We’re all becoming used to seeing great HD images on our TVs these days, so much more than ever before, home CCTV can be pretty jarring to look at.

With this in mind we started to examine the HD IP video camera world.  It’s a new name to us, but the Lilin LR7424 Day & night 1080P HD Vari-Focal IR IP Camera seemed to fit all our requirements – 1080p HD, PoE, IR illumination and outdoor housing (IP66) with bracket included.

Installing the video camera – The first thing we discovered taking the video camera from it’s box is the quality of construction.  The housing and bracket are metal, substantial and sturdy.  It’s a bigger unit than our other IP cameras, although not as big as the one we have in the conventional type external housing with heater – dimensions 121.5mm(W) x 109mm(H) x 231mm(D). also in the box is an instruction manual, the LILIN CMX recording software CD and an L-type hex essential wrench for the bracket.  Time to get it on the wall.

Our friends at i-Home brought their awesome selection of SDS drill bits and got through our cavity wall in no time.  The screws that came with the video camera were too short and Stephen recommended we use stainless steel ones anyway.

The smart bracket allows you to pass your cable televisions straight through its hollow body and into the camera.  In our case we’d gone for the Power over Ethernet option (PoE+ IEEE 802.3at) and our PoE switch supplies up to 8 cameras. All this implies just a single CAT5 cable television is needed to offer both the data and power connections.

There’s a rubber gasket that goes between the video camera body and bracket to help keep moisture out.

Stephen told us the most significant single issue they see with outdoor cameras in keeping them clean, with spider webs being the most significant single cause of problems.  There are some anti-spider sprays on the market now that may help decrease this.

Tip: Drill the hole through your wall with a small upwards incline in the direction of the interior, that way any moisture can’t run into the cavity

The video camera ‘clicks’ round on its ratchet style toothed bracket before locking off with the included allen key.  While this helps to guarantee the video camera won’t relocation it could potentially guideline out that ideal angle where it falls between clicks.  But we’re nitpicking, the mounting system is excellent.

Viewing – We initially had a problem seeing the video camera on our  Macs, but flashing to the most recent firmware resolved this. We found an undocumented URL – /safari.html – that provides a much more basic and compatible view (default login of admin:pass).

The video camera includes all the typical features you’ve come to expect from an IP camera including ONVIF support and the ability to FTP and email images based on movement. The hardware supports audio too but you need to bring your own microphone as there isn’t one built in. You can use audio as well as video for an alarm trigger.

You can choose between 3.3 ~ 12mm fixed lens (horizontal seeing angle: 79.3 ~ 29.8° iris: F1.4) and 9 ~ 22mm fixed lens (horizontal seeing angle: 29.5 ~ 12.4° iris: F1.4).

The image quality is very outstanding and it immediately made the rest of our IP video camera look very poor in comparison.

Obviously the larger resolution video stream implies you’ll need good up bandwidth to get an acceptable frame rate for seeing the video camera away from home.

Performance at night (when the video camera switches automatically to black and white) is outstanding with the built in IR LEDs around the lens throwing illumination up to 35 metres.

We use our trusty Synology 1813+ with it’s built in CCTV recording capability to capture streams from all our IP cameras.

Check out the day time sample below to give you an idea of the detail in an HD CCTV image – click for large version.

Able to capture video at full HD1080p resolution for highly-detailed video

Integrated infrared LEDs offer illumination of up to 35m, and a built-in infrared-cut filter switches the video camera from full colour to monochrome during low-light and at night for round-the-clock monitoring

Quadruple Streaming technology allows simultaneous streams at up to 30 fps each in a variety of file types and resolutions, ideal for when multiple quality streams are required

Sense Up plus technology adjusts video camera settings in purchase to eliminate noise and motion blur during periods of low-light, ensuring a clearer image is captured

Two-way audio allows accessories such as microphones and speakers to be added to the video camera to offer communication between the field of view and remote recording locations, ideal for issuings instructions and warnings

Power over Ethernet plus (PoE+) compatibility allows the video camera to receive power and network connectivity using a single cable, helping to save on wiring

Includes totally free CMX recording software

Option for on-camera recording or backup using an SD card (card not included)

Summing Up – We’ve installed numerous IP CCTV cameras around the Automated home over the years and the Lilin LR7424 is undoubtedly the best we’ve ever fitted.  And while that quality is reflected in its price (around £400), the features it provides imply it represents value for money.  Its little brother is available for around £200 and retains the majority of the features (with a shorter IR illumination distance and a few other differences).  I guess the best recommendation we can give it is that we’ll be ordering and installing another Linin HD video camera to fit at the Automated home soon.

www.lilin.co.uk  :  Available from Network Webcams

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