Linksys is known for its wireless and wired networking products, and its Wireless-G Internet Video Camera is intended for use in both environments. The camera is capable of delivering live video feeds with sound to computers on a local network, and can also make these accessible remotely across the Internet.
Design
The hardware itself is rather large -- you certainly won’t find it easy to use this kit for clandestine surveillance. With its antenna extended above the camera itself, the device is a shade under 30cm tall. If you use a stand instead of wall-mounting the camera, this adds around 13cm of depth.
Keeping the camera secret is also hampered by the bank of LEDs indicating various aspects of its operation, and by the mains cable (rechargeable cells are not practical for a device you may want to leave unattended for weeks at a time). The lens projects from the case and can be swivelled up and down, and left and right, providing a good viewing range from a fixed location.
The camera captures sound as well as video, while the built-in microphone at the front has a range of around three metres. There's a microphone jack if you want to use a wired alternative to get closer to your quarry.
The only other feature of note in design terms is an LED screen that indicates the camera’s IP address, and whether this is fixed or dynamic. This information may come in handy if you need to troubleshoot the camera.
Features
We first set the camera up on a wired (Ethernet) connection to our ADSL router (it does not need to connect directly to a PC), and subsequently ran it in wireless mode too. The colour image was sent with minimal delay to a viewing application on a network-connected notebook. Effectively we were able to watch near-live video, with sound, from any location within our Wi-Fi network range -- and beyond that range with a cable connection.
Our 54Mbps 802.11g network delivered enough bandwidth, and the colours delivered by the camera were nice and sharp.
The software that Linksys provides for viewing live feeds can capture video at scheduled times, and you can record manually as well as taking still snapshots. If you don’t want to use the provided software for viewing video, or it is not installed on each of the PCs within wireless network range, then Internet Explorer will do fine. In any case, you’ll need to access the camera via a Web browser if you want to interact in any way with its on-board software.
This software's functionality includes adjusting the image quality (there are 15 resolutions and quality settings ranging between 160 by 120 to 640 by 480), changing the red green and blue colour ratios, time and date stamping images, and asking the camera to automatically send an email alert if it detects motion.
If you want to be able to view the camera’s feeds from beyond your network, you’ll need to set up the SoloLink DDNS service that Linksys provides. This is a subscription service, and the first years’ sub is already paid for.
Performance
The Linksys Wireless-G Internet Video Camera performed well. Setting it up on our network was straightforward, although newcomers to wireless networking may find the manual a little difficult to follow if they encounter hitches.
Image quality is pretty good when the camera is focussed indoors, but when pointed outside in gathering darkness it becomes clear that this is not a useful device for night-time surveillance.
We’d like to be able access some of the camera settings via Linksys's viewer software instead of via a Web browser. Using the Web browser to change image resolution, adjust colour balance and set up email alerts seems a little long-winded. Still, the viewer's simplicity could be preferable in situations where access to the camera is shared.
Some users may find it irritating that you can’t adjust the focus remotely, or move the lens. The 57-degree field of view is not particularly wide, and it’s inevitable that some action will happen off-camera at some point.
This is an expensive piece of kit to justify under the ‘fun’ banner, but its security uses may be limited due to its dislike of poor lighting conditions and the outdoors, and its general size. In-office or home monitoring during working hours may be its forté.
Specifications
| Camera | |
|---|---|
| Lens type | fixed focus |
| Image sensor | CMOS, 644 x 484 pixels |
| Interface / networking | |
| Interface(s) | Ethernet |
| Power | |
| Power source | AC adapter |
| General | |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 8.5x15.5x8 mm |
| Expand | |
Images
Member reviews
- 8.50 out of 10
8.50 out of 10I am as techie as they come and expected a lot from this Linksys camera. The image is grainy even at the best resolution and lighting. Also, the camera would go offline many times and I had to reset it everyday. I paid its high price because I expected more from it. It does have good security features and easy configuration though. I subsequently returned it and am still on the lookout for another camera.
- 5.50 out of 10
5.50 out of 10I live on my own, but work away for months at a time. It is great to be able to check the house from anywhere. It can email you a short video clip if motion is detected. If you have a fixed IP address don't need to subscribe to any service. You do need to set up 'port forwarding' for port 80 in both your ADSL modem and your Router.
- 8.50 out of 10
8.50 out of 10- 8.00 out of 10
8.00 out of 10Very easy to set up. I was up and running within minutes. One thing to note is that to view the camera over the Internet though Internet Explorer you need to install an Active X component. So if you have no admin rights on your PC (e.g. at work or in an Internet cafe) you wont be able to view it without installing it first.
Picture quality is just average at the highest quality settings and can't cope with extreme lighting variations, but is sufficient for its main job -- to monitor a room.
The best feature has to be the email alert facility -- very handy to see if someone has just entered the room!
Overall a good product with reasonable features, if slightly over-priced.
- 6.50 out of 10
6.50 out of 10- 8.50 out of 10
8.50 out of 10I use this in my store and it has been very usefull
- 8.70 out of 10
8.70 out of 10- 9.50 out of 10
9.50 out of 10- 3.30 out of 10
3.30 out of 10This item did not catch a robber trying to steal something out of my garage. The system turn off. Lucky me that I caught the person. If I was you I would so not buy it.
- 2.00 out of 10
2.00 out of 10The first camera I got had a power connector problem. The replacement works but I can't get the motion detection working with E-mail. Linksys tech support was no help at all. Overall I still think the wireless video camera is worth the investment.
- 7.00 out of 10
7.00 out of 10Tried to capture still video and submit to an external site. This works with a program such as Macro Express, but I have not been able to get it to work with any external webcam program
- 4.00 out of 10
4.00 out of 10- 6.00 out of 10
6.00 out of 10I used the Linksys help line. They were very helpful. I would not have been able to set this up without there help. Wait times were reasonable. Language was not an issue.
- 8.00 out of 10
8.00 out of 10They made it way to complicated to hook up -- took mine back to the store and will steer clear of their products in the future.
- 2.00 out of 10
2.00 out of 10Very easy to install and configure, hooks up to your existing ethernet network at first, then you run through a 5-step setup, and if you have a wireless 802.11b/g network, it'll detect the network and latch on in the same manner as a wireless laptop or PC. It has its own web server, and contrary to what the article states, IF you know how to set up port forwarding on your router (this is very simple and only requires 5 minutes of reading to understand) and you have a static IP address from your ISP, you DO NOT need the SoloLink DDNS service at all. Once you have completed the 5-step setup (from the provided Linksys CD-ROM), you can perform some additional configuration/tweaks from the Linksys web-based utility, also very easy to use and understand. Even at the "low" quality setting at any resolution, the video is crystal clear. Colors are somewhat washed out, but at less than $200 retail, you should expect that. There are 2 ways to view the video in real-time: (1) Use the provide Linksys utility (only works when used from within your own network) or (2) Use the web-based OCX viewer within Internet Explorer (Windows only, unfortunately no other support for other platforms which is a bit of a drawback). It would be nice to be able to record on-the-fly from the web-based video viewer, but the ability to set up scheduled recordings from the Linksys Windows utility is a huge bonus. This camera is perfect for monitoring anything inside your home or using it for surveillance while you're at work. Don't bother using this camera for outdoor surveillance at night, but it'll certainly work fine indoors as long as the room has adequate lighting.
- 9.00 out of 10
9.00 out of 10- 6.00 out of 10
6.00 out of 10This product depends on an active-x applet, and is therefore MS-Windows only. Since I do not do windows, it is pretty useless.
If you happen to be in a MS-Windows environment and if you do not manage the images and video yourself (e.g. place the image on a website), this can be a nice camera. It worked more or less right out of the box. Only the default IP-number took me some time, since it required me to create a temporary net.
- 3.00 out of 10
3.00 out of 10I've had my Linksys Wireless-G camera a while now and overall I have been happy with its performance. I was sceptical of it initially because at first glance it looks like something someone has thrown together in their shed, splicing a webcam with a biscuit tin. However, the set up was reasonable painless and the web interface UI is pretty easy to maintain.
The motion detector is remarkable accurate and the mpg emails are useful and easy to schedule.
All this came to an end when I tried to use this on Linux and on Mac. There are plugins you can download which make up some of the functionality, but you by no means get the same experience.
- 7.00 out of 10
7.00 out of 10