PC World – December 2015

Roundup: Security Cameras
Third time’s the charm, though, and after Flir sent me yet another
unit, I got the camera up and running. Even when the setup went as
designed, it wasn’t as plug-and-play as other security cameras I’ve
tested. The camera must first charge for about 20 minutes, and the
connection process requires that you switch back and forth between
the Flir FX app and your device’s Wi-Fi settings. Altogether, it was
about a half hour between
unboxing the camera and
getting it online.
When you’re within 500 feet
of your router, the Flir FX gives
you direct Wi-Fi access to your
live feed and videos on an SD
card. Beyond that range, the
connection switches over to
Flir’s cloud servers. In practice,
the transition is seamless. I
noticed no difference in
connection quality; whether I
was home or out and about,
the feed was smooth and the
audio was clear.
Positioned atop the entertainment center in my living room, the
160-degree lens gave me a view of most of my townhome’s entire
downstairs with no image bending. Streaming video was periodically
pixelated and choppy, usually when something or someone was
moving quickly through the frame, but the recording of that event
would be sharp and smooth. Night vision made the image grainier,
though, with less tonal gradations, which made it tough to see details
in the environment.
The Flir FX is accessed and controlled through its accompanying
mobile app (Flir says a web portal is in the works). A thumbnail image
of the room being monitored appears on the home screen.
Tapping the More menu (three dots in a vertical line) on a bar above
Using a
scrolling
timeline,
you can
select hours
of footage to
be compiled
in RapidRecap
video digest.
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