Panasonic WVSW175 H.264 Outdoor Pan and Tilt Network Camera for Surveillance Systems,Grey

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT UNLESS YOU WILL ONLY BE WANTING TO VIEW IT WITH INTERNET EXPLORERI have purchased more than a dozen of Panasonic's Network cameras over the past several years. I have been very pleased with the HB Series of cameras so I expected this to be very similar, with improved resolution and low light capability.When I began to setup the camera I was shocked to see that Panasonic had designed this camera to only be used with Windows and IE. All of the previous Panasonic cameras I have owned could be setup and viewed from any browser. I even had trouble viewing this camera from various Windows computers--it would just lock up my browser and do nothing. Once I got the camera setup, it did produce nice images, but the new user interface is confusing and in my opinion, much less functional than prior Panasonic network cameras.The final deal breaker was that I can no longer view this camera on any of my Mac or Linux computers. This was a big problem because I had developed a web based application that could be used to view all the security cameras on our network. This camera cannot be viewed with that application because the application was designed to work on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.I had been loyal to Panasonic for years because I was comfortable with their network camera's interface and ease of use. This version ended my loyalty to the Panasonic Network Cameras. I am not sure what market they are chasing with their latest design, but it certainly does not meet my application needs. For this reason I had to go on a search for other Network cameras that I could use in my application. What I found were the Foscam cameras. The Foscam cameras have a web based interface very similar to the older Panasonic Network cameras. The Foscam web based UI seems to be evolving rapidly as they are providing frequent updates. The Foscam product line is not as broad as Panasonic's but they are adding new models that are filling in many of the product gaps (Outdoor PTZ). The other surprising thing about the FOSCAM cameras is that they are less than 1/3 the price of the Panasonic Network cameras. I now have five operational Foscam cameras and am very pleased with how they are working. Plus they can viewed and configured from any browse; Safari (OS X, Firefox or IE). The Foscam cameras do offer slightly enhanced capabilities when used with Internet Explorer--Sound but all of the basic functionality is present in any browser.

I purchased this camera to replace a previous Panasonic model BB-HCM531A. The "BB" line is now listed as discontinued and my only options were to buy one that's been sitting in someone's stock or a used model. My only requirements were: 1) do at least what the BB-HCM531A did and 2) occupy the same physical footprint. In my situation, the physical footprint and ability to use the same mounting was the most important (I haven't yet verified this).I was initially excited about the idea of higher resolution image capture.Other reviewers indicated that you are locked into Internet Explorer, much more so than previous Panasonic cameras. This is correct. In previous Panasonic NetCams, you had some modest improved features if you used IE with ActiveX. In this version, it's nearly impossible to do anything without IE. Furthermore, it doesn't work well with IE10 (I didn't spend much time on this so someone else may have more luck). I honestly don't understand how any company could develop something that is browser-centric in 2013. One side note: I did manage to view live streaming video with an iPhone app called "i-Catcher Go" but without remote pan/tilt functions.Other BIG issues so far: you are limited to 1 FPS capture when using JPEG capturing of motion detection. A lot can happen in a second and I would like something better (previous Panasonic cams could capture several frames per second). There is no pre-alarm buffer for FTP'ing -- you don't get to see what happened prior to the alarm. It *has* a mode that permits pre-alarm buffering and video capture (h.264) but that can only be used with storing on the internal SD card.I would be thrilled if I were incorrect in anything I've said. Please comment if so. There are probably better P/T outdoor IP Cams on the market.

I own 6 models of Panasonic IP Cameras in the HCM line, some better than others and all cheaper than this one. I am surprised at just how poor quality the images and video of this camera are considering this is suppose to be the higher end of Panasonic's IP camera line.A few points:* This camera is windows only. You can't even view live images/video without Internet Explorer. Other Panasonic IP cameras in the HCM line are windows as well but at least allow view of live stream, thanks to the dependance on ActiveX there is no such luck with the WV-SW175* Even in full sunlight the images are extremely grainy. Viewing at night is a complete no go... just darkness* Controls and settings are completely non-sensical.* Face recognition is crap at best, interpreting most license plates as faces* Camera is overly large and bulky considering it really doesn't do much.I'd suggest avoiding this this model, or at least try before you buy for real.