REVIEW – My previous security camera has been useful, but after two years of use, I felt as though it didn’t do enough. The Reolink TrackMix PoE review offer came along, and it looked like it would address some of the things I found my ANNKE C800 camera lacked. Read on to find out how Reolink has improved my situation!
What is it?
The Reolink TrackMix PoE is a 4K dual lens PTZ security camera with motion tracking.
What’s in the box?
- Reolink TrackMix PoE security camera
- Mounting Template
- Waterproof Lid
- 1m Network Cable
- Surveillance Sticker
- Quick Start Guide
- Mounting screws
Design and features
The Reolink TrackMix PoE is a security camera with dual cameras that can pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ). PoE stands for Power over Ethernet, which means that using power over Ethernet injection box, power to the device is sent through the network cable. PoE is a great technology if you don’t have an outlet near the camera.
The dual cameras include a 1/3″ wide-angle camera and a 1/2.8″ telephoto camera. With a 4K resolution of 3840×2160 at 25 frames per second, the image quality is outstanding. The wide-angle camera has a 104° field of view, and the telephoto camera has a 38° field of view. The cameras are capable of day or night use, implementing infrared night vision along with 450-lumen LED illumination of up to 50 ft.
The Reolink TrackMix PoE also has two-way audio. This feature is something that I thought I would only use sparingly. Since my office is in my basement, I primarily use the camera to see when packages have arrived. However, I’ve found that when I’m expecting a package that I have to sign for and I’m not sitting at my computer to monitor the camera, I can turn on the audio, and quite often, I’ll hear when the delivery truck pulls up, and I can meet the driver at the door before they even knock.
The audio is very sensitive. I can hear a car door close from four houses away and people talking at the neighbors’ house across the street. It also picks up the birds chirping nicely, bringing some life to my otherwise quiet office.
Monitoring the camera is easy as there are both desktop and mobile applications. My previous camera only operated through a web browser and would not run on a mobile browser. Now I can check for packages regardless of whether I’m home or not.
The Reolink TrackMix PoE supports 24/7 continuous, motion-triggered, or scheduled recordings. All the videos can be saved to the micro SD card, Reolink NVR, or FTP server. A micro SD card is not included.
The desktop and mobile apps are quite similar, although there are more features and settings available in the mobile app. So make sure you check out the mobile app for more settings such as push notifications, camera sharing, and more.
Of course, one of the primary features of the camera is the ability to pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ). Pressing the PTZ button in the desktop application pops up an overlay window allowing you to move the camera. The PTZ window also has buttons for calibration, monitor point, and presets.
The calibration button does some form of movement calibration. I’m not really sure what it does.
The monitor point is a great feature that lets you basically set a “home” monitoring point. Pressing “Return to Monitor Point” returns the camera to that point after you have moved it elsewhere, and I use this feature all the time. I have my monitor point set with the camera looking almost straight down at my front steps and mailbox. If I think I’ve heard the UPS truck, I can turn the camera towards the street and look. When using the Auto setting, the camera will automatically return to the home/monitor point after the interval that I have set.
In the PTZ control window is also a Preset button. Clicking it brings up a list of location presets. I also use this often. I have a preset called “Street” that looks down the street as far as possible to the left. I have a preset called “Driveway” for checking for delivery trucks, one called “Steps” where they drop packages, and one called “Mailbox” where I can see my mailbox. It’s fabulous!
Notifications are also something I really needed in a security camera. Doing reviews and running a home-based business, I often get packages unexpectedly and it’s nice to know when something arrives. Notifications include mobile Push, Email, FTP Upload, Siren and Linked devices. The Reolink TrackMix PoE has smart detection, which can distinguish people, vehicles, and pets from other objects, which is supposed to provide more accurate alerts. It can also track based on the type of detection.
Push notifications include settings for on/off, allowing critical alerts when muted or do not disturb is on, interval time (seconds), and custom schedules. There is also a test button, which I found to be a really nice feature.
The email feature is self-explanatory. There are settings for your email login, so these are sent directly and not through your mobile device email application.
The FTP Upload notification can upload to an FTP server, which makes for a great offsite backup of security footage. There are a lot of settings that you can configure for FTP, including file type (video/photo), creating subfolders by month or day, resolution, max file size, and overwriting.
The siren notification is a bit extreme for outdoor use when used automatically, but it could be useful for certain circumstances like indoor use. It simply plays the siren sound when motion is detected. You can also trigger the siren manually.
I did not have any devices to use the linked devices notification feature. However, it is described as “If device A meets a certain condition, then device B will perform a specific action.”
The mobile app also has a “Share Camera” feature. After your family or friends launch the app, they can click the “+” button and scan the QR code to add your camera. They can also input your UID/IP number.
Playback feature includes play, pause, frame-by-frame advance, 1/4, 1/2, normal, 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x speeds. I did find it difficult to scan for specific things, as there is no scrubbing feature to quickly go forward or backward in the video.
What I like
- Dual camera capability
- Motion detection
- Motion control
- Mobile device app
What I’d change
- The motion detection can be a bit sensitive and tricky to get just right
- The desktop application needs more settings like the mobile app has
- I would really like the PTZ controls to be on the screen at all times
Final thoughts
Overall, I really like the Reolink TrackMix PoE camera. It does just about everything I need it to. I love having the ability to monitor the camera via my desktop computer, where I work all day, and monitor it from my phone when I’m not at home. I will definitely be getting another one of these for other parts of my house.
Price: $159.99
Where to buy: Reolink and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Reolink.
