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New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

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New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby BarnOwl » 10 31, 2017 •  [Post 1]

**Approved by RJ**

Hi all :D

We've just created a web application allowing users to receive and view cellular game camera images remotely from any computer or mobile device with internet access.

We're preparing to "launch" in December, and are looking for honest feedback from the people who could benefit most from this platform: hunters.

Please leave a response regarding your initial impressions of the service - features you think should be included, features you find unnecessary, any spots for improvement, anything that doesn't look right, etc.

We want to make this as easy and user-friendly as we possibly can, so please note anything you have even slight difficulty with, and we will address it immediately. Your feedback will be heard, and used!

View demo here:
https://app.barnowl.tech/demo

Current feature list:
    Click a camera's image or camera name to display all images belonging to that camera.
    Click an image in the "all images" window to see a larger slideshow for that camera's images.
    Remotely configure camera settings at any time using the "Settings" button on a camera.
    Search images using image recognition keywords like "deer", "animal", "sunset", etc. (WIP)
    Share any images via text/email with the "Share" button on a camera.
    Save images as favorites using the Star icon to keep track of the best photos.

Thanks so much for your feedback, if you have any questions or comments at all, please let me know either on this post or through a PM. :D

Greg
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 31, 2017 •  [Post 2]

Don't be shy folks, give Barn Owl (Greg) some feedback on his pending product/APP :D
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby olympushunt » 11 02, 2017 •  [Post 3]

I don't know a lot about cellular game cams. I have the old school kind where you have to hike into them to get the SD card. The old fashioned way....boot leather. lol I do like the idea of being able to remotely access my cameras but I haven't gone this route yet for several reasons. 1) The cams are spendy. 2) The spots that I have my cameras in deep, that require a long hike, there is NO cell signal. 3) The closer to the road spots that I monitor I am hesitant to leave even a cheapo camera as they can grow legs and crawl off.
My question though is what advantages does your service have over an app that comes with a cell trail camera. I'm not sure all cell cameras have an app but I was looking at one brand that came with a viewing app and it was free with the purchase of the camera. You app looks very user friendly.....I was just wondering what you felt were the advantages your app provides. I do have a few places where it could be a big advantage.

Thanks

Luke
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby BarnOwl » 11 02, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Thanks Luke, I'll try to explain our advantages without sounding too much like a sales pitch, honest feedback is what we're looking for more than anything at this point.

Cell coverage will always be the biggest challenge with these setups, cell cameras need a solid 2-3 bars of service to transmit images. Something to note, the camera will still operate like a normal game camera if the service isn't strong enough to transmit, the images/videos will still be stored on the SD card. That being said.. T-Mobile is rolling out a huge LTE network over the next year or so, and should have nationwide coverage by the end of next year, so we're planning around that.

Most cellular cameras come with an app, that's true. The limiting factor is that many of their data plans are too pricey, too restrictive, or force you into a multi-month contract.. our plans can be changed, suspended, or cancelled anytime, with very straightforward and immediate proration. We know hunters don't always need cameras year-round, so we want to make our pricing sensible and flexible. We're also considering a free plan with a low # of images per month to make it more appealing and low-risk, pricing feedback is more than welcomed at this point as we're still preparing for an official "launch" next month.

We're also running image analysis software on each image, which no one else is doing, to my knowledge. This allows features like sending an alert anytime a certain keyword is detected on an image (deer, sunset, animal, etc), reports on how many times a keyword is found in a week/month/etc, grouping images by keyword, etc. Opens a lot of doors for potential features, feel free to mention any that you think would be useful.

Cell cameras are pricey mainly because it's new-ish technology, you can expect to spend ~$200-250 for one, at least for the next few months. The cost of sending those images is the most expensive part (and why you're seeing such high monthly data fees), but it's getting cheaper.

Regarding camera security, what have you found to be an effective security measure? We were thinking of a thick locking cable that runs through the back of the camera, how could someone get through it without using cable cutters or chopping the tree down?

Thanks again!
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby olympushunt » 11 02, 2017 •  [Post 5]

Thank you Greg for your reply. This helps a lot. I am certainly interested in a cell camera. I would have to think about where as some of the spots I have do indeed get a signal but have about one bar and that's if I hold my tongue out just right.
As far as security goes....in my opinion the best thing is concealment. Hanging a camera up high and pointing them down. I have yet to lose one doing this. Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself now. LOL! Most animals, people includued, do not look up. I have had people walk right by my cam and not see it. Yes, cables and lock boxes help but if someone finds it and wants it....they are going to get it. Out of sight....out of mind.
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby BarnOwl » 11 02, 2017 •  [Post 6]

No problem. I'd hate for anyone to buy a camera for a specific spot just to find the coverage doesn't work, having to position around cell coverage is just asking for trouble. The T-Mobile network rolling out now is definitely a game-changer, its signal reaches further and travels through objects easier.

Thanks for the tip on hanging cameras out of reach, we'll keep that in mind. Your secret is safe with me! ;)
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby lamrith » 11 03, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Sounds like a great product and offering, I mean that sincerely. The concept, features etc that you are talking about are great and that you have a good product developed conceptually. I want to make sure I say that up front. I have normal game cam, Cell cams I think are neat, but just as mentioned by others the places I put cams are too deep for any cell coverage regardless of the carrier.

Something to consider and think out moving forward, I believe this will have considerable influence on your success long term.
PRIVACY/SECURITY - Most hunters these days (and for VERY good reason) are very very VERY tight lipped about their hunting areas. The sheer number of hunters these days and limited locations/game make it very important to protect honey holes or anyplace you have had success. I see it on all the boards I am part of where hunters are making comments about not ever sharing anything, not inviting new members to hunting camps, etc. Simply put you cannot trust anyone. Having a cell camera hooked up thru your app/product, with it being a hunter oriented business will scare many off. It is one thing to have a random device on ATT/Verizon cell network that is sending pictures direct to the cam owner, The Cell carriers could care less what is being transmitted and in general the pictures and cell cam location mean absolutely nothing to them. However your business will be in the middle, intercepting, interpreting, scanning the images etc. You are a hunter oriented product, the data you get from these pictures will have value to you and other hunters, value creates temptation or reasons to exploit that information. That will pose a risk (maybe only percieved, but that honestly is all that matters when it really comes down to it.) to most hunters. They have a good spot they have worked years to get developed, put up a cam thru your service, and suddenly on opening day there are 2 other hunter squatted in their spot where no other hunter had hunted before in years... Hunters are going to need some really solid assurances (some it will not matter regardless of what is promised) before they risk using a service like yours.

Again, like your idea, just something you need to keep in mind.

Now for a question
Are you developing your own camera's/hardware for this?
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Re: New wireless game camera mgmt service, seeking feedback.

Postby BarnOwl » 11 03, 2017 •  [Post 8]

Great point Larry, thanks a lot for that. I can definitely see the reasoning behind it.

To be clear, the concern is that you're handing over your coveted hunting spot to two guys who have oversight over all the cameras, and you need 100% assurance that we aren't going to use your photos to sell or freely share your spot? Hunters are already cautious enough going into cellular cameras, bringing in a middle man introduces a new set of privacy concerns, and for good reason. We'll adjust our privacy policy to guarantee that the photos will never be released from the app without the owner's explicit permission, and we'll be sure to make it very clear when buying a camera that the photos belong to the camera owner. Thanks again for that, is there anything else we could do to alleviate that concern?

Regarding hardware, we found a solid game camera model and built the camera-specific functions of the app (reconfiguring camera settings remotely, manually triggering a photo capture, etc) around that model, but the core features of receiving/viewing images, searching, favorites, etc will work with any cell camera that can send its images via email. We'd give a unique email address to configure into the camera, and the images will appear on the app as they're taken and transmitted. Accommodating all camera models with the ability to remotely reconfigure settings is tricky because all cameras receive these commands differently, and the commands must be received in the correct format or it won't work. If we see an influx of people who want to use the same cell camera with our app, we'll certainly incorporate it into the system.

We're planning to source our own custom camera in the near future with more capabilities (design, frequency bands, lens/IR, etc), but in the short term we're selling the game camera we found as the RangeCam.

Thanks again for the tip Larry, definitely a huge help!
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