Editorial Product Review:Item Description:The IP wireless camera is a standalone device that lets you record video on a computer hard drive or view it remotely using a Web browser. The IP Camera has a powerful CMOS sensor that delivers clear and crisp images and with the IP View software you can enable motion detection to automatic start recording, or alert you via email. Users can remotely pan/tilt the camera in almost any direction, scanning sensitive locations for unauthorized intrusions. Having the TV-IP400W gives you security and piece of mind. Wireless Supports WEP 64/128-bit Encryption (ASCII & HEX) 10/100Mbps Ethernet, Auto-Sensing Protocol - HTTP, FTP, TCP/IP, UDP, ARP, ICMP, BOOTP, RARP, DHCP, PPPoE, DDNS, UpnP CPU - RDC R2880, Ram - 8MB/2MB, OS - RTOS Frame Rate - 30fps@QCIF, 25fps@CIF, 10fps@VGA Resolution - 160 x 120, 320 x 240, 640 x 480 Digital Zoom - 4X Pan - -156 ~ + 156, Tilt - -45 ~ +70 Operating Temperature - 41F ~ 104F Browser Support - Internet Explorer (5.0 or above) or Netscape Navigator (6.0 or above) IPView Software is Windows 98SE, ME, NT4, 2000, XP compatible System Requirements - 128MB (256MB Recommended), Pentium III 450MHz or above, VGA card resolution - 800 x 600 or above 3 Year warranty Unit Dimensions(WxHxD) - 4.6 x 4.5 x 4 Unit Weight - 0.75lb
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Buyer Reviews
Average Buyer Rating:
-
Incomplete
I ordered this camera because the product description stated that it allowed "users to access the camera anywhere in the world by using a Web browser." In my work, we are doing a lot of video, audio conferencing using packages such as NetMeeting, SharedView, Communicator and son on. I, naively, assumed that a product making such a claim, would be easily set up in a way that allowed me to see what was going on in my living room while I was at work, on the road or on vacation. What follows, is my story.
One clarification: I am not a geek, but I am not technologically dumb either. For example, I have some understanding of DHCP, DNS, IP, firewalls, routers and 802.11 but I'd rather not mess up with them.
I did not encounter too many problems setting up the camera for local use/control. The manual on the disk is a .pdf file in English but I could not say that it was well-written. After about half an hour to one hour of installing the 2 software items and unnecessarily messing with my wireless router, the camera began sending some video to my computer. By the way, the manual seems to be incorrectly stating that you must connect through a wire to your wireless router and gives some very confusing and sometimes misleading advice on how to set up the camera's IP address. In my case, connecting the camera through a wire to my Linksys router PREVENTED the configuration utility to complete. The setup eventually completed but only AFTER I removed the wire.
The pictures sent to the computer are of a poor quality - and I am a bit generous stating this. The maximum resolution is a poor 640x480. There is a noticeable delay, 1+ seconds in transmission, even when the camera is on a local loop. Control is possible but response is slow. The 'zoom' button does not do anything.
One other problem seems to be the way this camera works with DHCP. Even though the camera has a unique MAC address, every time the router's DHCP assigns it a new IP address, the software thinks that it sees a new camera. What this means is that you may end up with an undetermined number of 'cameras' in the software interface running on your computer, all attempting to control the same device and you will have to guess which one is the one that actually can connect to the camera, every time you reset either your camera or your router.
Now... to the "access the camera from anywhere in the world" part. It is VERY DIFFICULT to set it up because the vendor does not provide the software and the IP support needed and expects the end-user to go to 'third parties' for that - which is fine but is not mentioned in the 'product description', on the box or in the manuals that come with the camera. Like someone else who reviewed this device, I had to call the tech support. After some 10-15 minutes of elevator music, someone in India picked up the phone and asked for my phone number, email address, type of camera, date of birth, marital status, favorite food (just kidding). After she was satisfied with my answers she told me that someone was going to call me back later and she hung up. Someone never did. I called again and, to my surprise, the guy in India picked up the phone immediately. I wish I could say that he offered some competent advice, but he didn't. He did suggest that, to make the camera work over the Net, I had to open an account with some independent outfit that allows you to get a DNS name for your device and, therefore, at least in theory, be able to access the camera over the net. It's a cumbersome process and, in my case, it did not work very well. It involves getting and setting up a DNS name for your camera, punching holes into your firewall, regularly running some utility on your computer and updating your information on that site... too complicated and, in the end, not worth the effort.
To be fair, I believe that this camera COULD be set up to be accessed and controlled over the Internet IF you could afford a dedicated, permanent IP address to it and you properly set up your router and firewall.
The product gets 2 stars because someone COULD make it work. It's not a defective product. It's just very hard to make it do what it claims that it can do and the vendor's tech support or the provided documentation are not helping.
I can see how a good market for this product would be those technical schools where the students learn how to set up and troubleshoot these things.
I titled my review 'Incomplete' because of the several things missing in this package: a usable manual, competent technical support and support for a DNS name so that the camera can be accessed from the Web when a dedicated IP is not a practical option.
Customer Rating: 
-
good ip cam
i have it installed this camera upside down in my hallway facing the door. installation of software and hardware was a breeze. (i do have some limited knowledge and installed routers before) the price is very good!
Customer Rating: -
Can't Beat the Features and the Price!!!
I bought one for my house 1 1/2 years ago so I could see my cat when I was out on business, then I bought another one 4 months ago to monitor the back entry and traffic area. I haven't had problems with them and setup was relatively simple, after following the instructions.
I am a very detailed person and compared feature to feature, this product to similar D-Link and Linksys models. TRENDnet beats them on features and the price is 1/2 of that of D-Link.
You can pan and tilt the camera when you are out on business and it sends me email alerts when motion dection is triggered.
I wish they had this deal 4 month's ago!!!!!!
This is an amazing price...
Customer Rating: -
Great Product
I purchased this for looking at the baby and it works great. I would recommend for purchase. The bang for the buck is best I have found.