King of Wireless Webcams - Panasonic BL-C131A
I’ve wanted a wireless webcam for a while. Amazon made it pretty clear that there was one camera that stood above the rest. The Panasonic BL-C131A. The only problem was that it cost over two hundred dollars.
I got one anyway.
Setup
There were comments all over Amazon about people needing to call support to get this camera going. I didn’t need to call. But — I needed to read the instructions. Once the initial setup is complete it’s very easy to make changes to the configuration.
With the camera sending live video to Safari I spent a couple hours digging into what else it could do. There was enough to keep me busy.
Accessing the Stream
The BL-C131A displays video on a multi-tabbed web page. The main page has controls for panning left and right as well as up and down. There are also eight preset locations. You can name the presets things like “door” or “crib”. Using the presets is the quickest way to swing the BL-C131A to a given position.
You can also click right on the video to center, or use multi-directional arrow controls. Clicking to center has a slight delay. The camera’s panning motor isn’t noisy, but you’d probably hear it in a quiet room.
There’s a Windows-based program for setting up the camera that can also be used for viewing and capturing the video to disk. I don’t feel left out because of that, but others might. A negative for me: the audio from the camera can only be accessed from a PC. Mac browsers don’t support the audio control.
I tried using Quicktime to view the stream - the BL-C131A interface has settings for RTSP. I couldn’t get that to work and I called Panasonic. They said it’s not currently supported but future firmware might add the capability. (Everyone on Amazon raved about the tech support provided by Panasonic.)
Triggers
The camera can also capture stills and email them or upload them to an ftp site. This capability works with “triggers” the camera can act upon. A trigger could be motion or a time interval. I used the motion trigger to send photos via email to my Flickr account. The camera sets keywords and privacy settings on the photos when it sends the email, so my Flickr account can keep the photos out of public view and tagged for further action. The BL-C131A and Flickr make for a powerful combination.
You can set up to five different triggers, each with its own schedule and actions to perform when invoked. The camera can time stamp the stills.
Additional Information
Sometimes Firefox has trouble updating the image on my computer. Restarting the browser usually handles the problem. I haven’t been using Safari lately, but when I do I haven’t had the problem as much. I can also view the image on my iPod touch, which never seems to have a problem. Using the ‘tap to center’ function on the BL-C131A video with my iPod is handy.
The camera has some nice additional features, like scheduled down time and reboots. I have it reboot every day, which probably provides increased stability. A green light on the front of the camera lets you know when it’s being accessed. The light can be disabled. There’s also a physical button on the camera to invoke privacy. There’s a standard tripod mount on the bottom of the BL-C131A. A small metal cable is provided to prevent falls by securing the camera to a wall.
I can access images directly from the BL-C131A across the Internet too. The interface has settings for UPnP, and my Netgear router works fine with the camera. It would be easy to check in on your camera with an iPhone. Alternatively, there’s a free service bundled with the camera: viewnetcam.com.
Video quality isn’t bad in a dimly lit room. The camera doesn’t have the kind of nightvision you see in camcorders. The heat sensor is for detecting motion, it’s not an infrared camera!
You can create multiple user accounts with different levels of access below the administrator.
The BL-C131A would be suitable as a nanny cam or for watching a door, as long as the space was lit. The interface allows viewing feeds from multiple cameras simultaneously.
The camera purchased was intended for watching an infant, but we’ve been using it to watch a toddler who won’t stay in bed. I might have been better off when I didn’t know.
I’m pretty happy with the camera. Sometimes I have to restart a browser, which is annoying. This camera has a complete, well thought-out feature set. The biggest downside is the price.
25. September 2008 at 7:08 am :
I got a bl-c30 two years ago to watch a baby. Never happened. Now I use it to watch my chickens from work or via my iPhone.
I wish there was a more recent firmware available for it. And I wish there was an option to turn off security so anyone can watch my chickens without a password.
25. September 2008 at 3:21 pm :
I would love to watch the chickens.
The main problem with using it for babies is that it doesn’t work without substantial lighting.
I wouldn’t mind using it to watch the front door…
9. November 2008 at 2:11 pm :
We started off with the bl-c30 when our kid was born and it worked nicely, especially for the grandparents that are thousands of miles away. I upgraded to the BL-C131A on the premise of MPEG and Audio, but that still hasn’t really panned out (on OS X).
Wrote to Panasonic and they sent their SDK, which helped in making a custom web page to view and control the camera from an iphone (well, ipod touch). I also figured out how to get streaming video into quicktime, but the audio never works even though Flip4Mac is installed and purports to include g.726 support.
All in all a great camera. With a small 15 watt fluorescent bulb in the corner of the room we can look in on the baby all night long.
We have a headless mac mini in the baby’s room, so with an iphone touch we can watch the baby and turn on/off the music (using Apple’s free Remote app) from anywhere in the house. The only thing missing is streaming audio.
19. November 2008 at 4:51 pm :
It looks like the set-up is only available via Windows. Did you use Windows or a Mac to set up your C131A? If you used the Mac, how did you do it?
20. November 2008 at 1:33 am :
I used Windows. I think I read instructions somewhere on Amazon (maybe somewhere else) to do it with a Mac. Once the initial set-up is done you can do all the admin from a Mac.
21. November 2008 at 4:31 am :
Thanks for the info. If I do find Mac instructions somewhere, I’ll post a pointer.
4. December 2008 at 9:26 pm :
LOL! I bought my cam to watch my chickens too. I thought I was the only cyber-chicken-watcher out there
Cam works well, but I have a few things I need to iron out before reviewing it (IE audio problem and weird refresh-rate issue when viewing stream).
17. December 2008 at 9:21 pm :
At long last I’ve got my camera configured and set up. Here are things I found about the BL-C131A and OSX:
- connect the camera to your actual router, not just a hub
- you can do all the camera configuration yourself by pointing your browser at 192.168.1.253
- the camera refuses to recognize WPA/WPA2 keys that have non-alphanumeric characters. If you router and other devices have keys with such characters, run it through the WPA hex translation and enter the key as the hex string.
- the Panasonic website has a document that describes the camera’s CGI interface. This can be useful in doing stuff to the camera and avoiding the camera’s built-in GUI.
24. January 2009 at 7:01 pm :
I bought my BL-131A for two purposes; first to watch my dogs during the day, and two to watch my house when on vacation. I liked the idea that it’s wireless and has motion detection. Well of course the install CD is just for Windows. Thankfully while searching on google by the camera model and “OS X”, I found on Apple’s tech boards that entering 10.0.1.253 into Safari brings up the camera’s web software!
I also registered at http://www.viewnetcam2.com for my own web address to view and control the camera from the internet (outside of my home network). The registration instructions said that I would receive an email, which I assumed I would have to receive before the web address worked (as it did not)?
So after four days and no email and the web address still did not work, I did some other google searching about setting up cameras to stream to the internet.
I found out to go to the Airport Utility (in the Utilities folder, OS X 10.5), then select my Airport base model, and click “Manual Setup”. Then click the Internet option, and select the NAT tab. Check Enable default host at, and enter the camera’s IP address (10.0.1.253). Then click Update to finish the airport configuration.
Next, I went to http://whatismyip.org. This site shows your router’s IP address, which then typing that into Safari brings up the camera’s web software and I was accessing the camera from the internet (not from my home network)!
But then when taking a closer look at the camera’s setup, I found out that under the “Setup” tab, the UPnP needs to be set to “Enable”. The default was to “Disable”, so that is why my viewnetcam.com did not work! So now I can go through viewnetcam.com, and therefore I turned off that step I had just done in the Airport Utility (but it was handy to know!).
I also saw some other references while searching on google to go through http://www.tenm3.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23 for setup instructions. Well the instructions are not up-to-date for OS X 10.5, plus it made my head spin as it wasn’t just about setting up a camera to stream to the internet.
As far as the camera, it’s pretty cool. Of course as said above, the audio does not work for Macs. Plus the I don’t have a mouse with a click wheel, so I can’t get the camera to zoom in (which I think it is suppose to do?). I can already see purchasing another camera. Well that is if the audio gets fixed for Macs!
It really does look like Panasonic could include some OS X instructions.
24. January 2009 at 8:15 pm :
Okay… to edit my above post, it seems to be that I do have to have the NAT tab selected on my Airport, and that the UPnP being on enable doesn’t work as I thought. Boy, what a process! But I can access my camera from the internet.
I also just set up a user, so I can give out a user ID and password to someone if I want and control what access that they have to the camera.
24. February 2009 at 2:26 am :
I have this camera,but have 1 problem.I can’t access the admin because of the password is wrong.Is there a way to access withought a total reboot,or do i need to reinstall everything?
27. February 2009 at 4:11 am :
Somehow, when I use Safari, the camera control cursors etc. (everything on the left pane) do not show up on the screen. It’s the same problem with iPhone, I cannot control the camera. I don’t have the same problem with FireFox. Any suggestions?
27. February 2009 at 10:03 pm :
HELP!!!
I just got this camera and have read the posts about configuring for Mac OSX, but it is way over my head.
My router is hooked up to my Airport base, not the new one. The camera doesn’t see it and yes, of course, the disk is for a PC. Really want this to work….not for chickens, though that would be nice,…but for my new 6 month old puppy!
HELP!
1. March 2009 at 2:40 am :
I think @Patt is going to try to set up with a friend’s PC - which my be the easiest path.
@ ucan - I don’t have any trouble with my iPod touch or Safari. On the iPod I’ve bookmarked a screen without the controls. I move the camera by tapping the image.
Not sure what the problem could be.
3. March 2009 at 9:49 pm :
How do you edit the presets? I don’t see that capability anywhere.
28. March 2009 at 9:41 am :
I wonder if someone should start a petition to ask Panasonic to include a standard streaming audio protocol that will work on both Windows and Mac. The lack of audio support is really annoying on OS X…
19. April 2009 at 9:23 pm :
I’m with you Patt, this was way over my head too. I was lucky enough to have a friend help me over the phone (he lives in another state) to set up my wireless router, then I just kept being persistent on trying everything to get the camera to work and all of a sudden. . . yesterday it did! You have to set it up while connected with a LAN line to your router, the Wired selection chosen, then, unplug it and change the setting to Wireless. The trick I was missing was that you have to then unplug it from the wall and re-plug it in. Whaa laa! The light turned green and it was working!
But, I cannot get it set up with viewnetcam.com. The registration says, “Step 1. Pull up the “Configuration” screen in the setup software that is part of the attached CD-ROM.” Of course that part of the CD does not pull up on a Mac. How the heck did other Mac users get set up? I see the post about using Airport, but my Airport says it can’t see any Apple wireless devices. So, I’m out of luck with that approach. Any help would be much appreciated.
28. April 2009 at 8:04 pm :
Hey guys. If you need to use the Windows software to get going. Download the trial version of crossover mac. It will work just fine and it’s much less of a headache :). I love this camera accept no audio through Firefox / Safari
14. June 2009 at 2:50 am :
Can anybody tell me what the URL is for accessing the camera from a cell phone?
thanks
18. June 2009 at 10:45 am :
if you don’t want to use viewnet.com goto http://www.whatismyip.com/ find out your ip address and type that into your browser.
there is a switch near where the cords plug in wired/wireless
set to wired 1st and plug it into router.
type in your browser 192.168.0.253
my settings: under ipv4 I’ve set mine to static, I unchecked the top box
Network Configuration from Setup Program. After setting network configuration, you must set disable for network security.
gateway and dns should be the same number from your router. mine is 192.168.0.2 but i bet yours will be 192.168.0.1, hit save.
under wireless section insert the correct ssid for your router or router network name.
enable upnp
I’m on vista but i lost the CD heh, and was still able to get it functioning via firefox.
22. June 2009 at 6:03 pm :
I am looking into purchasing the panasonic bl 131a but I want to confirm that you can hear audio on it. My husband wants to be able to see and hear her while he is at work. Thanks for any input!
22. June 2009 at 6:26 pm :
yah audio works but requires java.net installed.
4. July 2009 at 1:40 am :
Hi I tried both IP’s as mentioned in other posts, and still cannot access the cameras set up page. I am on a Mac, and am plugged in directly to one of the free ports on my base station. What now?
Help please.
Thanks,
Ron
25. July 2009 at 4:21 pm :
I’ve set up triggers to send images to my email account when camera detects motion, but I’ve never gotten any notifications even when I know the camera is triggered. What am I doing wrong?
Also, how do you sent images to your flickr account?
Thanks.
Mike
27. July 2009 at 1:35 am :
There are a lot of things that could be wrong, starting with your carrier might block port 25 for outbound mail. Just like setting up any mail client, like Apple Mail, if you mistype anything or don’t have the right account information sending the mail will fail.
If you dig around in your Flickr profile or even search in the help for emailing files into flickr you’ll find a “secret” address you can mail to - which results in images landing on Flickr. You can also tag and name them by setting up a subject or message body in the camera.
28. July 2009 at 5:39 am :
Does anyone know how to locate the IP address and path of the camera to input into iCam? I have tried just inputting the external IP address and it says it needs the complete source path.
Can’t seem to find this info in the maintenance or setup sections.
thanks in advance!
3. August 2009 at 4:03 am :
Just wondering if anyone got this working for triggers with email. The Flickr part sounds interesting, just wish there was more instructions. Thanks.
3. August 2009 at 2:29 pm :
Cindi - What email provider are you using to set up the email trigger?
4. August 2009 at 5:22 pm :
I tried Gmail, but it wouldn’t work at all. So I used my ISP’s SMTP and POP3 settings and it works for the first 200 alerts/emails, then just stops sending… although there are new frames in the Motion Detection under Buffered image when I login to the cam. Right now I’ve switched it to FTP, and just waiting for some motion so I can see if that is working properly.
5. August 2009 at 2:47 pm :
If you’re sending to Flickr they cut you off - I think they only allow 60 an hour or something like that. Could that be what you’re seeing?
2. September 2009 at 8:46 pm :
I have 3 of these cameras since last 2 years, 2 of them suddenly stopped working off wireless last week, nothing would help me to get them back to the network. I saw a hardware log and it says that there’s a hardware error.
Looks like the wireless radio is defective and breaks after long time, anyone knows any solution?
10. September 2009 at 3:57 pm :
I just got this camera last week. It’s set up on the wired function and works good from viewnetcam.com. I’m having trouble on the wireless. It blinks green but never a solid green light. Panasonic said that the camera and router are talking to each other and to leave it blinking longer in hopes that it will connect to a solid green. Well, I left it on overnight and woke up to a blinking green light still. Any suggestions?
10. September 2009 at 5:33 pm :
Are there security settings on your wireless router- and if so what kind? What kind of router is it?
10. October 2009 at 9:00 pm :
Any way at all to get this camera to play audio on the Mac? I can’t seem to stream through VLC or Quicktime either. Thanks.
17. October 2009 at 3:52 pm :
Appreciate everyone writting experiences so here is mine. Camera working well at home after WEP mismatch (keep entering WEP letters used to generate the actual WEP key instead of the key itself for 6 hours). Receiving email notifications of activation and “No activity” at three separate email locations just fine. Wish I knew what pre- and post trigger photo settings would result in just a few crisp resolution photos. I also don’t think I understand what option is available for the camera to reposition itself after it is triggered- seems to center itself even though the dog isn’t at the center position. Will probably trial setting the camera to remain fixed after it is triggered but does that mean that it is panning around the room until it is triggered?
23. October 2009 at 8:01 pm :
If you finally give up trying to set up the cameras call Panasonic support. They have an amazing group they are very patient and knowledgeable, took me through the whole set up process with three BLC-30 cameras the best support group I have ever dealt with, now I am going to get a couple BLC-131 cameras. Because of the distance from the cameras to my computer wireless does not work so I use the cameras with Ethernet over power line adapters and they work great.
26. November 2009 at 7:50 pm :
The mic feature and PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) are winning features.
However, in low-level light, the Axis Communications stationary cameras (206, 207 series) are far superior.
I was also disappointed that the motion detection can be triggered by ANYTHING in view, where the Axis camera software lets you pinpoint a specific AREA of the screen. Watching for motion in my driveway is completely useless because I live on a busy highway. It would be nice if I could “limit” motion detection to the driveway only — and exclude the highway.
I will probably keep the BL-C131A and get an Axis 207W (wireless) as well.
2. December 2009 at 2:51 am :
I have lost the installation CD so does anyone know where I can download the set-up program from?
Thanks for your help,
3. January 2010 at 5:20 pm :
How do u set up the BLC131a to send images triggered to my flickr account?
Is it via email or http? What settings for smtp?
Thanks
11. January 2010 at 8:02 pm :
Just an FYI for those who are having a hard time connecting to WiFi with these cameras….
The camera actually has two network chipsets…one is for ethernet (cable), and the other is for WiFi (radio). Both have two different mac id addresses. What’s made obvious is the ethernet mac id, but if you look hard enough in the camera’s menu, you’ll eventually notice in bold lettering that the WiFi radio has a different mac id.
The mac id for the WiFi radio is 1 higher than the ethernet mac id.
If your filtering Mac Id’s on your router or limiting the amount of IP #’s assigned, or using static IP’s, you’ll never be able to connect to the camera via WiFi.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Jose
11. January 2010 at 8:04 pm :
….unless you realize that you have to include the WiFi mac ID.
6. February 2010 at 3:20 am :
I found the best iPhone Application for this camera!
This camera viewer helped me make things much easier on watching over my valuables from anywhere!
Even though there are many others out there, I really do recommend this application for those who are interested.
The application supports many more cameras other than just Panasonic.
You can zoom in to a great quality and gives you all the maneuverable functions to look around(if the camera has the navigation function).
It is called the U-CamViewer on iTunes app store.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/u-camviewer-ubiquitous-viewer/id352192173?mt=8
25. February 2010 at 8:09 pm :
My wife asked me to set up a web cam while the kitchen was being remodeled. I bought two and they work flawlessly. We love them. When we had they family Christmas party we set up one so the relatives out of the area could join us virtually. One of the cousins thought that was “creepy” but the rest of the family loved it. We’ve never had a problem with the cameras and I highly recommend them.
28. February 2010 at 2:35 pm :
Purchased 3 cameras to watch my 91 yr. old mother. great camera! I need a lead where to find an infrared light source. I have to leave a light on in the bedroom, it’s quite disturbing at night. Any suggestions?