Review: Airlive BU-3026 IP Camera

TL;DR ✨

They expected higher resolution quality for a completely negligible price increase over the Edimax SMAX AU1, and the camera did not disappoint.

The author and his colleagues purchased an AirLive BU-3026 camera from ab-com.cz.

They expected higher resolution quality for a completely negligible price increase over the Edimax SMAX AU1, and the camera did not disappoint.

Three megapixels and a resolution of 2048x1536 already provide fairly high-quality footage, even in the dark. Compared with the Edimax, the image is clearly visible and sharp; with halogen illumination, everything can be identified.

The differences are noticeable during the day as well:

Edimax SMAX AU1 During the Day

AirLive BU-3026 during the day:

At night, however, the differences are much easier to see.

Edimax SMax AU1 at Night

AirLive BU-3026 at night:

The AirLive focuses relatively well even without halogen illumination:

This is a full-resolution screenshot from the author's camera at 10:35 p.m. The halogen illumination still needs some adjustment.

The camera's GUI is ugly. Ubiquiti is much further ahead in this respect, but users will get used to the GUI. The camera has everything expected as standard: static IP, DHCP, IP filtering, multi-user accounts, video exposure adjustment, and much more, as described in the manual.

For anyone unsure what to do, the manual is well written, includes screenshots, and guides users through every configuration detail.

Two additional features of the BU-3026 are worth mentioning.

1. It has Clear Motion technology, an algorithm that sharpens images. Useful.

2. WDR is a useful feature that can balance light and dark images (page 32 of the manual). Very good.

Besides its resolution, the camera offers many advanced functions. One example is tamper detection, which can trigger an action if someone tries to steal the camera or if something obscures it. Unfortunately, enabling tamper detection requires lowering the resolution to Full HD, which limits the camera's potential.

Another attractive feature that caught the author's attention is the option to connect speakers to the camera and play an audio recording in the event of a break-in or if the camera is disturbed. It is also possible to set a sound-detection threshold that triggers an action when suspicious noise occurs in the area, such as the sound of a car carrying thieves between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m.

The author did not notice the slightest problem with the camera on a mobile phone. On iOS, the application is called CamPro mobile, and its drawback is its low resolution.

On Windows, the manufacturer's CamPro Express 64 software can be used, or CamPro Professional for a license fee. This software has a dreadful GUI with missing labels and incomprehensible icons; without the manual, it is impossible to determine what each button does. The software supports advanced camera functions, such as counting the number of people who have passed through a defined area, and many others. More information, including screenshots, is available on the manufacturer's website: http://cz.airlive.com/product/CamPro-Express-64.

Conclusion:

The camera is sufficient for their needs and meets all the requirements. It offers both basic and advanced functions and is suitable for securing larger properties. The main disadvantage of the entire solution is the high initial cost of the hardware. The author definitely recommends the camera.