PC that you're viewing them on. Each camera also comes with a free Web address, which can track the camera automatically. All you need is a regular Web browser to view them on your PC, as all of the other required software, including control software (TCP/UDP) and e-mail software (SMTP), is already inside the camera.

802.11b/g Wireless Communication & Ethernet Connection - No PC Required
This camera can communicate wirelessly with standard 802.11b/g wireless devices, allowing the flexibility to install and operate the camera without running network wires, and utilizing SSID filtering and powerful 64/128/152 bit WEP encryption helps to protect your wireless network from illegal intrusion. Since the camera is attached through an Ethernet connection (or router) and power source, you don't need a computer at each location you want monitored. Each camera has a built-in web server with IP address. To view the images on a PC, simply open a graphics-capable Web browser and type in the cameras specified, password optional Internet address.

Can Be Used Outdoors
This model was designed for outdoor operation, and meet both IPX4 and UL6500 standards of outdoor equipment. They operate down to -4F and up to 122F, and are splash resistant for wet-weather operation.

Two-Way Voice Communication
Use of the built-in microphone and a separately purchased amp-equipped speaker enables two-way voice communication (transceiver system) between the network camera and a PC used to monitor the camera image. In addition to conventional monitoring of images and sound, voice messages can be transmitted from the PC to the network camera. Voice transmission and reception can be switched easily from the PC used to monitor the image.

CCD Sensor for Enhanced Image Expression
This camera features a CCD (Charged Couple Device) for sharp, enhanced image expression. The image refreshing speed (maximum) has been increased to 30 images per second for smoother displays of moving images.

Record Directly onto SD Cards
The BB-HCM371A features an SD Memory Card slot for recording images captured by the network camera directly onto an SD Memory Card (sold separately).
     * Voices cannot be recorded.

Simple Ethernet Connection - No PC Required
Our cameras are attached through an Ethernet connection (or router) and power source, you don't need a computer at each location you want monitored. Each camera has a built-in Web server with IP address. To view the camera's images on a PC, simply open a graphics-capable Web browser and type in the cameras specified Internet address(password optional).

Control the Camera Remotely
Using a standard Web browser, video display, or even a compatible cell phone or PDA, you can control the movement of the camera. There is 120º of Pan (left & right) movement and 65º of Tilt (up & down) movement available. You can also assign a "Home Position" that allows you to return the camera to a pre-designated shooting position. Up to eight shooting positions can be registered in advance, so you can aim the camera exactly where you want it. You can also click on the part of the image you want to see, and automatically bring that part to the center of the screen.

Record Only What You Want to Record
The camera can be set to automatically record video at certain times and certain speeds. In addition, with optional, external sensors attached to the camera, it is possible for the camera to email or record when triggered by motion, sound, light, timer, or even a push button. These convenient functions eliminate your need to constantly check the image.

Create Your Own Free Web Address
The FREE viewnetcam.com service allows you to create a personal Web address (e.g., http://bob.viewnetcam.com) at which your camera's live image can be found on the Internet. Access your Panasonic Network Camera live from virtually any Internet connection point around the world! Your Web browser is the only software you'll need. Here's how the camera and service works: special software embedded within your Panasonic Network Camera gives your camera the ability to locate your unique Internet address. No matter what kind of Internet connection you have or which Internet provider you use, the viewnetcam.com service will keep your camera's Internet address permanent.

Sensor Recording and Email Alerts
With the built-in heat sensor, the camera can be set to record and/or notify you by email when someone enters the room. It can even automatically move to a preset location when triggered, just in case someone was viewing a different part of the room.

Product Description

Outdoor Wireless Network Camera with 2-Way Audio

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent video webcam, February 19, 2006

By 

Nathaniel Gildersleeve "Nat" (Lakeshore, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic BB-HCM371A Outdoor Wireless Network Camera (Electronics)

I looked for a long time for a remote camera to keep an eye on a vacation residence. Reviews of other similar cameras like the Toshiba IK-WB11A were spotty at best especially when using in wireless mode. Panasonic cameras seemed to get good reliability reviews, so when an outdoor wireless-G came out I decided to give it a try. I had some difficulty getting the ports forwarded through my router. The directions are pretty sparse when it comes to setting up your router. I guess there is a fair variability in how each different router is set up. Once that problem was solved it has been rock solid. In the 4 months I have had it running, I only had to reset it once, after a 3 day power failure. Actually, I think it was the router, not the camera that needed to be reset, but I reset everything. It does everything it is advertised to do although I don't use the audio feature. The motion detection feature works better than other webcam security software that I have tried.

Addendum:
I have now had this installed over 4 years and it continues to function as good as the day I bought it. As it is in a vacation home and I am frequently gone, I have had some problems with loss access via the internet. It appears that this is secondary to flaky DSL router. I finally purchased a simple timer at the hardware store. It turns off the router every night at midnight and then turns it back on a minute later, effectively resetting the router each day. Since then no problems. It doesn't require a computer to be running so both the router and the camera boot back up following a power failure.

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Quality Camera, February 9, 2007

By 

W. Wong "mikmuck" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic BB-HCM371A Outdoor Wireless Network Camera (Electronics)

I am extremely unhappy with this camera. On the surface, the camera looks great--it offers SD recording, wireless connectivity, and remote management. But this is a really poorly made camera with poor supporting software. Firstly, it took me 3 nights trying to set this up--and I'm a long time techie. I followed the directions EXACTLY... got wired connection working fine... but the wireless was terrible. The camera kept telling me it wouldn't connect, even though I had all the settings correct. I even reset my wireless router to setup the most basic wireless LAN, and it still didn't work. Then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason it worked. Garbage. I still don't know why it worked.

The remote management was interesting and I like the fact that it let me control and move the camera remotely. It also lets you setup specific times to allow "triggers"... but the trigger software is spotty. The sensitivity controls for when the triggers set off didn't work well at all and it basically capture everything or nothing. Axis has much better event management software.

Finally, the picture quality is TERRIBLE. It claims that it can record up to VGA at 12 frames/sec, but it doesn't even COME close to that... at VGA it records maybe 1 or 2 frames/sec at best. Even at that quality there are noticeable artifacts and blurriness. I researched all the other cameras at this price level and amazingly this seemed that it had the best specs, but I suppose there's no subsitution for first hand experience. This is a terrible camera... I ended up buying the Axis 207w. It doesn't have movement capabilities, but for half the price, it's picture quality is 2x better and setup was a breeze.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth it, February 14, 2008

By 

Archer Koch (San Luis Obispo, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic BB-HCM371A Outdoor Wireless Network Camera (Electronics)

I've used this camera for the better part of a year now. I've used it in a variety of locations and conditions. It's presently mounted outdoors and transmitting wirelessly to a router sitting indoors 340' away. I use dynamic DNS to access the camera remotely via DSL. The framerate is decent, but still-picture quality (clarity) could definitely be better -- especially when the subject is moving. The motion detection is good and triggers reliably to upload images to an FTP site. The camera is very configurable, but best-suited for the tech-savvy. Plus, it's evident that a lot of the instructions written into the camera firmware were done by a non-native English-speaking individual. I've successfully viewed the camera remotely via my Motorola Q. Sound quality from the camera is very good. I can hear the frogs chirping in a nearby riverbed right now.
For what it's worth, I also own a very expensive Axis camera. The bottom line is that, although this camera has room for improvement, it still comes pretty close to justifying its cost.