Pet owners rejoice — Petcube is here to answer the ultimate
question: what does your dog or cat do when they’re home alone? Now
you’ll know because this wireless video streaming camera lets you see
what your pets are up to.
The Cube Is Here
Shaped like a cube, the front consists of a wide angle
high-resolution (720p) fixed focus lens — this gives a clear and
encompassing view of whatever it’s aimed at (just a little distorting at
the edges as is always the case with w/a lenses). Below is a
low-powered safety red laser — no it’s not there to attack intruders,
but to provide some quality fun time with a cat. For a dog, not so much.
Download the free app (iOS/Android) because it won’t work without it.
My iPhone’s ready to go, so I placed the cube at one end of the kitchen
and plugged it into an AC outlet through the included USB cable
adapter. I later discovered that there’s a tripod mount on the bottom,
but don’t expect it to stand on a mini-pod easily; this 4 x 4 x 4-inch
cube is seriously heavy aluminum. And when I say “AC” I mean that the
Petcube needs the full power coming from the wall outlet — connecting it
to a USB socket on a laptop won’t cut it.
Simple Enough For Humans
Setup is echoed by a color LED strip at the cube’s bottom. After
pairing it first with the cube’s own WiFi, I transferred the signal to
my home network. Oh — I also registered with the company since the
streaming goes through their servers. Once done, I accessed the Petcube
and could see that the image was well defined and clear. I watched my
dogs walking through the kitchen with what seemed to be only a very
slight delay — maybe not super-smooth but not those jerky movements
one’s come to expect from video streaming using a home camera either.
I left my apartment later and used a Starbucks WiFi to access the
Petcube. Again I saw a clear picture and the movements of my dogs as
they went back and forth through the kitchen had the same frame rate as
when I was right there. I turned on the “Sound” setting — this let me
not only hear what was going on but also speak to them — they found this
intriguing since they couldn’t find me (don’t use this when nearby
because it will cause horrible feedback). I also worked the laser and
made a red dot appear at a few places on the floor and kitchen cabinets:
the dogs noticed it and one yawned. So yes, not having a cat does make
the laser superfluous. Oh – tapping the screen while watching the video
feed saves what is seen as a picture/snapshot too.
One Price, Many Uses
Petcube doesn’t have any ongoing fees or monthly subscriptions. So
the cost of $199 is all you’re paying for. So yes you can now put a
price tag on piece of mind when the pets are left home alone.
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