Customer Reviews

Linksys Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(39)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The camera itself it not that bad. The design is ok. It's about like most typical Linksys products: ok documentation (but not great), so-so user interface but generally gets the job done. Initial setup is only mildly frustrating (the camera could not initially communicate with my Linksys router, which you'd think they might test back at the lab...) The fatal flaw with this camera is the SoloLink DDNS service. If you're not familiar with DDNS, it basically allows you to hook up the camera to your router and then assigns a domain name so that you can view the camera from any location by typing in an easy-to-remember domain name in a browser. I bought this camera to watch my house while on vacation. The service worked for about five minutes on the first day of the trip and then never worked again. Perhaps they will fix the service (is it a bandwidth issue?) but as of 9/06, it's horrible and I would stay away. On top of all that, you have to pay for this service. The box doesn't mention this, except if you read the small print where it says something like "free trial of SoloLink DDNS". You cannot use any other DDNS service...

If you plan to sit on your couch and see what's going on in your dining room or if you just want a webcam to take your picture while your chatting on IM with your buddy, then this camera may be for you. However, if you plan to view the images from outside your home over the Internet, save your money and wait for improved technology. I should also mention that the image quality is not great. For the five minutes that I could actually view the image, I only managed to see some dark, jagged images of my living room. In a well-lit room, it's probably better.

Linksys products are usually high quality. This is sadly not the case with the WVC54GC Internet Video Camera. I just finished testing mine, and I'll be returning it tomorrow. I'd rate it zero stars if that was allowed.

Do NOT buy this product! I have tried several brands of standalone netcams and the image produced by this Linksys camera is by far the worst -- it is shockingly poor. Take a look at the "Customer Image" I've uploaded (click just below the main product image) and judge for yourself. The image was so blurry, I thought that perhaps I had forgotten to remove the protective cellophane covering the lens. No such luck. Any reviewer who says the image is OK does not have a clue what a decent video image should look like.

Also, this camera only supports remote viewing via Internet Explorer, under Windows, via an ActiveX control, which is a total joke. Forget about viewing your camera from anything but a Windows-based PC. Even if you're on a Windows PC, most public-access machines (say, a courtesy PC in an airport lounge) won't give you access since you'll be unable to download the ActiveX control required for viewing. Also, it has no audio support.

Save your money and buy a Veo Observer.

I'm amazed that Linksys could put out such a crappy product.
It's huge and the picture quality is incredibly poor.
The only way to use it is with IE 5.5+ or bad utility progra that comes with it. FireFox, Messengers and Skype won't work.
I wanted to use it to embed the picture in a web site.
The only way to do it is to pay them to host it for you. Wow!
I've asked for an API to write some software for it, but Linksys refused. Please, save your money.

DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA. I have come to know Linksys as a maker of quality products, but this camera shakes those thoughts.

My #1 disappointment is the software. We bought the camera to record motion detection. That works okay if you never reboot. Every time you reboot your PC you lose all those settings. Ridiculous!!!

Tech support is AWFUL. What a joke! Finally after two months, this is what they have to say: "We apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused you. Our Product Engineers have just released the product testing results, and this scenario can be attributed as software limitation; and as a result, Linksys no longer provides a fix for this issue. "

A "software limitation"! Who in the world wants to re-do the setup on software every time they reboot their PC. IT'S AN ABSOLUTE JOKE!

Linksys - I am very disappointed in you.

All the reviews have mentioned the pathetic res. and darkness of the picture from this cam. Now take that an multiply it by a hundred, it's that bad. It is a nightmare to set it up to access remotely ( the main reason I bought it was to view my house from work ) IF you turn on every light in the room, and it better be a bunch, you will be able to reconize that it is your room, but barely. I can't say enough about how horrible this cam is. It was however, fairly easy to setup. But comeon linksys.. you can do better than ActiveX. With an expired certificate at that. DO NOT waste your time and money on this.
It is the first product that i've purchased from Linksys that did not get a big thumbs up, very disapointed.

I bought this cam to be a nursery cam. I have it mounted over the crib looking down directly into the crib. As was mentioned previously the picture is not great and you do need a lot of light which means as a night time nursery cam it is worthless. No audio of course. I have a separate nursery monitor for that. It does not work with Vista. I have read where the WVC200 software when loaded on a Vista machine will work with this camera but I haven't tried it yet. I think it is a great idea but all in all the cam is just a hair above worthless.

This camera works only (ONLY!!!) with Windows PC computers. It doesn't work with UNIX, Linux, Mac OSX. It works with IE 5.5 and up. This is the only web browser allowed to work with it. You can't use Safari, Opera, Firefox... nothing. Windows and IE and that's all. So, if you or your clients own a Mac better check other products, because this one in not going to help you.