Bluetooth Webcam review

2010-01-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

If there is one gadget that actually git my attention this year, after the Palm Pre, was the BT-1 Bluetooth Webcam from Ecamm Network. The BT-1, which won Macworld Best of Show, has received much praise since its announcement at Macworld and I was quite excited to open it up and give it a try.

The BT-1 records 640×480 H.264 video and 48 kHz AAC audio, with a range of 10-30 feet. Now keep in mind — the BT-1 connects to your computer via Bluetooth. In order to setup the BT-1, you’ll need to head over to their website, and download a System Preferences panel item to connect the device to your computer. The BT-1 comes preset with the Bluetooth code “0000″ to make it easier to connect.
The US$149.00 BT-1 comes in a small box with a USB charging cable and one other useful accessory; a diminutive tripod to hold the webcam steady. The tripod is no slouch, as it has extendable legs and a tilt/pan head. For something that you can stick in your pocket, the BT-1 tripod is surprisingly sturdy.
Once charged, the BT-1 works for about 4 hours beaming 640 x 480 H.264-encoded video with stereo sound to your computer. Charging the BT-1 is as simple as plugging one end of the cable into a Mac's USB port or an iPhone charging brick, then plugging the other end into the BT-1's mini-USB port. While it's charging, a small LED glows, and when the BT-1 is fully charged the light goes off.
Once you have the BT-1 set up and running, what applications can you use it with? I was able to choose the BT-1 as the video source for iChat, Skype, and several other programs. I could not choose it as a video source for iMovie, however. I felt that the video color quality of the BT-1 (below left) was somewhat better than the iSight camera (below right), although that was entirely a personal observation. The BT-1 image did seem to be more pixelated than the iSight image, which might be an artifact of the H.264 compression.
I was personally intrigued with the idea of using the BT-1 as a wireless security camera that I could view on either of my Macs. I was successful in using Freeverse's Periscope software to send motion-triggered photos of the front door of my house to an email account, so I not only saw the images on my Mac, but also in Mail on my iPhone. Of course, using the BT-1 for security purposes would be limited to indoor applications where you have a power source readily available.

Ecamm mentions that if you’d like longer range, there is a Class 1 Range Extender coming soon, that could go all the way up to 200 feet! The BT-1 from Ecamm Network is available and and is shipping now.

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Bluetooth Webcam review