Synology BC500 and TC500 Surveillance Cameras - Should You Buy?

PROBLEM with this camera! Only the centre portion of the image is sharp. 2/3 of the image roughly. I had a long, long, very long exchange with synology support, they contacted even the camera OEM etc but no solution provided yet. They said it would need a firmware update... (huh?!) I have years of experience with all sorts of cams but this one is the worst ever. Even cheap $20 chinese cams are sharper. I post this info to warn people NOT to buy at the Synology webshop. You do not have the ability to return without trouble. Buy this wre you CAN get support.

Just installed a BC500. installation is so easy! BUT the image quality at the left and right 30% of the image is a bit BLURRY. My old Hikvision camera performs way better.

Nice. Hope it will not be too expensive. Also: make a smart doorbell cam please that stores data locally on the NAS.

I appreciate you making this pros/cons video about the cameras. This was very informative!

Wow, thank you for this again amazingly informative video! I find the price of 265 euro's (BC500) including shipping a great price! My 4 Hikvision IP cams are good but their software is crap. So I am very, very glad to be able to buy non chinese IP camera's now with excellent support en no dodgy software.

I think it is a great idea that Synology have gone into cameras, however due to their greed on spare parts ( eg. RAM, Power Board failure unrepairable, buy a new unit!), I would not buy a non NAS product by Synology ,if another manufacturer was producing something similar.

licence is offer with the cam?

#1 feature: Made in Taiwan with Taiwanese IC by Novatek, real security from the ground up, not another CCP camera, China free!

the link doesn't work for the cctv camaras i also cant find them in google for sale either

These are just rebranded Dahua cameras, immediately reconized the base and placement of the speaker, microphone with the microSD in the middle with the single screw cover.

3 years of warranty? If it's like the EU demanded, the 3rd year is only to throw sand to customer's eyes because on theat 3rd year, customers have to prove that the issue exists since the beginning. 🤦🏼

Appreciate the info, but I still have a lot of questions. Especially when looking to consider Synology as an alternative to a complete ecosystem such as UniFi Protect, without the pricing, this seems more like a pre-announcement than an actual launch. After all, if they just set a very high price which includes the camera license, well, then you are really paying a license fee anyway compared with using other cameras, right?

Also, very disappointed they didn't enter with an 8MP/4K resolution camera. Specifically, with Unifi, that is where the ecosystem breaks down as their 4K/AI cameras are quite expensive.

Minor question, but I don't see it stated anywhere in the Synology specs that their cameras actually have "plain vanilla" RTSP/ONVIF support at all. It would be reassuring to know that they can be used with other systems (ignoring the warranty problem) in a basic camera mode (no AI features) for at least for "salvage value" or fallback if, in the future, changing out the Surveillance station NVR for something else.

thanks for covering this. I want a Synology cameras now lol.

I think a NAS company releasing their own camera is a great idea. Since there are just too many to choose from, simplifies the process. Adding AI was a brilliant call. I don't see that as annoying at all (as HDD, memory, and n2.mvne are annoying.) Good call from Synology.

Hi,

Great video! Can you do a video of several brands of cameras, so we can make a better choice.

Best regards. Keep the good job!

5MP 110° is a big leap of faith 🤔

Excellent video

I imagine Synology has done what they're doing with Seagate hard drives, rebranding an existing third party camera and customizing the firmware slightly to lock you in that bit more. Further, the price premium will likely be on the high side knowing Synology. Unless, of course, buying one of these works out no more expensive compared to an equivalent camera plus the required Synology licence.