ONVIF Wire Free Camera Tested (Netgear FlexPower)

Published Oct 31, 2017 14:14 PM

Totally wire-free cameras are a hot growth market.

But they have had one major problem: Proprietary.

IPVM has tested Netgear's Arlo and Arlo Go, Blink/Blink XT, and EZVIZ's Mini Trooper, none of which work with VMS systems.

There is clearly a need for an open wire free camera that can work with one's choice of VMS or NVR.

Netgear's new FlexPower aims to solve this, with an ONVIF conformant wire free camera system. We bought one and tested it.

Inside the report, we share our results on:

  • How well or poorly VMS integration with Avigilon, Exacq, Genetec, Milestone and NxWitness
  • How motion detection performed and what issued it had
  • Setup / Installation
  • Image Quality vs commonplace IP Cameras
  • Battery life / consumption
  • Cybersecurity issue

Below is a sample image from the test:

Summary

The Netgear FlexPower system aims high but misses on many key areas in our test:

  • Below average image quality: Compared to average IP cameras today, the FlexPower camera is below average, with only 720p resolution, soft images, and weak IR illumination.
  • Short battery life in high motion: When using FlexPower in scenes with more than a few motion events per day, users should expect to power the camera via solar or plug-in adapter, as battery life was poor in our tests, lasting only ~2 days in an indoor office.
  • Poor VMD integration: FlexPower did not support camera side VMD events and of VMSes tested, only Milestone Xprotect functioned properly using server side VMD, with others missing event recordings, regardless of sensitivity settings.
  • Finally, ONVIF camera viewing password is hard coded, which is a security risk, explained inside.

Finally, for those looking for a wireless camera for use in more active environments, FlexPower is not recommended, as low-cost cube, dome, or bullet cameras are available for a lower price per camera, and many with direct driver support, camera side VMD integration, etc.

Pricing

The FlexPower base station sells for $99 USD online, while each VNC4030 camera is $229.

Note, some retailers, as well as Netgear themselves, list the FlexPower system as pre-order. However, we were able to purchase one without issue and received it in 2-3 days.

Physical Overview

The video below provides a physical overview of the Netgear FlexPower Camera and FlexPower Station. Those familiar with Arlo will see many similarities in the FlexPower system, as the camera is nearly identical to the Arlo Pro, and base station similar.

FlexPower VMS Integration Overview

In order to maintain ONVIF connections with VMSes, the base station streams a static image to VMSes when no motion is detected by the camera, showing a snapshot of the last motion event and current battery and arming status. Upon motion, video begins streaming live in a fraction of a second. Users may also take any PTZ action, e.g., pan left, tilt, zoom in, etc., to manually trigger live streaming. 

We show how the FlexPower system works in Milestone Xprotect in this video:

Base Station And Camera IP Addresses Separate

FlexPower cameras are assigned IP addresses separately, requiring users to connect to four devices to add a fully loaded system (four cameras). The base unit uses a fifth IP address for its web interface, but this address is not used for adding to VMSes.

Hard Coded Camera Passwords

FlexPower camera credentials cannot be changed, defaulting to admin/password, meaning that anyone with an ONVIF client on the network may view the cameras' streams knowing this login/password. Note that these credentials are separate from the web interface of the base unit, which also defaults to admin/password, but may be changed. Additionally, these credentials are essentially used for live view only, with camera configuration performed from the base station's web interface.

ONVIF VMS Integration Limitations

In our tests, the FlexPower system connected to most VMSes tested without issue (Exacq, Genetec, Milestone, NxWitness), with only Avigilon Control Center failing to connect, simply timing out.

However, while these camera connected to multiple VMSes, recording is continuous only unless server side motion detection is used, because FlexPower lacks camera side motion events. Server side motion detection may be used, but performance was spotty, discussed below.

VMS Motion Detection Issues

Due to its lack of camera side motion, we attempted to configure server side motion in Genetec, Milestone, and NxWitness, with mixed results.

  • Milestone XProtect: XProtect performed best, with motion reliably triggering when the camera changed from its idle state (shown armed / battery status) to live upon motion, and continuing to record as long as motion was active in most cases:

  • Genetec and NxWitness were both unreliable, with motion recording simply not triggering when the camera began streaming, regardless of sensitivity settings.

Battery Life

During our tests, battery life lasted only about two days in a busy office environment, with ~150-200 motion activations during this time. Netgear recommends the camera be used on battery only if in a low activity location, and power adapter or optional solar panel used otherwise.

Image Quality Comparisons

Netgear claims the FlexPower camera has a 130° lens, but in our testing, its actual angle of view was slightly narrower than a 108° model tested:

Because of this, and its use of lower than average 720p resolution, image quality is notably worse than typical 1080p cameras now commonplace.

In full light, the FlexPower camera provides fewer details of the subject due to its lower resolution, but also moderately overexposes the subject and test chart, with some softness in images.

At this distance in a dark scene, the FlexPower camera again shows softness, but provides better details overall compared to the 1080p bullet, which overexposes the subject/chart.

Finally, at 25', its specified IR range, the FlexPower camera's IR illumination is weak, showing only dim images of the subject, and no details. By contrast, the bullet camera shows some facial detail of the subject and clear legible lines of the chart.

Test Parameters

The Following firmware versions were used for this test:

  • Netgear FlexPower Base: 1.0.1
  • Netgear FlexPower Camera: 1.096.1.0_14165
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