New IP Camera Review - AVTECH AVN801

Hey readers!

I have a new product to write about. This time it is the AVTECH AVN801 IP CAMERA.

While I do my review of it, this will be a living document, similar to my previous review of the AVN80X.

The AVN801 is a more budget friendly version of the AVN80X series of cameras, with a few less functions than the ANV80X that I had previously reviewed. It could be considered the little brother of the AVN80X. The AVN80X as you may recall, has a Micro SD slot, White LED for night viewing, and a Speaker for two way communications.

The AVN801 has the following list of features:

PUSH Video calls with 5 second event recording: Receive a pop up and the video on your mobile device, allowing you to see what tripped the alert.

Digital PTZ: The camera lens is stationary, but the software allows you to Pan, Tilt, and Zoom on it's field of view.
10MB RAM DISK: This RAM DISK is used for storing of video events before they are sent to your device.

Human detection

Microphone: You can HEAR what is going on, not just see it

External Alarm I/O connections: Push Video IP cameras support all kinds of N.O. / N.C. type alarm sensors; for example, active infrared sensor, smoke detector, magnetic contacts and so forth to extend the flexibility of IP surveillance.

User selectable event record duration

Multi Platform - iPad and Android software releases, looks particularly great on tablets
H.264 compression

So you might think, this doesn’t have a lot of features, but you have to keep in mind this is for the more budget friendly installations, that may not need a lot of advanced features.

Let’s start with the unboxing of the camera when I received it:

Here you can see the packaging is well designed, and keeps the product inside secure and safe.

Opening the box, first thing I see is the instructions for the Quick setup using my iPhone. Using the instructions took less than 2 minutes before I was up and running.

The AVN801 is a bit smaller than the AVN80X because it is made out of plastic, so it is lighter.

This is the rear side of the AVN801, you can clearly see the Ethernet port and the Alarm I/O connector.

Now that we have it unpacked, lets take a look at some screens within the Webgui.

Below is the main screen you see, after going through the wizard that we have covered before on this blog, so I have skipped it. As you can see, it is relatively similar to the other camera models we have reviewed, but it has been enhanced just a little bit.

Below are the media types you can use to see the video, H.264, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG, Quicktime, and VLC.

 Here are the resolutions you can select to view, going all the way up to 1280x720.

The Backups screen as shown below, is where you would be able to view any alarms that are stored in the Camera's RAM DISK.  This is using RAM, so it is wiped out upon a reboot.

Here is an image showing all the configurable options for the camera. Quite a selection.

Conclusion

The AVTech AVN801 is a fantastic value if the AVN80X is out of your price range. It provides very good image quality,coming in at  720p HD image resolution, motion detection, audio with built-in microphone and of course the push video notifications.

If you need a WiFi connection, you are best to wait for the AVTech AVN812, which is a WiFi model coming soon. The AVN801 and AVN80X require hard wired Ethernet connections, or the use of a wireless bridge.

For estimated list price under the $200 USD mark, this camera is definitely one you should evaluate, if not purchase for your security needs.