Wireless Internet Device - DCS 1000W
Written: Jan 07 '03 (Updated Jan 03 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Versatile, CPU, HTTP server on-board, interchangeable lenses, good wireless range, you'll USE it!
Cons: Fair image, no automatic iris or focus, mediocre support
The Bottom Line: This camera delivers on its promise to be a standalone, streaming Internet camera. Because it goes everywhere, it gets used.
|
|
|
| silverstreak9's Full Review: D-link DCS-1000W Web Cam |
PREFACE
If you have a wireless network in your home and want to transmit live, streaming video over the Internet, this may be an interesting item for you. D-Link is no longer actively sellig/promoting it and you can find this on E-Bay for about $150
2005 Update
Two years after purchasing this camera, I am pleased to report it continues to work flawlessly. Durability is a part of any investment. In addition, new firmware makes it easier to install, while an updated software program for the camera gives you some "software motion detection." Right now, I am using this camera in its lowest resolution to update live image via FTP (sending a file to a website) for my mobile telephone.
It works great on my LG - VX700...but other emulators or phones may vary.
You may point a wireless device (your phone) to:
http://gearscout.com/wap/index.wml
Here's the Orignal Review
Think of putting a camera on a tripod and simply plugging in the power supply anywhere around your home or yard to capture family events or parties and have them visible to friends connected to the Internet anywhere in the world. You don't even have to bother firing up a computer in your home.
The camera functions as a server for any java-based browser. It can be very private and password protected. Or you can display just the video on your homepage or in a pop-up window without a password requirement. Instead of going to one of the commercial web cam sites where adult-rated talk and images prevail, yours will be all on its own.
While this camera is clearly designed for security and surveillance duties, it holds some interesting possibilities for home users as well. This review only attempts to look at how a home user might enjoy the product. I’ll leave the surveillance end of it to someone else!
-------------------------------------------------------
OVERVIEW
Number ONE, this is NOT a web cam. This is an Internet device. A web cam attaches to your computer and uses your computer's hardware and software to capture images to your hard disk or transmit them over the Internet.
Some may argue with that view, but read on and I'll explain.
This device has it's own built-in CPU and HTTP (web) server. It broadcasts streaming video over the Internet that can be seen on any java-enabled web browser. It is not attached to a computer. It connects to your wireless home network and internet gateway the moment you plug it into a power outlet. It does not have a microphone or broadcast audio.
Keep this in mind if you are looking for something that will let you do video chat, join Earthcam TV channels etc. If that's what you want, this may not be for you. You can find solutions that are $200 cheaper. If you're still interested, read on!
I paid $238 for this camera at buy.com including free shipping and a $50 rebate from D-Link. This represents a more than 50% drop from the price of the camera when it was first released. There are two models: DCS-1000 and DCS-1000W. The ‘W’ stand for wireless and it is the model I’m reviewing here. (Note: Even on this epinion page, you will see prices $100 lower. Those are not the wireless model of this camera.)
Some preliminary caveats:
--You should already have a (wireless) home network router installed or be willing to install one in order to use this camera.
--Your Local Area Network (LAN) should be connected to a broadband internet gateway with a cable or DSL modem. Large image sizes, various compression ratios and the number of connected users will all affect how much video is being streamed.
--You should have a fundamental knowledge of how to forward ports, create static IP addresses and use your browser configuration pages in your router.
--You should have a "crossover" cat5 Ethernet cable when you want to setup this camera. A laptop computer is also a plus.
SETUP
Not all that difficult but still a challenge. Should you buy one of these and need detailed information on setup, go to the bottom of the review and see the Appendix.
The camera comes with a surveillance-type stand for wall mounting, a manual and a length of Ethernet cable. Unfortunately, it's a straight-thru cable instead of a "turnaround" or "crossover" cable. You'll need the latter for setup if you don't have a D-Link router.
The manual is on the CD-ROM in PDF format. You can download a copy from the D-Link website to get detailed information about this camera's features before you consider buying one. http://www.dlink.com
VIDEO QUALITY
Only a "fair" picture. The trade-off for wireless, perhaps, but still a bit of a disappointment. I would not recommend this camera for low-light situations.
Still, the more I use this camera the more I like it. If you test it indoors in diffused flourescent light, you may hate the image. But take it out in the yard, with the sun behind you, and it's a great performer.
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, perhaps you can go here to view for yourself. I have posted a couple pictures here and will add more to give you an idea of how the camera performs.
http://www.gearscout.com
The camera uses a CMOS sensor...they are not as good as CCD sensors. But similar CCD cameras equipped with wireless would easily be $150 more. Unlike a web cam, the DCS-1000W won't drain the CPU performance of your computer.
CAUTIONS, CONTROLS AND FRAME RATES
D-Link is quite specific about avoiding exposure to direct sunlight or strong reflected light. You will permanently damage the CMOS sensor. Although basically for indoor use, I have regularly pointed it outdoors, being careful not to get that direct sunlight in the lens. A manual iris lens will help protect the sensor.
As far as frame rates, a lot of this has to do with the connection rate. The faster the connection, the faster the frame rate. (I get around 2-3 fps at 640X480 on my DSL line, much faster with smaller image sizes. 3 fps is the maximum at that size. I use this camera almost exclusively at 640X480 and the filesize of each frame is 30-60KB.)
My purchase around January 1, 2003 came with the latest firmware version (1.26) which seems to transmit at a respectable frame rate. I've read earlier reviews that criticized the camera on this point. (Some of these tout cameras on a LAN where throughput is many times higher than it is on the fastest internet connections.)
You can adjust Brightness, Contrast, and Hue via the software pages. The default settings work fine for most uses. Gain control, exposure and white balance are automatic.
It appears best to keep the frame rate on "Auto."
You also have the option of setting 5 levels of compression. Medium seems to work fine. I do not observe any remarkable improvement in the jpeg image quality by using even the lowest compression.
Focus is really manual, which means that you have to adjust the focus ring on the camera. No software control here. If you have the camera at a remote location, you can't focus it without a laptop by your side. But once set, the focus doesn’t appear to be critical for most uses. That means that if you set it and leave it alone, it won’t need much adjustment.
INTERCHANGEABLE LENSES
This camera uses standard CS lenses like those found on many surveillance cameras. This is a real benefit, because it gives the user the ability to adapt the D-Link DCS-1000W to specific tasks. For more information about other lenses for this camera, see the Appendix at the end of this review.
The camera comes with a very adequate 6mm lens rated at f1.8. It's wide angle enough to work indoors and gives a good-sized image at longer range.
WEB PAGES
Three words about D-Link's web pages: Elegant, they ain't.
They are useful, but they have that "surveillance industry" feel.
When someone wants to view your images, they point their browser to your IP address and the HTTP port where the camera is transmitting. You can obviously embed the link in your home page and it would look like this:
http://myhome.domain.com:80/jview.htm
80 would be your HTTP port, although video is transmitted on another port. (Both of the ports can be configured to whatever you want in the camera’s browser-based “System Administration” files.)
The file “jview.htm” is a built-in web page contained in the camera's firmware that displays the video stream via a java applet.
Even if you have dynamic addressing, you can get a free account at a place like dtdns.com that will track changes in the IP address of your DSL connection to make it easy to write static HTML code like the above to point to your camera.
-System Page-
Here you can "name" the camera and enter a “location” or other information that will appear on the web page.
Also on this page, you enter your login and password, the IP address you assigned your camera, DNS addresses, your network name and channel (for wireless) and ports to use.
LED Control allow you to decide how you want the two little lights on the camera to display. You can turn them on (power light stays on, network light blinks when camera is streaming video,) turn them off, or have them 'fake' by blinking at various times to make people think they're being watched.
-Image Page-
Here's where you control the Video Size (160X120, 320X240, or 640X480,) Compression, Frame Rate, Brightness, Contrast, Hue and 50/60Hz light frequency.
One of the nice things about the camera device is that you can change the size of the image from say, 320X240 to 640X480 from a remote location using the browser's "System Administration." Neat.
-Users-
Simple page to add individual logins and passwords and set whether they can use the triggers or upload images to an FTP server.
-DateTime-
Because this device actually communicates on the Internet, it will automatically update the time shown on the Jview.htm browser page by getting the time from an Internet Time Server you specify. Nice.
-Trigger-
This page is dedicated to filling in forms about your SMTP server and where you want to e-mail images. This only works if you have an external device connected, so don't bother. It's meant to capture a frame when a door is opened or other "trigger" event and then e-mail the image. Even if you turn on the "trigger" from the viewing page it won't actually send anything because you don't have that external device connected.
-Upload-
This page works. You can upload images to an FTP site by clicking the "ON" button for "UPLOAD" on the Jview.htm screen. You can send a series of pictures, overwrite one file or set up the camera to begin and end sending pictures according to a time schedule.
-Tools-
The Tools page will allow you to do a 'Reset' or 'Factory Reset' of the camera. A standard reset appears to simply interrupt the CPU and restart with the current settings. A factory reset will restore factory defaults, including wiping out any IP address you set so it works on your network. There's a warning to prevent accidental factory reset.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR OWN WEB PAGES
This isn't documented anywhere in the user manual, but you can now find directions for doing this on D-Link's website. I consider it a very important feature for home users of the D-Link DCS-1000W.
If you don't want or need the security of a password to access your video, there is an easy way to incorporate just the streaming video in your web homepage or as a pop-up window. No username/password is required and people can easily access just the image, with no ability to do anything else with the camera.
In this way, home users can make this internet device blend in with their own web pages instead of having one of the default D-Link pages interrupt the theme and color scheme.
Larry, a very helpful fellow at D-Link Technical Support advised me of how to cut the java applet script out of the Jview.htm page and from there, with javascript or plain HTML, create open access to your video stream.
See the appendix at the end of this epic with more detailed instructions on how to create your own pages with this camera's streaming video.
SUPPORT
I term the support mediocre. First, the documentation fails to explain how features work and what features need additional hardware to function. Users are left to figure it out on their own.
D-Link's support lines have never kept me waiting more than 5 minutes, but once you get someone on the telephone, reasonable knowledge of this device simply isn't there. Larry, who I mentioned above, was an exception.
One of the first people I talked with at D-Link (this was the "straightthru vs. crossover" Ethernet debate) told me to stand by, he would authorize me to return the camera because it obviously was a defective unit. This after spending all of 2 minutes on the call. When I insisted there were no grounds for that YET, he said he would have tier 2 support call me back.
I missed that call (wasn't home) but when I asked for someone who actually knew something about the camera, another person kindly went hunting around the building and found Larry, who called me within 5 minutes.
SYSTEM SECURITY
The System Administrator is the only person who can set up new users or adjust the camera settings. You won’t hand that login/password out.
Once you enter one standard user name and password, everyone will need a login and password to access the camera. You can issue one public login and password and even list it on your web page and limit the privileges to simply viewing the video stream. Or, as I noted above, you can display the video screen on your homepage or with a link that calls a pop-up window. (See the Appendix at the end of this review.)
There is another security issue: protecting your network from outside attacks. Because the DCS-1000W is its own HTTP server, you won't have to open ports on your network computers or hang them out in the DMZ where they are more vulnerable. My other cameras and HTTP servers have regularly been probed by hackers trying to get passwords or system access.
SOFTWARE
The DCS-1000W comes with a program called IPView on a CD ROM. The software appears designed for a multi-camera installation that could look down hallways and through doorways to monitor movements. But basically, it gives the user the same controls they get with the browser-based settings...unless you really are using it for surveillance. It is arguably faster than using a browser to adjust your settings and contains entries to help administrators control things such as motion detection. Again, you would need a motion detection module to make that work.
BANDWIDTH USAGE
Most providers of home DSL or cable service won't allow you to stream large amounts of video over their connections. This device only streams video "on demand" of users. If you are simply connecting the camera and allowing private visitors to come and download that stream this isn't likely to be an issue. Commercial users at restaurants, bars or other public places will want to check with their broadband internet providers before proceeding.
Important Note: Even though the image may be visible on your website, it is not going through the website, it's coming directly from your network. Therefore, the video stream doesn't count against your monthly Web space bandwidth limit (usually a gigabyte.)
CONCLUSION
I'm giving this camera a rating of "Above Average" because it is a pretty remarkable little box. It's transmission rate for streaming video, frankly, surprised me.
After 6 months of almost constant use, it's still running fine. I did flash the firmware one time when it was having problems and that solved it. I believe that was due to a voltage surge during an electrical storm.
What I think it gives users is the freedom to take a camera anywhere around the house and simply plug it in and start streaming video. For some of us, it is also important not to have the camera connected to and draining the CPU of the computers we're using for other tasks.
I have other web cams and use them. But because of the DCS-1000W's wireless portability, it gets more use than all the others combined. If it were tethered to a network cable, it simply wouldn't be used that much.
The D-Link DCS-1000W with its built-in HTTP server is an excellent implementation of an Internet device. I’m sure we’ll see improvements in this concept from D-Link and others in the future.
-----------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX - Installation Notes
D-Link has updated firmware at their website version 1.30 which enables the user to get better "push" technology to send frames. It will also pump out the video on the same port, eliminating the need to open up two ports on your computer.
D-Link warns you NOT to update firmware on a wireless connection. If the connection fails for any reason, it could render the camera useless. Follow their advice and hardwire your camera to your network or to a computer to upgrade the firmware just as explained below for setting up without the IPView program.
Before you begin, be sure to find out some basic information you'll need to fill out your configuration forms. You'll need the Wireless Channel used by your wireless router. You also need to know the 'network name' for your wireless connections (e.g. linksys) In addition, you will need the addresses for two of your ISP's DNS servers.
You will need to enter this on the main 'System' page of your camera. If you can't remember it, check on your router's main setup page, it should be there or on the Status page on a Linksys (for DNS addresses.)
Also, decide what static address you want to give your camera. The examples I use here will work on a Linksys.
The default IP address of the camera is 192.168.0.20
In normal use, the wireless version of the camera can either be run with a network cable attached or on wireless. But for the setup procedure, it's wise tp connect to the camera using an Ethernet cable.
While you might think you could just take a straight through Ethernet cable and plug in the camera to the router, think again. Unless your router is configured to 192.168.0.xxx as a gateway, you won't see it. D-Link routers may use that configuration, but I have a Linksys.
You can use the IPView program to "find" your camera and go through the process that way. It's pretty simple, but after you change the IP address...you'll have to "search" for the camera again.
You'll have to disconnect one of your computers from the network (here's where a laptop's nice) and change its address from dynamic to the static address of, say 192.168.0.5 and the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 and reboot. Directions for this come with the camera.
Use the "crossover" cable to connect the camera to the Ethernet port of the computer. If you call tech support at D-Link they may tell you, as they did me, that "No, it takes a straight-through cable!" Trust me, it doesn't.
By pointing your browser to 192.168.0.20 you can access the main 'System' screen, which will allow you to change the IP address of the camera to something that works on your network.
On my Linksys, that would be 192.168.1.xxx (e.g. 192.168.1.20)
D-Link strongly advises you set a static IP address for the camera in your router.
Click on 'Save' button at the bottom of the screen.
Once you save the System settings, of course, you won't be able to see the camera pages in your browser anymore.
Now you can use that STRAIGHTHROUGH cable to plug the camera into your router. You can even go wireless at this point to complete the configuration. This time, as in the example above, you would point the browser to 192.168.1.20 to resume the configuration.
From there, installation is pretty straightforward.
In your router, you will have to Forward ports 80 and 8481. The first is for the web server, the second is the default for image transfer. I changed my image transfer port to 8080 so it would get through my office firewall. On a Linksys router, this is part of the 'Advanced' settings and found on the 'Forwarding' Tab.
You will also have to set a Static Routing Address for the network address you gave the camera. This is simple enough. The Destination LAN IP is, e.g. 192.168.1.20, the Subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0 and the Default Gateway is e.g., 192.168.1.1 (or whatever your router's address may be.)
APPENDIX - Interchangeable Lenses
The DCS-1000W uses standard, surveillance industry lenses. You can obtain them on the internet.
Want to monitor the pool area in summer? Get a wide-angle (lower mm number) lens. Want to zoom in on the action at the bird feeder? Get a lens with more magnification (higher mm number.)
The furnished lens is a 6mm f1.8 non-iris, manual focus lens. There is no output on the camera to control an auto-iris lens. Any lens you buy should be MANUAL focus, iris and zoom.
The wide support for the CS mount (place where you screw in the lens) means you can buy a manual zoom lens that will give you very wide angles (close to 90 degrees) and also bring you up close to objects further away. It will also enable you to close down the aperture and use the camera in bright light (improving depth of field.) For example, 3.3mm-8mm lens with manual iris, focus and zoom costs $42. A 2.8mm to 10mm lens with manual iris, focus and zoom costs $55. Changing out a lens is as easy as screwing in a light bulb.
A source for CS Lenses:
http://www.cctv-lens.com/Varifocal_lens.htm
One important note: be sure to have a laptop computer to fine tune the focus/iris/zoom. Changing the focal length (magnification) in the 2.8-10mm zoom lens means having to re-focus the lens each time. The Raymax lens has perpendicular bars attached that make "nudging" the lens into focus easier than turning it to get just the right setting. These are good quality lenses at reasonable prices. Wide angle (2.8mm) appears crisper and it's easier to get specific objects in better focus with the zoom.
APPENDIX - Customizing Web Pages
The D-Link DCS-1000W automatically loads its own web pages. As I've noted above, these pages aren't glamorous. Because this camera was designed for use as primarily a surveillance or security tool, the pages also have trigger buttons and links your visitors won't be able to make work without "System Administrator" privileges.
But if you cut out the part of the script that calls the java viewing applet, you can embed the streaming video in your homepage or call a popup window. I had wanted to include the script files, but Epinions doesn't support HTML code in reviews.
Note: If you update your camera firmware you may change the serial number listed in the applet. For that reason, you would have to go through this process again to reflect that change or you won't be able to 'see' the camera from your web page. Though I have seen it done by simply putting in value="" for the serial number. I haven't tried that!
Here's how:
1. Point your browser to the Jview.htm file in your camera. For example:
http://192.168.1.20:80/Jview.htm
2. When the page loads on your browser, click on "View" and select "Source" from the menu.
3. A notepad window will open containing the source code. Go to the bottom of the script file and highlight the section of the code beginning with TABLE that has APPLET name="cvcs." I've stripped out the code here, but this gives you an idea of how it looks.
TABLE
APPLET name="cvcs" CODEBASE=http://myhome.domain.com:80/ CODE=xplug.class WIDTH=640 HEIGHT=480>
param name="RemotePort" value=8481
param name="Timeout" value=5000
param name="RotateAngle" value=0
param name="PreviewFrameRate" value=>
param name="DeviceSerialNo" value="sdJjcGFuY6k8dHdhZ9lyGTkfd=
/APPLET
/TABLE
Highlight it down about 12 lines until you see the table cancelled with the /TABLE command.
4. Press Ctrl-C to copy the text or use "Edit" and "Copy" from the notepad menu.
5. To put the streaming video on your homepage, simply paste that code into the body of the homepage. You will have to decide how you want it to appear (centered etc.)
If you want to have just a link on your webpage and have the streaming video appear in a remote, or "pop-up" window, then do this:
1. Copy the applet code as above, but instead of pasting it into your homepage, save it as its own file. You will have to include some basic HTML codes to make it work (HTML, TITLE, [insert title] /TITLE, BODY [insert code] /BODY /HTML)
2. Save the file. You can name it anything, like "1000w.html" but be sure to give it the html extension. Upload this to the same directory as your home page or index.html file on your web site.
3. Go to http://www.javascriptkit.com/popwin/index.shtml
They have an excellent popup script generator. Click on "resizable" as a needed option, or anything else you want. You can put a TITLE for the titlebar, size it etc. You can have it pop up automatically when the page loads or pop up when the visitor clicks on a link on your homepage. Follow the directions at the site and cut and paste your generated code into your homepage.
4. You will have to edit the above generated script so it calls the file you saved earlier (e.g. "1000w.html") You will also have to adjust the width and height settings. Just play with the numbers until it looks right.
Hope that helped someone!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
silverstreak9
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 10 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.