The X10 pop-under ads are everywhere, giving many people a negative opinion of X10's products. Nevertheless, I find this product absolutely performs as promised.

In order to monitor our newly adopted puppy while at work, I purchased the Wide-angle package, which includes three wide-angle cameras, the receiver, the VCR controller, the video-to-USB controller, a handheld remote for changing cameras, a Firecracker controller (allowing the computer to remotely control the cameras), a battery pack for one camera, a separate motion controller, and an RF-to-X10 transceiver. In addition you should plan on downloading the XRayVision server/client software and the Firecracker software. In 7/01 this package was offered for $250, no tax (to CA) or shipping. It arrived the next day(!) via UPS Ground.

This package allows three webcams to be placed within ~100 feet of the receiver, and the included software will alternate between webcams at a configurable rate. The resulting images can either be output to a VCR or into your PC, where it is then saved as image files and optionally emailed and/or exported to a website. There are many options, including how often to save/email/export images, triggering actions based on motion detection, etc. The XRayVision software also supports remotely logging in from elsewhere to view images and remotely configure the server. I was unable to make this work due to my company's firewall, but the software appears complete. Streaming video is not currently supported via the standard XRayVision software, but a beta streaming package is being offered for $19.95, and I'm told other standard webcam software will work fine with this setup.

Familiarity with X10 equipment is helpful. I have used various X10 controllers in many places in my home, for reconfiguring light switches, adding new lighting fixtures, turning my aquarium light on/off, etc., so I didn't find the X10 concepts to be difficult. Familiarity with Internet configuration will also be very helpful if you intend to use the package to publish webcam stills to a website. Documentation is weak, consisting of a few single-page flyers and spotty help files. I suspect ample help would be available via the Usenet newsgroup comp.home.automation and many websites, some of which can be found at http://www.x10.com/community/web_links.htm.

The image quality is adequate. Many have complained about low-light capabilities of the cameras. Perhaps the wide-angle cameras are better than the standard ones, but I find that indoors in a room with windows lighting is sufficient.

In conclusion, while this is far from a professional grade imaging system, this package works as promised, and represents tremendous value. It includes a great selection of goodies, and not only has many practical uses but will be tremendously fun for a home automation hobbyist.

Recommended: Yes