IP Camera that works with Mac and doesn't require ActiveX?

[jclin10]

I'm looking to install a couple of IP cameras in my home. It needs to work with my Mac, but also be accessed by my wife at her office where all ActiveX controls are disabled. Does anyone have any recommendations on products that would satisfy these?

Thanks!

[sadik007]

some cams have Java.. not many but some do..

You might be able to go around active x... active is need for streaming and ptz control.. you could just stream video and for that no need for active x

[buellwinkle]

i use my Axis M10 cameras with my MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard, no problems. Cameras run from $150 to $225 depending on model.

[david88]

Consider a Dropcam. It's flash based (way more common than Active X) so it will work on any browser. Have a look, hope you find what you need.

[buellwinkle]

That Dropcam looks a lot like an Axis M1011-W, maybe the Axis logo gives it away, haha.

Why is the resolution limited to 320x240 at 15 fps when the M10 does 640x480 at 30 fps? Did they just OEM the Axis M10 and then put their own firmware in it?

[david88]

Yup, it's an Axis M1011W, but we reprogrammed the device to make it dead simple to use. Plug it in, and it gets online automatically. You can watch the video using any Flash enabled browser or you can use the free Dropcam iPhone app.

The cloud software necessary to do this is all Dropcam - you can set up your own server at home to help manage this, but if you want a simple solution that gets better over time, you should check us out.

The resolution is limited to ensure people don't have bandwidth issues as they access the camera over the Internet. We're working on higher resolution though, so stay tuned.

[rhsant]

David -

Quick question re: dropcam. Does your iPhone app allow for video and audio or video only? Looking for a network ip baby monitor (using my iPhone) and would love to have audio over iPhone.

Thanks,

Rich

[buellwinkle]

iPhones are great for this, but unfortunately, AT&T is not the best wireless phone company in my area. Does the Dropcam work with Blackberries?

[david88]

Rhsant,

As of right now, the Dropcam iPhone app is video only with the audio feature in private beta. If you're interested, I want to encourage you to check out this page: http://www.dropcam.com/baby and send us a quick message to let us know you want to be updated about the feature. We're working to release our audio capability soon. Anyway, to keep updated, send us a message from that page.

Buellwinkle,

As you mentioned, iPhones do work really well for video, as they pack some decent processing power. It's for that exact reason that there has been so much 3rd party development for it especially. We are currently working on developing an efficient way to display video for Blackberry and Android. The difference in processing power on these phones though requires some innovation on our end for our apps to run well.

That said then, as of yet, our app is only available for iPhone, but for Blackberry and Android, it is currently in development.
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Got something to watch? www.dropcam.com

[rhsant]

David -

I signed up for the dropcam baby beta well over a month ago and then sent follow up e-mails to the support and info e-mail addresses to see if I had been accepted. I have not heard anything back. Anyway to get in touch with someone to see if I have been accepted in the beta? I have a baby coming any day now.

Thanks,

Rich