tp-link-nc200-cloud-cameraIf you are looking for a reasonably-priced solution for a cloud camera, TP-Link NC200 is something worth your consideration. According to its specification, this cloud camera offers 300Mbps wireless connection for fluid video, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4 GHz, 1/4″ Progressive scan CMOS sensor, 0.3 megapixel resolution (640 x 480), F: 2.8, f: 3.85 mm lens, 64° viewing angle and 4x digital zoom.

This camera needs 0.5 Lux minimum illumination to work properly, meaning that installing it in a pitch dark room will show a plain black image. It has built-in microphone to hear what’s going on in the monitored room.

Setting up TP-Link NC200 is relatively easy. tpCamera app is available for iOS and Android users for free, and the app takes care of most setting process. It is worth to note that even though this is a wireless product, the initial setup must be done in wired mode, using standard network cable to our router. After the initial setup, we can still use it in wired mode if we want to. We can set multiple cameras in one account, each camera can have different nickname. Checking the camera’s view is as easy as opening the app and click on the camera’s nickname (usually showing the last captured snapshot from previous session). We can also turn off the built-in LED in the camera, or adjust the microphone volume. We can also take photos or record videos as we open the app.

When I first connected my NC200 for initial setting, it asked me to upgrade my firmware. For some reason, the process of upgrading firmware failed, three times, with the app screen showing that the upgrade process suddenly stopped without error message. Somehow it finally worked when I try again the fourth time. I didn’t do anything different, yet it worked. I usually won’t repeat the same process more than three times though, so I guess this was lucky.

NC200 also have nice extra feature as WiFi extender and Motion Detection feature that will email us when motion is detected. Unfortunately, these two features are nowhere to be seen in the tpCamera app. Instead, we need to use a browser and open the IP address of our camera to see a web-based control panel. Not the most straightforward method for most non-tech-savvy users. Even more so when they don’t even mention in the app that they have web-based control panel with more options.

WiFi extender is as straightforward as the name suggest. Activate it from web control panel and the camera will act as signal repeater for our WiFi network, which can be used to cover some blank spots.

Motion Detection is somewhat more advanced. Basically activating this will allow the camera to send us something if it detects movement within its view range. Of course this feature does not make sense if we place the camera inside the living room where people are continuously moving. It makes more sense when we place this camera in storehouse so that when unwanted visitor comes, we get notified straight away, or at least that’s the idea. There are three levels of sensitivity that users can choose (high, medium, low). The notification can be sent through FTP or email. The email notification requires us to provide a working SMTP account, which again not something most ordinary people are familiar to. Maybe that’s why they don’t include this in the app, but it’s a shame that one of its powerful feature is kept hidden for power users to discover.

The image quality is basic and the video frame rate is not the highest I’ve seen, but as an entry level product, this camera works as expected. The unit that I tested costs AUD 30 (approximately USD 23). Thanks to its competitive price point, it’s hard to deliberately complain on the image quality. This is a monitoring camera, not something for quality recording to begin with. A decent product overall. Definitely not for everyone, but there are people who will find this a nice economic solution for cloud monitoring.