Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit | List Price: $299.99
Discount Price: Too low to display
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Brand: Wilife Inc.
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Secure your home and small business with a professional-grade digital video surveillance system
- High-resolution color video with digital motion detection
- Monitor up to six cameras simultaneously with PC software
- View live video from anywhere, anytime
- Easier than wireless, just plug it in
Avoid. Poor software and worse reliability. [Posted on 2008-08-12]
I bought a two camera system a little over a year ago, and installed the software on a dedicated PC. I had problems with the signal until I moved the PC closer to the cameras; so I ended up with the computer in the garage and not in my office where I wanted it to be. When it worked it worked well, however the software would hang every two weeks or so, requiring a re-boot of the PC to recover. I upgraded the software, patched the PC, all to no avail. That was enough to make it irritating; but worse, at a little over a year old, both cameras failed within a few weeks of each other.
The power supply boxes for the camera always ran hot to the touch, so I am sure this was doing my utility bill no favors, and probably lead to their early demise.
Now I have two Linksys WVC54GCA cameras installed which work flawlessly. The low light performance is worse, but they have rock solid reliability and much better software than the Wilife junk.
In summary: avoid Wilife products like the plague.
Criminals Caught on Video [Posted on 2008-09-25]
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RX71XIUYTVJ0O I bought this system in late 2007 after my home was kicked in for the 8th time. This system provides excellent images and easy setup. I have never had a problem with my system so I bought an extra camera that I placed in my kitchen that faces the driveway. I also have an alarm system with ADT. On September 16th, three criminals are scene on my camera and when they noticed they were on video they ran then came back and kicked in my door and went straight to my computer and unplugged it and tried to trash it thinking this would remove them from the video. It didn't. From this camera, the video that was recorded helped the police find two of the three criminals and they were arrested on Sept. 19th. These criminals are of age and will be charged as adults and I will prosecute to the fullest extent. I believe these suspects were the ones who broke in my home before and I believe without WiLife these fools would still be kicking in people's houses.Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit
Stopped Working [Posted on 2008-10-15]
Generally unhappy with this system. It all started with the installation of the software. The 15 minute setup is not as advertised. In order to get the camera installed, I had to download a newer version of the software, which involved a call to their technical line. Once I got it working, it worked for about two days and then abruptly stopped recording motion. In addition, I was unable to access the camera online. I called technical support and we reviewed my setup. According to them, everything was setup properly. For some reason the camera would not arm to detect motion. The representative elevated it to a higher level and promised to have someone get back to me in 24 hours which never happened. I also sent two diagnostic files to them. Finally after about a week they responded and basically said everything appeared to be fine. I returned the unit and am now looking for some other system. I am disappointed because this system has some very nice features.
Good product if you can live with the limitations; aggrevating $80/year extra charge for certain options [Posted on 2008-11-20]
This kit consists of an indoor camera/transmitter, a USB receiver for your PC and software. I'm a PC expert, but a security system novice. Here are my observations:
Setup:
Setup requires the following steps:
1) Find a place to mount the indoor camera. It must be within 10 feet of a power outlet, no exceptions. Mount the camera, plug it in the wall.
2) Load the software on your PC. The PC must be running Windows XP (any variety) or Vista. The installation is relatively painless.
3) Plug the receiver module into the wall and connect the receiver to your PC via USB.
Comments:
A) The requirement that the camera be within 10 feet of a wall outlet will create issues for some. It certainly did for me: There was no convenient outlet near the front door, which is where I would have preferred to mount the camera. (Remember that even if you have a convenient outlet, the cord is only 10 feet long, and you may not want the cord draped along the floor or whatever). As a result, I mounted the camera on the second floor to look down on the entryway porch--not my favorite choice, but good enough for now.
B) Because this system uses power-line ethernet (it uses the power lines in your home to do the networking), it is subject to the standard bugaboos of that approach, namely the connection can become flakey if you use certain appliances on your line (hair dryers are bad, for example), and the quality of the connection can also vary depending on where the transmitter and receiver are relative to the wiring.
C) The installation was relatively painless, but does require reboots and downloads to update the software.
D) You should plan for the PC to which you attach the receiver to be on 24/7, or at least at any time you want the camera system to work. If you expect to use this as a security monitoring system when you are gone, I would strongly recommend you put your PC on a good quality uninterruptable power supply (note that the receiver unit MUST be plugged directly into the wall, not the UPS, so if your power goes out, you will NOT get any camera feed until power is restored. But at least if your PC is on a UPS, transmission can start up again automatically when the power is restored).
Use:
Pros:
1) I was surprised at the good quality image I was getting from the camera, given the inexpensive nature of this kit and the relatively low light in the area to which it was pointed. Thumbs up.
2) The control software is relative easy to use. Thumbs up.
Cons:
1) This kit promises you can view your camera's output remotely. To me, that was probably the coolest thing. You could be in another city and keep an eye on your home. HOWEVER, it turns out that the only thing you can do without spending more money is watch the camera real-time. You can adjust the camera, and you can't review the video that your camera has captured remotely without paying $80/year to unlock additional features. I hate hidden cost software unlocks that are required to obtain the full usefulness of a product. This, in my opinion, pushes this kit down a full star (at least) in usefulness.
2) No sound. I am not sure why I expected this kit to capture sound, and I am not even sure if it matters, but it was disappointing to discover that the camera is video only. I consider this a minor nit.
Overall, I found that this kit exceeded my expectations in terms of the quality of the video that it captures, but that the powerline networking (with the limitation of a 10 foot power cord for the camera) and the $80 unlocking fee before remote operation is useful considerably reduce my overall happiness with the device. If they were to introduce a camera that used standard 802.1g wireless networking (either battery operated or capable of using a longer power cord), that would considerably increase the usefulness of the camera. If they would also stop with the $80 fee and just include all the features with the package (even if the package was priced higher), that could address the second issue.
the good, the bad and the ugly [Posted on 2008-12-28]
My husband and I have had this system for over a year now with two outdoor cameras. We found that there were only certain electrical outlets in our old farmhouse where the cameras would work, but we were able to live with this limitation. The system was easy to set up, and the software functions as advertised. The cameras actually function very well in low light situations, and the picture produced at dusk or dawn looks like daylight. The e-mail alerts are a nice feature, and with this system we are able to see everything from the UPS delivery guy to every person walking down our streets. I believe that having these cameras prominently mounted outside our house, along with some outdoor signage, have been a crime deterrent.
When we first bought this setup, the company would allow you to view your video feed remotely via their website. Since then this free feature has disappeared, and it only available through their $80 annual subscription. This subscription also includes the offsite saving of all your video feeds. I've often thought of paying for this, as having video of the guy breaking into your house might not be so great if said footage is on the hard drive of the computer that he subsequently stole.
From time to time, the video feed from one of the cameras has been "lost" and we had to rediscover the signal via the software or reboot the computer... not a big issue. However, a few weeks ago, the first purchased camera began to act flaky (we suspect it overheated, as it would stop working, and would function again for a little while if it was left unplugged for a day). Since we had owned the camera for less than a year, the company agreed to send us a replacement. Unfortunately this process, between the e-mails back and forth and shipping (you need to send the old camera back), ended up taking several weeks, during which time we were without a camera. The new camera works well. Perhaps I will check back here in a year and see how the replacement is faring! The packing on the new camera appears to be different than the original camera, so it is possible that the model may have been updated.
Unfortunately, a few weeks after the first camera died, the 2nd one also expired, and I am currently trying to get the company to replace this one as well. Having two of these cameras die approximately a year after their purchase is troublesome, in the least. The cameras are cheaper than some (but not all!) IP camera options. Is it worth the initial $ savings in the long run if you have to replace them after only a year? I was on the verge of purchasing more cameras (and even the $80 premium package from the company), but after seeing that the hardware is not lasting for the long haul, I am very reluctant to proceed. We have augmented our home security setup with an actual alarm system, and this is but one component in this system. Our home security system has an option of adding cameras to the monitoring, and I may switch to another manufacturer of cameras if we continue to have issues with this system.
If we did not have problems with the hardware, I would have given this system 4 out of 5 stars.
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