HooToo 211 IP Camera (2016 version) Review

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Using your own IP-based camera is a nice alternative compared to expensive home monitoring services.  The HooToo 211 provides a high resolution image, as well as night vision, allowing you to easily see what’s going on at home while you’re away.

PROs

  • Image quality: High resolution images and video feeds (1280×720) make it easy to see what’s going on at home.
  • Night vision: The infrared LEDs allow you to “see in the dark”.  This has come in handy for me in the past when I heard a noise downstairs in the middle of the night.
  • Dynamic Name Server Support: The camera can automatically keep your external IP address up-to-date with 3322 and DynDns (if you’re router doesn’t do this for you already).
  • LiveCams Pro support: This app has a specific profile for the HooToo 211 and even supports the pan/tilt controls.
  • Alerting: The camera has many alerting options, including motion detection and occlusion detection (for when the camera is covered by another object).
  • Local recording: New in this version of the camera is the ability to record motion events locally to a SD card.
  • Easy setup: You can simply scan the QR code on the bottom of the camera for easy setup (although this can also be a con; see below)

CONs

  • Web interface: Unfortunately, the web interface to this webcam is hampered by the security “lock down” that most browsers have implemented.  On the Mac, I could not view the video stream through Safari nor Chrome even after enabling the antiquated QuickTime plugin and installing VLC.  I also tried briefly using a Windows 10 tablet running Microsoft Edge and was also blocked from installing the suggested plugin software.
  • Third-party service: The P2P feature (QR code scanning) requires use of a third-party server, but it can be disabled in the camera’s settings.
  • No HTTPS access: This is common on many IP cameras and it basically means that if you use public WiFi, your camera’s password may be sent in plain text.  Select a password that you don’t use anywhere else and change it often (or avoid checking your camera on public WiFi; instead use your phone’s cellular data connection).

Overall, the camera functions well using mobile apps and provides a clear picture.  But you may have trouble configuring advanced features as the web interface is hampered by blocked plugins.

Checkout the HooToo 211 IP Camera on Amazon

–Sample provided for review

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