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Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11

Panasonic BL-C131A

Place anywhere youd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required at the location
View and control from a standard web browser, video display, or compatible cell phone or PDA
Point the camera where you want with eight shooting position presets
Built-in heat sensor allows record and/or notify by email when someone enters the room
Connect wirelessly with standard 802.11b/g devices, SSID filtering and 40/64/128-bit WEP encryption
USD 294.98

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    Old Price
USD 303.71
  Avg. Guest Rating:
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
Panasonic BL-C131A Description

ID : 112396

Wireless Network Camera 802.11g, MPEG4, Automatic Network Configuration, Universal Plug and Play, Set-up Wizard, Remote Pan/Tilt Control, Built in PIR motion detector

This item will be shipped from United states

Estimated Weight = 0.9072 kg
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Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11

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Keep an Eye on Your Pets
Always feel close to your pets, whether at work or on vacation. Did the walker show up as promised? Is the dog sleeping on the sofa? Is the cat scratching your new leather chair? You'll know instantly with the Panasonic PetCam.

See There When You Can't Be There
Place this plug-and-play camera in your home, office, vacation home, or almost anywhere else you'd like to keep an eye on things, with no PC required at the location. The camera can be viewed and controlled from a standard Web browser, video display, or even a compatible cell phone or PDA, with no additional software required. All of the other required software, including control software (TCP/UDP) and e-mail software (SMTP), is already inside the camera.

Control the Camera Remotely
Using a standard Web browser, video display, or even a compatible cell phone or PDA, you can control the movement of the camera. There is Pan (left & right) movement and Tilt (up & down) movement available. You can also assign a "Home Position" that allows you to return the camera to a pre-designated shooting position. Up to eight shooting positions can be registered in advance, so you can aim the camera exactly where you want it. You can also click on the part of the image you want to see, and automatically bring that part to the center of the screen.

When You Need a Little Privacy
With the built-in Privacy mode, your privacy is protected by simply pressing a button. An indicator on the front of the camera turns red, and you know at a glance that the camera is now only accessible by you. The camera can also be set up to show a green light when the camera is being accessed.

Sensor Recording
With the built-in heat sensor, the camera can be set to record and/or notify you by email when someone enters the room. It can even automatically move to a preset location when triggered, just in case someone was viewing a different part of the room.

Record Only What You Want to Record
The camera can be set to automatically record video at certain times and certain speeds.

Product Specifications
Brand Name
Panasonic
Model
BL-C131A
Item Package Quantity
1
Hardware Platform
PC
Video Input Format
MPEG-4
Audio Input
Built-in microphone
Video Capture Resolution
640 x 480
Image types
JPEG
Image Capture Speed
30 fps
Native Resolution
320 x 240
Minimum system requirements
Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP
Width
3 inches
Depth
3 inches
Height
3.875 inches
Weight
0.46 pounds







        

Customer Reviews:
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Eric (Dallas, TX) on Saturday, 14-November-2009
We got this camera and immediately got to work on setting it up. The setup software is easy to use and network setup is easy. (Just remember to wait until the light on the front is solid green before searching for the camera on the network.

What was easy:
-Finding the camera wired on the network was quick. I connected it, turned it on, and popped in the CD. Two clicks later, the guided setup was humming along.
-Getting the router set up. It configured universal plug and play on its own, although I wish it could have forwarded port 80 to the one it chose automatically so that I dont have to add the port to the URL it provides to access it from the web.
-Video and audio work in a computer browser perfectly.
-iPhone browser even shows video in the default format from the camera nicely.
-Multiple user accounts were a snap to add.

Snags in setup:
Im not a typical user, so I had some difficulties...
-If youre a Verizon FIOS user, the router they provide will NOT automatically configure universal plug and play. You must turn it on yourself.
-If you have a router plugged into a router, like you might with Verizon because their router is quite possibly the worst one I have ever used in my entire life, the Verizon router will block the incoming request to use the camera from the internet. Youll just get the Verizon router login instead of the camera.
-If you have a Verizon FIOS router, dont even try to use it wirelessly unless you have no encryption, or WEP only. WPA or WPA2 dont work, but you may know this about Verizon routers from your laptop or really ANY other wireless device youve tried to connect to it.
-Connecting to the internet required 2 steps, setting up the Internet section, and then setting up the DNS in Setup. If these were combined, it would be a bit easier to configure, but it still wasnt hard and you only have to do it once. (in theory)

The free access to it from the web for life is a great feature and was the tipping point for me to buy this product. You dont even have to do anything with the website. Just set up the camera, and it will be done along the way.

by: Eric on Saturday, 14-November-2009

  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
by: H. Warren (Washington, DC) on Friday, 13-November-2009
The Panasonic BL-C131A performs as advertised but the setup requires a good understanding of IP networking. It does not allow login via Safari browser on a Mac for me but works well with IE and Chrome in Windows environment. Overall I am pleased with the device.

by: H. Warren on Friday, 13-November-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: C. Alfaro (Chile) on Wednesday, 11-November-2009
As many people have said, It is much difficult to make this camera to be seen from Internet when you dont know about the configuration of your Wireless router.

If youre a normal person who know some about networks and computers, be sure that you will have to read the html manual which comes in the CD, and then, when your are working on setting up, to call to Panasonic support. Be patience, because finally you will reach the goal.

When camera will be working you will realize that all efforts worth. I think this camera is the best network camera in the market (less than $300,00). I watch it from work, I can say that it have a very good image, a very few lags, a good pan and tilt, an outstanding microphone, and you have the chance to choose a free host other than Panasonics. Ive monitored with my camera from other computers (and networks), always I been able to make it work without any problem.

If you have not even a moderate computing knowledge, then be sure to find someone who can help you on setting up internet conection.

by: C. Alfaro on Wednesday, 11-November-2009

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
by: Brian J. Murphy (p.a) on Tuesday, 10-November-2009
I have 3 of these cameras since my home was broken into a few weeks back.I use evocam software which allows me to set up recording when triggered by sensor ect. basically to do what the camera can not. My only problems being for one i purchased a new unit and found out it was used because it had a view net cam password connected to it which takes 2 to 3 business days to correct and your site did the right thing as for refunding the difference.

It sucks that theirs no sound for mac users say someone has a masks on and breaks in it can make all the difference. The night view isnt night view but overall this is a great camera for the money and with the use of motion lights can effectively record and photo intruders.

I did buy one that was sent back because the wireless module was not working.

As for viewing threw internet all i did was went to port forwarding created a rule to use port 5000 and then clicked the ip4 button and changed that port to 5000 also now i can view with iphone and mac.

by: Brian J. Murphy on Tuesday, 10-November-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: D (CA USA) on Thursday, 5-November-2009
Was very trying to set this camera up so I can view on the internet but K Lam and other reviews Helped so much!!!!
It is now up and has been for over a month and I havent had a single problem.
Well I did have trouble getting motion detection setup w my comcast mail but 2 calls to comcast and a chat with them solved that problem. I had the wrong port number for smtp.
Love the camera controls so I can move it around the room and motion detection also works like a charm.
Sound is Really good! almost too good ;)
I bought this w the dlink 1130 which is also decent but this one is better with the extra features like moving the picture around the room. Lots of fun with the dogs!
I havent had any connection problems either. I have been able to go online at work and even on vacation to view the room with no issues!

Here is the comcast information if anyone needs it:

SMTP Server IP Address or Host Name: [...]
port 587
How to Authenticate:
SMTP
Enter Comcast email address and password


by: D on Thursday, 5-November-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Larry (Lake Forest, IL United States) on Sunday, 1-November-2009
this camera has performed reliably for me and is easy to setup for access over the internet. i run it on an apple router with no problems.

It performs as advertised and is good value for price. Audio is a plus.

My only wish is the that the motion detection feature was more robust, but that would require an SD card and add to the cost.

by: Larry on Sunday, 1-November-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Edward V (NY) on Wednesday, 21-October-2009
This is a very good camera.Ive been using it for a month and never ran into problems. The picture is clear. The wireless connection is very steady: not a single drop for a whole month! The software functions well but is very basic and definitely needs an upgrade. Only one thing is missing: night vision, but otherwise worth every penny.

by: Edward V on Wednesday, 21-October-2009

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
by: Paulo (South Dakota) on Tuesday, 20-October-2009
I read all the reviews here and elsewhere carefully, made my decision, and have now purchased 2 of these cameras, from 2 different vendors, both refurbished, both trouble-free after 3 weeks of use. (Each cost about $200. which included shipping). Dont pay full retail for a new one, as long as the vendor will accept a return on the refurbished one if it is faulty. I suspect that some of the refurbs are probably just returns from people who did not quite figure out how to operate the camera. There are some technical issues depending on your brand of DSL or cable modem, wired vs. wireless, network security, etc. which may be too much techie for some people. It can take some time to work with the rather klunky but feature-laden software (through a standard web browser) to access the cameras for the first time and get it connected to your network. If someone comes up with a little better setup interface theyll sell millions of these cameras. I did NOT have to call customer service but apparently they (Panasonic) will help you pretty quickly if you get stuck. I just read the reviews here carefully, took notes, and tried the suggested settings. A friend on Windows said the included CD wizard helped him get one of these cameras going quickly, but Im on a Mac so had to work through it more or less on my own. ONE TIP: you must connect the camera directly to your router with a Cat5 cable the first time you access it. Then you can choose to activate the wireless feature if you wish, and flip the switch on the bottom of the camera to wireless. Then re-power the camera and it will work wirelessly.

I use and recommend Evocam software ($30.), a Mac utility for working with network and web cameras, and it works well with the Pansonic with a minimal setup time. Evocam adds features such as being able to set up a zone you draw on the screen, where if motion is detected in the box you draw, the software will record a photo or video, and even put it into a timelapse movie automatically. Other features can email or post photos automatically, add date/time or other text to the recorded images, and more. (Some of this is more or less available in these cameras anyway, but the Panasonic camera interface is far more klunky and slow). At the present time, I have two of these cameras set up as security cams 50 miles from here and can tune in with Evocam or look at past history easily, through the timelapse with date and time noted on each frame.

The camera comes with free access to a website/service where you can post your image for your private review or optionally share with others. This does work quite well once you get past the technical stuff. You can access the camera controls and settings from a long distance if you set this up correctly.

Do not expect an HD quality image, its 480x640 max but this seems adequate to see what is going on if lighting is fairly good. For as low as $200. you do not get extreme low light capability or high resolution. The sound feature does not work on the Mac apparently but I understand it works OK with Windows. I dont need or miss it.

I also dont use the feature for panning the camera back and forth very much, I generally want it focused on a certain area of concern and left there. Be aware that if you pan the camera, it makes a motor noise which can be heard by those who are near it; it will cause them to look up at the camera.

by: Paulo on Tuesday, 20-October-2009

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
by: David D. Schultz (United States) on Wednesday, 14-October-2009
Got it installed and running in about an hour. Had my iMac running Parallels (WindowsXP) to do the setup. Went smoothly until the section on configuring the UPnP with the router. UPnP doesnt work with the Apple Airport Extreme. Call to the tech support: excellent support, domestic, knowledgeable, not rushed. My tech, Curtis, knew where to go, what to input. Macs were not a red-headed stepchild with Panasonics tech support. :: Running great, especially with my iPhone. I use a product named iCam to send images to the phone. iCam even sends a push alert when theres movement in the view. Great for keeping an eye on the house when Im at work. :: The takeaway: expensive but works great.

by: David D. Schultz on Wednesday, 14-October-2009

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
by: David D. Schultz (United States) on Wednesday, 14-October-2009
Got it installed and running in about an hour. Had my iMac running Parallels (WindowsXP) to do the setup. Went smoothly until the section on configuring the UPnP with the router. UPnP doesnt work with the Apple Airport Extreme. Call to the tech support: excellent support, domestic, knowledgeable, not rushed. My tech, Curtis, knew where to go, what to input. Macs were not a red-headed stepchild with Panasonics tech support. :: Running great, especially with my iPhone. I use a product named iCam to send images to the phone. iCam even sends a push alert when theres movement in the view. Great for keeping an eye on the house when Im at work. :: The takeaway: expensive but works great.

by: David D. Schultz on Wednesday, 14-October-2009

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
by: D. Cook (Hawaii USA) on Monday, 12-October-2009
Aloha All...

I have a number of the BL-C131A cameras. As other have noticed, it works fine under OSX except for there being no audio.

There are many complains about the audio problem (it is a Panasonic problem of not providing a compatible codex) - but Panasonic doesnt seem interested in fixing it.

HOWEVER... I recently purchased the Panasonic BB-HCM371A. This is a similar camera with the exception that is has a waterproof housing and a few other operational details. I will note that it is significantly more expensive however.

Upon getting the BB-HCM371A installed, on my Mac Book Pro it asked me if I wanted to install a plug-in, and after saying Yes - LO AND BEHOLD - I had full audio from the camera!

I placed my other BL-C131A cameras into the MULTI screen, so I could see all the cameras - and again LO AND BEHOLD, audio now worked from ALL THREE cameras!

Note that if you go to the BL-C131A camera itself (not via the BB-HCM371A software) - you again get no audio (because the plugin isnt in the C131As software) - so you HAVE to view it via the BB-HCM371A software in MULTI mode to get the C131A audio - but it does work!

BTW, just as an aside - despite the higher cost, the BB-HCM371A is an excellent camera and I am very happy with it - and ESPECIALLY happy that it gave me audio on all my BL-C131As (well, sorta :)

by: D. Cook on Monday, 12-October-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Nitpicker (San Antonio) on Friday, 9-October-2009
I am very pleased with this camera. The Pan and Tilt features work better than I expected and the field of view is quite good. The image quality is very good at the maximum resolution setting. The only problem I have is with the viewer/recorder software. The software works great, but can only be used on a single computer to record a single camera. Setup of this camera for viewing over your home LAN is very simple. To monitor the camera over the internet is considerably more difficult, however. I have not called tech support, but other posters have reported the support as excellent. If you are not familiar with static IPs, dynamic dns, port forwarding etc., I would recommend calling tech support for step-by-step help in getting setup to view the camera over the internet. Also, note that this camera does not support WPA wireless security. You can easily switch to wired mode with a switch on the bottom of the camera. For myself, I like the flexibility of using the camera at certain locations where wireless WEP is adequate while at other times and locations, I switch to wired mode for convenience and security. The number of positive reviews for this camera are right on!

by: Nitpicker on Friday, 9-October-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Guccirio (Bay Area) on Thursday, 24-September-2009
I love my panasonic webcam once I got it going. Im not a computer savy person but I was able to hook it up on my own with the help of Panasonic customer service. I love the range that the camera lens can move around. I angled the camera where I can see my whole living room/dining room/kitchen area and my patio area where my dog spend most of her time. I love the fact that I can watch her over the internet while Im at work. I recommend this product to anyone.

by: Guccirio on Thursday, 24-September-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Fun Mom (Ohio) on Monday, 21-September-2009
I spent many weeks researching cameras & after all the reviews, I found Panasonic to be the best. I purchased the camera at a much cheaper price through your site (did a Nextag search), only $239.00. It was SO easy to setup! I did have some minor issues & called Panasonic tech support twice. Both times they were great, very helpful (went above & beyond what they needed to do) and... they both spoke clear English! A huge surprise. Nothing like being completely frustrated w/ your computer & then not being able to understand the technician on the other end!

After hook up, I was able to create the website & watch my dog (and house) from work! Its wonderful! The camera has a great zoom feature, pan, scan and the sound & picture quality is great for the money too.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone!

by: Fun Mom on Monday, 21-September-2009

  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
by: Olivier Harel (Mountain View, CA United States) on Sunday, 20-September-2009
I bought this model specifically because I wanted to connect it to a WPA2 AES network. At the time it was the only one to support this feature, at a reasonable price.
The web interface is relatively well organized. The English however is pathetic (as you may have noticed, Im not an native speaker... that says it all). At $300 a piece, they could hire someone to do the job. Its a bit of a joke, I often have a hard time understanding the helpful comments.
My main problem has been with the encryption. The camera simply could not connect to my router (either Linksys or Dlink). I eventually succeeded by:
- converting my ascii WPA2 pass phrase into a 64 character hexadecimal key (the site I found online was safe, I went through the page code).
- entering the hexadecimal pass phrase on the camera web interface instead of the ascii version.
My pass phrase has blank characters. That may have been the issue.
My router is configured for WPA2 personal, with AES encryption.
In my view, the price matches the feature set. In order to make this product a good product, I would have expected a much better interface, without a bug. I have many other wireless devices in my house and never had such trouble getting any of them to connect to my network.

by: Olivier Harel on Sunday, 20-September-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: S. Cillo (NY) on Sunday, 20-September-2009
I spend literally hours reading reviews of many different wireless cameras and nothing came close to the views this one received. Of the lower ratings, most complained of trouble accessing the camera via the internet. Granted, Im not a wiz with porting and forwarding, in fact I didnt really know what that meant when reading the reviews. So when I began installing the camera, I followed the directions for getting it set up to view via my home network (different from viewing via the internet)that part was a breeze. When it came to setting up the internet capabilities I decided why get fustrated, so many raved of the customer support. So I called them, and they walked me through it step by step and in about 10 minutes everything was working perfectly. I called the following day with a question about sharing my videos with family members in other states, and again walked me through it in no time. This is a great camera and yes its more pricey than many other wireless, but read the reviews on those and youll be more than happy to spend the additional money, I know I am :)

PS Panasonic C.S. is Awesome! Im planning to buy at least one more.

by: S. Cillo on Sunday, 20-September-2009

  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
by: K. Tokumoto (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) on Saturday, 19-September-2009
If you are planning to buy this Network Camera, you got the Perfect Eye !!!

by: K. Tokumoto on Saturday, 19-September-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Fred (United States) on Friday, 18-September-2009
This is the best web cam I can find for ease of use and features. Easy to set up and easy to access from anywhere in the world. I have 5 of the BL-C131A wireless units. The resolution is the best I can find though I would like better/higher resolution or zoom but can not find better at price or features. Spend the extra and buy the wireless model.

by: Fred on Friday, 18-September-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: Tortoisemom (USA) on Saturday, 12-September-2009
i have 2 of these panasonic ip cams and i think this is a great camera, i also have the bl-c30a model but it doesnt have sound and the picture quality isnt as distinct as the 131 model.this is the only camera that has great free tech support to help you get set up and it even has a free website to put it on.I have bought other brand of ip cams but there is no support on how to put it on the internet so they are usless except to use when you are at home.the only thing that would make this cam perfect is if it had night vision,but then you have to pay mega bucks for that feature, which i hope the price will come down some day so i can use it as security at night too.

by: Tortoisemom on Saturday, 12-September-2009

  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
by: T. Tibbetts (Baldwinsville, NY) on Tuesday, 8-September-2009
A word of caution: there is a lot of disinformation in some these reviews, some from people who can not follow instructions and as you go back beyond a year some reviewers problems are no longer applicable. Obviously unintentional, but compare other cameras, this is almost 5 stars for a reason.

I wanted to watch some work being done on a second home and bought this on a whim at BestBuy. I avoided a few other names due to consistent poor reviews. This camera has been great. Setup was fairly easy if you take your time (my first time and it was under 30 minutes installed wireless) there are a ton of options for when and how you see the camera. All settings from image, sensors and audio can be tweaked to make your camera a truly custom install. The most difficult, and poorly explained problem I found is directions on how to take control of the camera remotely, which is best done by port forwarding from your router. Found some help with port forwarding and it worked immediately for me to access remotely with all settings at [...]. Get your camera setup, then to manage remote access, follow those instructions if you have your camera set up wireless. That website saved me from the one possible problem with this camera.


Bang for the buck? Cant beat this camera.

by: T. Tibbetts on Tuesday, 8-September-2009

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