Scoutguard 550V upgrade report 12-23-2008

This great little cam has had a very good year and as folks find out about it has grown in popularity very quickly. During this period there were some issues dealing with quality control. Every one of these problems was quickly identified and HCO made corrections. The big camera guru of cameras at HCO has made trips to China to get nose to nose with those folks who set on the assembly line and where ever there was a problem he made sure that it was corrected. So running in the back ground there has been a silent series of upgrades that has resulted in a relatively problem free camera. One of these upgrades dealt with the remote plug and jack. The solution for this was to go to a larger and stronger plug. This is the USB type and has slightly more mass and better strength for long life. The original remote setup will still be supported and covered under warranty if there is a problem there.

The next major upgrade is the introduction of the SG-550V which is the same camera with the new remote plug plus it now incorporates a view screen in the remote. We have one of the first out and we have tested it and it works very well. For those folks that just have to see what is on the card the minute they hit the woods to check their cams this will work great for them. Be advised that this is a great feature but it comes with a down side also and that is long term toggling through a hundred or so pictures will cost some battery life. We know that this cam has great battery life but it would shorten that somewhat. The programming has changed a little but I was able to get through and view pictures without ever having to view any instructions. The font size seems to be a little larger and easier to read and some what clearer. This upgrade is both a hardware and software upgrade so as of now, current SG-550’s cannot be upgraded to the V designation. The view screen is one and a quarter inches square which is not much smaller that those card readers that are currently on the market and cost nearly as much as the V series Scoutguard. A great camera just got better.



click this link to watch a video demo of the new remote:
http://www.chasingame.com/cameratestimages/2008_scoutguard/sg550vdemo.wmv


photobucket version:

You've mentioned veiwing pics with this viewer .... are you able to view the videos as well ?

Only the first frame of the video shows. It does not play the videos.

does this new model has the same dimensions as the previous one?

Thanks

Phil

yes

Is the new 550v available yet? Can't seem to find it anywhere.

HCO Currently has a few of these now with more on the way. It should penetrate distribution channels fairly quickly.

550V will be available next Tuesday at Bee Busy (BBO), Trailcampro, Scouting-cam.com, etc.

Hello Cindy,

have these new cams been tested on movie mode outside? ( for example 1 min movie, 5 MG, High sensitivity, 17 sec interval)

Are the known problems of the SG550 been resolved?

What's new on this model? ( USB plug and video screen remote apart)

Can the new remote be used on the previous model

Thanks

Phil

PS: I speak a very special English

Hi Cindy, can you squeak out what the price range is on the new SG-550V

Phil,

The 550V remote uses a new USB plug which is much stronger than the previous model. Previous SG550 remote can not be used with the 550V camera since 550V requires both hardware and software support to function as a picture viewer. Regarding the previous problems of SG550, Michael from HCO just dedicated a trip to our manufacturer in China to tight up the QC procedures, we had identified a few holes in production. After working with the engineers and the production department for two weeks, we believe the quality and reliability of our SG550 series will be highly improved. Better components will be used as well.

NYS,

The retail price of camo 550V is going to be $229.95. 550V was HCO's original idea since this Spring, we had put significant efforts in the past few months to make it a mature product to the market. The purpose is to provide a more convenient product to be used in the field.

HCO Technical Support
www.huntingcamonline.com

Thanks for the repley back Cindy, Because of you and all your efforts to help others with tech support questions with a quick answer back, I will be buying a new
SG-550V as soon as they hit the market. On this new model has there been any other solftware or hardware upgrades besides the pic viewer? Also I would like to say this Discussion Forum has so much good imformation on it because of it's great membership, Big THANKS to all.
Thanks again Rick!

click this link to watch a video demo of the new remote: (higher quality)
http://www.chasingame.com/cameratestimages/2008_scoutguard/sg550vdemo.wmv


photobucket version:

Thanks for posting up a video Anthony

Amazing how good HCO is. Wish all cam manufacturers were this good

Thanks HCO_Support

Guys,

Thanks for your great feedback (positive comments in this case )!

But don't let Cindy take all the credits, sometimes other team members from Technical Support team also come here and help out

Happy New Year everyone!!

Cindy