Linksys WVC54GC Wireless-G Internet Video Camera - Send live video to a web browser anywhere in the world!
Color - CMOS - Wireless Wi-Fi, Cable

For the price this is a good network camera. Not nearly the resolution of my Axis camera that cost 2 1/2 times as much, but adequate for my purposes. If you have some basic networking experience and understand routers and port forwarding the set up is pretty straight forward. The major negative for me is that I primarily use Macintosh platform and this camera does not go out of its way to be Mac friendly. You can only view the video from a Windows based Internet Explorer browser with ActiveX capabilities. But I found a work around for viewing it on my Macs. I can view the video by using VLC.
 
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I got two of these to play with. My wife and I use one of them to watch the dog during the day. It was easy to setup and easy to get working over the Internet.
 
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I was attracted to this item by the sale price. It works as advertised. Configuring for access via the internet takes a little networking savvy. You need to set the unit to a static IP address on your network and then configure port forwarding on your router. The optics on the unit are not the greatest but appropriate considering the low cost. The desktop application that ships with the unit is crap. It was completely unstable at first in XP. Then I found a news group tip that said to set Windows compatibility to Windows ME/98 (really). It works now. Viewing via a browser is only compatible with Internet Explorer due to the need for installing an ActiveX plugin. If you use Firefox the only option is to use the IE tabs plug-in.
 
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Upon initial review, the cost seemed to be reasonable, but once I received the camera I realized that you get what you pay for. The most attractive selling point for me was the ability to access the camera remotely via the internet... I have still not been able to do so. The initial local set-up was a breeze, but gaining remote access has been seemingly impossible. I encourage all that are considering this item to carefully read the other reviews including the "Expert Review"; they are all very accurate.
 
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I bought two to monitor my sublet apartment while working. The initial setup is very easy and went well. The software to manage the cameras though is very slow and a pain to use. After two months I still haven't' found the time to waste to call up the service that's included (for one year free) that allows you to see the video over the internet. My Linkysys router does not let it through, but they assure me they can get it working if I call. Who has the time for all this crap? It should just work out of the box! The camera image is adequate but not great. Motion sensing too sensitive in my opinion - will send me email alerts when a cloud passes by and changes the light in the room a little. Hot zone adjustment function in the software just doesn't work. Not bad for basic monitoring, but a pain in the ass to use. Good for the price, I guess.
 
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The camera works. It has some nice features such as motion sensing recording. However, I purchased this camera for the sole purpose of monitoring my business from my home PC. Setting that up was (and still is) a complete pain. If you don't speak middle-eastern accent, do NOT even THINK about calling Linksys support. They're intelligible and unable to assist you in actually fixing any setup issues you have. Getting an open port through my Belkin router is nearly impossible which renders this purchase nearly a complete waste of money. Linksys, of course, will only assist you with opening a port on a Linksys router, not any other brand (go figure). So if you are technical wizard, I'm sure this camera is a fantastic value. If you are a semi-normal, albeit intelligent human being, not so much. The image is not top notch and the low light image is just black. Useless if the thief doesn't turn ALL the lights on. Not recommended.
 
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Set-up was a pain as the camera/software did not like my Motorola gateway modem. The effective wireless range of this device is ridiculously small. Presently it sits about 25' from the wireless router, with signal having to pass though 2 windows and part of a wall - NO SIGNAL. And I have a 15 db Hawking antenna booster on my wireless router! The only time this camera has worked properly is when it was wired direct or sitting within 4' of the router. In short, this camera is a disappointment.
 
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I normally don't write reviews but I'm writing this one because this is one cool and useful product. I just love it when something installs first time as per the instruction w/o fiddling. We have a foster dog in the basement we want to keep an eye on. Bada Bing, it's installed - we can check in w/o disturbing him. Totally cool.
 
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good camera, for basic viewing. Over 10 feet away picture is grainy. Would be better if had sound. Large block design makes it hard to hide. Is wireless but you need power cord to plug in which makes it harder to hide. No night vision. Having the IP connection from anywhere is the best feature.
 
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Let me say this is my first web camera and my expectations were high. Installation was not easy. I connected the camera to my D-Link router and -NOTHING-. I could not ping the camera. I have seen this problem with other net connected devices, so I connected directly from my PC to the camera. After several power off-on attempts I was able to connect and set the unit up. Once the unit was configured to work on my router, I reconnected my PC to the router and accessed the camera in a wireless manner only to discover that I could not use my web browser to access the camera. I placed a call to Linksys and after a short wait (really), I described my problem to the support person. He was initially baffeled, however after 10 or so minutes of tweeking, the solution was obvious: The camera requires ActiveX plugins to run and WON'T WORK with FIREFOX! OK, so for once, my refusal to use Explorer has "burned" me. The unit works with Explorer, not Firefox even after installing the ActiveX add-ons for Firefox. On to features, quality, usefulness, etc... This is the cheapest wireless net camera I could find and I think I got what I paid for. There is no zoom, pan nor tilt, not that I expected any. The resolution is so-so. I don't have a way to objectivly quantify it, except to say, you can't read a license plate at 20 feet. The compression is so heavy that the screen has crawlies on stationary images as well as distinct pixelation in areas. I would put it on par with the images you see on TV of bank and convenience store robberies. I expected more, after all those surveilence systems are decades old, right? The range of the wireless connection was not what I expected either. My house is not wireless friendly, but I couldn't get this unit to work outside of my office. I tried in 3 locations varying in distance from 20 to 30 feet. None of the other locations would work eventhough my laptop works from all of the very same locations. All those negatives said, I am using the unit, and, most importantly, given the right situation, I would purchase more of these. Just be aware that budget purchases yield budget performance.
 
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I have several different Linksys cameras and this one does a nice job for wireless use. The downside is you have to reenter your user name and password each time to view the camera (unlike the other Linksys cameras) but overall it is a good value for the money. The Sololink system works well with the cameras but takes some getting used to over time.
 
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Very easy to use and operate once you get it setup. (Linksys have to work on their quick setup instructions a little bit (as in put one in the first place) Good quality picture and frame rate for a network camera… I do wish they offer a little bit better resolution then 320x240 native. The software image enhanced resolution to 640x480 works well, but like any other digital zoom it degrades the picture quality dramatically. Don’t loss the enclosed CD with the setup and viewer/recorder application as its not available anywhere on the web!!! To save you some time figuring things out…. The default static IP address of the camera is 192.168.1.115 (this information is missing from the guide) and the default username/password is admin.
 
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Regarding buy.com: This is second order I purchased from buy.com. Always came in on time with low prices. Thanks, buy.com. I always shopped at a store to "touch-and-feel" the product but now, I can safely shop online at buy.com. Have not returned any product to buy.com yet so don't know about their RMA process. It'll happen to me some day, and I'll let you know. Regardng the product: Great product for the price. Setup is somewhat "painless" just like any Linksys wireless product. See below. A bit confusing on the sololink process but figured it out. Recommend the product only with lights on (as product intended). Don't expect to use it when the lights are out because you will see a dark screen, period. Sololink is cool because it is DDNS. You don't have to remember the IP address and port number. It's like 2 bucks a month so it's painless in your pocket. As a matter of fact, I'm using this product for my commercial business. Good luck, and don't call me. Call Linksys for support. Product deserves a 5 (the best). FYI, during initial installation, I recommend you "live chat" with a Linksys support to walk you through because the user guide does not have sufficient info to set it up. Easier this way. And good luck.
 
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This camear is the lowest price I can find on the makret today with 802.11g and 802.3 10/100 connectivity. The setup is pretty straightforward. It did not come with any printed documentation. That's why I dropped 1 point at ease of use area. The only thing that I looked up from the documentation was the default IP address and admin password of this thing. Once that's found, the rest of the installation was very straightforward. Featurewise, this device supports 802.3 wired network connection and 802.11g wireless with WEP and WPA personal. The 802.3 connection is needed for initial setup. After I setup the wireless SSID and WPA, I unlug the 802.3 and reboot the camera, everything works as expected from there on. I've also enabled the UPnP. The cool thing with that was the device appeared on My Network folder as a camera device. Open it from the Network folder brought me to the web page where I click the video and installed the ActiveX. This is exactly what I needed and it performs to what it is expected. If you do not use a Linksys router, you might run into difficulty finding this device initially. But don't blame the device. You need to know how subnet works.
 
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