MCO's Holiday Gift Guide: Dropcam

     *I received a dropcam HD for review in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions* 

Dropcam was developed by co-founders Greg Duffy and Aamir Virani after Greg's father desperately wanted to figure out which local dog was making a mess of his yard. He began hooking up IP camera's but was having trouble getting the system to work just right and that storing video on his hard drive wasn't an easy or secure solution. Greg was immediately interested in solving his dads dilemma and called his friend Aamir to talk through the problem...

      

Photo Credits:  dropcam

They began throwing the idea around, and soon connected with tech pioneer Mitch Kapor who decided to fund the initial development which resulted in the launch of Dropcam in 2009.  Now Dropcam is widely used around the country to "drop in" on their babies, pets, and even to catch unsuspecting thieves.  

I was beyond excited to find out that Dropcam was going to be part of our Holiday Gift Guide!  I have always wanted video monitoring to watch my kids while they are in their bedrooms.  Baby C loves to play in his bed, I can hear him in there playing, laughing, and having a great time all by himself, but the moment I opened the door he would stop and I hated not being able to see what it is that he does in there to have such a great time.  I want to give my thanks to Dropcam for sending me the Dropcam HD to review, now I can watch him anytime!

Dropcam is a cloud-based Wi-Fi monitoring system with free live streaming and two-way talk, to keep you connected with people, places and even your pets no matter where you are.  It is very easy to set up and use.  When you open the Dropcam you need to plug it into your computer for setup, launch Dropcam Setup and follow the easy instructions, this only takes a few minutes to do, once setup is done, unplug it from your computer and choose where you would like to plug it in to keep an eye on things.  You can watch your Dropcam from the computer, if you would prefer to watch it on an iPhone, iPad, or Android device you can download the free app, and watch from anywhere, anytime.  Dropcam provides you with everything you need, whether you are going to hang it on the wall or set it up on a shelf.  The box includes, the Dropcam HD 720p, brushed aluminum base, hardware for wall mounting, 10-foot USB cable, USB power adapter, and quick start guide.  The camera dimensions are 4.5" x 3.15" x 3.15" and it weighs 5.5oz.

The settings for the Dropcam are great!  You can turn the camera on or off at any time, or you can set a schedule for it to turn on and off at specific times, you can even receive alerts to sound and/or motion in the room, and be alerted if the Dropcam is off line, as well as set up a schedule of when you want to be alerted.  Some of the other options are night vision, rotate image, camera microphone volume, and control by location, so that your camera will start or stop when you arrive or leave a location.

We chose to set up our Dropcam in Baby C's room so we could see what all the excitement is in there that we are missing out on.  We installed it up high in the corner so we would have a clear view into his bed, to keep an eye on him.  The instillation was very easy since they provided us with everything we needed, it only took my hubby about 5 minutes to get it all screwed in, the cord they send is very long, and we didn't have any trouble with it reaching the outlet, we have it plugged in behind the recliner in his room so he can't get to the cord when he is in there playing. 

The video quality on the camera comes through very clear it is 720p HD at 30 frames/sec, the night vision has high-power infrared LEDs so you get a great picture even in the dark.  I have my camera set to auto for the night vision, so once the room goes dark it automatically switches over to night vision, it has 4x zoom that you can use if you need to take a closer look, you control it with pinch-to-zoom on your touch screen.  The two-way talk is great on it, Baby C thinks it's so funny when I talk to him on it, I love it!  The field of view on the camera is wide enough for me to see pretty much the entire room, so I feel comfortable with him in there playing on his own, because I can use my phone to check up on him and use the two-way talk to tell him no if needed.  With cloud recording you'll never miss a moment, this is an optional service that allows you to store footage securely in the cloud, so you can access it anytime, anywhere.  The service plans for the cloud are 7 days (168 hours) of saved video for $9.95 a month or $99 a year, or 30 days (720 hours) of saved video for $29.95 a month or $299 a year, if you have more than one camera, the cloud recording is 50% off for additional cameras.

My hubby never felt the need to have video monitoring in the kids rooms like I did, which is why we never had one, but I have to say he has been pretty impressed with the quality of the Dropcam, and he loves it now as much as I do!  He has even suggested buying a few more for the other rooms in our house.  We love being able to watch Baby C play peek-a-boo with Buddy (his little stuffed animal that he takes to bed with him), the two of them have such a great time in there, it is so cute to watch.  Hubby has his Dropcam app set to alert him whenever there is motion in the room, and thinks it's hilarious to scare me senseless while he is at work by using the two-way talk when I walk into the room, that part definitely took a little getting used to.

This would make a great holiday gift for the man in your life!  What makes a man feel better then knowing his family is safe while he is at work?  I would highly recommend Dropcam, I think everyone needs at least one of these in their home, it will help keep your family, home, and pets a little safer, and give you peace of mind knowing that you can check in on them anytime, from anywhere. 

Click Here to do Your Holiday Shopping With Dropcam!

Congrats to June Sorenson!

The Giveaway will close late on the evening of December 3nd. The winner will be chosen at random through Giveaway Tools. The winner will be announced both on Giveaway Tools form as well as notified by email and announced on Mommys Craft Obsession’s Facebook. The winner will have their prize sent to them by Dropcam. Mommys Craft Obsession is not responsible for prize shipment. Must be 18 years and older. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. No Purchase Necessary. US Only. This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions and I have not been influenced by any outside sources. What works for me, may not work for you. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review by Dropcam however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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