Cheap IP cameras: the Edimax IC-3010WG

A much cheaper solution for IP video than the Axis Q7401, the Edimax IC-3010WG network camera is only £80 from use-IP.co.uk. For your money, you get a white plastic camera with a choice of wired or wifi network connections with a maximum resolution of 640×480 at 30fps. Video streams are available in either M-JPEG or MPEG-4, with a built-in microphone and 3.5mm audio-output jack. The lens is fixed focal length and autofocus down to about 25-30cm, there is a reverse-SMA connector for the supplied wifi antenna on top of the unit and a 1/4″W standard camera tripod thread unusually placed on the back.
When you’ve found the camera on the network, the default username and password is admin and 1234. The web interface is utilitarian, and seems to want ActiveX for a live-view. You can view a configured M-JPEG stream in VLC by selecting media->open network and adding http://192.168.1.125/mjpg/video.mjpg (where 192.168.1.125 is the IP of the camera), you will be asked for the username and password before the stream opens. MPEG-4 can also be viewed in this way, using the path rtsp://192.168.1.125:554/ipcam.sdp (again, fill in your own camera IP in place of 192.168.1.125), although I found that this didn’t work with the v.1.20 firmware the camera came with, and it wasn’t until I upgraded to v.1.25 that the MPEG-4 video streamed in VLC. The wifi function of the Edimax scans for available networks, and offers to join one by selecting the ssid in the list and clicking Apply. The built-in mic on the camera bottom works with VLC, with audio and video delayed by between 1-2 seconds consistently in both M-JPEG and MPEG-4.