Setup & Usage
Setting up the SpotCam Eva 2 is pretty simple. First connect it to power using the included USB cable and power adapter. I ended up placing it on a shelf, so I could have a full view of my entire living room / office. Once you have the unit powered on you are going to want to activate your SpotCam on your SpotCam account. You can either do this using the SpotCam app or via the web. SpotCam is actually one of the few companies that offers both app and normal website access for their security cameras.
We are going to go with the SpotCam app to activate our Eva 2. You’ll need to download the app (iOS & Android) to your phone and create an account if you haven’t already. From there select “Add a New SpotCam” in the app and follow the on-screen instructions. It is pretty simple, you’ll connect to the SpotCam’s WiFi then fill in the information for your WiFi network, name and camera, set the time zone, and you’ll be good to go. Getting your SpotCam up and running should take no longer than 10 minutes, if that.
After your SpotCam is configured it will appear on the main screen of the app. It also gives you options for monthly plans. Now remember you’ll get 24 hour cloud recording for free, but SpotCam also offers 3-day ($3.95/month, $39-year), 7-day ($5.95/month, $59-year), and 30-day ($19.95/month, $199-year) plans. Clicking into the video itself you’ll see a live view along with a timeline (last 24 hours) that will have indicators for events so you can easily go back and see what they were. There is also an “Events” icon at the bottom of the screen where you can see a list of event. There is a camera icon that allows you to take a photo. Clicking the “…” will give you more options one of which is recording a video. Here you have to select the date and time of the recording and the length. This is a little more complicated than other apps I’ve used where I can just go to the playback and hit record.
On the main screen below the timeline on the right edge you’ll see a little icon that looks like the Eva 2. Press it and it will bring up your pan and tilt controls. The controls allow you to freely pan and tilt the camera as well as bring the camera back “home”. You can set four different preset position and then use the “Patrol” feature to move between them. There is also an auto-pan feature which will continuously pan from side to side. There is another feature called “Human Tracking” which will essentially follow you around the room. In the settings menu you can set the moving speed of the pan / tilt as well as turn human tracking on and off.
Going back to the live screen there is a gear icon in the top right. This will bring up the main options for the camera itself. Here there are a bunch of different options, but I will go over some of the things you are likely going to want to change. First make sure HD video is enabled. Change flicker reduction to 60hz. Turn image quality all the way up to high. This will give you the best quality for video play back. Under the alerts menu you can enable or disable alerts as well as enable notifications. You have the ability to send alerts to your phone (push notification) or e-mail address. Going into the alerts menu you can set what type of alerts are sent, the motion sensitivity, and more. You can set a schedule for alerts or the camera itself. And you have the ability to turn the camera microphone on and off and set the volume for it as well as the speaker.
For those wondering what the 130 degree field of view looks like, here is a picture I took with the Eva 2.
The great thing is that obviously I can pan and tilt the Eva 2 so I can cover the entire room no problem.
