This September month should see some new things out from Foscam. The most obvious is the FI8918W, a natural evolution of the good old FI8908W.
The picture and description from foscam.com don't give much clue about the changes but, thanks to the information from foscam.us on their pre-order page, it looks like Foscam has been listening to users suggestions:
The enhanced features of the FI8918W over the FI8908W include:
The IR lights can be turned off manually from the software
Great idea, so many users requested this !
Audio quality is improved, there will be no noise when speaking into the camera
You will also find many complains about this in my blog.
WPA2 Encryption Supported
Nothing new really, let's just hope it now work with the router in non-broadcast mode!
Added an audio input jack which can be used with an external microphone
The dual audio function is not a workable feature on the FI8908W because of the poor sound quality. So with the ability to connect an external microphone and an external speaker, this is maybe going to change.
By the way, the green I/O connector (RS485) is gone to make space for these connectors. So, no more interfacing with alarm systems or automation modules.
Relocated the network light to the back of the camera. Add a power indicator lamp
Seems like a good idea but I predict that the next most popular question will soon be "how to turn off the power indicator?". Well as both LEDs will be located at the back, beside the RJ45 connector, this shouldn't be a big issue anyway.
The price tag is believed to remain in the same area as for its predecessor.
It's still a CMOS sensor, so there shouldn't be a dramatic improvement of the picture quality and the colour rendering, but the only way to find out will be to buy one ;-)
Another long awaited new camera (by me at least), the FI8906W (higher range, much higher budget) is announced for November according to the latest information from Foscam, but it's been delayed for a year already so we'll see...
27 comments:
Bubbah,
Thanks for the update. However, I would just like to clarify that these cameras are actually in stock and for sale ready to ship within 24 hours from www.Foscam.us
The only caveat being that there are only 20 units in stock. These are the pioneer models and anyone who purchases them will be the first in the world to get their hands on the FI8918W.
i just ordered mine today from you yusuf!!!
Is there anyway to make this camera auto tilt/pan?
@xdng79x
I guess it shares the same CGI commands set as the FI8908W so ptz_auto_patrol_interval should allow to define a automatic patrol interval.
I've the old FI8908W - and seems like the hardware is bricked.When I turn it on, it doesn't do the pan-tilt-zoom and the green light simply get stuck! Can anybody tell me whats happening? I intend to debug/reload the firmware again and reset but wondering whats going on. Its kind of pain to do the configuration part.!
@Bubbah
Thanks for the reply. How do I set ptz_auto_patrol_interval? I'm using blueiris for windows and security spy for mac.
didadi,
Try holding the reset button for 30 secs.
FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN BUYING THE NEW FI8918W, PLEASE READ THIS.
DO NOT BUY FOSCAM PRODUCTS !!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck with getting replies from foscam. I’ve sent 2 emails to support@foscam.us within the last 2 weeks and I haven’t heard from them since. I also sent a third email today but I doubt they’ll reply. I was able to contact sales but the guy told me they don’t have a phone # for tech/support department, it’s only available via email. I bought 3 FI8918W not too long ago and one of them no longer works and the other two cameras work but the wireless connection keep on getting cut off. I have to unplug the camera from the outlet almost everyday for the camera to reconnect to the router. The camera might work well with a network cable but I really haven’t tried it and it also defeat the purpose of a wifi camera. I guess I got what I paid for. Cheap product = crappy customer service. I will post another comment here as soon as I hear from them.
bubbah,
I tried the command below but it doesn't work.
http://192.168.1.101/set_misc.cgi?ptz_auto_patrol_interval=99
Hello xdng79x
As far as I know the Technical Support was in vacation until last week. Here are the contact details:
---------------------------------------
Foscam Intelligent Technology co., Ltd.
Technical Support & Service Team
Email: tech@foscam.com
Tel: 86-755-2674 5668
Fax: 86-755-2674 5168
Mobile: +86 15117454607
Website: www.foscam.com
---------------------------------------
During the day you can see the people in the Technical Support Department here:
http://ipcamerademo.3322.org:8078/
User name and password are "admin".
@xdng79x
http://ipcam/set_misc.cgi?ptz_auto_patrol_interval=99
seems to work for me. You can submit
http://ipcam/get_misc.cgi to check that the value has been registered.
Maybe you need to adjust other variable as well. Check the CDI SDK document in my Firmware History Page for details.
I wouldn't say "do not buy Foscam products". You seem to have an issue with one of the resellers (foscam.us) rather than with Foscam(.com) itself.
Also is it FI8908W or FI8918W that you have? The disconnection issue is typical from an older firmware of the FI8908W. It's been sorted since. If your camera has the Foscam logo printed, contact them directly (mentioning the product ID) for an updated fw. The ones I have are for the non-branded generation.
@Bubbah
Thanks for the reply. I usually don't bash any company unless their product is really bad. I'm just upset because I've bought three of these FI8918W cameras only one month ago. One of the cameras does not respond and the other two keep on getting disconnected. I hope other people won't fall for www.foscam.us scam like I did. They claimed to have 1 year warranty but when I tried to call, I was told there was no support/tech line and it's only available through email. I've sent them a few emails the past few weeks and not a single reply. By the way this command http://ipcam/set_misc.cgi?ptz_patrol_h_rounds=999 works for me.
My router is in WPA/WPA2 mode. The old FI8908W can connect on WPA2(AES+TKIP). The new FI8918W can only connect on WPA(AES).
Can anyone else confirm this problem on WPA2?
FI8918W lost the setting "Go to centre on boot"
@TY
Go center on boot is indeed missing, and the workaround http://[ipcam]/set_misc.cgi?ptz_center_onstart=0 is no longer persistent. The camera will rotate after a power off. Probably not properly implemented yet in this model.
I'll fire off an email to Foscam about this.
in stock black/white
Foscam dealer for itlay/europe
www.lookathome.it
info@lookathome.it
hello
I have just recently purchased and set up (wired only) the FI8918W. I can confirm that WEP and WPA-TKIP do NOT work. I will try WPA-AES tonight and reply with the results.
@dandarty
Do not forget to disconnect your LAN cable and to reboot your camera before you test your W-LAN. It works either with LAN or W-LAN. Not both at the same time.
Yea, I have unplugged the lan cable at various times during the camera rebooting process. nothing seems to matter. the count down reaches zero and then the page times out. The green w-lan light blinks rapidly after about 20 seconds into the reboot sequence.
I got my 1st FI8918W 2 days ago ex Ebay and the Tomtop reseller in China. It works fine so far, via lan cable and also wireless to a Netgear DG834G wireless router running WPA2-PSK(Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key). The cam finds the router via "scan" and fills in the connection details. It thinks the router is running AES not TKIP, which I think is a bug, but the cam connects successfully on reboot to wireless. I am controlling it via it web interface only so far. Next I need to d/l the manual and try to configure Zoneminder to control it.
@bubbah
Is there anyway to set a schedule time to switch out door and 60hz mode automatically?
I couldn't resist the price tag on this model and bought one yesterday @ foscam.nl It arrived to day! Easy setup, everything works flawlessly, as expected the colors are not realistic but good enough for this price range.
@ David Tangye
The FI8918W dont works with the WPA2, try with WPA (AES)
I can't seem to get audio to work. The camera and all the controls seem to work fine. Anyone else have any experience?
Here's the other thing to consider: Do you really need to have your cameras going over secured WPA-whatever? I've got a couple spare WIFI access-points just sitting around and if any of them have trouble with encrypted connections, or a particular router, I'll just try a different one. My point being: Just a couple of years ago, the only cameras with such features cost 3-4 times as much in my country, and for saving me 1500 euro, i'll have no complaints if I need to hook up another 40 euro access-oint. Another thing is you people need to ensure a very good, clean reception for such devices, since they are constantly streaming a lot* of data - we're not talking the occasional webpage being pulled down onto your laptop, but easily 10x that amount. So get a high-gain antenna for your access-point and be sure to place it in a central location, well away from walls. Good luck, and cut these guys some slack!
Hi guys, I got two generic Foscam cameras (no brand on them). One seems to be the FI8908W model.
Anyway, when I try to run the get_misc.cgi or set_misc.cgi I get this:
404 Not Found
File not found.
Is there another command I can try? I cannot find much information on this. Do I need to upgrade my firmware?
Here are the specs for each of the cameras I got:
Wireless Camera
Device ID 000DC5D047F4
Device Firmware Version 11.14.1.34
Device Embeded Web UI Version 2.4.8.9
Wired Camera
Device ID 002bmly
Device Firmware Version 21.22.2.27
Device Embeded Web UI Version 0.0.4.15
I don't know how to find the hardware version.
I want to turn off the green led and in general learn how to send commands to the camera, so I am frustrated that the set_misc.cgi does not work.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
@MisterDudeGuy
The 1st one has a Foscam firmware on it, so it should take the commands in the url like:
http://ipa.ddr.ess/get_misc.cgi
The second probably uses a different CGI command set.
@Bubbah
Thanks for the reply. The strange part is that the first one that has Foscam firmware is the one not obeying the commands! Amazingly enough, the second one obeys the commands! I will try to upgrade the foscam firmware to see if I solve the problem.
Thanks again
Hi Everyone,
I got a generic Foscam and Im not sure whats the exact model. Details are
Device I.D. 000DC5D047F4
System firmware version: 11.14.2.28
Web UI: 0.0.0.0
i cant get pass the first stage unless I upgrade firmware or Web UI or both.
I tried upgrading both but the Web UI still 0.0.0.0
Please help
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.