Zmodo's 720P HD Wireless Network IP Camera (model ZH-IXA15-WC) is a decidedly mixed bag of a home surveillance camera. It sports great video—full 720p support at 1,280 by 720 pixels, which we haven't seen since the Dropcam HD) and fast setup on smartphones using QR codes (like the Compro Cloud Network Camera). But it is hampered by what it lacks: no support for Macs, mediocre Windows desktop software, no access to the camera via a Web site, no audio, and no online video storage like the majority of the competition. Still, you might overlook all of that considering the price: The Zmodo 720P HD now has an MSRP of only $79.99, making it the least expensive home video surveillance cam we've seen.

Design and Setup

The Zmodo 720P HD doesn't veer far from the typical home camera look: It's white and about the size of a bar of soap, measuring 4.0 by 2.6 by 1.3 (HWD). The metal stand adds to the height and depth, attaching to the back with ball into a socket and requiring use of a small Philips head screwdriver. I tested two of these cameras (more on that in a moment) and found the stand attachment worked great on one and terribly on the other; the latter camera would not stop drooping, no matter how much I tightened the screw.

The camera itself has a green LED in front to indicate that it's working, 10 infrared LEDs that come on in low light to provide night vision illumination, and a constantly flashing blue light, probably to indicate network activity, that's visible through the vent grids. The camera isn't in-the-dark stealthy, even if you cover the green LED.

You have three options for watching video on the Zmodo 720P HD: using the Zviewer Windows software, or either of the free Zsight mobile apps for Android or iOS. The mobile apps are a breeze to setup, because Zmodo puts a QR code on the back of the camera. Scan the code with Zsight and the camera's unique ID number is instantly registered to the app. Once the Ethernet-attached cam is visible on your Wi-Fi-connected phone, you can configure the camera's own Wi-Fi settings instantly, and then unplug it and go wireless (except for the always-necessary power, of course).

The Wi-Fi didn't work at all on the first camera I tested. Talking with Zmodo tech support finally led us all to the conclusion that it was defective and I returned the camera for a new one. The second unit worked right out of the box as advertised. It also came with a 16GB microSD card included, part of a current promotion—there's no guarantee you'll also get one. The card goes into a slot on the side that can accept up to a 64GB card.

Setup on the Windows side using Zviewer is more involved. You need to let the Zviewer search for the camera, and if it doesn't find it you have to manually type in the camera ID. The software is, frankly, about as unintuitive as it gets. Zmodo gets no points for catering to consumers with this interface. It may not hamper gearheads much, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone less than a networking expert. Zviewer can handle video feeds from up to nine Zmodo cameras at a time. 

Performance

There's no denying that the video feed from the Zmodo 720P HD camera, whether viewed on phone or PC, is pretty great. You can set the camera quality to 30 frames per second at 720P if you have the bandwidth. Naturally, when viewing remotely with a mobile phone, frame rate suffers but the picture is still pretty good.

The camera time stamp is displayed by default on the stream, but you can turn it off or add a name for the camera (which is handy if you have multiple Zmodo cams). The time-stamp out of the box was off by a full day and 10 minutes, but syncing it to my PC's clock corrected this.

The lack of audio means you probably won't be using Zmodo 720P HD as a baby monitor (Zmodo PR says a new version with audio is imminent). The night vision works as well as any, and maybe a little too well; the camera likes to default to using the infrared LEDs when it doesn't seem very dark in the room.

Capturing video or stills is another area where the Zmodo falls short. You can capture video locally to your Windows PC hard drive while running Zviewer. There's no online storage. You can supposedly capture video to the microSD card, but the only setting I could find was for stills, by clicking the camera icon on a video feed. The mobile Zsight apps cannot help you capture any images or video, period; they're just for viewing the live stream.

Video capture is best done by setting alerts using motion controls, which can be scheduled to activate at specific times. Again, Zviewer falls short here with a bad interface for setting the schedule—you have to single click in a grid on each quarter of an hour you'd want—and a worse interface for setting the motion detection areas, with even more single right-clicking. You can have alerts sent via email if you know all your SMTP settings; forget about notification via SMS text. None of the capture works without Zviewer running; the camera has no smarts of its own, so it's reliant on a Windows system on the network taking care of business.

Conclusion

The price on the Zmodo is fantastic, without any extras like a DVR service there are no hidden monthly fees, and the direct video streaming quality is great. But Zmodo is marketing the camera for consumers without giving the software the polish it needs. It's nowhere close to unseating our Editors' Choice, the Logitech Alert 750n, and can't hold a candle to other four-star wireless options like Dropcam HD or Y-Cam HomeMonitor. Both shine because of the extras they include. Consider Zmodo 720P HD only if you have the tech and networking expertise to overlook its shortcomings.