Dropping in With Dropcam

What is Dropcam?

Surveillance camera systems are popular these days. Dropcam is one of the easiest to install and most affordable ($149) almost-wireless solutions available. I say, “almost wireless” because AC electrical power is required. But the Dropcam can be mounted anywhere you can run a power line.

Think of Dropcam as a webcam on steroids. The compact 720p camera with wide-angle lens and night-vision capability streams video footage via WiFi. From there, many things are possible.

Online ads for Dropcam show a beautiful, green yard with the caption "YOUR YARD," followed by a defecating doggie and the caption "NOT YOUR DOG." The obvious implication is that one could use this wonder of technology to find out which neighbor is allowing their dog to use your yard as a dumping ground. And in fact, this was the original motivation for the inventors of Dropcam!

You can monitor the video stream from anywhere via a computer, tablet, or smartphone. You can talk with people within the camera’s range using its two-way audio system. You can start or stop video streaming. You can control the digital zoom, although the fixed lens has no optical zoom. You can’t tilt the camera remotely, but its swivel base does allow manual viewing angle adjustments.

The Dropcam can be scheduled to turn on or off, based on the time of day. It can stream continuously or intermittently in response to sound or motion detectors. Email and text messages can alert you when the Dropcam “wakes up” so you can see what activated it.

Streaming Options

An optional cloud-based DVR service is available. For $9.95 per month or $99/year, you can save up to 7 days of continuous video; 30-day recording capability costs $29.95 per month or $295/year. A 50% discount for DVR service is available for each additional Dropcam. You can save clips from your stored video to a local hard drive or mobile device, or upload to YouTube.

You Dropcam video stream can be private, shared with just a few friends or family members, or you can have a public stream that anyone can view online. The video stream is secured by SSL encryption. The cloud-based DVR adds another level of security; no one can steal your video from your home or business.

The Dropcam system has many applications in home, business, or public surveillance. The company’s Web site features a showcase of Dropcams monitoring newborn puppies, wildlife, commercial kitchens, shops, and public areas.

I've seen it used in stores, to discourage theft, or to monitor an employee on a cash register. Others have used it catch burglars (or raccoons) in the act, to say hello to pets while away from home, or as a baby monitor.

Portable, almost-wireless, secure, and highly interactive, Dropcam has enjoyed meteoric growth. Greg Duffy, co-founder, claims that more video is uploaded to Dropcam’s servers than to YouTube, which gulps in 100 hours of video every minute. That’s not bad for a three year-old startup with 30 employees.

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