Mi’s Mijia ecosystem, which is sold mostly in China is comprised of an array of smart home gadgets, ranging that ranges from washers to cameras. Its Mi Home Security Camera 360deg is a part of this category and is among the few products in the Mijia ecosystem that has been made it to India. It is a stylish design and loads of features like live audio talkback as well as motion detection by AI, but does this Mi Home Security Camera 360deg really worth the money, and what is its performance with daily use? Check out all the details in our comprehensive Mi Home Security Camera 360deg review.
Mi Home Security Camera 360deg design and construction high-end
It’s Mi Smart Security Camera 360° is a sleek and appealing appearance, and it looks like a toy, but one built with solidity. The camera’s main body is a spherical body with a cut-out in the shape of a pill which allows the lens to rotate to the left and right. It also has a microSD card slot underneath the lens. The side of the body is a round speaker grille.
The base is matte finish, and you’ll locate a reset button as well as an Micro-USB port on the back. The entire device seems to be constructed of a durable polycarbonate. The sturdy build quality definitely will ensure long-term durability.
This Xiaomi security camera is 78x78x118mm and weighs 239g. Xiaomi states that it’s built to be shockproof, however we do not recommend trying to test the claim. The camera’s motorized movements are smooth, and the gadget doesn’t make any noise during calibration as well as during normal use.
Mi Home Security Camera 360deg installation and setting
Its Mi Home Security Camera 360deg features a flat base that has four grips that are evenly spaced across its entire circumference. It can be set on a table so that it won’t shake, and it is also able to be hung to the ceiling. Fortunately, Xiaomi provides the base plate, screws and screw caps for this inside the box that retails. Once the security camera is been installed in the desired place, all to do is get it hooked up and ready to go for use, which is fairly simple.
Then, first connect your camera the USB powered source. The camera can be powered by the USB cable as well as the 5W adapter included in the retail box. This will turn the LED indicator on , and it will also turn on the Mi Home Security Camera 360deg will also sound a signal to indicate that it’s activated. To start viewing the live feed of a video camera it is necessary first download the Xiaomi Home application that is accessible on both Android and iOS and then sign into your Mi account.
Users will need to input their Wi-Fi passwords in the application. It’s worth noting that Mi Home Security Camera 360deg connects using the 2.4 the GHz Wi-Fi band. If you’re using a dual band router, make sure that it is enabled in order to use the 5GHz band, which isn’t compatible. The app asks you for the necessary permissions, and then performs the Bluetooth lookup for Mi Home Security Camera 360deg. After the device is connected and the app displays an QR code that must be read by the camera in order to complete the setup procedure and permit access to Live feed.
The entire process was quite simple and is completed in less than five minutes. This is great for those who aren’t sure how to set up a conventional security camera. The app will guide users step-by-step along the way, and the Xiaomi camera also gives audio-guided instructions during the entire procedure.
Mi Home Security Camera 360deg camera quality and features
Its Mi Home Security Camera 360deg is a 2-megapixel camera sporting an f/2.1 aperture. The quality of the video it records is impressive in comparison to similar offerings at a comparable price from other manufacturers. In bright, well-lit settings whether indoors or out the camera was able to capture a large amount of light during our tests. This means that the videos retained a good amount of color and appeared sharp.
Sharpness is good too. If you’re looking to improve the quality of your video or images, there’s an option known as wide Dynamic Range (WDR) that helps the objects within a frame appear more clear with less apparent washed. But, it can also make images and videos appear a little less vibrant. The camera’s field of vision is said as being 360° horizontally, and at 96 degrees on an axis vertical.
The main strength of Mi Home Security Camera 360deg is the ability to record video even in the dark. The camera is outfitted with eight infrared LEDs of 940nm that permit the camera to record videos even in extremely dark. The video we took in these conditions was detailed and sharp even though they’re monochrome, they feature not much grainy or grainy-textured. The camera is able to automatically change between day and night modes as needed. Night mode is best when the range is 8-10m.
Its edges were clear, and there was plenty of details in photos and videos we recorded particularly when compared with the images we’ve seen on security cameras made by companies like Godrej. There’s another option called “Full-color in low-light,” which is designed to keep the most vibrant colors in images and videos as it is possible under low-light conditions before switching to the infrared-assisted Monochrome mode.
On the other hand, we noticed that certain portions of the footage, especially during the time when cameras were adjusted using the D-pad displayed some blur. Additionally, objects near the edges of frames were more likely to exhibit the distortion of a barrel. Even after turning on ‘Lens distortion correction’, the warping of the peripherals was evident in a small degree. For home monitoring, as far as it is concerned, you can select between 24-hour surveillance of your camera and recording during the day or at night as well as a customized schedule.
A niggle is that Xiaomi doesn’t offer the option of backing up videos to cloud storage services and users will be forced to use an SD card or separate backup solution for the devices on the network are files being saved on. Although this doesn’t affect performance on a daily basis but it would be helpful and beneficial for consumers.
Motion detection using AI is extremely useful. Even at dark the camera could detect the movements of a tiny insect that was hovering close to it, and then send an alert. If motion is detected the camera instantly sends an alert and then take a 10-second recording. A log of all motion detection alerts, as well as the video clips recorded is accessible by clicking on the “Monitoring” option on the Live Feed page within the application.
One of the greatest functions of Mi’s Home Security Camera 360deg and one that has been implemented extremely well — is the feature for talkback which lets users talk to those in their home, or wherever the camera is installed. You simply click to call on the screen of Live Feed, and you’re good to go. We found the quality of voice to be good with clear sound on both sides. The speaker did an excellent job in relaying voice however, the camera’s microphone was able to detect a some background noise when there were any objects, such as fans, for instance within the range of.
You can make movies in HD or low quality If you’re willing to sacrifice some sharpness and color output to reduce the size of your file. In both cases it is the same, at 1920×1080 pixels. This is the same for stills that are captured in any setting. Xiaomi says that its Xiaomi 360deg Home Security Camera is equipped with advanced technology for video encoding that reduces the amount of bandwidth used for video by approximately 50 percent , and also allows faster video streaming to tablets and smartphones.
In the case of recorded photographs and videos you can have them saved locally on a microSD card with the size of 64GB or transferred to other devices in your network to store them. The transmission of data is encrypted as a precautionary measure.
The sleek user interface in Xiaomi Home’s clean and simple interface Xiaomi Home application is a plus. The home screen allows users to choose which device’s live feed they would like to stream. Additionally, there’s an Inbox which allows you to view the history of all motion detection alerts, links to Mi Online Store, Mi Community, and your profile section. Live feed pages, which opens when you select the device, displays the camera’s feed on screen , with a D-pad used to control its movements. The voice call button is surrounded by Playback, Monitoring, Photo Album as well as Shortcuts button.
The Monitoring section displays previous notifications and lets you view the 10 second clips that are automatically recorded. The Playback section lets you view videos taken by the camera, whereas The Photo Album is designed for stills. The Shortcuts button allows rapid access to Sleep mode and camera calibration along with pop-up window toolkits.
The camera comes with an option to sleep that lets users turn off the camera without the need to shut it down. It is possible to activate sleep mode at the touch of an icon or set the schedule of your choice. When you awake the device up from its sleep state, it takes couple of minutes to recalibrate itself before it can start transmitting stream live. There’s a slight delay in the event that the camera has to change to Dark Mode immediately after waking up.
Review
The Xiaomi Home Security Camera 360deg perfectly represents Xiaomi’s’more bang your buck’ philosophy, and it is feature-rich as well priced at a reasonable price. With a top design and build quality and user-friendliness as well as a wealth of features, and overall quality of the recorded video the Xiaomi product is definitely one of the top devices within its price range.
The absence of cloud storage, and some minor media output flaws are both issues however they’re not major alarms. It is currently available for sale at the price of Rs. 2,699 at Amazon Indi, the authentic Xiaomi online store as well as Amazon Indi, the Mi Home Security Camera 360deg provides excellent value for money.
Price: Rs. 2,699
Pros
- Quality build and attractive design
- Good camera output
- A simple live audio chat feature
- Awe-inspiring night vision mode
- Rapid and precise motion detection
Cons
- No cloud storage support
- Video blurs when the camera angle is adjusted
