Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11 | 
| Brand: Panasonic
List Price: $299.00
Buy New: $219.00
You Save: $80.00 (27%)
New (36) Used (2) Refurbished (1) from $199.99
Rating:  125 reviews
Sales Rank: 432
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 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Place anywhere you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required at the location | | • | View and control from a standard web browser, video display, or compatible cell phone or PDA | | • | Point the camera where you want with eight shooting position presets | | • | Built-in heat sensor allows record and/or notify by email when someone enters the room | | • | Connect wirelessly with standard 802.11b/g devices, SSID filtering and 40/64/128-bit WEP encryption |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
What happens when you're not around? Life is precious and valuable. View the things you value when away from home or when you're at another room in your home. View your property, your pets, even your children. You can even listen in! You can add extra eyes (through your computer) by adding the Panasonic BL-C131A Wireless Network Camera. It works with 802.11g wireless technology and it lets you monitor its "view" (what its lens sees) from virtually anywhere. Just log on a specially designated Internet site using a PC and instantly access camera images. You can even control the BL-C131a using your web browser to move the camera's pointing direction and modify its digital zoom to bring objects of interest into close view. Place this plug-and-play camera in your home, office, vacation home, or almost anywhere else you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required at the location. Check your property, check your children, check your babysitter - from any location using your PC or an Internet equipped cell-phone or PDA. And the camera can be easily hidden from view. 1 Lux Color Night View Mode Simple plug&play mode Built-in Microphone - listen as well as view Privacy Mode- Privacy mode can be controlled remotely using your administrator password Camera can be set to automatically record video at certain times and certain speeds With optional, external sensors attached to the camera, it's possible for the camera to email5 or record when triggered by motion, sound, light, timer, or even a push button Compression Format JPEG (3 levels), MPEG4 Picture Sizes - 640 x 480, 320 x 240 (default), 192 x 144 Frame Rate (speed) - Max. 30 FPS (640 x 480, 320 x 240, 192 x 144) Integrated F2.8 fixed-focus lens - set for 20 to infinity Panasonic 1 Year Warranty Connecting the camera to the Internet requires Internet access and may require that you obtain additional hardware such as a cable or DSL modem,
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| Customer Reviews: Read 120 more reviews...
 Excellent camera, excellent customer service October 6, 2007
K. Lam (San Jose, CA)
177 out of 186 found this review helpful
My wife and I wanted to keep an eye on the nanny with our baby from work. After researching the network cameras for several months, it seemed that only Panasonic cameras consistently received positive (usually glowing reviews) whereas cameras from other major brands like Linksys, D-Link, etc received mediocre or poor reviews. So I went with Panasonic. And after about a month, I have to say I am very impressed with it. Some background: I have a classic Linksys WRT54G 802.11g router, with 2 WinXP PCs connected to it via ethernet and 3 more PCs connected wirelessly; plus, I have AT&T/SBC DSL service via a Speedstream 5100 DSL modem. If you're moderately computer literate, you should have no problem following the included instructions to setup (view and control) the camera in wired mode or in wireless WiFi mode.
But if you want to setup the camera to be viewed (and controlled) from the internet, you need to do a bit more work. And this is where Panasonic's excellent, excellent customer support comes in. Panasonic's support line is 8_0_0-2_7_2-7_0_3_3; they are open Mon-Fri 9AM-9PM and Sat/Sun 10AM-7PM Eastern US Time; this tech support is available to you for the LIFE of the product. They will walk you through how to setup the camera, configure your router (for, among other things, port forwarding), and register with Panasonic's FREE Dynamic DNS web service. This last point is important: Panasonic network cameras include FREE Dynamic DNS hosting service for the life of the product; other brands offer the service for an annual fee.
Okay, step-by-step, here's how to config the camera for internet viewing:
First, if you use DSL as I do (as opposed to cable broadband), you have to configure the DSL modem for "bridge mode." (If you don't use DSL, then you can skip this step.) This is because DSL modems act as a router, and port forwarding cannot work behind both the DSL modem's router and (in my case) the Linksys WRT54G router. If you want, you can call your DSL tech support to ask them to walk you through how to "bridge" your DSL modem. But here's what I did.
1. Login to your DSL modem (for me, it's 192.168.0.1) using your DSL account (for me, it's my SBCglobal email address).
2. Select Advanced >> PPP Location
3. Select Bridged Mode (PPPoE is not used), then Change PPP Location
4. When prompted, restart the DSL modem
5. Login to your router (for me, it's 192.168.1.1)
6. Under Setup> Basic Setup >> Internet Connection Type, select PPPoE and enter the DSL login & password info you normally would enter in your DSL modem to authenticate your DSL service.
7. At this point, the "bridging" should have been successful. To check that bridging has been successful, click Status >> Router, and check that you are "connected" with an IP address showing. If successful, you should also see that your DSL modem's "internet" LED light is off while your router's "internet" light is on. What you basically have done is to move the point of authentication for your DSL service from the DSL modem to your router; your DSL modem merely acts as a bridge for the DSL service to your router.
8. Now, we move on to configuring the camera itself. I assume that the camera has already been configured for wired and wireless mode. Login to the network camera (for me it's, 192.168.1.253).
9. Click Setup. Change the Port No. from the default of 80 to 50000 (fifty thousand) and enter the IP address of the camera (for me, it's 192.168.1.253). Click Save, and the camera will restart. When it finishes restarting (taking as long as 1.5 min), it'll bring you back to the "Top" home page of the camera config screen.
10. Log back into your router, and go to Applications & Gaming, where you'll be able to set up port forwarding.
11. In the Port Range, enter 50000 as "Start" and 50000 as "End." Enter the IP Address of the camera (for me, 192.168.1.253). Check Enable. Save Settings.
12. Now, log back into your camera. Go to Setup >> DynamicDNS. Select viewnetcam-dot-com, then Next.
13. Click on "Your Account Link" to bring up the viewnetcam.com registration page, where you then select New Registration. Enter your desired registration info and select your domain name at viewnetcam-dot-com (e.g. yourname-dot-viewnetcam-dot-com). Click Choose.
14. Now, you will be shown a page confirming your registration. Under DDNS status, you will see Active-waiting. You need to wait up to 10min as the domain registration occurs, at which time, the status will change to Active.
15. We're almost done; stay with me! From WinXP Start Menu, click Run and type "cmd" to bring up a DOS window.
16. In the DOS window, type "ipconfig/all", which shows your computer's various network information. Under Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection, copy down the two addresses under DNS Servers.
17. Log back into your camera, select Setup, and enter the 2 DNS Server addresses from ipconfig/all in the 2 DNS boxes.
18. Go back to viewnetcam-dot-com, login to your account, and check that the DDNS status is now Active. If so, then you're all ready to go!
19. Go to yourname-dot-viewnetcam-dot-com:50000 to see your network camera on the internet!
Low-Cost, Easy Nanny Cam October 3, 2007
Shawn Collins (Berkeley Heights, NJ)
55 out of 62 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2T9QEXNSRK5I1 The Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11 is used all over my house as a nanny cam and I recently used it while traveling to see my family as they got together in the kitchen. Great tool for bringing people closer.
It works as advertised May 16, 2007
LS (Irvine, CA)
41 out of 43 found this review helpful
I have experience with D-Link cameras, and this one is much better. Setup was a multi-step process, but went smoothly, and the free internet address really works. The camera has yet to lose signal, and I have it positioned a the farthest end of my wirelss network. Picture is clear, sound is ok, interface is very good. Only works well with Internet Explorer. On a Mac, the video will display in Firefox but without sound. I haven't expored all of the features yet, but the main thing is that it works (more than can be said for many wireless products).
Great cam for the Mac (OSX)..... July 28, 2007
David Schmitz (Portland, OR)
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
You can do all setup via the builtin web server - even firmware updates. There is no need for installing anything from the included (windows only) CD. Streaming MP4 or MJPEG video works right outta the box in Safari as does the static captures - no need for drivers or anything else.. Those looking for typical, painless MacOSX setup will get it with this Panasonic webcam..
Best of consumer web cams (I have tested 20 models) January 21, 2008
Thomas D. Breithaupt (Naperville, IL USA)
22 out of 23 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.
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