Works great; bulky; no sound; requires add-on motion detector
Written: Dec 15 '03
Product Rating:
Pros: Wireless capability, built-in server, accessible from any web browser, included recording software
Cons: Bulky, no auto-focus, generates heat, not compatible with newer models
The Bottom Line: Consider the newer DCS-2100 for sound and built-in motion detection. Also, unless you have an always-on server or static IP, its usefulness as a security system is limited.
I bought this wireless network webcam during a promotion in Dec 2003. The newer model (DCS-2100+) was just being released for $150 more. The DCS-1000W does not have sound monitoring, while the DCS-2100+ does. The 2100+ also has a built in motion detector, while the 1000W requires an add-on external motion detector (about $40).
In addition, because the 1000W uses JPEG and AVI for images, and the 2100+ uses MPEG-4, the monitoring/recording software (IPView) for the two models is not compatible. Nevertheless, both models can be viewed from any browser with JAVA or ActiveX capability.
Now, I wanted to monitor two locations: inside my house and the perimeter of my property. The 1000W is acceptable for monitoring large areas, where background noise makes sound monitoring useless anyway. But for my living room I would have liked the sound monitoring feature. Both models are bulky -- these are not discreet nanny-cams. However, the wireless capability means I can place the camera anywhere, which I liked.
I used the unit with a Linksys WAP11 Access Point (with power booster). The antennae for the 1000W are removable, so you could even add a sector antenna if you needed great range. In fact, I did, and this was a useful feature. However, the provided rubber-duck antennae provide good range by themselves.
It has 128 bit WEP capability. However, I recommend only using an HEX WEP key, as I could not get ASCII WEP keys to work reliably with the Linksys AP.
The 1000W has a CMOS sensor, which burns out when exposed to direct sunlight. This is a factor for outdoor monitoring. I pointed the unit out of an attic window (avoiding direct sunlight), and this worked great. It has manual focus, and I only needed to focus once, anyway. You can add on iris lenses, wide angle lenses, etc, if necessary. The unit is not weatherproof, and although I suppose you could get a weatherproof housing, the unit does put off a bit of heat, and I am not sure about its temperature tolerances. Also, because of the heat, it should not be mounted near anything flammable, such as curtains or something.
The colour images are acceptable -- about the same as a medium quality webcam. This has nothing to do with it being wireless, as the images on my system are the same whether the unit is connected by Ethernet cable or by wireless. (You can allow either type of connection to your network).
This is a bulky unit, and not very discreet. It has a swivel post for mounting. I attached a mini PIR (passive infrared) motion detector ($40) to the post. It also requires, of course, an electrical outlet.
The unit has a built-in server, and it works well. It can be configured with a static IP on your local network or can obtain a DHCP assigned IP address from your network router. This was tricky for me, because I could not get my router to recognise the static IP address. (I think this is a quirk with my network, which has a different brand router and access point.) Nevertheless, the unit worked fine with DHCP IP acquisition, and with an unending ("forever") lease time on the DHCP address, this effectively became a static IP address anyway.
I set up the router for port forwarding to the IP address assigned to the 1000W, which allowed the camera to always be visible to the Internet.
Now, I have a Dynamic IP assigned by my ISP to my DSL-connected home network, so my home IP address changes periodically. But I wanted to access the 1000W from the Internet while travelling -- how would I know what my home IP address would be for that day? To solve this problem, I used a Dynamic DNS service (there are several fee-based and a few free services that provide Dynamic DNS mapping). Such a service provides a name based web address (such as camerajoe.dyndns.org) to you. A small utility on any computer on the home network then updates the database at the DynDNS service. This updates the current IP address and correlates it with the web address. Therefore, I can always access the camera by logging into camerajoe.dyndns.org.
This solution requires that a computer on your network update the DynDNS server periodically. If no computer on your home network does this, the IP address will not be updated. This therefore limits the ability to use the webcam for home surveillance when away from home for long periods. If the camera continually sends images over the internet, your Dynamic IP might not expire, unless your ISP does this periodically anyway (mine resets my Dynamic IP every 48 hours no matter what).
Of course, if you have a static IP address from your ISP, this is not an issue.
The 1000W allows user and password access control for many simultaneous users. It also allows remote administration over the web. Of course, the images can be viewed by any JAVA or ActiveX enabled browser. In addition, the IPView software supplied with it allows recording to the hard drive on the computer the software is installed upon.
The camera allows an externally connected motion detector (or other device) to trigger sending of images by e-mail. You can also send scheduled FTP uploads of images. For some reason, though, they neglected to allow scheduled e-mail sending of images. In addition, although e-mail can be sent, it does not allow for SMTP server passwords -- a small point, but important if your ISP requires this.
This is a foreign product, and like almost all foreign computer products, documentation is often cryptic, the interfaces are strange with odd English. But it works.
If you have a network with Dynamic IP, a Dynamic DNS service, and one computer always on to update the Dynamic DNS, or if you have a static IP, you can use this unit as a nice (non-discreet) indoor surveillance camera.
If you need/want sound and built-in motion detection, get the 2100+.
Dlink Wireless Internet Camera MJPEG, 802.11g /DCS-920 BRANDNEW! Your browser does not support objects, but you may view this content at Verify Quanti...More at eBay
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