I purchased this camera to use as a cheep wireless IP webcam. It offers the ability to hook into your network either with the wireless WSP functionality or with an ethernet connection. It is fairly small with the camera being about the size of an iphone (maybe about 80% that size). The base allows for you to mount it in multiple settings, but be clear, this is a very simple design...not rocket science by any means. The ac power cord is about 4 feet long.
Setup: I ran into an issue when I was trying to set up the wireless connection. I could not get my camera and wireless router to talk at all. I called tech support (the free version) and they were useless. The rep had no clue about the specific devise and it is clear that he was just in a large call center that probably supports dozens if not hundreds of products. I had NO problem when I hooked it into my network via an ethernet cable. The set up application runs very nicely and easily gives you the option to select either wireless or wired set up as needed.
Back to my wireless problem. I decided that I would pay $32 for D-Links premium support for 30 minutes of help...I rolled the dice, as they do not guarantee they will fix your problem for your investment, but I had a feeling my issue was something simple with my network configuration...and I was right. The rep was great, she remoted into my pc, checked out my wireless settings on my router and determined that I had a bad character in my site name. None of my other wireless products had a problem with the character, but the D-Link cam did not like it. She changed the name of my wireless network, we restarted the router,and instantly the camera linked in wirelessly.
I am absolutely convinced that if I had not had a dash in my wireless network name, then this wireless set up would have been a breeze. So, I can't place blame for this issue on D-Link, but it was interesting that no other wireless device I use had a problem with the naming convention of the network.
Once that hurdle was cleared, it has been smooth sailing. I really like the ease of use and the functionality included with the set up...through a web interface, you can control video size, audio (yes it has a mic and sends the audio over IP in realtime), you can set motion detection, auto emailing on detection, and it even has a built in ftp server to send the images where ever you like.
Simple camera that does exactly what it says...it provides decent video and audio wirelessly to your network and then you can do with it what you want.
Pros: Simple, straight forward, nice setup application used on your pc, D-Link offers free remote viewing via their web portal MyD-link, and they also offer a free iPhone app (no audio on the iPhone app).
Cons: Seems somewhat fragile...I would not want to drop it form more than a foot off the ground. A fall from any higher seems would shatter it.
Overall I think this is a really good value. D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless N Network Camera
I'm really digging this camera. If you have some basic networking chops then setup is a breeze and can easily be done on any operating system with a web browser without using the CD. Here's what you need to do.
1) Plug the IP Cam directly into your router with an ethernet cord (there should be one provided in the box).
2) Plug the power cord into your camera. =D
3) From a web browser, log into your router and find the IP address of the camera. Finding the IP address is probably the hardest step. On my D-Link router the IP address can be found in the Setup -> Network Settings tab.
4) From another browser window, enter the IP address of your camera. If you successfully entered the right IP address then you should see a login window. The default username is "admin" and the password should be left empty.
5) Now you are at the setup page and you can add your wireless router and modify various settings.
Here are a few extra steps that I highly recommend.
- On your router, set up a DHCP Reservation to your IP camera or if your router doesn't have this feature then set up a static IP address on your camera.
- Create a free dyndns.org account and set that up on your router, NOT directly on the camera.
- Once you have dyndns setup on your router, set up a virtual server to forward a specific port to port 80 on your IP camera. (For instance yourname.dyndns.org:4444 will point to your ISP's DHCP IP address and then forward port 2000 directly to port 80 on your IP camera. This allows you to see your camera from any browser on any internet connected computer.)
- If you have an android phone, install Tiny Cam from the Market and you should be able to see a live video feed on your mobile phone from anywhere you have wireless access.
Setup was a very straightforward breeze for me. It took approximately 15 minutes to set everything the way I wanted it and I never touched the CD or instruction manual.
For the price, the camera quality more than met my expectations. This is a perfect camera for me to monitor my dog on my phone or laptop while I'm away from home. - Wireless - Surveillance Cameras - Security Camera - Ip Camera'
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