There’s always a doubt in your mind when something is happening smoothly. “Where’s the catch?” you ask when a product instantly exceeds your expectations.
That’s what happened to me when I unboxed Philips’ brand new security camera that I got for review purposes. The Philips 5000 Series indoor 360° wifi camera works as advertised, and that’s one of the best compliments I can give it.
The setup was a breeze, and understanding and navigating the app was a piece of cake. But there are some things you need to understand before purchasing the product.
For any security camera that you buy, you need a few essentials:
- Wi-Fi: This is the most essential, as most security cameras need an always-on (24/7) Wi-Fi to be broadcast.
- Power: This is even more of a necessity as no security camera would turn out without being plugged in. Some wireless but they come with their trade-offs.
- An SD card/DVR: Depending on what security camera you purchase, and how you plan to set it up, an SD card or a DVR for storage needs. This is a necessity if you need playback from your security cameras.
And you also need to make a few decisions:
- Indoor versus outdoor: Do you need the camera for indoors or do you need it for the outdoors? If it is the latter, then you’d need one that comes with water resistance.
- Cloud recording: Would you like to back up your recordings to the cloud or will local storage be enough? That’s something you need to answer for yourself.
- Clarity: Do you need a camera that works during the day and at night? Do you need enhanced night vision?
- Voice: This is another question that needs to be answered. Do you need to hear/record the sounds coming from in front of your security camera?
It’s safe to say that Philips has a winner on their hands with this brand-new security camera. Let me tell you why:
- 3MP 2K (1296P) resolution: The Philips 5000 Series indoor 360° comes with a 3MP 2K resolution camera. It provides clear and sharp details and the live videos are a standout. Distant objects can be seen with utmost clarity. It’s one of the best security cameras I’ve used.
- Enhanced night vision: This security camera excels even at night time. The camera comes with infrared visibility up to 10 metres.
- Easy to install: Whether you want to place the security camera on top of a table or the ceiling, it’s fairly easy as no hard-wiring is necessary. Just plug it in and go through the steps during the setup process on the app, and you’ll be ready in just a few minutes.
- Offline recording: With a 128GB SD card (the maximum supported by the security camera) you can get up to seven and a half days of recording. That’s plenty for most people. Furthermore, if the Wi-Fi disconnects, the footage will be uploaded and can be viewed once the connection is restored.
- 360° Pan, Tilt, Zoom: The security camera comes with many features such as 360° pan, tilt and zoom. It’s very easy to access through the app. All movements are captured and nothing is ever missed. There’s also auto-motion tracking.
- Two-way audio: The security camera features two-way audio wherein you can communicate with the other end effortlessly from your smartphone.
- AI-based detection: There’s even an AI-based detection on board that works almost flawlessly. It can detect people, pets, sounds of children crying, and more. Alerts can be set up based on these.
- Siren: Yes, this Philips security camera comes with a siren that you can enable whenever, and from wherever. This is especially important during emergencies.
- Privacy: There’s a manual privacy shutter for peace of mind and to secure your personal and sensitive data.
A few things that I didn’t like:
- SD card: I was surprised to see that there wasn’t an SD card included in the box and one has to buy one separately.
- No cloud storage: Philips has promised that there will be cloud storage but has given no timeline as to when it’ll be available.
- App freezes: At times, if the app hasn’t been used in a while, and hasn’t been closed, then when you open it, it’ll just be blank and there’ll be no live feed. Closing the app and re-opening it is the only way to get it to work.
- 2.4Ghz: A stable 2.4Ghz connection is required. The Philips security camera will not work on a 5Ghz connection. That’s a disappointment.
The best security camera I’ve used
At Rs 8,995 (routinely discounted to Rs 6,999), the Philips 5000 Series Indoor 360° Wi-Fi camera is the best I’ve used all year long. It’s very easy to set up, it works flawlessly (provided your internet is stable) and it has many features like tilt, 360 pan, and zoom that are just what the doctor ordered.
I’ve been using it in my bedroom, and while I’ve travelled to Los Angeles, I’ve had no problem looking around at every corner of my room. Even at night time, I can make out things in the far-off corners of the room.
It’s a superb camera and one that is easy to setup even for those not so well versed with technology. Buy it for yourself, and have the peace of mind, whilst you’re away from the room/house. It’s effortless to connect a number of these around the house and to view them from wherever you are in the world.
