Entered CNET Catalog: 01/04/2003
SKU: NINJAPANNTILT
Manufacturer: X10 Home Solutions
Product summary
The good: Inexpensive; remote control works up to 100 feet; lets you control four cameras at once; easy to install; close focusing.
The bad: Poor resolution; lousy low-light capabilities; unscrambled RF; shoddy documentation.
The bottom line: This inexpensive surveillance system does a good job of monitoring wide areas, but the images it produces won't help you catch a thief.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/06/2003
The XC18A camera isn't your regular Webcam; it outputs analog, not digital video. The tiny fixed-lens camera packs in a powerful 2.4GHz transmitter and a directional antenna. Mount the camera on the Pan 'n Tilt base, a robotic device that is controlled either by the PanTilt Pro software or manually with the remote control. X10 also includes a wall bracket and a tripod if you prefer to use them to mount the camera.
Setting up the Ninja base requires only a few minutes and a power source. Setup of the wireless receiver and the USB video adapter is also relatively easy, but you'll have to tinker to get a clear picture. While the camera and motion-control base are weather resistant, the power supply isn't, which, unfortunately, binds you to an indoor power outlet. The receiver needs to be positioned within range of the camera, and both antennae must be oriented to "see" each other. To connect the X10 camera to your PC, you must use the video-to-USB adapter. If you are using a single PC to control and view images from the camera, you'll need two USB ports: one for the video adapter, the other for the RF computer-interface module that the Pan 'n Tilt software application requires. Documentation is minimal, but in our tests, we didn't have any problems since the program instructs you to plug in the hardware at the appropriate times.
A word of warning: PanTilt Pro software does not work well with home networks--and sometimes it won't work at all with them. If your home network uses Network Address Translation (NAT) to address your machines, either from a router or modem sharing, you may be able to get it working through special port settings, but don't bet it'll come easy. The X10 wireless camera comes with a prefocused lens that's protected by a weatherproof plastic cover. Just remove the cover and twist the lens to focus. You can set image orientation by turning the whole camera left or right 90 degrees. The robotic base can pan left and right approximately 240 degrees and tilt up and down 60 degrees. For manual use or testing, use the handheld remote control to select, pan, and tilt up to four cameras. The programmable manual remote control can record up to four preset points for each camera, so you can either individually select them or sweep through all four automatically.
To view video, you have several options. The X10 receiver takes the 2.4GHz signal from the camera and outputs composite video via an RCA plug that plugs into a TV set or VCR with composite input. The VA11A adapter then accepts the composite input and converts it to USB for viewing on your PC with PanTilt Pro. You can also use your camera and USB connection with Yahoo or MSN Instant Messenger.
With the PanTilt Pro software, you can view video from your camera, control the Pan 'n Tilt base, and set standard picture properties, such as brightness, contrast, sharpness, and hue. In addition to viewing video from your camera, the software registers your machine on an X10 server so that you can access your camera from any Web-connected machine using your unique ID code and password. Unfortunately, getting remote access to work requires a fair amount of trial and error, and there isn't much documentation to guide you through the process. X10 says that it is working on improving its support; in the meantime, plan on a fair amount of head-scratching. X10 claims that this camera has a range of approximately 100 feet. We were able to receive a clear image (feeding it into a camcorder) at almost 400 feet from the house, easily within range for someone to monitor from the street. Since the camera moves, so does its antenna, which can degrade the signal as it turns off-axis with your receiver, which reduces range. Some wireless networks can cause interference, too. Overall though, the Ninja Pan 'n Tilt held its ground. Image quality is one area where the X10 camera system does not excel. The camera performs best in daylight, both in terms of exposure and color balance. However, image quality suffers in low-light situations, making it difficult to use indoors.
The lens exhibits a lot of spherical and edge distortion, which limits its resolution. As an analog camera, it can display 640x480 images on a TV and QCIF (160x120) images on your PC. In both cases, our test pictures came out grainy but recognizable. If you're using this camera for surveillance, you'll be able see if there's anything going on, but you won't be able to make out a face at a distance or grab a license plate number.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4out of 4 user reviews
Company should be in marketing not manufacturing
Pros: I havent tried the cameras and its not likely I will. Reviews both public and private are poor to mediocre. I bought the alarm system. I will write an additional review on these when they arrive.
Cons: Customer service was a nightmare. Ordered product and paid extra for shipping just to make sure it arrived when I needed it. Order was never processed and two weeks later they finally send it out. Staff refused to admit any fault suggesting there was no r
out of 4 user reviews
Nearly useless image quality
Pros: Wireless connections, X10 automation devices and the software make a huge variety of applications possible.
Cons: 1) The documentation is fragmented and confusing. 2) I had no idea any company would ship a camera this bad. I can't recognize my own face 25 feet away, much less identify a vandal. At ten feet, you can probably identify a face. 3) The site is full of "
out of 4 user reviews
You don't have to use their cam.
Pros: I did not purchase their camera, just the base. I attached my own cam (which I knew worked great) The fact that you can program it to the positions you want and then have it sweep around is Wonderful! And the price!! Plan on purchasing more to attache the
Cons: Nothing, in my case. (But remember, I didn't buy the camera)
out of 4 user reviews
Wireless interference w/802.llb
Pros: It is cheap, but you get what you pay for in this case...
Cons: If you are running an 802.11b network, you get interference on your video. With the network off, the picture was still not that great of quality. It is also unfortunate that the Ninja base is not a standard camera mount, or it could have been used with
