Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera

by Cisco

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 3.5 x 4 inches ; 4.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000DZM4TC
• Item model number: WVC54GC
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 26, 2008

Product Description

The Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera sends live video through the Internet to a web browser anywhere in the world! This compact, self-contained unit lets you keep track of your home, your kids, your workplace -- whatever's important to you. Unlike standard "web cams" that require an attached PC, the Internet Video Camera contains its own web server, so it can connect directly to a network, either over Wireless-G (802.11g) networking, or over 10/100 Ethernet cable. The advanced MPEG-4 video compression produces a high-quality, high-frame rate, up to 320x240 video stream. The Compact Internet Video Camera's unique form-factor and wireless connectivity allows you to mount it on a wall nearly anywhere, or slip it into its included stand for desktop use. Once it's connected to your home network, you can "see what it sees" from any Windows-based PC in the house, while the video stream is secured from the outside world, hidden behind your Router. If you want the video to be visible from outside your home network, you can open an appropriate port on the Router, and then create password protected accounts to manage access to the camera, or leave it wide open for the world to see. The SoloLink domain service (trial sign-up included) lets you access your camera using an easy-to-remember "name", even if your home Internet connection uses a dynamic IP address.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bigger than it looks., March 12, 2006

By 

N. Schweitzer (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera (Personal Computers)

The image quality of this camera isn't great, and as the other reviewer states, it needs lots of light. The resolution of the video is fairly poor, comparable to a very cheap 4-year-old webcam. If you need to see detail in the image (e.g. for certain security-camera purposes), then it will not work.

Another thing to note is that this camera is much bigger than it looks--it is about the size of your hand. I was hoping to squeeze it into a tight space, but the camera's size took me by surprise. It will be difficult to hide this camera if you are hoping to use it for hidden security purposes.

In sum, if you need a cheap camera that can sit out in the open and take low-detail video of a well-lit room, then this is your product. Otherwise, you should look for more professional (or wired) cameras.

98 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only ActiveX? Are you kidding?, July 10, 2006

By 

Christian Oliver "coliv77" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera (Personal Computers)

Linksys seems to be living in the last decade. This camera can only be observed remotely with an ActiveX capable browser, in other words, Internet Explorer.

What this means: NO Macintosh, NO Firefox, NO Flock...

To make it worse, the ActiveX control has an expired certificate, which means you can't install it without tweaking the default security settings in the browser.

Come on Linksys, you can do better!!!! How about Flash based video, or quicktime, or Windows Media Video? ActiveX is a thing of the past.

62 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Crippled webcam, November 3, 2006

By 

Arthur Balajthy "River Chaser" (Allentown, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera (Personal Computers)

I bought this based on my experiences with linksys products, but this is a piece of junk. It only works with activex with internet explorer, and only works over the internet with linksys' ddns service (free for ninety days and after that you pay for the life of the product). Doesn't work with IE7. Very sorry I bought it.