Design
The hardware itself is rather large -- you certainly won't find it easy to
use this kit for clandestine surveillance. With its antenna extended above the
camera itself, the device is a shade under 30cm tall. If you use a stand instead
of wall-mounting the camera, this adds around 13cm of depth.
Keeping the camera secret is also hampered by the bank of LEDs indicating
various aspects of its operation, and by the mains cable (rechargeable cells are
not practical for a device you may want to leave unattended for weeks at a
time). The lens projects from the case and can be swivelled up and down, and
left and right, providing a good viewing range from a fixed location.
The camera captures sound as well as video, while the built-in microphone at
the front has a range of around three metres. There's a microphone jack if you
want to use a wired alternative to get closer to your quarry.
The only other feature of note in design terms is an LED screen that
indicates the camera's IP address, and whether this is fixed or dynamic. This
information may come in handy if you need to troubleshoot the camera.
Features
We first set the camera up on a wired (Ethernet) connection to our ADSL
router (it does not need to connect directly to a PC), and subsequently ran it
in wireless mode too. The colour image was sent with minimal delay to a viewing
application on a network-connected notebook. Effectively we were able to watch
near-live video, with sound, from any location within our Wi-Fi network range --
and beyond that range with a cable connection.
Our 54Mbps 802.11g network delivered enough bandwidth, and the colours
delivered by the camera were nice and sharp.
The software that Linksys provides for viewing live feeds can capture video
at scheduled times, and you can record manually as well as taking still
snapshots. If you don't want to use the provided software for viewing video, or
it is not installed on each of the PCs within wireless network range, then
Internet Explorer will do fine. In any case, you need to access the camera
via a Web browser if you want to interact in any way with its on-board
software.
This software's functionality includes adjusting the image quality (there are
15 resolutions and quality settings ranging between 160 by 120 to 640 by 480),
changing the red green and blue colour ratios, time and date stamping images,
and asking the camera to automatically send an email alert if it detects
motion.
If you want to be able to view the camera's feeds from beyond your network,
you need to set up the SoloLink DDNS service that Linksys provides. This is a
subscription service, and the first yearssub is already paid for.
Performance
The Linksys Wireless-G Internet Video Camera performed well. Setting it up on
our network was straightforward, although newcomers to wireless networking may
find the manual a little difficult to follow if they encounter hitches.
Image quality is pretty good when the camera is focussed indoors, but when
pointed outside in gathering darkness it becomes clear that this is not a useful
device for night-time surveillance.
We like to be able access some of the camera settings via Linksys's viewer
software instead of via a Web browser. Using the Web browser to change image
resolution, adjust colour balance and set up email alerts seems a little
long-winded. Still, the viewer's simplicity could be preferable in situations
where access to the camera is shared.
Some users may find it irritating that you can't adjust the focus remotely,
or move the lens. The 57-degree field of view is not particularly wide, and it's
inevitable that some action will happen off-camera at some point.
