pwong123's Full Review: Linksys WVC11B Network Camera
Summary: If you need an indoor camera to observe conditions during daylight hours with no direct sunlight or sharp/dark shadows, this is probably your camera. Wireless connection setup was mostly painless and both wireless/wired throughput sufficient to figure out what is going on. Image quality okay (but no cameras in this price range with similar features are anyways). No sound but good motion detection with email capability. Very easy remote access (very strong plus).
Equipment:
Gateway 3.06 mhz desktop
Radeon 9700
DVD Burner
Sony drx 510ul
19" LCD (sweet)
Apple Mac G5
EMachines M6805
Toshiba 3005-303 notebook
Network:
Cable - Charter Communications - 1500/128
Sun Cobalt Qube 3 Professional (40 gig raid)
Netgear 314 router (disconnected)
D-Link 604 (new)
Netgear PS110 printserver
DLink 900+ 802.11b access point
DLink DSC2100+ cameras (2x)
Linksys WVC11b camera (1x)
Linksys 54g access point
Netgear switches up the wazoo
I purchased the Linksys WVC11B camera after reviewing the specifications and ability of camera to be accessed remotely via a single port (1024). This camera essentially functions as a "nanny cam" though I stuck it openly since (1) no disclosure required and (2) keeps everyone on toes.
Build Quality:
Plastic base slightly unstable though relatively heavy enough to avoid tipping over. Activity and power light in the front prominently displayed (so have to tape or otherwise hide to make inconspicious). Also, there is no way to disable activity/power lights so its quite obvious when activated.
Image Quality:
Okay. Definitely a problem with view outdoors from indoors (contrast). Also the LUX is really poor compared to a video camera or some of the higher end Logitech webcams. Field of vision is relatively good compared to D-Link DCS2100+ and motion detection field good.
Wireless Connectivity:
The setup was relatively painless. My internal ip address did not match default configuration so I used cross-over cable to laptop to configure ip address and SSID. Keep in mind that default settings plus WEP must be changed. Also no WPA though hopefully Linksys provides a firmware upgrade to this security protocol. For advanced security users, I thought the WEP settings were a mixed bag. It allowed for passphrase conversion though I was unable to select a different broadcast channel (6 is default) in infrastructure mode. You can change in ad-hoc (but who uses this?!?). Also WEP is limited to 128bits (but really, if someone can hack this, your passphrase is too easy or NSA is after you).
Like all wireless connections, throughput is a function of interference x distance to access point x competing network devices. I live in a fairly technologically advanced neighborhood with 802.11a/b/g connections all over the place so interference is an issue. Likewise, I've got 2.4ghz phones (Panasonic and Siemens) so there is bound be be some marginal interference.
The Linksys camera performed fairly well with respect to wireless throughput. When I remotely access, it's like watching the original Apollo moon landing (for your 20 somethings we actually landed there!) so some jerky and staggered movements.
Remote access:
In one word: astounding! I was able to configure Netgear (and D-Link) router with total ease and have been monitoring since day one. Contrast this with my ongoing problem of accessing the DCS2100+ (2x). In fact, I wound up buying a DLink router just to see if I can log on DCS cameras. However, still having technical difficulties (read unable) accessing and DLink is actively attempting to resolve (now that I purchased all DLink products to avoid the "must be the other guy's product interfering").
Sound:
None. The Velo camera can use an external mic though I'm a bit gun shy of buying more equipment right now (tax time).
Sololink:
Junk. Don't bother. Use ddns.org if necessary. I simply downloaded the IP Monster and it emails to several locations when the ip changes. Since the remote acess program is easy to configure, just change it when ip changes. Also, tech support on Sololink is lousy.
Conclusion:
I'm definitely going to keep this unit. DSC2100+ is really questionable and if tech support doesn't resolve, it goes back to Frys.
[I have since worked out all of the Dlink 2100+ problems (apparently I had 2 faulty cameras) and I wholeheartedly recommend the DLink 2100+ over the Linksys. In fact, I've actually had the Linksys disconnected for days at a time because I can't turn off the indicator lights].
[See my review of the DLink 2100+ camera for more info.]
Sends high-quality live video to your 802.11b wireless network Built-in stand-alone web server Security Mode automatically sends email alerts with ima...More at Amazon Marketplace
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