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| Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11 | 
 enlarge | Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE
List Price: $299.00
Buy New: $249.99
You Save: $49.01 (16%)
New (29) Used (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  114 reviews
Sales Rank: 366
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Native Resolution: 320 x 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 4.3 x 10 x 8.5
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: BL-C131A
Model: BL-C131A
UPC: 037988845156
EAN: 0037988845156
ASIN: B000NVR9SM
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Glad I called Panasonic Customer Service before buying this product! January 22, 2008
3 out of 28 found this review helpful
Called Panasonic customer service to ask about which cell phone would be most compatible. Turns out there is a feature called active X control that no mobile unit has at this point in time. What this means is all you are going to get on your cell or hand held mobile unit is "still pictures" from where your camera is operating. My other question was my operating system which is a Mac with an Arris modem (Comcast Cable Company). The model numbers Panasonic had listed for this modem (two of them) that they could do the set-up on was not my model number. It was explained to me that Panasonic's responsibility was to only help me get the camera set-up and that if there turned out to be a problem with the modem that I would have to take that up with my cable company and the company that makes the modem (Arris) whoever they are. I was disappointed because this sounded like the product I wanted however I am not willing to deal with those odds of buying problems that end like that.
One less thing I'll have to return. Thought this sounded too easy to be ture.
 Poor Performance January 22, 2008
2 out of 14 found this review helpful
Poor instructions for accessing over the internet. Various, unconnected instructions that show you different procedures, none that work.
 Best of consumer web cams (I have tested 20 models) January 21, 2008
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
OVERVIEW
The BL-C131A is a wireless/router based camera (no PC needed). In my view, this is the ONLY way cameras should be used due to the unstable PC connected solutions (e.g., PC freeze-up, lost power, etc). It is an IP based system which needs its own local internet address which the included software does a pretty good job setting up automatically.
MY EXPERIENCES
I have tried over 20 wireless web cameras from 7 brands over the last 5 years ($100-$600) and none are close to the performance, reliability, ease of setup of the Panasonic cams for a consumer based product. Dlink used to lead the pack until the BL-C20A/30A units came out. I was a fan of Dlinks but the software setup, remote camera configurations, and Viewnetcam dynamic DNS service of the the Pana's is just the best today.
ADVANTAGES
- The included software is the best on the market for finding the camera on your system and trying to configure it automatically. Most software engineers should be SHOT due to sloppy code but the Panasonic software and firmware (software inside the cameras) is pretty good for setup and reliability (I am an electrical engineer so I know the sloppy way most of these guys think).
- Tech support for Panasonic is the ONLY support I have contacted from 7 brands with AMERICANS speaking ENGLISH (not "Engrish"). Their patience and overall knowledge is truly outstanding and worth every extra penny this camera costs.
- I highly recommend you also buy the Panasonic wireless router. It automatically configures with the cameras and becomes really easy to find/control the cameras.
- The ability to reset/reconfigure the cameras remotely is INVALUABLE! I am often travleing in China, at my home in Chicago, or my home in Florida and want to make changes. I can do it remotely with 100% success after the first setup. I was even able to configure some cams in Chicago and Fedex to my wife in Florida and they booted up into the other system perfectly!
- The Viewnetcam dynamic DNS service is stunningly reliable. It has never gone down and my cameras reset/refind themselves every hour so if your local ISP dynamically changes your IP address (Comcast is worst) you are always going to have the cams back up in 1 hour.
- The ability to snap images, group small video screens, and "mouse-point" the cameras via the pan-tilt-zoom are outstanding.
- The built in microphones are AMAZINGLY sensitive and pick up small noises remarkably well. I could hear the kids playing outside the house with cams inside.
- The built in multi-screen servers can integrate different models of cameras. For example, I use a BL-C131A cam as #1 at my mom's house for PTZ and audio. I then add a BL-C30A for simple PTZ photo/video and a BL-C20A for fixed photo/video. They all coexist in one screen and work beautifully!
- The photo snaps work PERFECTLY for building a simple web page and placing multiple screen snaps on 1 page (I placed 8) thus a super slim matrix of what is happening in my homes. Each photo at 320x240 is only 8kb so they download fast.
- The mobile function (viewing on a cell phone browser) works INCREDIBLY well. I use it everyday on my Treo700P via Sprint.
DISADVANTAGES/CAUTIONS
- ANY web cam is tedious to setup, no matter the brand. Be patient, and call Pana's tech support before returning the unit.
- DON'T expect HD quality video - these are 640x480 screens as best and the upload speed of your home network will always be the limiting factor. I do not recommend more than 4 cams online at once since this overloads even a good 768K upload system.
- The pan-tilt controls are outstanding. Lots of left-right-down travel but up is limited. Also, the zoom is a digital zoom (NOT an optical zoom) thus very pixelated and not worth much.
- The cams can fight for packets and "burble" your VOIP telephone calls.
SUMMARY
Outstanding product. I now own 14 units around the world and all are stone-cold reliable. Just great products.
 Great Value Wireless Network cam January 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been reading reviews on pan-tilt wireless cams for a long time and finally made the desc to purchase the Panasonic. I can say I'm extremely pleased with this product. It works perfectly! Image quality is great, sound quality is amazing (picks up any sound through out house) and the range is excellent. This is a very well designed camera... I paid $202 (delivered) which is a great value - same price as the no-name cameras that have rec mixed reviews. You will be pleased with this cam...
Nifty little camera January 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this camera in order to keep a watch on my dairy goats out in the barn, because they will have babies soon. I especially like the ability to pan around and also capture the audio. Goats do strange things when humans are not around. The only complaint I have is that the setup instructions are poorly written and the task is rather difficult just to get it working on a local network. Putting it on the Internet is even more difficult. However, the telephone support is very good. Still, their instructions need to be rewritten and more complete.
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