Sony SNC-M3W Pan/Tilt IP Wireless Network Camera w/Audio

by Sony

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007SL4KU
• Item model number: SNC-M3W
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,425 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 12, 2005

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Home security and peace of mind don't come any easier than this. The Sony SNC-M3W Pan/Tilt IP Wireless Network Camera with Audio is an all-in-one mini network color video camera that allows you to monitor any room in your home wirelessly from the convenience of your PC's browser. And with the added pan/tilt feature, you won't need to install additional cameras to monitor those larger rooms or areas in your home. With an IP server and web page embedded in the camera itself, you don't need any special software, and a simple wizard makes set-up a breeze.

Sony's browser-based monitoring software is simple, yet powerful.

The camera unit can be easily placed on your desktop without any special installation.

Featuring the MPEG-4 compression format, as well as the more widely used JPEG compression format, this camera provides smooth, streaming video and audio over networks, including those with low bandwidth.

Clear, Smooth Resolution
Featuring MPEG-4 data compression, as well as the widely-used JPEG compression formats, the Sony SNC-M3W offers clear, smooth reproduction of live moving images at frame rates up to 30 frames per second (fps) at 320x240 resolution. You can choose the compression format you prefer, as well as the image size. The 320 x 240-sized images offer a maximum frame rate of 30 fps, while 640 x 480-sized images provide clearer and more detailed viewing. What's more, the camera automatically adjusts the video bit rate to meet changing network conditions, allowing you to view your video images even at low bandwidths.

Audio Monitoring
Incorporating a built-in microphone, the Sony SNC-M3W also offers high-quality audio monitoring. For enhanced audio pick-up from the camera's location, the camera includes an external microphone jack, while a speaker output allows you to communicate with the remote site. This added feature greatly expands the capability of your monitoring abilities.

All-in-One Network Camera
The camera's built-in web server enables you to monitor live images and control cameras on any PC running a standard web browser without having to install any additional software. To begin monitoring your location, you simply connect the camera to a network, and you can immediately access the remote images on your networked PC.

The Convenience of Wireless Remote Operation The SNC-M3W supports the IEEE 802.11b standard for wireless operation. This means that you can monitor those difficult and "out of the way" rooms and hallways without the need for dedicated (and often expensive) wiring. By going wireless, you can greatly expand your monitoring activities without adding to your budget.

Pan/Tilt Capability With pan and tilt capability, the SNC-M3W significantly increases the monitoring area for each camera that you set up. This feature is ideal for larger rooms or areas that require wider viewing ranges. The camera's 120-degree pan range (+60 to -60 degrees) and 70-degree tilt range (+10 to -60 degrees), means that you won't need extra cameras to monitor those larger spaces in your home.

Network Security Features
To enhance your monitoring options, the Sony SNC-M3W allows up to 20 simultaneous users (20 in JPEG mode and 10 in MPEG-4 mode) to monitor the images remotely. And when an alarm is triggered by the motion detection function (in MPEG-4 mode), a preset message can be sent to up to three e-mail addresses. This gives you the confidence of knowing that even when you're not viewing the images from your home directly, your home is still being closely monitored.

User-Friendly Controls and Flexible Installation
With the SNC-M3W, Sony has made monitoring your home as easy as possible. Camera settings, controls and monitoring are easy thanks to a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) on the PC monitor. In addition, the GUI background can be customized according to your preferences. Whether you mount the camera on a wall, ceiling, or on your desktop using the supplied camera stand, you'll be assured of peace of mind any time of day or night.

What's in the Box
SNC-M3W network camera, AC adapter, stand, wire, rubber foot, CD-ROM (users guide, supplied program), installation manual.

Product Description

The Sony SNC-M3W Wireless Pan and Tilt Network Camera is an affordable, all-in-one network camera that lets you send audio and images through your network, without having to worry about the length of your USB cord. Set up this Webcam anywhere in the room and send picture, video and voice from as far as 20 feet away. The camera utilizes the MPEG-4 compression format, for smooth video and audio streaming over network environments - including those with limited bandwidth. The built-in microphone makes it easier than ever to communicate voice-to-voice through any network. Dimensions(Dia. x H) - 4 3/8 x 4 1/8 (110 x 104 mm) Weight - 13 oz. (380g)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT camera, except that it's Wireless B standard.. :(, October 7, 2005

By 

Wong K. Li (HK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony SNC-M3W Pan/Tilt IP Wireless Network Camera w/Audio (Electronics)

Firstly, let me state that I do not own this product, but as of only a few hours ago, I almost bought it.
The reason I am writing this review is because over the past few days I have been doing a lot of research, and learnt many things which I felt I should share with others. So let this be a review about feature comparison and not one from actual usage of the product (though I had it demo'd to me in the store).

My focus originally centered upon this Sony SNC M3W, the Pananosic Bxxxx model, the Linksys, and the Dlink. Very soon, for reasons I won't mention, it became clear that the choice was between the Sony and the Panasonic.

I really liked the Sony, as it had virtually all the features I wanted, the main purpose of which was to allow me to monitor my baby who is about to be born. The features important to me are that it should be wireless, and allow me to hear my baby (ie., has built in mic). Of course, the picture quality is important too.
In terms of these features, that is where the Sony shines and the Panasonic falls. Sony not only has a built-in mic, but also lets you hook up speakers, so that not only can I hear my baby, I can TALK to her.
The Panasonic, unfortunately, can do neither. This was a big disappointment for me, because I think apart from that, the Panasonic picture quality is better (I was comparing in the shop).
The key advantage of the Panasonic over the Sony, which is where Sony falls, is that Sony's wireless standard only supports 801.11b, and does not support 801.11g. If your wireless router is 'b', then it makes no difference to you. However, 'b' routers are increasingly out of date as 'g' is much faster, and if you have a 'g' router like me, then even though you can still use the Sony, your entire wireless network will have to run on the slower 'b' standard because of the Sony. I was unwilling to make that compromise, so I very reluctantly had to dismiss the Sony too.

btw, another difference between the Sony and Panasonic is that the Panasonic does not have motion detect (a feature I'd like to have for surveillance purposes). instead, it relies on 'heat sensing' to determine whether there's a person present. I dunno, but that didn't appeal to me.

So which camera had everything I wanted? It was actually ANOTHER Panasonic outdoor surveillance camera. That was a beautiful and wonderful product, which I don't think they sell here on amazon. The problem was, it cost almost twice as much as this Panasonic. That model series begins with a C. I couldn't fault it in any way, except for the price. It also uses a ccd lens which is much better tha the CMOS lens that both this Panasonic and the Sony uses, giving superior picture quality. Well, that's why the cost is much higher, and also cos it's designed so that you can even use it OUTDOOR.

So which camera did I end up with? A very little known brand called Planex. (www.planex.net). It was priced at the same range as the Sony and thsi Panasonic, ran on wireless 'g', uses a ccd lens, had a built-in mic, could pan-tilt at a much larger angle, but the only drawback (very sad) was that it wouldn't let me hook speakers up to it - ie., I won't be able to talk to my baby... Pity they don't sell the product here.

To close, I'd like to come back to this Sony model. If you are using wireless B router, and don't intend to upgrade then this is just about perfect. It also looks very sleek, though a little big (quite a bit bulkier than the Panasonic and Dlink). If you ever want multiple cameras, then this is great, because the platform allows you to hook them all up seamlessly, even though they may be different models (eg., the SNC M1, or M1W, or M3).
It's just really such a pity that a product being released this late in the game only supports the 'b' standard.

Anyway, hope my research helps you to make your decision.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works well the first time - if your router is on Sony's list, June 21, 2005

By 

C. Kissner (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony SNC-M3W Pan/Tilt IP Wireless Network Camera w/Audio (Electronics)

For a wireless network camera with two-way audio, this model from Sony is an excellent value. Everything worked as advertised. The size is excellent and can be easily placed in many locations. There is a setup wizard which greatly helps in doing the network setup to make the camera accessible from the Internet. However, be warned that if your have a router that is not covered in the wizard list, you will need to know about port forwarding and do a manual setup. A business-class router firewall has rules that may require you to get some assistance, so don't assume you can just plug the camera in have have it work. That being said, if you know how to set up the router, the camera does what Sony says it can do, and well. Amazon's price is steep, well above almost every other dealer, so I expect the Amazon price will come down in the near future.

The prior review was written on June 21, 2005. Followup as of 10-30/05:

The camera continues to run well at a remote location. Another reviewer indicated that it wouldn't work with a D-Link router with encryption on, but I have the same setup and it works fine. The camera sends me a JPEG snapshot every day very reliably. I can access it regularly with both a web browser and the Sony recording software that comes free with the unit. The motion detection works well. I discovered this one day when someone was cleaning the windows at the remote location and got in the view of the camera. The camera started firing off warning emails to me.

Another reviewer indicated that they did not like the 802.11b wireless limitation. I agree, but from a practical sense this is not a real limitation due to most high speed connections even within a LAN not running a more than 10 Mbps anyway. It would be nice if Sony went to 'g', though. Also, the pan feature is quite coarse in its movement, with the panning angle changing drastically when you try to move it slightly. I'm not sure if this is fixable in firmware, but since it's so hard to even find the Sony support for these cameras, it almost doesn't matter!

Overall, the camera has run well, and several friends have now purchased theirs based on my experience.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy setup, great picture quality, April 13, 2005

By 

M. VanTyne (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony SNC-M3W Pan/Tilt IP Wireless Network Camera w/Audio (Electronics)

I was looking for a network webcam, ideally one that could be remotely controlled via a browser. I stumbled on the Sony line of "M" cams and decided to order the SNC-M3W. Setup was easy, as the configuration tool discovered my router (Linksys WRT54G) and set everything up. I did change the cameras port assignment from the default, but that was also easy. Once the camera was initially setup using an ethernet cable, I entered my 802.11 info, including WEP key, and was off and running wirelessly.

Video options include MPEG4 or Motion JPEG at various resolutions. Using MPEG4, it's possible to achieve 30fps with full audio. Impressive. Routing the port through my DSL modem to the Linksys, and through the Linksys to the internal IP of the camera was also easy and my DSL connection provides adequate bandwidth for uploading the video. (Documentation says it requires 300K up). Motion detection or periodic triggers can send emails or you can FTP files at timed intervals.

The camera's web server allows set up of multiple users, logs access, allows preset locations for the camera to point, etc. On the PC side, video recording software is included that lets you schedule HDD recordings from one or multiple cameras to setup a surveillance system.

Easy to setup use or you can configure most anything manually, great picture quality and control all in a nifty form factor. I had it up and running in a few minutes time. It was better than I was expecting.