Computer Security Camera Reviews

Review by Sean Webb:

Here's the scoop: I was rather concerned about reading the wide range of ratings on this camera, seeing that there were some one star reviews coming in, so I was fully ready to return this puppy if it didn't live up to my pretty high standards.

That said, here is my experience:

I have a Linksys Dual Band Wireless N Router running in a single level ranch about 50 yards from some pretty serious power lines. On the network is a Power Mac connected via ethernet cable, and 3 laptops (a PC, an older Macbook, and a newer Macbook Pro) via wireless. Off topic, I'm not impressed with the range on the Linksys Router, but it provides some pretty quick bandwidth in the home with two networks to connect into, so I live with it.

I unboxed the WVC80N, which came with an ethernet cable, a CD, and some instructions/manual. I followed the instructions to the letter, which instructed me to put the CD into a computer first. I put it in the Power Mac. The CD worked fine and opened up a set-up guide. The set-up guide told me what to do... it detected the wireless devices on the network, then told me to plug the ethernet cable into the camera... I clicked 'next', then into the router... 'next', then plug the power in on the camera... 'next', and turn it on... 'next'... it detected the camera via the ethernet cable with no issues, and continued to lead me through the set-up... I had to create user name and password for the camera, etc., then something awesome happened. I used to be pretty technical, but now don't like to mess with having to figure out how to make something work... I just like it to work. So to my pleasant surprise, when I clicked 'next' this time, ALL THE ADVANCED SETTINGS that allow the camera to be seen via the internet (through secure login and password) were done AUTOMATICALLY for me while I watched. No port mapping. No WPA set-up. No hassles! Awesome!

Then it led me to the TZO set-up (free for 90 days) for the service to be able to look at the camera from anywhere on the Internet any time you want. To explain the technical side of this to non tech folks: If you have a normal DSL or cable internet service, you get what's called a "dynamic IP address" assigned to you from your cable company. This IP address is a number that allows other computers to be able to find your computer whenever you ask to see something (like pulling down video from [...] or getting search results from google - it's a "send the video to this address" kind of thing). But a dynamic IP address can change every time the power goes out or your modem reboots. The internet provider just gives you another one from the ones they have laying around. So where your IP address at your house might have been 123.456.789.123 yesterday, it could be 123.456.789.456 today. So when you are out on the Internet looking to view your camera, you need to know what your IP address is for your house at that particular time. Enter TZO. TZO is an IP mapping service that has your camera send out a message to them saying "here I am". Then TZO writes down that IP address (automatically) for that day and gives you an address at their site to log into ([...]), which then forwards you to your house and your camera. The service costs a year, or discounted for multiple years. NOTE: You don't have to have this service if you have a static IP address or can figure out your dynamic IP address without this service.

So I set up a TZO domain (and will probably pay the , because we got it to show the family what's going on in the nursery for a new baby... and it's a simple web address for the grandparents can bookmark. FYI, the camera allows you to set-up user accounts and passwords for different users.), and here's where another magical thing happened. I clicked on "show video"... and it just worked. FROM THE INTERNET ADDRESS... IT JUST WORKED. Amazing. So now I started to play with and test to see what the limitations of this device are:

First, we had two family members log on simultaneously to see frame rate response. It worked at almost 30fps for three simultaneous users at maximum resolution of 640x480. Cool. So let's play with the settings:

The camera is a smart device, and if you've ever seen your Router's set-up menus after logging into your wireless router... there's the same type of interface here inside the camera. You can change basic settings like dynamic or specific IP address, tell it whether or not to turn the power LED on/off on the front of the camera, etc.... you can change image settings, to large, med, or small resolution, set frame rate, etc... you can add or delete login accounts and passwords (add: grandma password: grandchild for grandma to use when she clicks on your camera's web address), and you can change the settings for automatic motion detection, automatic timed recording, etc. The camera will send you an email with still images or short 5 second video clips every time it detects a change in the camera's environment (if you want it to - fully customizable), and it works well if you set the outgoing SMTP server (google this).

My experience with network response in the home with the camera on:

I've seen the complaints about the camera interfering with throughput to other computers in the house, bogging down the network, etc. I tested this camera two ways: 1) I put everything on one side of the dual band router (simulating what it would be like for a normal wireless router), then 2) I put the camera on one side of the router, and everything else on the other. FYI, we cancelled cable/satellite as soon as Hulu started putting the good stuff online, and use that and podcasts as our sources of entertainment. As that [...] can be a bandwidth hog (streaming hi-res digital video usually is), I fired up hulu, set the camera to it's maximum resolution and frame rates, and did some tests.

First, if no one is looking at the camera, or it's not sending you an email telling you about motion, it doesn't affect bandwidth at all.

When looking at the camera feed, the camera's operation with nothing else going on within the network is great. 640x480 comes through mostly 30 fps at about 1/2 second lag or less. When you fire up hulu while the camera is running (on the same channel) is when you can start to see a difference. Both the camera and hulu suffered a bit. Where I usually don't have to wait for hulu to buffer, it stopped to buffer once while the camera was on the same side of the router, but mostly... it was still fine. The camera was running at about 10fps, and I was watching a hulu show. I was impressed. WARNING: When I turned on motion detection and walked into the room so I could force the camera to fire off a "motion detected" email... both hulu and the camera ground to a halt. I assume this is because the camera was creating media attachments and sending them off via email.

So then I put the camera on the other side of the router's dual band capability, giving it some bandwidth privacy. The camera worked great. Hulu worked great. I could even watch then simultaneously in two different windows. When hulu was showing a video, the frame rate on the camera drops a little (20fps?), and lag time increases to a second or so. But when you're not streaming digital video from the Internet or downloading some torrent, it's a top notch camera that works great. I would highly recommend the dual band router however if you want to have fewer bandwidth issues.

Image quality:

It's not HD, but it's not bad either. Digital artifacts are non-existent in proper lighting, and if any light is existent in the room at all (a night light), the low level light operation is exceptional. The camera WILL go dark if there is no light present. It is NOT an infrared camera, does not have IR lights, and did not pick up anything when I turned some IR lights on in the room. But crack the door with the hallway light on, and you can see. If you want to have the capability to check in on the cats during the day, or have the grandparents watch while you feed/change/play with the baby, this will be a great camera for that. Color is good. Clarity is good. I can even watch it on my iPhone. Having see what the rest of the market has to offer, and with as hit or miss as Linksys has become now-a-days, I gotta give this camera 4.5 stars.

Review by MyHomeServer guy:

We've been using the WVC80N camera for a while on our home network with a Linksys WRT350N router. The WVC80N is the next generation IP camera from Linksys. It's older similar looking twin the WVC54GCA is good but had some issues that the WVC80N solves. You can see reviews of the WVC54GCA cam at myhomeserver.

The WVC80N adds Wireless N, an easier setup for Remote Viewing and best of all, direct writing to a NAS drive to record video! This means you don't have to keep a computer running, simply setup a shared folder on your NAS/Network drive and then add in the path,username and password into the camera and that's it! It will instantly start recording a AVI file to the drive directly that you can play in Windows Media player, etc.

Remote access is also better since it is now included as an option in the CD wizard. When you setup the camera, it asks if you want to remotely view the camera. Selecting YES will setup a custom domain name [...] and then the wizard will set a static IP on the camera and setup the DDNS at TZO and set it up in the camera. All of this is done behind the scenes and it does all of the port forwarding and port selection automatically. This is a big advancement in camera setups..its actually easy

Great camera, I give it a thumbs up

Review by Batavia Machinery, Inc:

LOOKS SO REAL THAT IT WILL KEEP PEOPLE AWAY FROM YOUR PROPERTY. EASY TO INSTALL AND BATERY LIFE IS GOOD UP TO 2 YEARS. KEEPS MY BROTHER FROM USEING OUR HOT TUB... AS HE THINKS WE HAVE SECURITY.

Review by NICOLE ABBOTT:

Ordered 2 Cameras. Product is excellent and well worth the small amount of money. When order shipped, they forgot to send 1 camera. Contacted them and it was the best service and quickest fix I have ever had. Could not say enough nice things about this company. Thank you for your excellent product and service. Nice to know there are great companies out there like you.

Review by Andrew J. Hogan:

Highlights: reasonable value for the money - good hardware, better than WVC200, lousy software - having used it for a few months, I would buy another, but there's still lots of room for improvement. PTZ: only digital Zoom (not optical - so really, there's no Zoom, just Pan, Tilt).

Details: I purchased the camera in December, 2008. Prior to using the WVC210, I've used two WVC200s. The 210 is an improvement over the 200 - better color, better image in low light, two-way audio, and I haven't had to reboot the 210 (the 200s are prone to lockups, occasionally). I use the "Kiwi Syslog Daemon" with all the cameras. And, the 210 audit trail is much improved over the 200. One key logging feature that the 210 has, is the ability to audit who logged in/out (and when) - the 200 does not do this. If you think about infrastructure security, this is a plus for the 210 and a HUGE mark against the 200. Like the 200, the 210 does not do motion detection - they both look at overall light level changes in a defined region. Labeling the function as "motion detection" is false advertising. Two outdoor examples: (1) if you setup a screen region and turn up the sensitivity, changes in sunlight (caused by clouds coming and going) will trigger a false motion-detection event (2) after turning down the gain to eliminate false sunlight triggers, objects (person, dog, car) that appears small at a distance can pass through the region without detection. Both cameras use an ActiveX control to view/listen to video/audio. The problem is, most public internet computers block the install of ActiveX controls, so if you want to check on your camera(s) while on vacation (off site), you better have your laptop along. Additionally, neither the 200 nor 210 accommodate this known shortcoming - for example, both could easily have a firmware upgrade to allow the user to see a snapshot JPG of the current image (when the ActiveX interface is not available) - neither camera has this feature. As for the monitoring software bundled with the 210 and 200 products, here Cisco has done an awful job as it takes over the ownership of these products from Linksys. The "Video Monitoring System v1.0.0.0" bundled with the 210 is not at all backward compatible with the 200. Adding insult, the interface is user-hostile, not allowing you to size it or move it - it has to be in the upper left corner of the screen and it wastes a lot of screen real-estate. The "Monitor v1.0.0.18" bundled with the 200 has a smaller footprint and it allows you to size and move the interface. It is forward compatible to the 210, but video only (not audio). It also gives you much more configuration control at your fingertips including volume control and on-the-fly record / stop / playback. In a nutshell, the interface of the old software is much better than the new stuff. If you will have a mix of WVC200 and WVC210 cameras, and if you want to use the monitoring software to record surveillance video, you will have to use the software that comes with the WVC200. You can search for e-pinions by me for reviews of the WVC200 for more details about pros/cons of this family of ip cameras.

Review by Dennis F. Colligan:

Camera works well in low light and color is good. Does not play nice with Windows Vista,,( needs a patch). For the novice user the setup can be difficult. Video can stream to my Smartphone quite well. (Storm). User install and user guide info is incomplete but again if you are above average technically it's OK. Overall I would say it does what they advertise but you may need help making everything work to it's capabilities.

Review by E. Kim:

I wanted a "nanny cam" to monitor a new nanny, but felt a little uncomfortable about having one of the hidden ones. I felt that having a visible camera known to the nanny was a more respectful approach, although I would need several of them to monitor multiple areas since the locations would be known (and could potentially be avoided).

The Panasonic BL-C230A seemed like a great choice as it is from a major international brand and the reviews of its other wired and wireless cameras indicated that they were well received.

PROS

1. It's cute - It could star as a character in a Japanese cartoon. The nanny cam is a cube about 3" x 3" x 3 1/4" (approximately) and actually looks cute with its single eye and single antenna that looks like an ear. It has a high quality look to it with its high gloss white finish and reminds me of a smaller version of an old Sony Dream Machine alarm clock. It actually looks like it belongs on a nightstand in the bedroom or in a kitchen. It does not look out of place in a home and does not have a "tech" feel to it. I think this is a major plus as I really don't want the nanny to feel like I'm trying to determine if she is a terrorist.

2. Uses Wi-Fi 802.11 b only, g only, b/g both

3. Free lifetime use of Panasonic's "dynamic DNS server" - (more on this later)

4. Easy setup (maybe) - Easy to use paper instructions limited to 3 sheets of paper (of which only 2 are necessary). Sheet 1 shows step-by-step instruction on how to plug the camera into your router with a cable (not supplied and necessary even for wireless in the setup phase) and to connect the power cable. Sheet 2 is the sheet on how to configure the camera using your computer. This is the part that has the potential to be alarming or at least uncomfortable if you're not lucky enough to have UPnP (universal plug and play) on your router. (More on this later.)

5. Great interface with web browsers - Once your device is set up for internet access (more on this later) it has a fairly intuitive interface using Internet Explorer with an Active X control (and also on my Apple Safari although I used my PC with Vista for the camera setup with my Apple Mac for the router changes). There is a viewing screen that allows for 3 resolutions (192x144, 320x240, 640x480). There is a graphical control on the left of the viewing screen with arrows up/down and left/right for tilt and pans. What's nice is there is an auto tilt and auto pan button that will cause the camera to sweep back and forth quickly to give a quick overview of the room. Clicking on a part of the viewing screen will redirect the camera to focus on that spot. Different camera focus positions can also be programmed and saved. There is also multi-camera support for what appears to be up to 16 separate cameras.

6. Fantastic image quality! (It is definitely grainy in low-light, but that's to be expected.)

7. Infrared body heat detection system - but I have not yet tried that feature yet.

8. Sound detection - Camera can be set to record not just with body movement triggers but sound triggers.

9. Zoom ability? - but for some reason, accessing that feature isn't too obvious to me.

10. Audio - Works (but I have not been able to get audio on the iPhone)

11. Mountable - Comes with mounting screws and a safety wire in case it falls from your wall

12. Seems to be Apple compatible (except the initial setup and for video recording which appears to require installation of software different from using just a web browser, although I have not yet tested the video recording feature yet) - Works on my Apple Safari web browser as well as Internet Explorer (with Active X).

The system requirements written on the outside of the Panasonic box seem to indicate only Windows XP SP2 and Vista with Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8 are compatible, but this may be true only for the additional software to set up video recording. The browsers seem adequate so far for just watching streaming video and taking still photos as well as maneuvering the camera.

CONS

1. Setting the camera up for internet access outside of your home can either be very easy or can be scary for technophobes. Your router must support something called UPnP, Universal Plug and Play for this to work smoothly (I imagine). When I say smoothly, I mean, being able to follow the step-by-step instruction on sheet #2. If you do NOT have a router that supports UPnP then the step-by-step instructions basically tell you to go to the manual on the CD which gives a great introduction on private IP addresses, WAN addresses, static IP addresses, and the usefulness of something called a "dynamic DNS server".

If you are now thinking that you will be over your head by all of this jargon, realize that most routers support UPnP and thus you can follow the step-by-step instructions which use an "automatic" mode in the configuration steps using your web browser. I am using an Apple Airport Base Extreme which does NOT support UPnP. My experience was that it required about 10 extra minutes for me to figure out that I needed to set up something like "port mapping" for my Apple router.

2. Although this is a "wireless" network camera, the description is slightly deceptive. It is wireless only in the networking sense. I should have thought about this more carefully, because what I really expected was a "cordless" camera. This camera has a powercord attached to it, although is "wireless".

3. It seems that there may be 2 versions of video recording software that is an optional install. Oddly, the one for single camera support versus multiple camera support are compatible with different Windows versions. Also I have not yet tried to install the recording software of either type on an Apple with VMware or Bootcamp. I'll post more about this when I get a chance.

TIPS

For those of you who also use an Apple Airport Base Extreme (which does not support UPnP), here's what I had to do:

A. Launch "Airport Utility" software from my Mac then select "Manual Setup"

B. Select "Advanced" from the top tab

C. Select "Port Mapping" from a sub-tab

D. Click on the "+" to add a device to this mapping so that an outside computer can access my device and is thus "mapped"

E. In the drop-down menu select "Personal Web Sharing"

F. Make sure the "public" and "private TCP" ports have the same number such as "80" in the text fields (which they do by default if you selected "Personal Web Sharing"

G. Save and update the modem (requires restart)

H. Go to the installation CD for the Camera and using Internet Explorer to configure the camera, choose "Setup" from the top in the web page

I. Select "Static" and NOT "Automatic Setup" and type in a number such as "80" into the "Port No." field, and save

J. Go to the "Internet" tab of the web page

K. Select "Disable" from the "Auto Port Forwarding (IPv4) option. This is DIFFERENT from the step-by-step instructions given which only work for those who have UPnP.

L. Select "Register with ...........com"

M. Select "Save"

N. You will then be directed to the "..............com" website which is Panasonic's "Dynamic DNS server" which basically will allow your router if it does not support UPnP to work. This website is also how you will be able to view your camera using a web browser outside of your home and local network.

CONCLUSION

I am impressed enough to have ordered two additional "wireless" cameras. Its ease of use with the iPhone's standard web browser is simply awesome. My colleagues at work were so impressed by it that they have also placed orders for the device within hours of them seeing for themselves the streaming video on my iPhone and on my desktop at work.

I also suspect that my nanny will not feel like I'm some crazy overly zealous parent either, but that I just want a logical way to check up on the kids. It is a non-intimidating appearing piece of houseware that just seems fun and entertaining while being a legitimate surveillance camera.

I hope this review was of some help!

Review by scoosdad:

Last year I purchased the BL-C131A camera that has similar attributes to this model. When I went to buy a second camera, it had been discontinued and replaced with this new model.

For anyone like me who's considering purchasing a second camera, don't hesitate to pick this one up. It sets up almost exactly like the previous model, comes with the same DDNS service so you can easily monitor and control it from afar, and if anything the picture quality has improved greatly, something I didn't think would have been possible given the excellent quality of the BL-C131A.

A couple of physical differences to be aware of, and also something that is left off the documentation: if you're using a tripod or tripod screw on your present camera, you know there are holes for that in the back and on the bottom. On this model, the tripod threads are only on the back, so if you are planning on putting it on some kind of tripod threaded device, keep that in mind.

This camera comes with a clear plastic cover over the front of it that looks like it was put there for shipping and might be designed to be removed in use. No, it's a permanent part of the front of the camera and keeps dust and other hazards in your house from messing up the front of the camera. Don't try to pry it off, it's meant to stay put and it doesn't impact the image quality one bit.

The wireless setup is the same as in the BL-C131A but they forgot to mention one thing in the documentation that was required of the BL-C131A and left me wondering if it was needed here-- if you use MAC address filtering on the wireless of your router to limit access to your network that way, you need to not only list the MAC address of the camera so that it can gain access to your network, you also need to add a second MAC address to the "admit" list that is one digit higher than that of the camera. So if your camera's MAC ends in "CC", you need to also admit the same MAC again but with "CD" at the end of the second address. It's a minor fluke in this camera that they did mention for the previous model, but neglected to say anything about with this model. I set it up without the second MAC, and it didn't work. Added the second MAC, and everything started working perfectly. And don't forget like I did on this one-- you'll need to specify a different port to forward on your router than you set up for the first camera. I did set up the different port number on the camera itself, then forgot to tell my router to forward that port from the outside. Once I did that, I had instant access to it from outside the house via the Panasonic DDNS service (you need to register a new unique URL for this camera just like you did for the first).

I'm currently also using a Total Control software app on my Blackberry to see both of my cameras while on the go, and that works great.

The other feature that may be of interest to some do-it-yourselfers is that the camera has switch closure output terminals on it that can be triggered from the web control panel (as well as a remotely controlled buzzer in the camera that I haven't figured out a use for yet). So if you're handy and can wire those switch contacts to an external relay or device, you could turn things in your house on and off remotely. I have an electrically operated pet door that leads out to my (fenced) back yard which I'm considering interfacing to the camera, so I can decide if I want to let my pets in and out when I'm not home. All I need to do is install the camera with a good view through the pet door (it's clear plexiglas), wire the camera's trigger up to the door's switch, and I'm good to go. You can also use the trigger to unlock an electrically operated door latch in the entryway to a secure office, for example. There are also additional external sensor input terminals on the back for things like door switches and motion sensors that you might want to place in a location not covered by the camera's own internal sensors and use the camera's email feature to alert you when something happens.

Finally, even if you think you won't use the included camera recording software on the CD provided, install it anyway. Its monitoring feature, allowing you to see all cameras in your network on one screen, and to click to select one of them to be viewed as large as you like, is much much better than opening up multiple browser windows on your desktop to accomplish the same task, or using the "Multiple" tab on the browser app. It's an evaluation copy for the full version that lists for 9, so its recording features are pretty limited (no export allowed to standard JPEG or MPEG formats, for example). But install it anyway to have a one-stop place to see all of your cameras by opening one application. I also installed it on a PC that is off my network, and after inputting your standard DDNS URL's in its setup and storing your usual login information, it provides the same monitoring function on a remote machine, same as you'd get inside your network, and the login process is now automatic.

Review by J. Hayward:

Over the last 4 years, this is my fourth D-Link wireless Camera. I started with the DCS-900W which was a 802.11b camera.

I use the cameras to watch my three dogs while I'm away.

The Pros:

1. The price is right, generally less than 0.

2. The picture quality during daylight is good (not V.Good, nor Excellent)

3. The speed this camera transmitts to my router is far faster than my other camera, a DCS-G900. (The DCS-920 position replced my G900 a 802.11g)

4. I use the D-ViewCam and like it a lot. Rather useless unless you have at least 2 cameras or you want to record.

The Cons:

1. Digital Zoom on the DCS-920 is near useless; it gets so blurry the added digital magnification is near useless.

2. The setup with a linksys router can be trickey and requires some serious understanding. When I got my first one, several years ago, I called D-Link Tech Support and they were fantastic!!! They guided me through every step. (It was an American Tech support guy in the USA) I have used the knowledge I gained from that setup over the years as I bought new cameras. Have never used a D-Link router.

3. The unit is in no way moisture proof, let alone weather proof. It is solely for indoor use.

Review by Y. Xu:

I bought DCS910 in Nov.2008 and DCS920 one month later. I am quite satisfied with both of them and I did not meet any problem till now, or say I could solve the problems that I have found.

The network attached camera supports up to 640x480 in resolution. It is higher then lots of other network attached camera which has only 320x240. So the image quality is quite good. It has good vision in dim light. you could see image or video on your web browser. It supports both MS ActiveX and Sun Java for live video monitoring but it does NOT support sound

You may need to install ActiveX control plug-in and Sun Java plug-in for your browser to support live video.

The supplied DViewCam software also supports monitoring up to 32 cameras and you could record videos into computer hard disk. I have not used video record feture till now because it requires turning on computer and consumes too much router/switch band width. I think check from web from time to time is good enough for my needs.

It support user account management, NTP time sync, DDNS name service, FTP and email deliver of photos at the frequency you defined.

The device does not support SSL protocol, so your password could not be encrypted for delivery. So you could not use https or ftps for secured communication. But this is understandable because encryption cost too much resources for the embeded system. You could not expect too much from tiny embeded device. Anyway, normal web access and FTP upload are good enough if you do not have too much security concern.

It is quite simple to access the device from within the internal/home network because you PC and the camera are in the same network segment. But if you want to access the device from external/Internet, there are some other things to take care. You need to have some basic networking concept for the setup.

I have seen one user complain the tech support and blame the device to be not usable. I could understand the mensioned situation. It is not the user's fault nor the product's fault. Tech support is not wrong on what they said but they should explain clearly on the technical background and guide the user for a smooth set up. User is not network expert so it will be a little difficult for them to understand and follow the network rules.

Normally, ISP will only give one dynamic IP address to a user. The IP address will change when you turn on the router or after a certain period of time. So you need to keep track to your current IP address on the WAN port of your router. This is usually done by register a DDNS service(free or paid service). Most router support DDNS auto update service and this camera also supports it but you need to set it up in your device. All the devices in your home network will share this single IP address. Network applications will monitor communication port for TCP/IP communication. Different devices in your network have different unique IP address. The IP address for a specific device is unique in the network. So if you want to access your camera through the internet in a remote location, you need to have DDNS service set; set up a internal static IP address to your camera; setup your router port forward to your camera IP address. For example, use http://dcs910.mydomainname.com:9011/ to access your camera, you need to buy(or register a free child domain name from some website) your domain name 'mydomainname.com'; register your domain name to a DDNS server(paid or free service); setup your router to auto update DDNS for your current IP address; set router to forward 9011 port request to the 80 port of the static internal IP address that you have assigned to your camera(such as 192.168.0.3 depends on the settings on your router and camera). You may need an experienced friend to help you for the setting.

Even if you have set everything correctly, it not necessarily means you could watch live video in your office. You should be able to access static current image from web browser in your office but live video is another story. Normally office network is protected by firewall on gateway. Most office firewall uses proxy and only open ports for web requests and some predefined application ports and bann all other communications. The ActiveX and Java live video of this device may need dedicated port connection to open communication session but this will not be allowed by default on the proxy. So unless you know your network administrator and could ask them open the port for you, you will not able to access live video in office. This is not the problem of the device, it is the rule of the network security. But anyway, you could see still image of your home which is good enough.

I have used my DCS910 and DCS920 for 3 months and I am quite satisfied with the device. I would like to highly recommand this device to you for its clear image, easy setup(if you understand networking in and out), and resonable price.

Review by Cheetokhan:

Got this a few days ago. Very easy to configure. Had mine set up on my wireless network in minutes. Much better video quality than I expected for this price.

Definitely meant to be used indoors in low light. When I point it out the window, the image just washes out and goes all white. But indoors, with normal lighting, the image is great. Night time image is very good. The built-in IR LEDs work well to about 20ft or so. Beyond that, things are pretty dark. I tried an experiment and turned on a desk lamp with a very low power fluorescent bulb and the camera had enough light to see everything in the house in full color. Really good low light performance.

The microphone is also very sensitive. Almost too sensitive. It picks up every sound in the house. I can hear the ceiling fan, air conditioner, TV in another room, people talking in other rooms etc. Has 2-way audio but haven't tried it yet. UPDATE- two way audio works great. You need a powered, amplified speaker; I used an old computer speaker.

Super easy to operate. You don't need any special software to remotely view, just Internet Explorer. You can view with Firefox, but you lose some features. When viewing remotely over the Internet, you can click on any point in the image and the camera centers itself on that point.

Tons more options and features but, you can read about them on the manufacturers website.

If this had a true optical zoom, it would be just about perfect but, full Pan Tilt and Zoom cameras cost a lot more than this one.

I am pleasantly surprised with this camera. I've tried several 'affordable' cameras over the past few years and have been quite disappointed with them. The only really good network PTZ I've found is a nine hundred dollar Panasonic. Too expensive for me and it does not have audio.

If you need audio and full range pan ant tilt, but don't need zoom, this is probably your best choice right now for any price. Panasonic makes a nice, small, wireless camera with audio and pan and tilt but it does not have the range of motion that this camera has and this camera has much better low light image quality.

REVIEW UPDATE- I've had mine now for several months and it still works great. I changed the video setting to "outdoor" and now it works perfectly in full sunlight. And it still works just as good in full dark as it did with the other video settings. I was having some problems with the camera losing it's wireless connection to my Linksys router. I would have to power cycle the camera to get it to reconnect. But then I started having other problems with the Linksys router so I replaced my old Linksys router with a newer D-Link router and the problems have gone away. The camera has not lost it's connection since I replaced the router.

Because this camera is UV sensitive and does not have a switchable mechanical UV filter, daylight images sometimes look a little fuzzy, as if the lens is dirty. This is most noticeable when viewing indoors with a lot of sunlight coming in through the windows. I have other UV sensitive cameras and they exhibit the same behavior.

Overall, I am still quite pleased with this camera and just wish Amazon would make it a Gold Box deal so I could get another one!

Amazon recently put the Panasonic BLC131A wireless network camera on sale for about 1/2 price so I got one to try. The Trendnet TV-IP422W is far superior to the Panasonic; it has much better image quality, sound quality and range of motion, and the Trendnet configuration screens seem much more intuitive to me.

If Trendnet would add a zoom lens and a mechanical UV filter, this camera would be perfect.

Review by Ritchie Lau:

Hopefully you will find this review helpful for your setup. I know I rely HEAVILY on reviews and feedbacks for my purchase.

First off, don't expect much from the wireless feature. It's nice to have, for portability e.g. but not for reliability nor stability.

I bought 4 of these cameras, mounted them all wirelessly with (a) front door, (b) back door (c) kitchen and (d) foyer, to keep an eye on our dog. I figured I may be able to skip on pet hotel fees and get a big peace of mind at the same time. I setup my routers, sort out the remote web access and even got them to work via my iphone using the eyecam app. The IP PRO View app does not work with the IP422W's data stream.

When I was still home and before my first trip that truly tests out these cameras, one of the cameras would be missing from the network and never to be seen again even after a reset. Amazon promptly sent out a replacement but only after I discovered you really need to leave these cameras disconnected for more than a few minutes before it was really re-initialized.

Then we went on our vacation and after a few hours into it, 1 of 4 cameras were MIA. Still, it was fantastic to able to see our dog through the other working cameras. However, by day 2, we were left with only 2 cameras working and on our way home, only 1 camera was working. Of course, bear in mind, there's NOTHING you can do to fix it unless you get someone to go to your home, unplug and replug the camera's A/C adapter (a reboot).

The following week, we went On our 2nd and longer vacation and it was pretty much the same story. First, it teases you with much relief that it's working but then it never fails to disappoint with a non-functioning camera by day 2 or 3. On our way home from this 5 day trip, only 1 camera was working.

When we got home, I was bent on researching this further and opened two tickets with Trendnet, the 2nd one, they didn't even bothered replying. Now dizzy with the experience of being able to check on the house when we're away, I was prepared to send the Trendnets back to Amazon and swap them for far more costly Toshibas, Sonys or Axises.

But after much research, I quickly concluded that almost all of these IP cams just don't have very robust wi-fi components. Most reviews were plagued with widespread reports of losing connections, reboots and the like.

Still, I pushed forward, upgraded the router's firmware to DD-WRT, bumped up its transmitter range, added another router in as a repeater, relocated the routers to higher ground e.g. I even tried swapping the antennae on the furthest camera with a longer antennae that came off an older Linksys router. By now, there is probably sufficient signal strength in my house to service the neigboring five streets!!

But of course, one camera or another will still continue to drop out, never to be heard from again until they are rebooted. I supposed it would have been great if they will self re-connected again sometime later but they never did, not even once.

The geek in me then went into innovation mode, perhaps I can set up a script, reboot them every two days, use X10 power modules and restart them remotely. Then my wife gently reminds me we just spent a grand on cameras that have questionable functionality.

At this point, I bid kudos to those who have written about this same topic, about futile attempts to troubleshoot wi-fi problems, about even with the router next to the camera, it STILL loses connections. The optimist in me finally agreed, my wi-fi network is not the problem, THESE CAMERAS DON'T WORK WELL WITH WI-FI. Not that the wi-fi don't work at all, it's just that they don't work consistently.

So finally, I bit the bullet and reluctantly HARD-WIRED ethernet connections to all the cameras. I had explored using POE and possibly Homeplug to ease the installation pain but they added more point-of-failures and cost quite a bit more as well. I eventually opted to punch holes into the wall, fishing e.g. and did the hard-wired routine.

It's been a week since my wiring/stucco/drywall/painting work has just completed and the cameras have been live 24x7 without a hiccup.

All in all, the IP422W is great, has a good enough picture, decent IR, great low-light capabilities to 15 feet, unmatched panning angles and more importantly, good value for the money. Just don't expect an optical zoom or a continuously functioning wi-fi.

Review by Diana E. Carroll:

There are three sets that are nearly identical, and differ only in the type of camera: this one (hidden camera), the outdoor starter kit, and the indoor starter kid. for more comprehensive reviews, look at those other kits as well.

As for my opinion, this set does what it says it does in a pretty seamless fashion: you install the software, plug the camera into the wall, plug a USB adapter into the wall and your computer, make some minor configuration changes and you are all set. I have no doubt we could have gotten a better system cheaper but not one as seamlessly integrated.

We looked at many different systems and bought this one instead because:

- most spy cams broadcast for TV...you then need a TV/VCR to record, or a separately purchased adapter to make it work with your computer, and we weren't technically confident enough to want to buy different pieces and figure out how to get them working together

- some spy cams are self-recording (they contain memory internally) but these tend to be pricey AND they limit how much you can record; they will fill up if you don't clear them out regularly, and for our purposes that wasn't practical

- most "wireless" spy cams work on a WiFi wireless network, which is great if you have one, but we wanted this for use in a place we didn't have wifi; this one works by transmitting over your home or office electrical system.

- the cost of the system includes a website you can set up to view your camera remotely (although if you have a firewall you'll only be able to watch 3 minute pieces; if the system can connect directly, which might require configuring your router which some people will find daunting, you can watch constantly).

So, that said, here are some cons:

- only works on PCs, not macs

- 95% of the configuration is a piece of cake, but some aspects are confusing, like how to schedule alerts, and setting up for emailing alerts

- the program has many features that are in the program but you can't click on them -- they are there as advertisements for a "platinum" version of the software that costs a year. It's annoying to have a screen full of buttons you aren't able to click, and to have advertising be such a prevalent portion of the interface

- this one is kind of petty, but it would be nice of the clock that hides the camera had an alarm, since we had to remove a "real" clock in place of this one

- the camera is fine for security, but the image is kind of strange - it appears to be infrared? Which means the colors are bizarre. Reds turn yellow, greens and blues turn white. Which is probably fine for security purposes, but don't be expecting to get a high quality video out of it

Review by Frederic Woodbridge:

Logitech makes some cool things and the Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security Hidden Master System Camera is one of those very cool things.

According to the documentation and marketing, it takes only 15 minutes to set one of these up. That's not exactly true however--if you count how long it took to unpack the system, set up the software then the hardware in a suitable location, be prepared to spend at least an hour.

That said, the entire process is simple and should not present much difficulty beyond thinking about where to place and focus the camera. The package I got came with a camera, two transmitter/receivers: one connects via USB to the computer and the other via Ethernet to the camera, a CD of drivers and software and an assortment of bits of hardware chiefly for mounting the camera.

Installation of the software was straightforward and easy. Setting up the hardware was also straightforward; the included Quick Start guides and other pieces of documentation was clear and easy to follow, complete with color illustrations. I was soon up and functional. The bad news soon followed.

I have a wish list for Logitech: Would that there was a way for the camera to be completely wireless. Even with the 8-feet-long Ethernet cable, the camera requires a power outlet and is thus limited to being within 8-feet or so of said outlet. The best place I could think of putting a camera (the package came with only one; more can be obtained for an average cost of 0) was near the top of my living room which, of course, doesn't have any outlets close-by. With several different ways of mounting (on the wall using an included apparatus with wall screws and such, on a pane of glass with suckers, or on a desk with a stand), I guess there are several options, but it seems there was none I was satisfied with.

The other thing I wish for is that the features that a prospective user would find most useful (such as remotely controlling pan and zoom; setting an automatic schedule for recording, etc.) are only available by subscribing to an a year subscription to something called WiLife Platinum. All of these `non-features' contribute to my thinking of this product simply as `neat' but not very practical. I guess if I really needed such a camera system, perhaps I'd spring for it, but it is a downside.

The camera itself, without the Premium subscription, requires a manual focusing. Which is just great because two people are required for such a procedure: one looking at the WiLife command console and shouting to the person who most likely is precariously perched on a rickety ladder tweaking the lens. I can tell you that the picture quality is pretty good and the ability to record several levels of quality is also quite nice. I could, for example, choose to record at 15 frames per second or less; I could record at VGA or QVGA (640x480 with VGA or 320x240 for QVGA); I could define `zones' which means I could focus recording only on a specific, defined region. It is also possible to have the system contact the user via email and mobile (PDA, etc.) alerts.

To top it off, all of this is viewable online using the WiLife site. However, as I stated earlier, in order to get the more juicy (and, in my opinion, more practical) features, the user will need to subscribe to WiLife Platinum. The maddening thing about it is that WiLife command console is filled with references to Platinum-only features. The front of the WiLife command console has a `zoom and pan' feature that figuratively screams "buy Platinum, dude!" every time the program opens up, which is on logon if you choose the default settings.

There are definitely some very cool uses for such a package but for the "average" user, I don't see this product fitting the bill unless as one of those "cool" things to have although it could still have some very useful security applications.

4 stars out of 5.

Review by Emil Dobre:

I am very pleased with the Camera System ADW300, very easy to install and use.

Works very easy with a DVR setting.

Clear quality video and no interference ! AAA +++

I like to buy 3 more cameras . ( System works with up to 4 cameras ).

Best of all !!!

Review by Jeremiah Small:

Not worth it. See conclusions at end of review for better option.

I bought two of these to use in my existing surveillance system. I needed separate base stations so I could have a full video image in each of two channels on my existing dvr/multiplexer.

It is true that they are very easy to set up, and that the level of interference on the wireless signal is near zero when you have high enough signal strength.

Unfortunately, I ended up RMA'ing both cameras for different reasons because I waited too long to return them for my money back. I will probably end up trying to sell these on ebay or something.

Camera A Problems:

1. Only displays in BW

2. Video is out of alignment. It has a thick black border on the sides and top of the frame.

3. When the light level drops, the IR never comes on.

Troubleshooting attempted: Switching power supplies has no affect on the problem.

Camera B Problems:

1. When it switches to dark mode, the video brightness constantly pulses, causing the DVR motion sensor to think there is motion all night long.

2. Radio signal strength dropped off dramatically in the first week or two. Whereas it originally connected to the base station with only occasional signal drops, it now must be very close to the base station to work (right next to it).

Troubleshooting attempted: I tried moving the base station much closer to the install location, and Camera B still cannot connect until it is only a few feet away. If I take Camera A to the Camera B install location, Camera A easily connects to it's base station, despite being much farther away.

In a perhaps unrelated, I have had some trouble getting both base stations to maintain a signal with their respective camera when the other one is closer to the base stations. It doesn't seem to matter which, but the pair that is closer together seems to cause the other pair to drop in and out quite a bit.

Regarding wireless video in general:

This is no fault of the unit in particular; I have changed my mind about the value of using wireless, regardless of quality, because it's a pain to get power to the camera location anyway, so you might as well just use an AV Extension cord that runs low voltage, video and audio to your mounting spot. It's not that much additional trouble, relative to just getting power there, and then you have no issues with wireless signal, etc.

Regarding infrared illumination in general:

I have also concluded that you are far better off with extreme low lux bullet cams and skip the infrared illumination. Look for a hard-wire camera that can record at something like .008 lux or lower, you will be much more satisfied.

Review by M. Ash:

I would change the rating to 2 and would not recommend purchasing if you need LOW Light like a nursery. I absolutely do not recommend this or the 230a for a nursery!

Review updated on 2-27-2010. I will start by saying this was a very difficult to set-up camera on a Mac using Snow Leopard with VM Fusion and Parallels. I was not able to get it to work on VM Fusion and Windows 7 and eventually switched to Parallels with Windows XP I finally got it to work. I also have Trendnet TV-IP422W which was simple to configure.

Pro's

1. Comparing the picture in bright light using Parallels, IE and H.264 the picture is AMAZING. I will use the word 'Shocking' to describe how clear the picture is. Compared to Trendnet it is laughable how clearer the Panasonic picture is.

2. Web interface is great and is not limited for Mac users like Trendnet

3. The P/T is Very quick and much quieter compared to Trendnet

4. Unit size is very nice and the POE is well thought out.

Con

1. Night 'vision' is completely worthless. In the nursery with only a nightlight the TV-IP422W switches to a b&w view and we can see basic outlines, blanket vs child is a bit of a challenge. However, turn on the night vision IR's and you can. No switch to the panasonic setting next to the Trendnet, NOTHING. When I say nothing I mean, you can't see anything just a black room. No joke!

2. The range of the P/T is very limited and I haven't figured out how to zoom.

3. It appears H.264 compression improvements only work on IE and Windows. You do not see a benefit with H.264 on FireFox or Mac browsers.

4. I found it very difficult to setup on a Mac and feel free to leave comments if you are having trouble and I will see if I can help walk you through what I did

I received a 4 pack of Synology surveillance License and it works great. You can P/T and detection appears to work. I'm using the latest beta firmware on a Synology DS 409.

Final

Bright and I mean bright light the picture is amazing. Dusk the picture is not as good as the Trendnet and in very low light there is NO picture! If you have the need for Low Light pass on this camera! I also bought a 230a wireless and I used the same approach and was easy to set up and will put details in comment response. I'm returning the 230a as it doesn't work in low light of a nursery.

Review by Easy-G:

Bought this camera through one of Amazon's Gold Box Deals for 0. For the price, it's a great camera. This is my second Panasonic network camera. A few years ago I bought their BL-C1A model Panasonic Network Camera and Pet Cam (BLC1A). The BL-C210A is a much nicer camera. The picture image is several times better, especially when motion is involved. You have the option of pan and tilt to look around. You can disable the indicator lights on the camera that lets you know the camera is on. You can also disable or override the privacy mode button on top of the camera. You can configure the camera to email you a picture when it detects motion in your house. Now how's that for peace of mind while you're away? And my favorite is that the camera is powered through the network cable which eliminates the need for a power outlet near the camera. The camera has a threaded mounting hole in the back that can be used to mount the camera to a standard tripod or an optional wall mount. The cube design is nice because it allows you to just set the camera on a shelf or table. The camera is light, so a tug on the network cable can bring it crashing down if it's not secured.

There are limitations with the camera. If you want to view an entire room, you'll need to mount the camera in a corner. It can only pan 41 degrees to the left or right, 10 degrees up and 32 degrees down. The camera is powered through the network cable, but it doesn't support the industry standard PoE. Luckily it comes with its own power injector. You'll need to purchase two network cables to use this camera. One cable connects the camera to the power injector and the other connects the power injector to your router/switch. The cable between the camera and power injector must be shorter than 98 feet. The box says you can only view still images from a cell phone. The website says you can't listen to audio with a cell phone. I haven't tried either. The software works pretty good, although I have found a few minor bugs in it. You have the option of viewing multiple cameras on one screen, but the max resolution for multiple cameras is only 320x240 and not the 640x480 max camera resolution. You don't need a computer onsite to use the camera, but you'll need one to do the initial setup.

Panasonic has nicer cameras than this model, but the prices also get outrageous. 5 (current Amazon price) is not bad for one camera. But after you buy one, you'll want more so you can monitor the rest of the house. That's when 5 per camera starts adding up. If the price drops again, I'll definitely buy another.

Note: The zoom function is not obvious. There are buttons on the screen to do everything but zoom. I discovered you can right-click on the top half of the video to zoom in and right-click on the lower half to zoom out. You can also use the wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out.

Update (March 9, 2010): I did a little research on the camera model (BL-C111A) that the BL-C210A replaced. This camera has a larger CMOS sensor but the same resolution. The old model can pan 50 degrees to the left or right while this model can only pan 41 degrees. The old model can tilt down 40 degrees while this model can only tilt down 32 degrees. The old model had a 10x digital zoom while this model only has a 3x digital zoom. The digital zoom is not very good. If you have a need to zoom in on objects, you'll want a camera with an optical zoom. Some new features added are SSL data encryption for secure viewing over the Internet, power through the network cable, H.264 video compression, and the ability to operate the camera with some models of Panasonic flat screen TV's.

I bought another camera from Amazon to monitor the back door and kitchen area. It comes with mounting holes on the back of the camera so you can slide it down on a couple of screw heads. It frustrates me that you can't mount it flat on a wall and pan 90 degrees to the left and right. I ended up purchasing mounting brackets VideoSecu Ceiling Mount Bracket for CCTV CCD Box Body Pro Camera 2-6 inch Adjustable MCB1w 1A2 so I can mount the cameras in a corner. Again, I really like the ability to power this camera through the network cable. I have the cameras and my network equipment all plugged into the same UPS. This way I can still monitor my house in the event of a power failure. If you're looking for a camera to monitor the baby's room, this is not it. You can't see much with only a night light on in the room. You're better off with a dedicated baby camera. We've had good luck with a baby camera made by Astak Astak 2.4 GHz Pan & Tilt Baby Camera with 2.5" LCD Color Handheld Monitor with Night Vision. It can pan and tilt to see the whole room, can see very well in the dark even with no lights on, and comes with a handheld color monitor. The monitor eats batteries so we just turn it on when we hear something or want to check up on the kids. It also comes with an AC adaptor for continuous monitoring. Another reason why a baby camera works better for monitoring babies than this camera is that you don't have to fire up your computer in the middle of the night to see if your child is awake. A word of warning, many baby camera's operate on the same frequencies as your wireless network. You might need to play around with the channels on both the baby camera and your wireless network until they don't interfere with each other.