D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless-N Network Camera
D-LINK SYSTEMS WIRELESS N HOME NETWORK CAMERA 802.11NWIRELESS N HOME NETWORK CAMERA 802.11N Manufacturer : D-LINK SYSTEMS UPC : 790069342691
Stay connected to everything that you love 24/7 with the D-Link DCS-930L Wireless-N network camera, which is compatible with the mydlink portal (mydlink.com)–allowing you to easily and securely view and manage the camera from virtually anywhere over the Internet. With its small size and easy installation, the DCS-930L is a discreet and flexible way to check on your home, children, or pets in real time–even on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
Simply connect the cables, plug in the camera, run the short installation wizard and setup is complete. To view what the camera is seeing, simply log on to mydlink.com, choose your device, and start viewing–there is no need to configure your router to open up ports or remember hard-to-memorize Internet addresses.
Unlike a traditional USB-connected Webcam, the DCS-930L is a complete system with a built-in CPU and Web server that transmits high quality video images for security and surveillance directly to the network without the need for a PC. Simple installation and an intuitive Web-based interface offer easy integration with your Ethernet or Wireless-N (802.11n) wireless network.
Key Features
|
Convenient Access, Anywhere, Anytime
As a mydlink-enabled device, you can access the DCS-930L anytime, anywhere you have Internet access. Get peace of mind by keeping an eye on your kids, pets, home or office from almost anywhere by simply logging on to the mydlink Website and selecting your camera. Since the DCS-930L comes with a built-in microphone, you can see and hear for yourself that everything is well at home.
Camera Management
For advanced users who want more out of their camera, the DCS-930L also comes with D-Link D-ViewCam management software, which offers a host of features including the ability to record directly from the camera to a local hard drive, trigger motion detection, set recording schedules, set e-mail alert notifications. It even provides support for up to 32 cameras, so you can monitor an entire mansion.
D-ViewCam also allows you to upload a floor plan of your home or small business and create a realistic layout of where your cameras are located, providing you with better access to your camera. For even greater recording flexibility, you can record video directly to a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, eliminating the need for a dedicated computer to store video.
mydlink Makes It Easy
To make home monitoring a truly simple experience, D-Link created mydlink.com so you can access your live camera feed from any Internet-connected computer or mobile device, anytime. All mydlink-enabled cameras can be viewed and managed on your personal mydlink portal, so you can enjoy the freedom of remote monitoring on your terms.
Other members of the mydlink family of network cameras include the DCS-932L which also connects wired or wirelessly and includes night vision capabilities up to 15 feet in complete darkness.
Home Monitoring Goes Mobile
With the mydlink iPhone app, you can quickly and easily view your camera feed from anywhere with Wi-Fi or 3G connection. No more guessing what’s going on at your house while you’re away. Thanks to this app, you can monitor on-the-go… even if you don’t have access to a computer. Simply download the free mydlink iPhone app and you’re all set to see live video feeds or capture pictures to share with friends and family.
Getting Started Is Easy Think home surveillance is too difficult to set up? Think again. D-Link’s mydlink-enabled network cameras were designed to be installed by people just like you–not IT experts. You’ll be surprised how easily and quickly your network cameras will be up and running–ready to connect you to your home, ready to monitor what matters most, ready to deliver priceless peace of mind.
- Connect the camera to your existing Wi-Fi network.
- Run the short installation wizard on your PC.
- Log into mydlink.com to see and hear what’s going on in your home in real time–it’s that simple.
What’s in the Box
Wireless N Network Camera; CAT5 Ethernet cable; power adapter; camera base and mounting kit; quick installation guide; CD-ROM (with software and product documentation)
Specifications
- Video features: Adjustable image size and quality; time stamp and text overlay; flip and Mirror
- Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Mac OS X(v10.4)
- Web browser: Internet Explorer v6.0 or above, Firefox 3.5 or above, Safari 4, Chrome, Java
- Wireless connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wireless with WEP/WPA/WPA2 security
- Wired connectivity: 10/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
- Digital zoom: Up to 4x
- View angle: Horizontal — 45.3 degrees; Vertical — 34.5 degrees; Diagonal — 54.9 degrees
- Network protocol: IPV4, ARP, TCP, UDP, ICMP; DHCP Client; NTP Client (D-Link); DNS Client; DDNS Client (Dynds and D-Link); SMTP Client; FTP Client; HTTP Server
- Easily view & manage you camera from mydlink.com
- Sleek and compact design that fits in the smallest corners of your home
- Wireless connectivity
- Ready to use in 3 simple steps
- Works with the mydlink iPhone app for on-the go viewing
List Price: $ 119.99
Price:
5 Responses to “D-Link DCS-930L mydlink-Enabled Wireless-N Network Camera”
Does what it Says,
I purchased this camera to use as a cheep wireless IP webcam. It offers the ability to hook into your network either with the wireless WSP functionality or with an ethernet connection. It is fairly small with the camera being about the size of an iphone (maybe about 80% that size). The base allows for you to mount it in multiple settings, but be clear, this is a very simple design…not rocket science by any means. The ac power cord is about 4 feet long.
Setup: I ran into an issue when I was trying to set up the wireless connection. I could not get my camera and wireless router to talk at all. I called tech support (the free version) and they were useless. The rep had no clue about the specific devise and it is clear that he was just in a large call center that probably supports dozens if not hundreds of products. I had NO problem when I hooked it into my network via an ethernet cable. The set up application runs very nicely and easily gives you the option to select either wireless or wired set up as needed.
Back to my wireless problem. I decided that I would pay $32 for D-Links premium support for 30 minutes of help…I rolled the dice, as they do not guarantee they will fix your problem for your investment, but I had a feeling my issue was something simple with my network configuration…and I was right. The rep was great, she remoted into my pc, checked out my wireless settings on my router and determined that I had a bad character in my site name. None of my other wireless products had a problem with the character, but the D-Link cam did not like it. She changed the name of my wireless network, we restarted the router,and instantly the camera linked in wirelessly.
I am absolutely convinced that if I had not had a dash in my wireless network name, then this wireless set up would have been a breeze. So, I can’t place blame for this issue on D-Link, but it was interesting that no other wireless device I use had a problem with the naming convention of the network.
Once that hurdle was cleared, it has been smooth sailing. I really like the ease of use and the functionality included with the set up…through a web interface, you can control video size, audio (yes it has a mic and sends the audio over IP in realtime), you can set motion detection, auto emailing on detection, and it even has a built in ftp server to send the images where ever you like.
Simple camera that does exactly what it says…it provides decent video and audio wirelessly to your network and then you can do with it what you want.
Pros: Simple, straight forward, nice setup application used on your pc, D-Link offers free remote viewing via their web portal MyD-link, and they also offer a free iPhone app (no audio on the iPhone app).
Cons: Seems somewhat fragile…I would not want to drop it form more than a foot off the ground. A fall from any higher seems would shatter it.
Overall I think this is a really good value.
((Update Dec. 18, 2011)
So I have had this camera in service for over a year now…and it has been installed outside, under an eave of my house. It has no additional protection from the elements…just its own casing and the few inches of cover provided by the eave. It has been subjected to all the weather Atlanta receives in a year…heat 95+, cold 9, wind, rain, humidity, etc. The verdict…GREAT..not one issue with it. So, I just purchased three more for outdoor viewing around the house. I put one into service yesterday and had NO problems with setup at all. Used the auto network connect feature on the camera and my Netgear router and it hooked in within a minute. Great little camera and with the price dropped to $70, I think it will be hard to beat it.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Home security made simple,
This is the easiest way I found to monitor our home remotely.
I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly everything came together – I had the camera installed and transmitting in less than 15 minutes. I plugged the camera into a power outlet, popped the CD in (on a Windows 7 64-bit computer), entered my wireless network credentials, set up a DLink account from which to monitor the camera, and presto!
What works well:
###########
1. The lens is reasonably wide angle – it can cover most of a normal size room.
2. It has audio! And it works very well.
3. Image quality is decent – you can recognize people, but it isn’t broadcast quality by any means.
4. Moving the camera kills the feed for a couple of minutes, but it’s back on the network in less than 2 minutes.
5. The iPhone app is cool! We were able to watch the camera just as well on an iPod Touch. As another reviewer suggested, Tiny Cam (the free version is sufficient) worked great for me on Android.
6. The admin interface for the camera is stellar. You can control the refresh rate and resolution of the camera; the saturation, brightness, and contrast of the image; and the volume for the audio. You can even turn off the annoying LED light on the front of the unit!
7. Setting up motion detection is also really easy. You just pick the sensitivity of detection, and click on parts of the frame where you want detection to trigger. That’s it! When motion is detected, you can ask the camera to email you the images.
8. Setting up email notification is simple too. I looked up the SMTP address and port for Yahoo, entered my email address and password, and was soon receiving emails from my camera!
9. This device supports WPS. What this means that you can automatically configure it to access your router, with just a couple of button presses. You press the WPS button on this camera, and within 60 seconds press the WPS button on your router (or in your router’s admin screen). Then, magically, within about a minute, your camera configures itself with the SSID and password required to connect to your router.
10. It connects via Wireless-N and has an awesome range. It connects without problems to my router from across the house, through multiple walls.
What doesn’t:
##########
1. The camera does not work in low light conditions as it does not have infrared capabilities. You need at least a 40W lamp for it to be functional. This tends to be a bit annoying for me, as the camera becomes fairly useless once evening falls. The infrared-capable DCS-932L may be a better choice in this regard.
2. No pan/tilt options on this camera. For me, this is not as big a deal as the low light issue, especially given its wide angle of view.
3. The camera feels a bit delicate, but should hold up well given that it isn’t going to be handled much. It did take a couple of falls and has survived.
4. The camera needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet. Its short power cord does limit the locations where it can be placed.
Conclusions:
########
Overall, this was plug and play installation at its best.
I also can’t believe there is a simpler way to get all of this functionality in a single unit. This device is extensively customizable. I was particularly impressed that the designers had thought about putting in a way to turn off the blinking LED in the front of the camera. This LED is a very useful diagnostic tool (it flashes amber when it is setting itself up, and green when it is broadcasting), but it drove me nuts, until I found this option in the admin panel.
Updated Feb 06 2011:
##############
Okay maybe I spoke too soon.
Access to the camera that I tested when I wrote this review was from within my internal network. Unfortunately, the feed from this camera was not visible from outside my home network. My router and this camera were UPnP compatible but that didn’t seem to help.
Networking Primer:
#############
Before you begin, remember that you only have one publicly visible IP address – and this is allocated by your ISP, and is assigned to your router. Inside your network, your devices are allocated private IP addresses, in the range 192.168.x.y. These addresses are termed “private” because they only make sense within your own internal private network.
A computer outside your network only recognizes the public IP address of your router. It has no idea how many devices you might have on your internal network.
The workaround below, lets you use the mechanism of [port forwarding] to uniquely identify one of your internal devices, and make it addressable over the Internet. You do this by reserving a particular port (say, 81), and telling your router that any attempt to access that…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|