Today, the player participating in the hands-on game is the webcam suit CP-KE1H04-S from the traditional manufacturer zmodo. Although it is only a transformation on the basis of traditional security cameras, it makes it quite different in both webcams and security cameras.

The machine part is basically a set of security camera system. It has a NVR host with its own hard disk and provides power for the camera through the network cable. It can also be connected to the mouse, keyboard and display to work independently.

After adding mobile app and network access functions, users can view and play back real-time video in other places, turning it into a 4-way output webcam. Now let's have a look at its actual experience.

Unpacking and appearance

The packaging of zmodo is more inclined to security cameras. For the kraft paper box close to the square, product promotion stickers are pasted on the two diagonals on the side, and the white sticker on the top is the machine code of the internal equipment.

Because zmodo is mainly engaged in foreign trade, the parameters and descriptions of the entire package are in English, except for the manufacturer and model in Chinese in the lower right corner. Fortunately, the domestic version of the manual is all in Chinese

The inner part of the box is placed on three layers. The top is the four cameras in the lower left corner of the figure. The middle layer is the NVR (Network Hard Disk Recorder) host and power supply in the upper left corner of the figure.

Open the accessory box. Inside is the power cord, NVR host screw and mouse (something strange seems to have mixed in). After checking the instruction manual, it was found that the NVR host can be operated independently by plugging in the mouse, keyboard and display. It was embarrassing again

The power supply of the NVR host is 19V/3A, and the rated power is 57W, which is similar to the laptop.

The third layer of packaging is actually 4 bundles of wire. Their lengths are two bundles of 25m and two bundles of 15m respectively. Looking at their parameters and objects, the author can't help but be messy in the wind.

After the cable package is opened, there are camera base and wall fixing screws inside. Compared with the 5.5 inch VIBE Z2 on the right, the 25m line is a bit exaggerated.

The NVR host is a ZP-NC14-S four channel network hard disk video recorder (another long name). Its appearance is quite simple. The front panel is made of black plastic, with only two power supply and hard disk indicators. The fuselage is made of black frosted metal, with good fingerprint resistance.

Put it next to the 5.5 "VIBE Z and find that the size of the host is not very big.

The left side of the back of the host is the network cable port for the camera, and the right side is the alarm interface (used to access the alarm) VGA、 Internet interface, 2 USB ports, power interface and switch.

Open the body cover. Except for the motherboard, space is reserved for the 3.5-inch desktop hard disk. Because the version submitted for testing is a hard disk free version, it is empty.

The motherboard is made of sufficient materials and of good workmanship, but the heat sink in the middle is stuck askew. Although it will not affect the performance of the machine, Virgo users may have psychological pressure.

Lay the 3.5-inch hard disk horizontally, connect the power supply and SATA cable, screw in the fixing screw and install the cover, and the configuration of the host is complete.

The camera model is ZP-IBH13-P, and its waterproof level is P66. The camera body is all metal, the body and wire are white, and the top and bottom are provided with screw holes for fixing.

There are various parameter stickers at the bottom of the camera and a circle of infrared fill lights around the camera.

24 infrared fill lights can provide 20 meters of irradiation distance. The green circle at the bottom is a photosensitive switch, which is used to sense the ambient brightness, so that the machine can automatically switch the infrared mode.

The network cable on the rear of the camera is thick and equipped with anti folding ring.

This is the regular RJ45 network cable interface. After actual measurement, the ordinary network cable can still supply power for the camera.

user's experience

Because the power is supplied by the network cable, the layout of the machine is relatively simple. The host is powered on, connected to the route through the network cable, and then connected to the four cameras through the network cable, the machine can start working automatically.

When working, the classic flashing yellow and green indicator light of the network cable port (left picture) and the green work light inside the host (right picture) will light up, giving a sense of desktop light box (please forgive the confusion of the test office lines). After testing with three other network cables of different brands and lengths, it is found that the ordinary network cables can also complete the tasks of power supply and data transmission.

The NVR host is equipped with a customized operating system and a mobile app called Zsight. As a stranger to the world, the author knows for the first time that the NVR host has its own customized system, so the system screenshots cannot be taken. As a result, the following pictures are the live pictures on the TN screen, which does not represent the actual display performance.

Since the machine system does not support screenshots, the following are all live screenshots (please ignore the serious corner color deviation on the TN screen), so first put the screenshots on the mobile phone app to illustrate the actual shooting performance. The video resolution is 720P, and the clarity and tolerance are good.

The cold start time is about 2 minutes. After starting up, enter the default password in the manual to manage the machine settings. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the host does not support wifi, does not support wifi... It is indeed a traditional manufacturer, so I have to comfort myself that the wired connection is more stable and reliable.

The normal system interface is as above. It consists of four channels of 720P real-time video recording. If the activity detection video recording or other functions are enabled, the top will display the relevant function icons. Because it is directly transmitted through the LAN, the action and response of the picture and scenery are almost all zero delay, and experience a large number of smart IP cameras.

Click on any interface to call up the main menu above, which includes four major items: "general, network, event and device management".

The general settings are the conventional "account password, time language, display mode (adjustable to 4-way video display in turn)", and the advanced "system log and hard disk information" viewing function is also provided here.

Because the machine will be automatically configured, the network settings need not be managed. If the home network is a fixed IP or other special settings, you can set it through the DDNS, UPNP and other function items.

The device management can control the detailed settings of the 4-way camera, such as "image quality, resolution, frame rate, code stream mode, video occlusion".

Its professional security function is undoubtedly omitted in the setting item of event management. In addition to controlling the recording time and resolution of the 4-way camera, its automatic moving object alarm function can also subdivide and customize the mobile monitoring area. The alarm duration, interval, sending method (email or app reminder), and capture can be customized.

The user experience is also quite considerate. Right click in any picture, a shortcut menu as shown in the above figure will pop up next to the mouse, and you can directly jump to image settings, image magnification, and video playback.

The resolution, brightness and color of the camera can be fine tuned directly in image settings.

At the bottom of the playback interface is the video timeline. The time period when the object movement is detected and the alarm is sent will be marked with different colors. Through the calendar and the selection interface on the right, you can extract the videos of the target period for backup storage.

There is a complaint from traditional manufacturers that the backup function needs to be connected to other USB devices, which cannot be directly extracted to the local hard disk for storage. Although this is indeed more secure, it has its own hard disk, but it can't put down its own retrieval video. It always has the taste of "begging with a golden rice bowl".

If the 4-way camera is fully turned on, the 500G hard disk can store about 16 days of video. Of course, if the timing or motion detection video recording function is turned on (only the video recording with object movement is recorded), the recording time can be greatly extended, but precious moments still have to be copied out and saved separately.

App experience

Although this is the work of a traditional manufacturer, its app does a good job. Its mobile app can provide complete viewing and basic setting functions, so users can still use its basic functions even if they never use the host's operating system.

Users can access the device by scanning the QR code at the bottom of the NVR host. The main function of the application is very simple. It is responsible for real-time video viewing, screenshots and video storage.

The real-time video viewing interface displays the real-time image of the first camera by default. You can switch between four outputs by sliding left and right. The real-time network speed occupation and total traffic consumption will be displayed below the screen, which is more considerate. Users can "re record" and screenshot the video here, and adjust the low, middle and high definition.

In the same still image, the bandwidth occupation of low, medium and high resolution is about 6, 22 and 130k/s respectively. In the low resolution image, 2G network can still run, which is good. Of course, the real-time bandwidth occupation is different according to the picture change amplitude and brightness change.

In the video browsing interface, you can drag the timeline to view the previous videos, and set the date switch, screenshot, sound switch, etc.

In device management, you can directly open the warning function and share the video to other users (left picture), while all the screenshots or videos will be stored in the application storage rack for viewing (right picture). In addition, the mobile app can also receive three important warning alerts: "mobile detection, hardware IO and video loss".

When the mobile phone and the NVR host are connected to the same routing network, in fact, the video speed can also kill many similar products, and the delay is maintained at several hundred ms. When they are different from the same network, the delay is also about 1s, which is quite excellent.

summary

To sum up, this is actually a set of traditional security equipment with mobile app and online viewing functions. The security function is naturally its strength. The use experience of system operation and video delay can completely explode the so-called Internet camera;

720P resolution and 20m infrared night vision distance are not low specifications in traditional security cameras. Moreover, the design of network cable power supply can save users a lot of wiring costs and trouble.

However, as a traditional security camera that "increases network functions", the price is that there is no official network storage function. Because all the data is stored in the local hard disk, if the NVR host is not connected to the network, the mobile phone will not be able to see real-time video and historical video.

Of course, this will be a fairly secure private cloud for some users. Unless the whole hard disk is stolen, the videos inside are quite safe. In addition, even if the host is disconnected from the network, it can still work, which is impossible for the intelligent camera with a single network storage.

cost performance

The last is the price analysis. As a cross-border product of webcams and security cameras, the price is also sandwiched between the two.

Its current price in X-East is 1799 (without hard disk), while the price of 500G hard disk is about 300. The price of 2100 brings a professional security camera that can be placed outdoors for 4 routes and has good night vision ability. It supports mobile apps that can be viewed across networks.

The average price of a single outdoor security camera is between 150-300, and the cost is between 600-1200. The price of a 4-way NVR network hard disk camera is about 300-500, and the total price is between 900-1700.

In fact, the price of zmodo does not have much advantage in front of the self installed party, but in front of the smart cameras with a single price of 3 or 400 (usually without waterproof), its cost performance is embarrassing.