Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security–Indoor Master System Camera

Review by George McAdams for Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security–Indoor Master System Camera
Rating:
I’ve had the Wilife camera system for two months, and I’ve found it meets my needs to provide a view of what’s happening at certain places around the house (inside or out). I found the system delivers the goods by providing the homeowner a fairly clear image, stores the image in an easily managed retrieval program, and you can view “what is happening” when you are away from home over the Internet via your laptop or a smart phone. Also, you can individually set the cameras up to have the system E-mail or text you if there is motion detected or the system goes “off-line.”

The skinny review:

Pluses: for the most part easy set-up, trouble shooting is extensively detailed (Logitech obviously wants you to be able to solve connection problems), Internet accessibility actions are recorded (and easily accessed), adaptability, the quality of the images can be varied, images can be saved, and movies can be saved of what is picked-up by the camera(s) in a WMA file.

Negatives: starts to get pricey by the time you get your 4th camera, some places in the house not easily receptive to signals and not all cameras are suited to all areas (I write about this below).

Full Review:

This “Starter” system with the indoor camera is a great way to see what the system can do for you. I say this because, for me, the indoor camera was a little harder to set-up, but it also was flexible enough that I was able to easily change its location and could tell where I wanted to place my other cameras before purchasing them. In setting these locations, I sometimes used a laptop connected to the Internet to give me instant feedback on my placement of cameras and what the image would look like.

Regarding problems, most had to do with receiving the signal from various points in my house, and my house, approaching 40 years old, has its share of additions that I am thinking a newer home with continuous wiring won’t have this problem. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

I do not know why a “surveillance” system has always intrigued me, but over the years I have tried several different wireless products (X-10′s system, another wireless system with the cameras used with USB 2.0 water-proof Wireless Web Ready DVR Security System w/ 4 Pack Highigh Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras with only “poor” to “fair” results. WiLife’s system provided me with an affordable “starter” system, a good image, and it kept track of the activity that the cameras recorded.

Here are my observations regarding the system with all of the various components and their installation:

First of all, it is easy to hook-up. With the starter kit for the inside, I installed the software on a media computer I had integrated into my audio/visual system, plugged-in the receiver to an outlet that wasn’t “protected” by a surge protector and placed the camera in another part of the house, plugging that camera’s LAN-like connector into another outlet. The first time I hooked it up, it searched for the camera(s) after I told it I had “one.” As I added cameras, I merely clicked on the “add additional cameras” button, changed the number of cameras, and it found them. With regards to firewall issues, I use OneCare Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users) for my computer’s security, and it handled this for me by asking if I wanted to allow WiLife. I did and that issue was solved.

With regards to set-up issues and the inside camera, I live in a rather sprawling house that has multiple floors and an addition (which is why my “radio signal” X-10 and other cameras had problems). I took the camera and placed it in different areas to see how it worked. In all but two places, it worked well and was easily picked-up by the WiLife program. With the camera at one location, after several times of not being able to discover it, the program actually had me assign an address, like an IP address, for the camera. After doing that, it worked fine, but I ended-up using an outside camera at that location, which picked-up the signal right away. NOTE: while I did not use the manual to work-out my problems, the manual is very detailed and a very good manual, especially in working through connection and firewall problems (if you have them). The manual is available on the CD and from their websight [...], and if you have any doubts about whether to get the system, you should download the manual and glance through it. In hindsight, I should have consulted it in addition to the instructions given by the program’s help section in dealing with my minor problems.

As for the various set-ups, on one camera I use the infrared light, and it is very inobtrusive. On the other cameras, I have an inside camera that is affixed to a window by the suction cup with the wide angle lens and another inside camera that is just in a room. This inside camera with the suction cup has stayed attached since I attached it six-weeks ago. One note about the infrared camera, it should not be used around a pool or spa for it sometimes “shows,” depending on the color of the swimsuit, the swimmer’s figure under the swimsuit.

Which camera work best? The outdoor camera works best. I have a good picture from dawn to dusk (and even in twilight), and I have not had any problems with them sending the picture to the WiLife Computer Center. I have one of them pointed at my front door and one in the backyard that can view my hot tub or the backyard (more on that in a minute). I wish there was a way I could post a video, but if you look-up my name on youtube, I have posted one that shows the neighborhood children coming to the front door and getting candy from my wife. In that video, you’d see the picture of the entrance with just the light coming through the fixed-lights in the door, then, the fluorescent floodlights come-on (those usually take a few seconds to “warm” up), and finally the lights on the side of the doors come on. During the day, the picture is very good (I have posted a picture of the front door during the day).

With the backyard outdoor camera, I attached-it to something my X-10 camera used that could rotate the camera to fixed points that one established. It was called a “ninja” unit, and I have found it to be helpful in allowing my backyard camera to view several spots in rotation, or however I want to do it.

The clock, or “spy,” camera is another camera that is easy to use. I hooked it up, and it was worked fine from the get-go. It picks-up an image in slightly lower light better than the inside camera. If there is one thing I wish the system had, it’s that the clock camera had a battery back-up. While the electricity doesn’t go off but once or twice a year where I live, it is still something I wish it had. On the plus side, the clock is one of the easiest I have found to reset.

The system has done what I wanted it to do: I had some concerns that some of the neighbor children were trying to get into the spa, and the cameras showed me this wasn’t true (my small dog was actually slipping-in through a 4-in opening); It shows me who is at, and who has come to, the front and other doors; and it has shown me what, if anything, my daughter does in my audio/visual room when I am not at home.

If I had young children, I would probably have one of the cameras in their room and in their playroom, and pointed outside to the yards where they play. With my dog, I have been able to find-out if he is damaging anything while being left alone (sometimes he is guilty). Because the cameras turn-on and record activity, and show the recording on a time-line, one can easily go back and view what has happen during those recordings.

This is not a security system, but I have found it supplements the centralized alarm system on my house quite well. Which brings-up an instance, and a feature I have not mentioned, the ability to view what is happening over your computer or your smart phone. We were out of town for the day, and I received a call about the alarm going off. The police were on their way to the house and the alarm dispatcher was checking to see if we had done anything to trigger the alarm. I told them no, and to let me know if they found anything. I immediately logged-in on the WiLife web site with my smart phone and clicked on the outside cameras. Because this was at night, I first saw the policeperson’s flashlight at one of the entrances to the backyard (the alarm came from the back door being opened). Then, the outside security lights came on, and finally the police checking the doors. With the WiLife system, you can actually have notices sent to you if there is activity from any of the cameras by text and even an image of what triggered the camera if you want that information. Some of these features require a subscription fee, and this might be something you would want to consider. I have the subscription and like it. Regarding this instance, it turned-out that I forgot to close one door all the way and dog pushed it open.

Overall, I have found the WiLife System has met my needs. I did get the extended warranties on equipment through NEW as offered on Amazon, and have been pleased with their service. The two times I have had a warranty issue with other equipment (a computer and a printer), NEW has taken care of the matter quickly or has had very good technical support to help me resolve the problem Even though I am not anticipating any problems with the WiLife System, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have the extra protection. I especially thought an extended warranty would be good since one cannot hook-it-up through an UPS or surge protector. I have uploaded several pictures to give you an idea of how the images sent by the cameras look.