Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys WVC11B Wireless-B Video Camera

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I bought this camera to view activities in a datacenter. While the packaging specified compatibility with various Windows platforms it did not make it clear that the image can ONLY BE VIEWED FROM WINDOWS PLATFORMS USING IE. So, the center managers Solaris box could not view the image and my MacOS X workstation could not view the image. When I viewed the image from a Win2000 box the quality was horrible, very grainy even in a well lit area. I have ended up connecting an Apple iSight to one of the rackmounted XServes in the center and using getting a much higher quality image for considerably less money. I really expected better of Linksys. One star is being kind.

I really tried to like this webcam, but it's just too finicky. For instance, everytime my ISP flickers and I wind up with a new IP address, the camera has to be restarted. I'm sure there's a work-around, but I cannot stomach the thought of even 1 more minute on the phone with the Linksys support folks this year (they're nice enough though).
The image quality is not great, and the focus ring is a joke. There is of course no automatic iris adjustment, so while it's set to record comings and goings through the front door, there's an amazing sunburst effect on the recording anytime anyone opens the door. Also, it needs full ambient light to see anything, so I basically need to leave the foyer lights on 24-7 to make it useful.
I had planned on using 3 of these to monitor all the entryways, but I think it's just not practical.

I just bought this, but sent it back. It is easy to install but it has very bad image quality and instable operation. I have to restart the camera every second day or so as it seems to hang. The support people at Linksys (after 45 minutes on hold!) said that his was a known problem, but that there will be a free of charge update coming out. Yeah right. Not suitable for remote montitoring or security, in other words, but fun to carry around in the house and play with.
Instead I bought a AXIS 205 camera which at the same price has better image quality, twice the resolution and is STABLE. No wireless yet though...

I really wanted to like this camera. Make sure your store accepts returns.
Router- Excellent
Camera-Awful
Router Software - Pretty good
Camera Software -Barley any features

The picture is like looking thru a glass of soup.

Indoors is dark and murky most detail is lost. Pointing outside, all is a white wash. It was not meant for outside anyway.

Must use Internet Explorer to view from internet. Uses an Active X control. Not Java.

The software is very limited. You can only do a couple of things - email or record a video. Does not store or send snapshots. I did not bother testing motion detect. as it can't see much anyway. You can make a couple of color adjustments and motion sensetivity adjustments.

The networking works fine, but you have to reboot the camera after changing settings- instructions did not say this- hours of frustration.

Wait a year for this technology to become usable.

Nov 2003 I wrote the 1st review on this camera. Finally, June-July 2004, there is a Firmware upgrade to Ver 2.13 which NOW solves the problem relating to brightness control. Now, the DSN service isn't working for me. Still a bunch of fun, and neighbors love to watch their houses. mikebairdcam.com

I like this product a lot, despite some problems.
The brand new Linksys WVC11B Wireless-B Internet Video Camera is an amazing little product. The reputation of Linksys (now owned by Cisco) is number one in my book. Every component in my home network is Linksys -- cable modem, router, switches, print servers, etc., including the new Linksys WAP54G Wireless-G Access Point purchased in part just to accommodate this camera... so it was natural that I'd wait for Linksys to produce and purchase a "Webcam" that was wireless and contained its own web server. The 802.11x protocol is 'b,' but I wish they had used the more modern 'g' standard.

The camera installed without major problems, although I did download and burn in newer firmware (to V2.05, then to V2.10) to see if things might improve. I also had to update the firmware on my two-year old "wired" Linksys BEFSR41 Router in order to get the menus necessary to poke a port open to the outside world.... easily done.

The biggest almost fatal problem is that the picture it too bright when the camera is pointed outside. I tried setting the image brightness to manual, and had to turn it all the way down to 0 on a scale of 0-64, and even then I taped a pair of sunglasses over the lens to make the picture more visible. The automatic brightness feature is useless outdoors. This is the biggest fault of this unit. Inside the house, the camera seems to work fine. I'm hoping future firmware upgrades will correct this flaw... as of 12-03 there have been no firmware upgrades above V2.10. My final solution has been to tape two sunglass polaroid lenses over the lens, and flip either one or both down depending on how sunny the day is - argh!

The Linksys/Cisco Sololink service to manage a domain for users with dynamic IP addresses at home works well. I liked the included free 90 day trial well enough after the first day to purchase a two-year subscription for about $40.

I wanted to mount the unit on a tripod so I could easily aim the camera at different points, but there is no camera mount. You can either place the camera in a little stand (included) that sits on any flat surface, or you can hang the unit anywhere you are willing to nail in two nails (like a picture hanger).

For the price (sub $200) this unit can't be beat. As expected, at this price range, you sacrifice remote-controlled pan and tilt, and the lens is of fixed-focal length, so there is not even any manual zoom. If you are like me, you will be pleased that you bought this unit, in that, for a low cost, you can experiment with a wireless video camera with its own built-in web server. You may soon be frustrated, however, that your camera can't "see" outside. To be fair, Linksys says that the camera is not to be USED outside, but why can't it even look throught the window at an outside scene?

Buying this unit is like buying your first inexpensive digital camera. At first you are amazed at what it can do, especially for the price... but, after you have some more experience, you begin thinking about how nice it would be to have higher-end features and better image quality.

First off, as others pointed out, if you a looking for a professional level camera for a business or real security, this is not it. Among other limitations, it only supports 4 active video connections, no sound, no remote pan/scan movement, no autofocus, limiting software, and most important the picture quality is only so-so.

But for a gadget guy like me who can't resist a stand-alone wireless video camera to play around with, it works great!

The stand-alone part means it has it's own little web server built in, so once you get it up and running, you don't have to leave your PC on. Anybody can connect to it with the limit being needing to use Internet Explorer as the browser.

The installation was pretty painless; I uploaded the latest firmware from the linksys website, and it seems to work ok with minimal fuss.

The only thing I can't seem to get to work correctly (yet) is the sending of the alert e-mail when motion is detected (I think it doesn't like the format of my e-mail address and the name of my smtp server). Going to play around with that a little more before giving up.

The only other issue for me, is the video screen that gets shown in the browser is not customizable - it's basically a big logo for Linksys and Cisco with your video in the middle.

But as a toy/gadget to play around with it works great.

Linux user? Mac user? Netscape, Opera, Mozilla, Firefox user? Go away. Linksys does not want you. This unit is advertised as an 'Internet Video Camera'. It should be called a Microsoft Video Camera. You can only view the streaming video in Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser (it uses an OCX plugin). No other browser will work. If you use windows and one of the many other newer, more up to date and still actively developed web browsers, the only way you can view the video from the camera is to install the Linksys viewer/recorder software on the PC. Pretty much defeats the purpose of being able to view the video from any computer on the Internet at any time (like say from work or an Internet Cafe or even a friends house.)

Executive Summary  The Linksys Wireless - B Internet Video Camera (WBIVC) is a compact, network connected camera with promise.  The combination of camera, web server, and wireless integration into a single platform is highly appealing for installation flexibility and cost savings.  However, the WBIVC fails to deliver reliable remote connectivity with a platform failure (cold boot to resolve) occurring about every three days.  This could easily eliminate the product as a selection for users who wish to leverage network connected cameras as a security monitoring device during weekend getaways, jaunts to the Islands, or extended sabbatical travels.  Rated Don't Buy 

Pros 
> Integrated camera, web server, and wireless into a single platform.  This is an exciting combination because most network connected cameras require the camera and web server to be connected to an unintegrated, expensive 3rd party wireless base station for connectivity to a remote wireless access point.  The additional hardware will easily extend the entry price point from $200 to $300+ 
> The docking stand is sturdy and has exceptional wire management built-in to the base.  The actual wire management scheme reminds me of a wall mounted telephone where RJ cables slither through S turns holding the cables in place
> Input plugs to the camera are easy to reach while being connected to the camera and clearly marked for input type, for example, power and LAN
> Four green LED lights indicate Ready, Activity/Link, LAN, and Wireless status
> Software installation from CD ROM was straightforward and similar to other network connected cameras, for example, AXIS 205 
> Image refresh rate is sufficient while on the same local network mirroring live versus image with an unnoticeable delay 

Cons
> The camera's quality is poor in low light conditions producing distorted pixels and grainy output, for example, an indoor room with no lights on with sufficient sunlight produces blurred images
> The camera's manual adjustments (left to right, up and down) are flimsy and have me concerned one more adjustment may break the camera free of the base station
> The camera's manual focus adjustments had no real impact on the viewable image
> During the camera's configuration, Linksys defaults to port 8282 and does not provide a sufficient means of making a port reassignment after configuration has been complete.  This could become problematic if multiple WBIVC's were installed on a single network
> Green LED light for Activity/Link does not change color indicating the WBIVC has disconnected from the network when in fact it has.  This gives a false sense of security everything is okay when in fact the WBIVC is offline and requires a cold boot
> The image's text indicating time and a personal message is limited to a small number of characters, single lined, and unreadable.  You would be better off not using this feature altogether
> When accessing the camera from a browser, it is difficult knowing which URL to share with users of the camera.  When accessing by IP Address alone, 192.168.0.x, one is presented with a Linksys welcome screen with a number of options to select from.  This would be very confusing for a new user to network connected cameras, for example, a grandparent

All of my network products are Linksys & I probably will continue to use them b/c of the exceptional customer support. This product is a great idea but it doesn't function as you would expect. The video frequently freezes & then when it continues you see some of what you missed in a sort of fast foreward mode untill it catches up. I wanted to set this up for a friend to use as a nanny cam. It is really unuasable for this. B/c of the freezing & speeding up it would be hard to tell if the nanny was playing with the children or abusing them. Additionally, the video does freeze... sometimes more than a minute at a time.
I used it with a Linksys B router. I will probably upgrade it to G or N soon but I thought that this camera would probably funtion about the same as Linksys' G Network cam b/c even B-wireless is faster than my cable internet connection. I haven't tried the G yet, but I expect it is more stable (b/c G-networking is more stable).
Really only usable as a toy in my opinion.

I recently picked this IP camera up for cheap. I wanted to compare it to some other options for a home security thing I'm working on and then, ultimately, send it on to my folks in FL. Anyway, it says right on the box that it will only work in Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. Fine. Most products that say that ultimately *do* work in other browsers (MAC's Safari for example), but the manufacturer, for whatever reason, don't want to support other browsers. But I suspected that might not be the case with this unit since video playback (especially live streaming) is very platform-centric and would probably not work on the Mac. But, since I do have PCs here as well, and this will eventually end up in a completely PC household, I figured I'd give it a shot and see what's what.
As has been my experience with most Linksys products, setup was quick and relatively straightforward. And no, it wouldn't work on anything besides WinXP or Win2K running IE6.0. Linux with Mozilla - nope. OS-X 10.3.7 with Safari - nope. OS-X with Internet Explorer - nope. Okay, I expected as much. BUT, I figured I'd drop a line to Linksys to see if they had any future plans to support other browsers. This is where 'Amabelle Jao' joins our story. Below is the transcript from our online chat:

Jao, Amabelle: Hi, my name is Jao, Amabelle. How may I help you?
Ed: Hi. I was wondering if you had any plans for making the WVC11B work with any Mac browsers (specifically, OSX10.3x-Safari)?
Jao, Amabelle: it will only work for IE 5.5 and up
Ed: I know that, but do you know if anything for the Mac is planned or in the works?
Jao, Amabelle: we don't have any updates yet on for macintosh
Jao, Amabelle: because its not supported
Ed: I *know* it's not supported, that's why I'm asking if it will be supported at some time in the future.
Jao, Amabelle: it will only work for IE 5.5 and up
Jao, Amabelle: not on macintosh
Ed: You mentioned 'yet' for the macintosh, so does that mean that you may in the future, or that you don't know?
Jao, Amabelle: it will only work for IE 5.5 and up
Ed: Jao, I was kind of hoping for a yes or no answer...
Jao, Amabelle: i want a pony for christmas

And on it went for another hour or so without becoming any clearer than it was in the first 30 seconds...

Linksys, good products, stupid support people.

Anyway, for what it is (an entry-level IP wireless camera), it does a good job. The video is pretty bad and you'd be hard pressed to get a prosecutable image with it, but for seeing whether or not someone is in the backyard or if the kids are watching tv, then it's fine.

The included software works okay, but is rather clunky. I've also experienced inconsistent performance from the automated recorder program.

I'm going to check out the D-Link wireless IP camera as I've heard that it uses Java and WILL work on any Java-enabled browser. SO, if you just want a toy-thing to play around with and you exclusively use a Windows box with Internet Explorer, then this is your boy. Otherwise, I can't recommend.