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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Cool idea, flawed execution
By Sean P. Logue
I really wanted to like this product. It is certainly a very cool idea. A self-contained camera with an mpeg encoder that can connect wirelessly (or wired) to a standard home network, and broadcast video to any laptop over a web browser. And, indeed, it does try to do all that, but only partially succeeds.First, kudos on the packaging. It is high quality, has all the necessary parts, including a short ethernet cable, a metal swivel mount, and even a couple of zip ties to keep things neat. I was very excited to unwrap the goodies!The first snag I hit was that the wireless ability only works on a WEP network, not WPA. I moved all my routers to WPA security long ago because WEP is no longer considered secure. Because I'm not going to downgrade the security of my home network, wireless is out for me as an option. Still, it isn't so bad for me because I have lots of available hardwired ethernet ports in my house, and I figure that since I have to plug in the power adapter anyway, it won't really be wireless regardless. So, I went ahead with it but be sure and check that you have a port near where you intend to mount the camera before ordering one.The part I was most worried about, the software, actually installed effortlessly and found the camera on my network without any trouble. One click and I was getting a streaming video feed right to my laptop, which was very cool! The image itself was color, but very blurry. That's because the lens has to be focused by turning it left or right, like a projector lens. That wasn't as easy to do as it sounded from on top of a step stool while trying to see my laptop screen (where the feed was) at the same time as turning the lens. I think a helper may have made this easier, but I was never able to get the focus sharp, and even when I got some things in the image somewhat in focus, other parts further or closer away would be blurry. So, I wasn't very successful with the lens focusing.I also gave up trying to see the image from outside my network. It is clear that it is possible to do so, and the company has gone to great lengths to allow it. However, it requires service from Lorex as well as from a different company (Yoics), and by the time I had accounts with both and had installed the Yoics software, the whole thing just became too complex for me to keep fiddling with. So, while it is possible to do this, I wouldn't say it was easy.Overall, because of the focus issue (I'm watching my blurry image type this right now), the lack of WPA support for wireless connection, and the complexity behind viewing it from outside the home, I recommend passing on this product. If you do go ahead and get one to play with, just be aware of its limitations in advance. It is a cool idea, and I'm sure the products in this space will continue to improve.Sean P. Logue, 2009
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
You _can_ get this to work without installing software, but it's a pain
By Mitch Haile
The documentation for this product undersells the product.As a Mac user, Internet Explorer and ActiveX is not an exciting proposition, which the other reviewers point out. However, you don't need IE or any other software beyond the basic Mac installation to make this camera do its thing.You will, however, need to know how to find the camera on your network. The camera ships with DHCP enabled, and you need to go your DHCP server (such as your router) and find the IP address that corresponds to this camera. This means looking at the most recently assigned IP address shortly after you plug-in the camera, or comparing the Ethernet hardware address with the entries in your router's DHCP logs.The above isn't easy for a networking novice, but intermediate or advanced users can probably sort through this. I assume the softare that gets installed serves to find the camera, based on the directions, but I didn't use it.Once you know the IP address, you can point FireFox or Safari to that IP address and login as admin/admin. From there, you can stream the live feed with QuickTime. The video quality is amazingly good--Far better than the built-in iSight on my MacBook Pro. For the camera quality and integration with standard protocols and tools, this camera really shines. You can also integrate the camera with email and FTP without requiring a computer, which is the whole point. The web UI is fair at best--it's a little clunky, but functional and consistent. For remote access where bandwidth might be limited, the right decision was probably made to keep the UI light.The camera itself is well-constructed, but it's not going to win any beauty pageants. It's functional, which is perhaps all that is needed of a security camera. The base, arm extension, and a ball joint enable a number of mounting options, but you may find yourself needing to build a custom bracket for specialized positions.There is a port on the bottom for connecting an external speaker to use the camera as an intercom--I am guessing that use case does require software, but I didn't investigate it first hand. There's also some remote access services that I didn't explore either, but would clearly be handy for the network novice user who doesn't want to deal with static IPs, port forwarding, or FTP.Overall, the build construction, the ease of use, and the incredibly good quaity video warrants 4 stars. However, the lack of crisp, clear documentation and discovery software that precludes using a Mac when it should not costs the camera 1 star. It is a good product, if you can get through the initial hurdle. The camera exceeded my expectations on video quality, but was about what I expected otherwise.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Buy something else!
By CARL KETTERLING
When I found this product, I was excited to see a wireless video camera for less than $200 that could provide 30fps. So excited, in fact, that I didn't take the time to read the reviews. If you're reading this before a purchase, buy something else.Complaint #1:The Features section of this product page shows that it supports VGA (640x480) resolution at 30 frames per second. The page also shows that it supports viewing from a Mac. On a 100 Mbit/s network (not wireless) while using a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac, I see about 1 frame every 3-5 seconds.Complaint #2:The Features section of this product page shows "Superior low-light performance with night-vision LEDs" -- I feel this is misleading. Typically, "night-vision LEDs" would be infrared. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead, this camera has 6 SUPER-BRIGHT white LEDs.If you decide to purchase this item, make sure to read the return policy of the seller before hand. You may need this information later.
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