TRENDnet TV-IP572W Review

Now that Camcloud has integrated its cloud service with more H.264 IP cameras, we’re going to start regular reviews of the cameras we support, giving our users the pros/cons of these various devices. (Check out our D-Link DCS-942L review.)

This post will look at the TRENDnet TV-IP572W camera. I’ll evaluate the camera’s Setup, Configuration and General Use. Overall I like this camera. Very easy setup and configuration. Picture quality isn’t the best but perfect for everyday needs.

Setup

This is dead simple. Like my D-Link review I should mention I did go a different route with setup, I didn’t use the WPS button. This is great if your router supports it, but I like configuring the camera for my network the way I want.

The first thing you do is pop in the CD included with the camera and go to Setup Wizard. This brings you to a wizard that takes you through the process.

As you step through the wizard it finds your camera on the network and it configures the wireless. That’s it, I’m done. My camera is now on my wireless network and I’m ready to move it to a spot to monitor my home. Like my D-Link review I setup my camera pointing outside my window just because I wanted to test motion from my busy street. I don’t have anything to pick on when it comes to setup. Although I will say I’ve looked at a number of cameras and this is the bulkiest one I’ve seen to date. Its not like it is massive it is only marginally bigger than other cameras but it is still something that is noticeable.

Configuration

When you finish setup you will be given the IP address to access the camera’s configuration. In my case it was: 192.168.1.61, so just type this into your browser and you are off.

Here is where you can change any network settings (I always suggest adding DNS servers) and add any kind of event such as motion detection. You can see the full explanation of how I setup the camera with Camcloud in our TRENDnet Setup Guide. I reviewed this camera after the D-Link and I think I found it especially easy because those 2 cameras have freakishly similar setup and configuration. Either way I never ran into any issues with this TRENDnet.

General use

Overall this camera does what I expect. I find the camera to be a bit dark and fuzzy at times but there are probably some settings for that. While I would prefer the video clip action to transmit longer videos over FTP, the TRENDnet shares a 10-second maximum length with the D-Link and other cameras. I’m guessing this is to keep the size of the video down to something reasonable for email or ftp. That’s unfortunate as Camcloud IP camera cloud storage will take any size we throw at it and in some cases I wish it kept recording.

Overall the quality is fine, as you can see in this screenshot.

Window glare is a bit of a problem even though I’ve turned off the front light that shows the camera is connected and working. Putting the camera tighter to the window should make this better if you do want to point the camera outside.

Overall this camera is brilliant. At its price point (we got it for $120 US) you just can’t beat it. Stay tuned, I hope to review a few other cameras that Camcloud supports and eventually I hope to give a review on my absolute favorite.

If you decided you need cloud storage, try the Camcloud service for free. You can also read more about our support for Trendnet IP Cameras, as well as other popular IP cameras.