Panasonic BL-C30

Here's an overview of some network video products I own.

SONY SNC-M3W - This was an expensive camera with two-way audio support, free recording software and mechanical pan and tilt. It is well built and supported by Sony Business on a free telephone number. But the image quality is not brilliant. One SNC-M3W was enough for me.

AXIS 206 - I have four of these. Great pictures and well-priced - particularly if you buy them in bundles. Two of mine now have a few dead pixels - but nothing serious. All new AXIS products have three-year warranties.

AXIS 207 - Another great camera from AXIS: like the 206, but with one-way audio and rather more expensive. Well worth the outlay though. They also say it's the smallest network camera in the world - a claim I can believe. Axis now offers a free single camera version of its costly Camera Station Software that appears to work well with all current and legacy Axis products - including servers. But this software won't (yet) run on Windows Vista. Shame.

PANASONIC BL-10/30 - These cams have mechanical pan and tilt and 10x digital zoom - the BL-C30 also being wireless. They are simple to set up and each comes with single camera recording software that can be upgraded to multi cameras for a fee. Yet the image quality of both models - especially at night - is nothing to rave about. Mechanical pan and tilt is the principle selling point here. So unless you really must have this facility there are two other Panasonic models offering better value.

PANASONIC BL-C1/BL-C20 - A couple of great cams that produce excellent pictures under all light conditions. In terms of raw visual experience these two cams are far superior to the 10 and 30 above. They also cost far less. Both cams lack mechanical pan and tilt. But you do get 10x digital zoom - which is not great, but not exactly bad either - and free single camera recording software. I can strongly recommend these models, of which I own two of each.

AXIS 241QA VIDEO SERVER - This blue-chip video server has four BNC analogue video inputs and supports audio on one channel. Moreover, with the right amount of bandwidth, you can get a full 25 frames per second on all channels in crystal clear quality. A snap to set up, I plugged mine in two years ago and its been streaming fine video to the Net ever since, without a single glitch. So the AXIS 241QA comes highly recommended.

AXIS 241S - A much cheaper single-port version of the above without audio - but including 25 fps support and simultaneous MJPEG and MPEG-4 streaming. Just add a relatively inexpensive analogue camera and you will not be disappointed with this server. I should also add that the 241S, like most AXIS servers, allows clever people (not me) to upload their own web pages and personalise a host of other settings. AXIS servers also come with sample code for embedding video in other web pages.

I hope this is helpful.