Y-cam HomeMonitor HD Pro camera review

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The HomeMonitor HD pro is an exterior weatherproof, waterproof IP addition to the growing line of network connected Y-cam security cameras. Retailing for £200, it captures video in 720P HD video and offers installers a range of connection options including Wi-Fi, Ethernet RJ 45 connection and even Power over Ethernet. The last two HomeMonitor cameras from the brand really excited us. Time to put this new IP model through its paces...

Y-cam HomeMonitor HD Pro: Build and installation
Build quality is impressive. The camera comes in gloss white with metal construction that's IP66-rated. If you are looking for it to disappear on the building it's probably not the best option, but you would rather convince potential perps to move on down the road in order not to cameo on CrimeWatch, then bold white is a good choice.

The camera is a compact 57mm x 125mm and comes with an easy to fix wall bracket that has a neat cable tidy system. As with the previous offerings from the brand you can set up the detection perimeter, but with this being an outside job this becomes a much more important feature that you will need to setup correctly. The last thing you want is a hundred emails hitting your inbox just because the camera is picking up your neighbour washing his car!

The camera sports a wide angle HD lens with 24 infrared LEDs giving the same excellent night vision we've seen previously from the brand; there is a small LED on the front of the camera that glows green when the camera is installed and working on the network. We chose to wire the camera with POE connection from my network switch so one CAT 5 was all that was needed to camera. It's fixed to the mount, which is easily adjusted and fixed into position with a turn of the provided Allen key.

Y-cam HomeMonitor HD Pro: Features
As with the HomeMonitor HD camera we reviewed here, we found this new iteration particularly to install. Clicking on the Add Camera icon on the accompanying app, it allowed me to install this as my third camera on my networked system. It comes with all the plus points we are accustomed to seeing from Y-Cam solutions: the excellent notification system and the free seven day cloud storage.

Y-cam is still the only manufacturer providing free cloud storage and the clips are easy to download and store on your hard disk, if you want to keep an archive of your videos. You can extend this seven day free period to 30 days which will cost £30 per year.

Y-cam HomeMonitor HD Pro: performance
The HomeMonitor HD Pro features a 1 Megapixel ¼ CMOS lens using FarFocus technology, which gives a 64-degree viewing angle. On firing up the camera we found the image very clean and stable. Colours are accurate during the day, and there's enough detail in the h.264-encoded 720P feed to recognise faces and car registration plates. I was also really impressed by audio pickup from the inbuilt microphone, everything was clear and audible down to even the quietest of squeeks.

To give the Wi-Fi a full workout, I tested the camera using the power supply in a number of different locations around the property; the signal strength was very good and only dropped out at the furthest point of the building and held a signal further than my iPad could. The Wi-Fi built into the camera is standard 802.11 b/g/n.

Audio on exterior security cameras is usually forgotten about, but is very important and the HD Pro excels in this department. It delivers some of the clearest audio I have heard on a sub £500 camera setup. Support for playback via iPads and iPhones, as well as browser windows make it an ideal solution for the busy client. You can monitor your property at a distance, just watch out for those false alarms and look at setting the perimeter detection correctly!  

Y-cam HomeMonitor HD Pro: Verdict
As with the previous models from Y-Cam, we just love this camera. The ease of set up, free seven day recording and POE connections make it a bargain for the entry-level security market. And as with previous offerings from the brand, we rate the HD Pro model highly enough to give it a coveted five star badge. This is a cleverly conceived piece of Smart connected kit that's solid in construction and offers everything your clients need to watch over the average home.

The Y-cam HomeMonitor HD pro is available now
Retail price: £200