D-Link DVC-1100 Wireless Broadband VideoPhone 802.11b, 22Mbps | List Price: $249.99
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Brand: D-Link
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - Turns Any TV into a Broadband Videophone
- No PC required for operation--stands alone
- Up to 30 frames per second for smooth video
- Up to 22 Mbps data transfer speeds
- Remote control included
Caveat emptor [Posted on 2005-09-09]
Having spent hundreds of dollars now on trying to make this gadget work--and the jury is still out--all I can say is, you are on YOUR OWN for installing and using this piece of equipment. The customer service kids read the manual to me over the phone, the manual I was holding in my own hand. The sales people gave me no information whatever about what is required to make this product work, that is, until after I'd bought it, with no possibility of returning it. Make sure you have a TV that accepts input, a wireless router that you can open ports to (not possible with the service I have), etc. I'm sure there will turn out to be just a few more things I don't know!
So far, a real disaster.
Just OK [Posted on 2005-10-03]
I brought this device because I needed to communicate with my school. I am working on an advanced degree and often I'm not in the area when classes are in session. I was told to buy a H323 (if you don't know what that is don't worry) compatible device so that could communicate with the rest of the university. I shopped around and this was by far the cheapest. I brought this device and when I went to set it up the next month, the IT department when crazy. They wouldn't let me use this device because of all of the problems that they had with Dlink products in the past - this one in particular. I ended up buying a ViaVideo II by Polycom and gave this one to my parents.
Let me start by saying that even though they show how simple this is to configure, if you do not know how to open up ports in your firewall/router you should not by this product. Furthermore, must people have dynamic IP address so that when you call someone, it will not be the same number every time. If you do not know how to find your IP address this is not a product for you. I use a dynamic forwarding website and place the camera in the DMZ so that there are no firewall issues. I also turn of the camera when not in use, but there are no configurable items without the remote control so there is no hacking issue. If you don't understand this paragraph then this not a product for you. It is possible for someone to set this up for you, router, ports, dynamic DNS, and all and then you will just need to know the IP address of the person that you are calling.
The video on this device is much better then a web cam, but I was very disappointed by the resolution. It is nice not to have to be tied to your computer to make a video call. You can use the wireless version of the product or using a wireless bridge and buy the cheaper version without wireless and the video will be about the same.
All together, it is nice to use the product without have to use the computer, but for a much better picture, the Via Video II beats this product hands down.
Poor resolution, not reliable, and poor customer service [Posted on 2006-01-10]
I was disappointed with the image resolution once I get over the hurdle of setting it up. Even worse is when the image capture component stopped working in less than 1 year. When I finally mananaged to get around to figure out what was really failing (why no video), it's past the 1 year warranty, and when contacting D-Link Customer Service/Support, I was told that my only option is to buy another (no repair possible). You think? I vow to NOT waste my time and money again with any D-Link product given such a rip-off experience.
Poor framerate, tricky setup [Posted on 2006-07-14]
(I'm cross posting this to both DVC-1000 and DVC-1100 product description pages.)
I really wanted to like this gadget, but I've ultimately been disappointed. The idea is COOL, being able to see your family and carry on a FREE Internet phone conversation with them, and the price is much less than other videophone solutions out there. Alas, there are a few problems still to be worked out with this device.
Here's the saga of trying to just get the device to work with my network setup. I tried calling Dlink (the i2eye manufacturer), Linksys (for my router setup), Comcast (broadband connection) and SunRocket (VOIP) for support on this issue. I eventually got the device to work connecting to my parents' wireless version of the i2eye (which I setup through a USR wireless broadband router by opening the required ports) by connecting my i2eye (the wired ethernet version) directly to my cable modem (without my Linksys broadband router or SunRocket VOIP box in the equation). I then tested various configurations until I was able to determine that the Linksys router (model WRTGS) was not forwarding ports correctly (I HAD properly configured port forwarding). Linksys tech support tried but failed to help me out. I swapped routers with my girlfriend who had a Dlink router and the problem went away (after also configuring port forwarding). Would have been nice if Dlink could have told me when I called them for support that my router wasn't compatible with their device (though it's possible that my Linksys router has a "broken" port forwarding feature). I also had to forward ports through my VOIP box which the SunRocket tech support people quickly told me how to do. So I eventually got the damn thing working after a month and a half of trying. Of course that is two weeks after the standard return policy of ANTonline expires (who I bought the device from through Amazon).
Now to performance. Even when the i2eye is connected directly to my broadband cable modem my framerate never rises above 5 frames per second. That's both for the transmitted and received data stream. (On my parents' end I have to connect wirelessly through their wireless router as their TV is too far from their cable modem.) I've tried tweaking the "speed" settings on the i2eye to adjust the amount of data the device is configured to send and receive, but I never got an improvement. Dlink advertises that you can get up to 30 frames per second using a high quality broadband connection (like mine and my parents'). I haven't tested my broadband connection's total upload and download speed because I simply don't know how (probably need some third party utility program). Regardless I SHOULD be getting at least 500kbps upload speed and at least 1Mbps download speed (at both mine and my parent's end) as that is typical of cable broadband connections. Also the image quality from the i2eye's "lens" and CCD is horrendous. The brightness, contrast and general overall "sharpness" of the image is lousy. That's simply not acceptable. You can get better framerates (along with much better image quality) from a good webcam using one of the "messenger" applications out there. Which is what I'm going to explore doing next.
I'm going to attempt to return the devices now (both mine and my parents' i2eye) through ANTonline and Amazon with the argument that the i2eye devices don't perform as advertised and that I'm "late" returning them because of the difficulty in testing the devices (you have to coordinate with the people at the other end of the connection to determine if your own configuration is working). I'll try to post an update to this review with the results of that attempt.
(Update: I was able to return the unit I bought from Amazon with few questions asked. I was NOT able to return the unit bought from ANTOnline and wound up selling it on EBay for half the price I paid for it. Lesson: if you have doubts but still want to try it, buy through Amazon.)
Unless they can improve framerate throughput through some kind of data compression technology upgrade, I can't recommend this device to anyone. Less critical improvements would be a better quality camera (and microphone) onboard and better support for setting up the devices (a dedicated i2eye server you can connect to test your i2eye configuration settings) including a list of supported and non-supported routers.
Hope this helps someone else avoid the headaches and hassles I've been subjected to by this device.
Andrew
D-Link DVC-1100 Video Phone Review [Posted on 2007-01-09]
My wife and I wanted to get a video phone that would enable us to talk with our DEAF daughter and son-in-law using sign language. They have a Sorenson video phone and we had experience with that. The D-Link DVC-1100 uses Sorenson video compression technology so we knew how it could work.
Many of the reviews I read almost dissuaded me from buying the wireless VP. However, I really wanted the flexibility of wireless if possible. The DVC-1100 comes with an Ethernet port so you can connect it with cable if you cannot get the wireless connection to work.
Based on several user reviews, I expected the setup to be difficult. However, setup was a snap. I attached the antennae and cables, plugged in the power, and used the setup wizard to get connected to my wireless network. Everything was ready to go in about 15 minutes. Our first call to our daughter and family went through without a problem and we were able to talk with them for over 45 minutes with no problems or disconnects.
This is not a high definition device but the resolution and picture size is a great improvement over web cam communication we've done in the past. We could see the entire family (2 adults, 3 kids) in the picture and still read and understand their signing.
The audio quality was surprisingly good. We could hear and understand our grandchildren and they could hear us. They are not DEAF like their parents so the audio was very important for them.
Our network and video setup:
Broadband provider: Comcast
Router: Belkin 8.11b/g Wireless with a firewall
Television: Standard 27 inch TV (Picture would probably be better on a smaller screen.)
Overall, we are pleased with the video phone so far and anticipate purchasing one for each of our other children so they can communicate with their older sister's family.
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