Linksys Wireless-N Internet Home Monitoring Camera

I purchased this camera to keep an eye on my home while I am at work. It works great. Setup for my local network was a breeze, and it only took a few more minutes to get it viewable over the internet. I do have knowledge of networking, ports, etc, so I could see how someone without that knowledge might have some trouble. But there is a ton of information on the web, and there are step-by-step tutorials on YouTube that make setup much easier. I am a Mac user, so I was using Windows 7 on a newer iMac running Parallels. I had to configure most of the advanced settings on Internet Explorer. The included video monitoring software isn't that great. A: Its PC only, which isn't good for us Mac people, and B: It really doesn't work that well anyway, even on a PC (I was using Windows 7 through Parallels). The main problems I had were extreme latency, as well as having trouble getting the recording schedule I set up to actually work. One day it would, the next it wouldn't. It records to a .SEF file, which is kind of weird. I had to use VLC player to view the videos as I couldn't get the software to play them back reliably. It also crashed a lot and overall just seemed unreliable. I don't know if the fact that I was running Windows 7 through Parallels had something to do with it, but I've never had any issues with other Windows only software running on there. I am using EVOCAM ($30) on my Mac, and it works great. I had the camera configured in EVOCAM in under 5 minutes. I do all my recording remotely on my laptop. I've heard Blue Iris is a great program for PC (LE Version $30), but I've never used it. The included Linksys webapp works pretty well in IE. If all you want to do is just watch the camera or configure the motion sensors to email you a JPEG or video, then you would be fine without purchasing a third party software. I use this webapp on my iPhone to view the camera from there. But if you want to set up recording schedules to record video to your hard drive then you might look into purchasing one. I Feel like the $115 (including shipping) I spent was well worth it. The camera is great, and well worth the money.Pros:-Camera works very well. Its not HD quality, but it also doesn't claim to be. It does exactly what it claims to do, and does it well.-Easy setup if you have any type of networking knowledge (if you don't check out Google or YouTube and you should be fine).-Good low light visibility.-With motion detection set up, it gives the option to email you a JPEG or short video file upon motion detection. This function works very well.-Great price. Well worth the money. Although the monitoring software isn't great in my experience, there are plenty of options out there, and I think the software is really just a bonus at this price anyway.Cons:-Included monitoring software isn't up to par. In my experience it had a tendency to crash, run very slow, and be overall unreliable (on a Windows 7 PC). But for $30 you could buy Blue Iris (PC) or Evocam (Mac) and be able to run multiple cameras easily and reliably.-No zoom function (it doesn't claim to have one)-No pan or tilt function (doesn't claim to have this either).-The audio function doesn't work that well. A lot of it is probably due to my internet connection, but I don't have any use for this feature anyway.If you are looking for a good, stationary IP camera that packs a lot of features into an inexpensive package, then this would be a great choice. I would definitely buy this again.

Linksys WVC80N cam review:Positives:Supports 640x480 resolution at up to 30FPS. Don't buy an ip cam that doesn't support 640x480 (i.e. some of the Panasonic ones)The low light level performance is good. This cam claims to have a better CMOS sensor that the previous model but it's still not all that great in low light (if you want good images in low light you need an IP cam with a CCD sensor but this adds cost and complexity). This is not a Day/Night cam that has infrared LEDs that provide illumination in completely dark areas. (You need to have some level of lighting, and the more the better). Still, I think it's better in low light that some other IP cams.Cam supports wired Ethernet AND 802.11n (Draft) WiFi. 802.11n is better for supporting multiple cameras (but see negative below).Works very well with (3rd party) BlueIris softwareThe camera can time stamp the video with the current time/date. It can also display any text on the video (such as location etc) that you enter)The user manual PDF is very well written and goes into technical details that other manufacturers leave out (such as CGI commands to control the camera without using the web interface).Very reliable, especially with a wired connection. I run these 24/7 without having to periodically reset cams, which is a problem that seems to plague other IP cams.Unlike some other cams this one has an integrated infrared lens filter, which means that outdoor images will have correct colors.The status page indicates the current interface in use (WiFi or Ethernet). Some other cams do not indicate what the current interface is, and this is useful info for troubleshooting/diagnostics.Negatives:There does not seem to be a way to manually focus the camera lens. If you have stuff going on more than a few feet away you will not see details!The power adapter cord is way too short! The cord SHOULD be at least 10-12 feet long. I never understand why manufacturers always give you a short cord - do they feel that you always have a power outlet where you want to place a cam?I don't like the mounting bracket. Two screws (NOT INCLUDED - why?!) must first be screwed into the mounting surface and the mounting bracket slides into the screws and held by friction or gravity (depending on mounting position). This is in contrast to other cam mounts which must be screwed down and are unremovable without tools (this one isn't). In addition it is too easy for anyone to move the cam's position by hand. Also the mount makes the cam stand out more (more noticeable). There should be a cardboard template included to make it easier to drill the mounting holes for the screws (they must be spaced apart correctly otherwise the bracket will not fit). Also the design of the mount makes it impossible for the cam to mount against a vertical surface (side of bookshelf) and show a straight level display, because the side of the cam bumps into the base of the mount.This cam is labeled as using draft 802.11n technology and features 1 internal antenna (according to the datasheet). For maximum range and speed 802.11n uses MIMO which requires multiple antennas. This may explain why the range may not be as good as it could be.The cam's web interface should feature a WiFi scan feature which also displays all detected SSIDs, channel # and % signal level (so you can get an idea of signal strength and channels in use by other routers). Trendnet WiFi IP cams have this feature and it's a VERY useful one. It's disappointing that other manufacturers don't include this feature.The image options web page allows brightness/sharpness to be set, but it doesn't display the image at the same time so you can observe changes.The webpage "Live Video" displays video only using MJPEG, not MPEG. Other cameras (such as Trendnet) allow selection of video type. This does not mean that the camera only supports MJPEG but that's all you can get via the default webpage).The camera is supposed to get current time by NTP protocol but this seems to be broken - the cam's status log indicates "NTP: Failed to synchronize data & time with the NTP server". Unlike other cams you cannot change the NTP server and it is not even displayed so I have no idea what the problem is. This could be a big deal if you are recording to a Samba server as the time&dates will be wrong!Comments on other reviewer's problems:"Range problems" - WiFi connections are tricky things, in that there are many factors to consider. Interference from other routers, distance/positioning of both router/cams, router firmware, cam firmware, MIMO capabilities of both, type of walls between router & cam etc. The only constant to reliable working WiFi is experimentation - sometimes another router or cam will work better in a given situation. Wired Ethernet gives the most reliable results but isn't always convenient. If the web interface displayed signal levels it would be easier to troubleshoot wireless problems. Also this camera should have 2 antennas for MIMO support.Overall I think this is a decent camera for the price (less than one one five). However many improvements that I've listed can be made via firmware so hopefully this camera will be improved. And how about a True 802.11n MIMO version of this camera?OCT2011 UPDATE: Just wanted to say a few more things. With regards to reliability these cams are rock solid with a WIRED connection. With a WiFi connection there have been a few times that the WiFi has "locked up" and the cam needed to be power reset. This seems to be related to distance from the router and I have seen it on the cams using WiFi that are located furthest. Like I mentioned above it's unfortunate that there is no sort of site survey that displays signal strength etc so you could troubleshoot this. Also, you may want to check out the  TRENDnet TV-IP602WN ProView Wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom Internet Surveillance Camera  as a more expensive alternative. Hope this review has been helpful!