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Published: Mar 24, 2009 Author: Michael Chiu Editor: Amber Lupala Provider: Hawking Share this article:

Toughts on the Hawking Video Camera

Recently we had the change to check out Hawking’s HomeRemote Pro Home Automation Starter Kit and were impressed by the easy installation and intuitive user interface. As mentioned, there are a number of add-on accessories to this system, and today we’ll take a look one such item, the Hawking HomeRemote Pro HRPC1 Wireless Video Camera. Will this camera take home automation and monitoring to the next level? Read on to find out.

About Hawking Technology:

Check out their website- www.hawkingtech.com

Hawking Technology, Inc., located in Irvine, California, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of connectivity solutions for home, workgroup, and corporate users around the world.

Backed by over 15 years of experience in the Networking industry, Hawking is committed to creating and developing innovative ways to make networking easier, faster and more carefree for everyone.

Hawking Technologies develops a wide variety of wired and wireless Networking solutions to enable quick and easy sharing of broadband access, data, and devices for your home or your business. Hawking's product lines encompass over 100 high-performance products, ranging from routers, network adapters, print servers, switches, modems, and network cameras to essential accessories for all your networking needs.

Hawking Technologies has worldwide headquarters in Irvine, California and satellite offices located in Canada and The Netherlands. Backed by extensive networking design and manufacturing expertise, Hawking concentrates its core business on a single premise: building quality products that are easy to use and connect anyone, anywhere.

Features:

Cell Phone Video Interface
* From your cellular phone the HRPC1 displays video at a seamless rate of up to 15 frames per second depending on your cellular Internet connection. You can preview the video in a small window or enlarge it for a more detailed view.

Video Quality
* Enjoy high quality live video at up to 30 frames per second from the HomeRemote Pro website and up to 15 frames per second on your cellular phone
* Adjust the contrast and brightness for your streaming image
* Adjust frame rates to maximize the performance from lower bandwidth Internet connections

Motion Detection
* Set up e-mail snapshot alerts when motion is detected

Recording and Viewing Software
* Schedule recordings or set recording triggers based on the detection of motion using the HomeRemote Pro Recording and Viewing Software

Plug and Play Installation
* True plug and play installation.

The product:

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The Hawking HomeRemote Pro HRPC1 Wireless Video Camera arrived in a nicely designed colorful package that highlights some of the features and benefits of the product. The package even has a front flap that basically has all the information you need about the product, including a summary of the installation instructions.

Note that Hawking has another wireless video camera in its offering, the HRPC2 Wireless Video Camera with NightVision.

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Opening the package, we find the contents securely packaged inside a custom cardboard package. Along with the video camera itself, the package comes with an antenna, Ethernet cable, camera mounting bracket, power adapter, software, and a instruction booklet.

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Taking a closer look at video camera, we find a rectangular, white unit with a relatively small and narrow form factor. The front of the camera has the tilting camera lens and LEDs for the power, connection, and WLAN/LAN display indicators. I like how the camera lens can tilt; this allows for greater installation flexibility that isn’t often seen in wireless video cameras.

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The back of the unit houses the ports for the power adapter, Ethernet cable, and wireless antenna. There is also a small reset button on the back. The top and the bottom of the unit are fairly featureless, except for the small screw hole used to attach the mounting brackets.

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The mounting brackets can be installed on either the top or the bottom of the camera, which makes mounting a little easier. The bracket also has a ball-socket style interface that allows you to essentially point the camera in any direction. There is also an extension piece to give the camera an extra 3” height.