Panasonic BB-HCM531A Reviews

Works great - but can take a lot of time to get it working
by R. Beckley from Herndon, VA USA, 2010-07-29

It took me 4 days to get this working. I connected the security camera to a Power Over Ethernet switch box to my Motorola modem/router. Everything worked on my home LAN. I could view the camera from the house and pan it via the web software. However, it was not visible over the Internet, which is what I bought the camera for. I called Panasonic, and after several hours of trying they suggested I call my ISP. I called Charter Cable (my ISP provider) and they said they did not have any block on signals that would prevent the camera from being viewed. After many calls over several days, I called Motorola, who made my modem. They said that the modem did not support a static address (which is what the Panasonic documentation told me to set up). They walked me through doing a DHCP Lease, adding in a new IP address (using the MAC address of the security camera) and bypassing the firewall. Once this was added, in the Security camera software [...] , I went to the Setup tab, set Connection Mode to DHCP, set port to 50000, left other fields blank, and clicked Start and Restart the camera. This set the camera up to accept DHCP for the camera on port 50000. I was now able to view the camera over the internet.

So, if you are willing to stick with it and call Panasonic, the PoE switch box provider, the ISP provider, and the modem provider, you will find a configuration that works. But there are a lot of pieces that need to be working together and I almost gave up along the way. It took me over 10 hours of my time to get this working.

Now that all the settings are ok, I am able to view the camera remotely (several states away) and it works beautifully. The picture is clear and bright. I can pan it and (digitally) zoom the camera. I am very pleased with the result.

Easy to install security cameras. Solid build quality.
by Don K from Northern California, 2010-02-07

After a terrible expeience with the Panasonic BL-C160A Outdoor Lighted MPEG-4 Network Camera (Silver) I gave panasonic another chance and am glad I did. With PoE installing these is very easy: just run the ethernet cable and screw in the base. You'll need to have a switch that supports PoE, I use the TRENDnet 8-Port 10/100Mbps PoE Switch (4x 10/100, 4x 10/100 PoE) and have 4 cameras running with it. If you run multiple cameras I'd recommend avoiding Network Camera Software and get Blue Iris for $50 instead.

Exceptional Value
by Gyropilot from Seattle, WA, USA, 2009-12-02

As others have indicated, this camera is truly an exceptional value for the money. Everything about it is of high quality from start to finsh... even the packaging it comes in is first rate. I love Panasonic products.

When doing my research on which brand and model of networked security camera to buy, I was a little concerned about not having an IR capable camera (such as this model). But after reading the excellent low-lux specifications and good reviews, I took the plunge and bought 5 of these. After using them for a month now, I'm nothing short of thrilled!

With the "Color Night View" option enabled (it's turned off by default), the camera will automatically slow down the image refresh rate to compensate for low lighting conditions, which has the effect of brightening the image. Even on dark cloudy nights I can still clearly see the area around our home and detect when anything is amiss. The only drawback to using the Color Night View mode is that fast moving objects can appear blurred due to the slow image refresh rate. But even with this minor shortcoming, I can still see if someone (or some critter) was moving around in the darkness on the camera's images. However, since we have motion activated lights outside around our home, it pretty much makes that a moot point!

I'm currently running all 5 of these cameras using two TRENDnet 8-Port 10/100Mbps PoE Switches which have 4 PoE ports each. I'm recording the video feeds using the excellent i-Catcher Console software from i-Code. Using the embedded web server in the i-Catcher software, I can monitor, operate the cameras, and playback recorded images directly on my iPhone (and it's formatted properly for the iPhone screen). While at work I can check up on things around my home using either my iPhone or any web browser.

To get the most from these cameras, and to be able to view the video feeds over the Internet, it helps to be comfortable around computers and networking. But if you need help, Panasonic tech support is very responsive and helpful.

I've posted a daylight and nighttime image from one of my camera feeds so you can see what it looks like. I also posted a shot of the image playback screen from my iPhone. Look under "customer images" directly under the Amazon product photo.

Expensive but worth it
by BSJ1 , 2009-11-12

This is an extremely effective, practical and easy-to-use camera. Bought two from Amazon. Installation is a snap. It comes with a sun/rain visor (not pictured), wallmount base, CD-ROM and all the associated screws. All you need is a drill and some anchors. LAN ports and audio ports are easily accessible at the rear. I run mine using Power Over Ethernet. You *will* need PoE injectors. These can be bought separately; I used the TrendNet ones. Note that the software does not seem to be Mac-compatible.

Once the hardware was installed, I popped the CD-rom into my laptop. The Panasonic software installed quickly and easily. It found the cameras in seconds. The images are viewed via a web browser. The software came with the ActiveX controls necessary to view the images.

The software is actually remarkably thorough, straightforward and finished. In a word, it was professional. I was viewing images within minutes of installation and adjusting the settings to suit my needs. You can set triggers, day/night mode, time, video streaming, multiple cameras and so on very easily. Everything is laid out. A basic level of technical/computer skill helps.

The image quality is nothing short of outstanding. I've used several different makes and models - from the Home Depot Swann cameras to $1200 PTZ Day/Night dome cameras - and the Panasonic image quality is easily the best of the lot. Clear, detailed, excellent depth, jitter-free and true. The field of view is limited, as with most security cameras, but the range of motion is impressive. Basically, you can adjust the camera and/or the lens to focus on any spot you want; just don't expect to have a 90-degree field of view.

I had to swallow hard when buying this camera because of the price. But I can honestly say it's worth every penny. Only question now is durability. Let's see how long it lasts.

PoE listed not compatible
by J. Binder from Wilmette, IL United States, 2009-10-27

The D-Link DWL-P200 Power Over Ethernet Adapter listed in October of 09 as the 'Frequently Bought Together' item is not compatible with the BB-HCM531A. Come on Amazon, get your accessories right before you recommend them.