The bench test 1: Network first

Until recently, network cameras have tended to occupy a small but fast growing niche in the video surveillance market. However, with models like the Sony SNC-P1 coming on to the market, the technology is poised to break into the mainstream. Not content with building on its existing range of network cameras, Sony has pulled out all the stops with this one.

Of course it is possible the sheer number of features and facilities this model has to offer could leave the company open to accusations of over egging the pudding, but we prefer an alternative explanation, that the SNC-P1 is the first true multi-role network camera.

The list of possible applications is endless, from remote monitoring in retail, commercial and industrial locations, to webcasting and video conferencing, but we'll begin with the key features and basic camera specs.

It's an impressive line up, and the SNC-P1 has a choice of JPEG or MPEG-4 compression modes with resolutions of 640 x 480, 480 x 360, 384 x 288, 320 x 240, 256 x 192 and 160 x 120. Frame rate can be variable – automatically adjusted to available bandwidth – or fixed at 30fps at a resolution of 320 x 240 and 18 and 15 fps at 640 x 480 in JPEG and MPEG-4 modes respectively. The camera uses a 1/4-inch progressive scan CCD colour image sensor with 330k pixels; minimum illumination is 3 lux and the 3.8mm fixed focus lens has a viewing angle of 53.6 degrees.

Networking highlights include a built-in web server, multicasting capability (20 simultaneous users in JPEG mode, 10 with MPEG-4 encoding). It has two-way audio streaming, motion detection with alarm notification by email, pre/post alarm image capture and storage and alarm scheduling. It comes with all necessary mounting hardware (wall or ceiling fixing); installation software and the main manual are included on a supplied CD ROM.

The highly distinctive lozenge-shaped case could only come from Sony, and for good measure the top glows blue when it is powered up. We're still not sure what it is all about but it is there for those who need it, otherwise the light can be dimmed or switched off altogether.

To the right of the lens there's another visual indicator in the shape of a green LED that flashes when the camera is live and connected to the network. To the left of the lens there is a small aperture for the built-in microphone. Three minijack sockets for an external microphone, an active loudspeaker and composite video output are mounted on the side of the case and around the back there's a socket for the external 12-volt mains adaptor.

Next to that is an RJ45 socket for the LAN connection (this also has LED indicators, for power on and network connection) and on the far left there's a 4-way spring terminal for the alarm connections. A threaded boss for the mounting bracket is moulded into the base.

Inside the case the camera module is sandwiched between two PCBs, connected together by short ribbon cables. True to form the standard of construction is very high, with everything neatly laid out and accessible, not that it should be necessary to poke around inside the case given Sony's reputation for reliability. There are no significant holes or gaps in the housing, but weather protection is minimal and the camera is designed for indoor operation only.

Setup and operation

Once the camera has been mounted and the power and LAN cables connected, the first task is to assign the camera's IP address and Subnet Mask. This is accomplished using the setup utility (Windows 2K/XP only) on a CD ROM. The program automatically locates the camera on the network, after which the new values can be applied. In most cases the other network settings can be left on their factory defaults.

The camera image and setup functions are accessed through a standard Internet browser window. Unfortunately the camera only works with Microsoft Internet Explorer; hopefully Sony will find time to broaden compatibility to include the Netscape/Mozilla family of browsers, which many PC users now use in preference to IE.

Once the network connection has been established, by entering its IP in the browser address field the camera's 'Welcome' page appears. This can be lightly customised to include a user title or ident and some text. The opening window displays two buttons: 'Enter', which switches to the image viewer, and 'Settings' which goes direct to the setup menu. Access to both is protected and it is necessary to enter an Administrator name and Password before proceeding.

When the viewer window opens a scalable (640 x 480, 320 x 240 or 160 x 120) live image from the camera is displayed. The page also includes buttons for capturing a still image, a simple two-stage electronic zoom, a volume control and the Settings menu (the same as the one on the Welcome page).

The Setting menu has two display modes, 'Easy' and 'Advanced'. The former covers just the basics: white balance presets (auto, indoor, outdoor), mounting type (wall or ceiling – the latter inverts the image), Blue LED (bright, dark, off), image quality (low, medium, high), image size, microphone (on/off), date/time setting and email alert set up.

Everything else is dealt with on the multi-tabbed Advanced Mode menu. The 'System' tab contains various housekeeping functions and event logs. 'Camera' includes video mode, picture, exposure and white balance controls plus compression and picture quality settings.

'Network' deals with communications setup. The 'User' and 'Security' tabs are for password and access level control and the 'Email' and 'FTP Client' tabs delve into the camera's image transmission and alarm alert functions. 'Image Memory' displays internal storage status plus switches for enabling alarm and interval recording. 'Alarm Output' configures the alarm and 'Trigger' sets alarm action (email, FTP client, image memory or alarm output).

The remaining three tabs are responsible for 'Schedule' timer settings, 'Alarm Buffer' sets recording time, pre/post recording and recording mode, and last but not least is 'Motion Detection'. This generates up to four detector windows, which can be dragged to any part of the image area and resized. Each window has its own individual threshold and sensitivity settings.

Both the Easy and Advanced menus suffer from an appreciable lag and it can take several seconds for anything to happen after a button has been clicked. It's not too bad once you get used to it but it can be quite frustrating at times.

The supplied instruction leaflet only covers the installation and setup basics. The full manual is a pdf document on the CD ROM so unless it is printed out it is necessary to view it on a PC screen. This isn't necessarily a problem, except that it is rather large – almost 70 packed pages – and not very well laid out, and finding and making sense of a particular topic can be hard work. It also doesn't help that some aspects of the camera's operation are glossed over. The Video Player utility, for example, is not very well explained, and first-time users would be well advised to carry out a dry run on the bench before attempting an installation in the field.

Performance

At the highest quality settings picture performance in both JPEG and MPEG-4 modes are very good indeed. There is some loss of detail and a reduction in contrast levels – compared with a conventional analogue camera setup – though it is unwise to make too many direct comparisons due to the nature of network operation and the limitations imposed by the browser viewer.

At low and medium quality settings there is a marked increase in digital artefacts, and the relatively small picture size hides multitude of sins, nevertheless edges become noticeably less well defined and there are further reductions in contrast. Still pictures saved on the PC maintain approximately the same quality level as video images and do not suffer any further degradation.

In virtually all other respects the camera performs well, with fast and positive exposure control. Colours are bright and accurately rendered even in troublesome mixed lighting conditions and picture noise levels are negligible. Picture stability is excellent and the image remained rock solid when the camera was subjected to mechanical shock. Audio from the built-in microphone is crisp and clean, though in common with the image, subject to a slight delay that inevitably increases the further away it is from the viewer and other factors like network traffic and bandwidth.

What the manufacturer says ...

The SNC-P1 MPEG-4/JPEG network colour camera opens unlimited possibilities to an extensive range of Network Video Monitoring applications.

Responding to the growing demand for an affordable and easy-to-use network camera, the SNC-P1 offers a cost-effective solution for a broad range of security applications such as retail, offices, manufacturing lines and webcasting.

In addition to the industry-standard JPEG compression format, the SNC-P1 utilises the efficient MPEG-4 compression format, which provides smooth video/audio streaming via ordinary broadband network environments such as DSL or CATV. And, thanks to the high compression ratio of the MPEG-4 format, the SNC-P1 can achieve a high frame rate of up to 30 fps even when bandwidth is limited.