Acti D31 Bullet IP Camera Review

[Harri Whipp]

Today we are looking at another camera from Acti's brand new D series range. The D31 is one of the budget cameras in the range, yet even though this camera's quality and functionality is a little less than some others, it is still a great product that will suit many users' needs.

This is a 1MP bullet camera that can shoot 30fps at 1280 x 720 and has a viewing angle of 54 degrees. It has day/night functionality that will allow you to see at a minimum of 0 LUX. The camera has a weathproof IP66 rated casing and also uses PoE (which is the preferred method of 95% of our customers.)

Acti have released two new bullet cameras in the D3 range; the D31, which is a 1MP bullet camera and the D32, which is a 3MP bullet camera. These cameras have the same shell and also come in identical packaging. Why not take a look at our recent unboxing video:

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As with Acti's other new bullet cameras, the D31 features the 'pig tail' ethernet port hanging from the rear of the camera. Unfortunately unlike Acti's E3(1,2,3) series this camera does not have an RJ45 jack in the rear of the camera. (See below)​

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We recorded our footage for this device using the free ACTi NVR 3 software that works with every ACTi camera. This software allows you to view and record up to 16 channels free of charge (with optional paid-for upgrades for further cameras) and comes with iPhone and Android applications. You can also connect non=ACTi ONVIF devices, but ACTi will charge license fees for this function.​

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To read more about this and how to set up and adding a camera go to our NVR 3 forum post.

ACTi provide a very good web client for their camera, where you can configure all of the settings, watch live footage, set up separate streams and take snapshots. Using the NVR 3 we took a snapshot at full resolution which you can see below (1280x720).

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We also captured some sample footage to show the quality you can expect from this camera:

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I feel that this is a brilliant budget camera from ACTi. Even though it is only a 1MP camera, the quality you get at the current price makes this a very appealing camera for many users. I would say this camera would be best suited to home or small businesses.

This camera coupled with the NVR 3 software would make a great security solution as they work together so well. This camera would perfectly fit into any existing system, but as it is so new some NVR's/software may not yet be compatible. This should be sorted within the next few weeks.

For a quick price comparison the 3MP version of this camera is only £20 more than this 1MP model. Even though I feel that the quality of this camera is sufficient for such a small price tag, if the extra quality is needed, I would upgrade to the 3MP.

This is a great value and high quality camera from ACTi and would be a great buy!