Philips SPC 900NC Review

What the reviewers like:
The Philips SPC 900NC webcam has a relatively high frame rate and reviews say it works well in low light conditions. The automatic adjustments work pretty well, and colors are very accurate, according to most experts. The microphone is very sensitive (but maybe too sensitive) and face-tracking works well.

What the reviewers don't like:
Some testers day the mount on the Philips SPC 900NC is awkward, especially for laptops. Automatic lighting adjustment isn’t flawless. The microphone picks up too much background noise. Overall, reviews say the Philips SPC 900NC is a good webcam that doesn't quite outclass webcams from Logitech.

Philips SPC 900NC review highlights

Reviewers reach a variety of conclusions about the performance of the Philips SPC 900NC, but none of them rate it more highly than the Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision (*est. $100 as far as image quality. Some reviews say the Philips SPC 900NC is comparable to the Logitech QuickCam Fusion (*est. $65), which costs less.

The Philips SPC 900NC webcam isn’t widely reviewed by the U.S. mainstream media, which is a shame considering that most reviews say that this webcam is a contender. We found several very good reviews. Australia's PCAuthority.com compares it with four webcams, Which.co.uk briefly compares it with a dozen webcams, and About.com directly compares it with the Microsoft LifeCam VX6000. In addition, Pocket-lint.co.uk has a non-comparative review, and there’s some user feedback for the Philips SPC 900NC webcam at Amazon.com.

Also see full report: Webcams

*In order of credibility (see our Ratings Criteria).

1. PC Authority
Philips SPC 900NC
Roger Kirkwood
Sept. 22, 2006

Roger Kirkwood includes the Philips SPC 900NC is this comparison of five webcams from five manufacturers. The comparisons are excellent, but two of the five models aren't sold in the U.S. The Philips SPC 900NC has the best quality of the five webcams by a hair, but Kirkwood sees it as a poor value.

2. About.com
Philips SPC 900NC Webcam Review
Shane McGlaun
Apr. 27, 2007

About.com guide to computer peripherals Shane McGlaun directly compares the Philips SPC 900NC with the Microsoft VX-6000 in this detailed writeup.

3. Which.co.uk
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Webcams
Editors of Which.co.uk
Jan. 1, 2007

Like its U.S. counterpart, Consumer Reports, British consumer magazine Which? publishes comparison charts, but doesn’t offer much explanation. Still, the reviews are up-to-date, comparative, and backed with practical testing. Each product is assigned a score. The Philips SPC 900NC earns an average score. Performance is good, but versatility is very poor.

4. Pocket-Lint.co.uk
Philips SPC 900NC Webcam Review
Stuart Miles
Aug. 3, 2006

Pocket-lint is a prolific reviewer of webcams. They rate products, but very rarely compare them. As this product is positioned to compete with higher-end Logitech webcams, the need for comparison is essential. By comparing ratings and reading enough Pocket-lint reviews, you can infer that the Logitech models have better-implemented proprietary technology for improving video in various lighting conditions.

5. Amazon.com
Philips SPC 900NC Reviews
Contributors to Amazon.com

While other webcams get more user comments, the Philips SPC 900NC still receives enough feedback let visitors draw some conclusions. The Webcam’s overall rating is fairly strong, and would be stronger still were it not for some low ratings issued by a few who unsuccessfully tried to force use on Macintosh computers. Otherwise, most of the reviews rave about the video quality.

Also see full report: Webcams