Digitus DN-16050 review

Digitus's DN-16050 IP camera feels sturdy, thanks to its metal casing.

However, it's not waterproof and so is not suitable for outdoor use. The metal bracket is reversible, so you can mount it on the ceiling, and it has a ball joint you can use to angle the camera as required.

This is a wired IP camera, so you'll need to run an Ethernet cable to your router from it. Unlike most IP cameras, the DN-16050 can be connected to a TV via its composite video output. This could be useful if you want to integrate it into an older security system, or you could simply run the feed to your TV for no-hassle security checks.

It comes with two CDs. One contains a user manual, which explains how to configure and access the camera's network video feed. The other is for the VideoViewer application, which lets you control and monitor output from the camera. The version that came with the camera failed to work on our Windows XP system, but an updated version can be downloaded from Digitus's website.

The software picked up the camera as soon as we searched our network. You can also view the feed via your web browser by entering the camera's IP address. The feed appears as an MPEG4 or MJPEG video stream, both of which are supported by Apple's QuickTime browser plug-in. As well as setting the video format, you can choose VGA (640x480) or QVGA (320x240) resolutions. The 25fps video was impressive for an IP camera, with little noise and smooth motion.

The web interface also allows you to configure a DDNS host, so you can access your camera over the internet. The DN-16050 supports only a couple of DDNS hosts, but this includes DynDNS's free service. You can also configure additional user accounts so others can view the camera, and set it up to email you or upload a video file to an FTP site when its motion sensor is triggered.

All these features can also be controlled via the VideoViewer software, although some of its large icons are confusingly labelled. VideoViewer can record video streamed from the camera to your PC, either live or by setting a recording schedule. MPEG video is saved as a compressed AVC file.

This camera doesn't have as many options as Linksys's WVC54GCA. You can't define specific areas in a frame for motion detection, and it doesn't have a built-in woreless adaptor. The DN-16050 also lacks a microphone, so you don't get audio to accompany your video. Despite these omissions, it's still a good choice. It's sturdily constructed, has a decent range of recording options, produces good quality video and can be connected directly to a TV.