Like most home surveillance cameras, the Compro TN900RW PTZ Cloud Network Camera ($499) lets you view live and recorded video on your smartphone and will send alerts when motion and sound are detected. However, this versatile camera also displays the current temperature in your house and can be used to control other devices such as TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes. It offers onboard and cloud storage options and delivers a relatively sharp picture, but it is limited to 720p and its pan, tilt, and zoom mechanism is noisy. It’s also very expensive.

Design and Features
As with the Compro TN600W , the TN900RW ( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) is big. The camera head measures 3.2 by 3.1 by 3.2 (HWD) inches and sits atop a base that measures 1.6 by 4.1 by 5.0 inches. A USB wireless adapter port that juts out from the rear of the base adds another inch to the overall depth. The TN900RW’s tilt/swivel mechanism provides a whopping 340 degrees of panning mobility and 100 degrees of tilt (90 up and 10 down).

The camera is equipped with a 1/3-inch CMOS sensor with a 10X digital zoom. It has a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 720 at 30 frames per second, which means it can’t deliver full HD (1080p). Black and white night vision video comes by way of 11 Infrared (IR) LEDs positioned on both sides of the lens that provide a range of up to 30 feet.

An IR transmitter and a light sensor are embedded in the upper housing, while speakers, a microphone, an IR receiver, and a status LED are embedded in the base. At the rear of the base are an RJ-45 LAN jack, an audio output, a microphone input, a microSD card slot, a Wireless Protected Setup (WPS) button, and a temperature sensor. Wireless connectivity comes by way of an 802.11b/g/n USB adapter.

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The TN900RW can be controlled from a PC using a Web browser, or with an Android or iOS device using the C4Home app. With C4Home you can store up to 30 snapshots of triggered events on a microSD card (not included), and receive push notifications when motion and sound are detected or when the temperature hits a user-specified threshold. A $5.99 monthly subscription lets you store up to 1,000 event snapshots in the cloud for 30 days, but if you want to store recorded video you’ll have to shell out $9.99 per month, which gets you a recording capacity of 1,000 events for 30 days.

Compro TN900RW PTZ Cloud Network Camera

The app isn’t very fancy, but it is easy to use. Once you log in you’ll be presented with a list of cameras by name with a live snapshot next to each camera. Along the bottom of the screen are icons for the Camera (current view), Events, Setup, and About (software version). Tapping any camera takes you to the live view. If you’re viewing the screen vertically on a smartphone you’ll have a small (1/3 size) live viewing area; the rest of the screen contains controls that let you pan and tilt, take a snapshot, sound an alarm, mute the speaker, create a camera position preset point, and push-to-talk to communicate with anyone near the camera. You can also pan, tilt, and zoom using swiping gestures. Swiping the control panel to the left brings up another set of controls that you can program to control other devices using the camera’s IR transmitter. If you position your smartphone or tablet to landscape mode, you’ll get a full screen live view with smaller control icons positioned on the sides. It’s much easier to pan, tilt, and zoom while in this mode.

The Camera Settings menu allows you to create and change passwords, enable Flip Mode (rotate the live image 180-degrees), and enable the temperature display feature. Streaming settings let you choose a video codec (H.264 or MJPEG) and adjust video characteristics including resolution, frame rate, and quality. The Notifications Settings menu is where you go to enable motion and audio detection and adjust sensitivity levels for both. Here you can enable temperature notifications, define temperature thresholds, and enable cloud storage for event recording. This is where you enter your Dropbox information to have snapshots stored in the C4Home folder. There’s also a Sharing feature that lets you share videos with friends and a Private mode that blocks access to the live camera view.

Installation and Performance
Installing the TN900RW was effortless. I connected the camera to my router using the included Ethernet cable and plugged in the Wi-Fi adapter. I downloaded the app onto my smartphone, created an account using my email address and password, and was asked if I wanted to add new camera. I clicked OK and was given a choice to add a camera manually by entering the camera ID info located on the bottom of the camera or by scanning the QR code, which is also on the bottom of the camera and can be found in the Quick Installation Guide.

One other option is to have the app search your network for attached cameras. I tried this, but the app couldn’t find the camera, so I used the QR scan method and within 30 seconds the camera was identified and added to my camera list. Next, I unplugged the Ethernet cable and used the wizard to connect the camera to my wireless network. If you have a WPS-enable router you can use the WPS button to do this automatically.

The TN900RW’s pan and tilt functions were very responsive in my tests, but the motorized mechanism that moves the camera was noisy. Moreover, the temperature sensor was off; the camera’s temperature readout was typically five degrees higher than the actual room temperature, according to my thermostat and a freestanding indoor thermometer.

Compro TN900RW PTZ Cloud Network Camera

That said, the camera delivered sharp 720p video with very good color quality. Night-vision video quality was good, but became a tad muddy at around 20 feet. The TN900RW never failed to take a snapshot of triggered events and store them in my Dropbox folder, and push notifications were sent whenever the temperature dropped below my preset threshold and when motion or sound was detected. The IR remote control worked as advertised; I was able to control my HDTV and my Blu-Ray player using the app, but I had to move the camera from its most strategic position (guarding the front door) to my living room. That’s because the camera uses IR signals to control other devices and must have a clear line of sight to each device. In other words, the camera must be in the same room as the devices you want it to control.

Conclusions
The Compro TN900RW is a solid home network surveillance camera that is chock full of neat features such as a temperature sensor, IR remote technology, on-board and cloud-based video storage, and motion and audio detection. It delivers crisp daytime video, but it’s limited to 720p HD and its night vision video becomes fuzzy at around 20 feet out. It offers full pan and tilt maneuverability, but the mechanism that moves the camera is noisy. It’s also very expensive. If you don’t have $500 to spend on a home surveillance camera, our Editors’ Choice, the Piper nv ($335.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , offers a much more affordable solution that features 1080p video and motion and sound detection. It also doubles as a home automation hub and can be used to control Z-Wave sensors, locks, thermostats, and more.