Wireless Webcam Review

1

Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 (68A-00001)

I haven’t really used the built-in mic coming with this web cam until today when I found an annoying background noise with it. You know I’m a PC fan and IT professional. I’m very familiar with PC and its peripherals and how to trouble shoot them. The thing is: the built-in mic of my PC works perfectly, which means you just can’t blame the sound card or its driver. I searched online and found quite some complaint against VX-3000’s noise. Seems my unit is broken: the advertised noise-canceling doesn’t work at all!

It’s not a big deal because every PC has a mic port now, but the bad thing is: you THOUGHT it work as advertised, with noise-canceling offering crystal clear recording, bluh, bluh, bluh, when in reality it doesn’t work that way, and you got pissed off :-)

Why they want to put a mic there inside a webcam? The common sense is those “x-in-1″ things are more prone to problems than devices with dedicated features. I won’t buy any webcam+mic any more.

2

Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11

I really like it as I have been watching my home while I am away at work.

3

Linksys Wireless Internet Camera with Audio

Good solid build, the pan/tilt motor is really loud. I had to return it due to it’s incompatibility with my Macs as it will only work with Internet Explorer. PC setup had problems too,I was only able to log in once or twice to the IP that was assigned. there was a problem with the active X plugin that was failing to install, tried on 4 PCs. I see it on my network, but image would not show, the pan and tilt functions would work, so I know it’s connected, but there was just an “x” where the image should be.

Motor is annoyingly loud so forget about being discrete. I returned it with a 15% “restocking fee” plus I had to pay for the shipping back. bought a wireless Panasonic NetCam instead since I already had two in the house and know that it would work flawlessly. Some people had a better setup experience than myself. Maybe you’ll luck out.

4

Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera

the cam isnt too bad. when its finally programmed, its pretty dependable.

HOWEVER

thefact that there is an active x control with a certificate expired un july of 09, and STILL no fix from linksys for something easy to fix puts into question their WHOLE support structure. that should have been set to expire in 2015, or some time when g is no longer used(we have a b from dlink, but went with the linksys cause it was g wireless). then we removed g for pci compliance, and hardwired it. now, we cant use the newer cam JUST because of an expired certificate – unless i drill down the security of the workstation to non-existant for active x – something i refuse to do at a company. all in all, the cam was ok for business uses, but, as linksys hasnt updated the certificate, i will NOT be buying any linksys cams – im still deciding if this is bothering me enough to stop me from buying the rest of their line of hardware. and yes, i do this stuff for a living.

5

Panasonic BL-C230A Wireless Internet Security Camera

Last year I purchased the BL-C131A camera that has similar attributes to this model. When I went to buy a second camera, it had been discontinued and replaced with this new model.

For anyone like me who’s considering purchasing a second camera, don’t hesitate to pick this one up. It sets up almost exactly like the previous model, comes with the same DDNS service so you can easily monitor and control it from afar, and if anything the picture quality has improved greatly, something I didn’t think would have been possible given the excellent quality of the BL-C131A.

A couple of physical differences to be aware of, and also something that is left off the documentation: if you’re using a tripod or tripod screw on your present camera, you know there are holes for that in the back and on the bottom. On this model, the tripod threads are only on the back, so if you are planning on putting it on some kind of tripod threaded device, keep that in mind.

This camera comes with a clear plastic cover over the front of it that looks like it was put there for shipping and might be designed to be removed in use. No, it’s a permanent part of the front of the camera and keeps dust and other hazards in your house from messing up the front of the camera. Don’t try to pry it off, it’s meant to stay put and it doesn’t impact the image quality one bit.

The wireless setup is the same as in the BL-C131A but they forgot to mention one thing in the documentation that was required of the BL-C131A and left me wondering if it was needed here– if you use MAC address filtering on the wireless of your router to limit access to your network that way, you need to not only list the MAC address of the camera so that it can gain access to your network, you also need to add a second MAC address to the “admit” list that is one digit higher than that of the camera. So if your camera’s MAC ends in “CC”, you need to also admit the same MAC again but with “CD” at the end of the second address. It’s a minor fluke in this camera that they did mention for the previous model, but neglected to say anything about with this model. I set it up without the second MAC, and it didn’t work. Added the second MAC, and everything started working perfectly. And don’t forget like I did on this one– you’ll need to specify a different port to forward on your router than you set up for the first camera. I did set up the different port number on the camera itself, then forgot to tell my router to forward that port from the outside. Once I did that, I had instant access to it from outside the house via the Panasonic DDNS service (you need to register a new unique URL for this camera just like you did for the first).

I’m currently also using a Total Control software app on my Blackberry to see both of my cameras while on the go, and that works great.

The other feature that may be of interest to some do-it-yourselfers is that the camera has switch closure output terminals on it that can be triggered from the web control panel (as well as a remotely controlled buzzer in the camera that I haven’t figured out a use for yet). So if you’re handy and can wire those switch contacts to an external relay or device, you could turn things in your house on and off remotely. I have an electrically operated pet door that leads out to my (fenced) back yard which I’m considering interfacing to the camera, so I can decide if I want to let my pets in and out when I’m not home. All I need to do is install the camera with a good view through the pet door (it’s clear plexiglas), wire the camera’s trigger up to the door’s switch, and I’m good to go. You can also use the trigger to unlock an electrically operated door latch in the entryway to a secure office, for example. There are also additional external sensor input terminals on the back for things like door switches and motion sensors that you might want to place in a location not covered by the camera’s own internal sensors and use the camera’s email feature to alert you when something happens.

Finally, even if you think you won’t use the included camera recording software on the CD provided, install it anyway. Its monitoring feature, allowing you to see all cameras in your network on one screen, and to click to select one of them to be viewed as large as you like, is much much better than opening up multiple browser windows on your desktop to accomplish the same task, or using the “Multiple” tab on the browser app. It’s an evaluation copy for the full version that lists for $399, so its recording features are pretty limited (no export allowed to standard JPEG or MPEG formats, for example). But install it anyway to have a one-stop place to see all of your cameras by opening one application. I also installed it on a PC that is off my network, and after inputting your standard DDNS URL’s in its setup and storing your usual login information, it provides the same monitoring function on a remote machine, same as you’d get inside your network, and the login process is now automatic.