Compro TN900RW Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅17-10-14
Conclusion

We’ve been testing the TN900 for a few weeks now and we have to confess, it’s a mixed bag this time round.

TN900RW is based on a similar design to that of the TN600, the difference being that we now have 720p support in the TN900RW. The unit itself has the same visual appearance, some users might find it quite a bulky design but the build quality is still great.

Having such features as PTZ and WiFi connectivity is very useful and we’re pleased that the software is still iniatuve and easy use. Getting the camera up and running takes very little time, especially since we can configure using the QR code.



Using the camera in SVGA mode which presents us with a resolution of 800x600 provides decent image quality with the settings on their maximum setting. We did encounter some jittering and frame rate loss using our recording (as you can see on the previous page) but the night vision image is actually quite reasonable. The issues arise when we want to use 720p (1280x720) – first of all the actual setting to use this mode is in the wrong location and secondly, selecting this HD mode creates a discoloured image. The footage appears to have a distinct purple tone to it rather than being monochrome for night mode. Furthermore, the focal view of the camera is as though its zoomed in and as a result the field of view is reduced somewhat. All of these problems have been reported to Compro and they are working on resolving them.

We were surprised by the high price of the non-HD TN600 ($180) when we reviewed it and we’re even more surprised at the $300 price tag which TN900RW comes with. The only real benefit to using this camera appears to be the 720p support which, at this stage does not work properly and we of course have the added bonus of the temperature and remote control for appliances nearby but is this enough to encourage a purchase?

TN900RW has some great features and easy to use software but is sadly let down by bugs which prevent you from effectively using 720p mode.

Pros
+ Very easy to use & setup
+ Intuitive software
+ Good build quality
+ Temperature & remote control
+ WiFi functionality
+ Multiple viewing options – smartphone ready
+ PTZ functionality
+ Two-way audio – can speak through camera
+ Microphone is sensitive, picks up even faint sounds

Cons
- Bulky, not discreet
- Can only use Internet Explorer to access
- Buggy software
- 720p HD mode suffers from faults
- Can only record to micro SD



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