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Whistle Stopper - Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit
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List Price: $299.99
Our Price: Too low to display
Your Save: $ ( % )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Wilife Inc.
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Batteries Included: 0
Binding: Electronics
Brand: Wilife Inc.
Color: Gray, Black
EAN: 0853650001008
Feature: Secure your home and small business with a professional-grade digital video surveillance system
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Wilife Inc.
Manufacturer: Wilife Inc.
Model: DVS800I
Publisher: Wilife Inc.
Special Features: Processing Power: 400 MHzvDSP, Onboard Image Encoding: Windows® Media Video 9, Onboard Image Processing: Motion detection up to 16 zones; Auto brightness, Resolution Selectable: 320 X 240 or 640 X 480 pixels, Frame Rate&Bit Rate: Selectable, Color Depth: 10 bits
Studio: Wilife Inc.
System Memory Size: 16
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Features
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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
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A fine entry-level video surveillance option - but it's not perfect
Comment: Wilife (now part of Logitech) has made security cameras affordable. I found their product easy to use and a breeze to install, but I do have one major gripe.
Out of the box, the camera comes with a variety of mounting options. There's a permanent mount for those who don't mind drilling holes into a wall, plus the included extension with tilt should allow you to twist the unit so it's focused on the area you want to monitor. Also included is a stand that will house the unit if you want to simply place it on a desk or counter. Finally, a large suction cup is included that can be screwed on to the front or back of the unit. The suction cup attaches to a glass window, however I found it unable to attach to a wall or any wood surface even after adding the recommended drop of vegetable oil.
This is *not* a wireless camera. You need to be able to 1) connect a USB cable from your computer to an electrical outlet (surge protectors and power strips are not an option) and 2) connect the camera unit from another electrical outlet using the included cables. The device uses the existing power lines to transmit data back and forth to your computer, but you'll need to be no more than 10ft from an electrical outlet to be able to mount the camera. Their FAQ says no more than 18 volts travel through the connection but I'd still be a little concerned of a family pet chewing though the thin cable. I was also disappointed at having only a 5ft cable to connect to my computer to the power unit since the closest outlet is already occupied with two surge protectors. A 10ft cable on this end is needed. Once connected I found the connection strong and stable. I also have cordless phones connected in a similar manner and they don't interfere with one another.
Installation is simple and intuitive with the included quick-start guide and, while other reviewers ran into difficulty, I installed the included software without hassle and was up and running in minutes. The picture covers a 90 degree viewing angle and while there are options to adjust the brightness and contrast, I found the automatic adjustments worked just fine in both daylight and low light situations. The software also will also let you specify how much disk space you wish to reserve for recording video. After you reach the max, the oldest files are removed to make room for new records unless you move the video files to a different directory. Video can also be recorded in 640x480 or 320x240 resolution at your choice of 5, 10, or 15 frames per second. Most importantly, the camera can be set so that recordings are saved only when movement is detected. After letting it run for a day at the highest resolution and frame rate it used about 500MB of disk space. You can also schedule it to record either continuously or via motion sensing only during time periods you specify. The software is well designed and intuitive. Even on a slow laptop, the recording consumes only a minimal amount of resources.
This brings me to my major gripe about the device. It is evident the makers didn't want the revenue to stop once you've purchased their product. While the software functions at a basic level and does what it's supposed to do (record video), there are a number of helpful features that must be "unlocked" by subscribing to what they tout as Platinum Service. I can understand charging for services that may cost them a nominal amount to provide. For instance, they allow the option to store and share video online or send alerts to your cell phone. They're providing a service and are entitled to make a profit from it. However there are many other features that cost nothing to implement, yet they have disabled them in an obvious attempt to get you to pay a yearly subscription fee. This includes the ability to pan and zoom the camera and the ability to get a notification on your computer when the camera detects movement and starts recording. You can't even password protect the software without subscribing to this so-called Platinum Service. The fact that they're intentionally disabling helpful features that cost nothing to provide strikes me as a little shady. Who's to say they won't disable more features to non-subscribers in a future software "update"?
That's why, while I do recommend this product, I do so with a caveat. If you just need a basic camera with a motion sensing system that saves video to your computer this will do the trick out of the box. If you're looking for advanced features or even simple features like the ability to change the camera view, a yearly subscription fee is unjustified and a little hard to swallow.
Hope the review helped.
Customer Rating:
Summary: hardware failure during power outage
Comment: The software is adequate, it certainly works once you learn the interface. I had a system with one camera running for 1.5 years and added 2 more cameras about 10 months ago.
I just had a power outage in my house, and unfortunately the original camera is now fried - both the wall power line converter and the camera itself are dead. The problem is that the wall plug cannot be plugged into a surge suppressor, so your stuck trusting the devices ability to handle line noise. Apparently, not so good at it.
My low rating is mainly due to the price and robustness, when you spend this much on a camera you expect it to be well designed. Failing due a lightning strike I can understand, but this was no such event. In retrospect, my recommendation would be to buy a more professionally designed unit that is not susceptible to power line noise. With 3 cameras, I've already spent over $500; that would purchase a much higher end unit then this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hardware is great, software severely lacking.
Comment: After searching for nearly a year for a security camera system for our home that we could view while travelling, I was thrilled to find out about Wilife.
I read all the information on the Wilife website, and also what was available here on Amazon before purchasing. Because our needs were specific, I made sure that they would be filled with this kit. Here's what we needed:
1. Remote camera that did not require hardwiring to connect to computer (computer is upstairs, camera position is downstairs).
2. Camera triggered by motion, rather than always recording.
3. Online access to the recorded video.
After reading about the system, I realized I'd need to not only pay for the camera kit, but to get online access to recorded video (streaming video access is free) I'd also need to sign up for WiLife Platinum, at an additional $80 a year. A steep price, but worth it if we'd be able to see any activity in the house by reviewing the recorded video online every evening.
The system was very easy to set up, and worked acceptably well (the software did have a glitch when changing settings which I never did work out). After signing up for platinum I was able to access recorded video online with my laptop computer, but my mobile device (HP iPaq 5915) would only access live video.
I tried different operating systems (upgrading my Explorer Mobile, and switching to Opera Mobile), but still was only able to get live video to work.
After re-reading the information on the WiLife site which stated:
"Go beyond live Internet viewing. Access your recorded video at anytime, anywhere. Use easy search tools to locate and view video by date, time, and site - with up to the minute availability."
The site even showed a photo of a person accessing recorded video with a Blackberry, I assumed this must be an issue with my hardware, my software, or just 'operator error', so I continued to work through the problem.
After a week of trying every possible solution, I contacted WiLife support, and after a few useless emails which did not address the problem, finally received one stating:
"Cellphones/handheld devices can not do remote playback. They can only do remote viewing in relay mode."
So, it is being packed up and shipped back to Amazon.
I'm left wondering why Logitec would use a proprietary viewer for the recorded video, when the streaming video uses the regular Windows viewer available on all systems?
And the biggest why - why would they advertise that remote playback was available 'anywhere anytime' when in fact it is NOT?
In my opinion, this system is not worth anything to the average user until we can access recorded video via mobile device. Once Logitec actually offering what they're advertising (anywhere, anytime), I'll happily purchase the product again.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Won't run and tech support won't help. This one gets returned
Comment: I envy everyone who got this up and running in 15 minutes, because that hasn't been my case.
I've spent over 8 hours on set up and cannot get this to run at all on my XP Pro PC that meets all system requirements set forth on the box. Sadly, tech support for this intriguing product is sorely lacking. First off, my package came with the Command Center 2.0 software. With 2.0 installed, the software wouldn't even boot. I didn't realize there was a newer version (2.5) and neither did their tech support (I found this out on my own, as the software itself does not prompt for upgrades). After uninstalling 2.0 and installing 2.5, the program booted but always crashed within 10 seconds of booting. Their software told me to upgrade my video driver, which I did, then it didn't boot at all. So I rolled back the driver and tried to get more tech support help. The basic responses I got from the WiLife support people were 1) uninstall/reinstall the software until it works, 2) try uninstalling Windows Service Pack 3 (but yet there is nothing on their web site about their software being incompatible with SP3), and 3) send us the diagnostics files for the program when it is running. Sadly, the program won't run long enough for me to run diagnostics to generate the diagnostic file. And even more sadly, tech support has stopped responding to my requests for either more advice or an RMA number. This is too bad because it seems like a nice system. But it galls me when you meet all system requirements for a product like this and it won't work with your computer and the company won't help.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great System - Unbelievably terrible support
Comment: Great System - Unbelievably terrible support
My experience with wilife started with contacting their support department with a pre-sale question on 4/17/08. It was a pretty simple question, "would their outdoor camera work connected via a 1200' underground electrical cable from my home to the end of my driveway where I wanted a camera"
Within minutes I got an automated response saying my question had been received and that I should expect a response within 24 hours.
5 days went by with no response from them, so I replied to their email.
After a week of no response, I decided to buy the product from a local retailer where I could easily return it if it didn't work.
In fact it did not work over the 1200' cable, but I was so impressed with the software and its capability, that I took it to work and installed it in my business. It worked so well that I bought two more systems for two other business locations.
Finally on May 5th I got a response to my inquiry from weeks earlier. They said that "yes it would work within 8000 square feet" Clearly their support does not read the questions, or did not understand the difference between distance and area.
Then to top off the severely tardy response that did not answer my question, I got another email on 5/13 saying "Your experience at wilife matters greatly to us." which asked me to take a survey on my satisfaction with their support response.
I took the survey and used the comment section to say I felt the real problem was that everything was automated and no one took the time to actually read what was being asked. I also stated that I had a list of improvements that I hoped would be considered to make their product better, and requested that they direct me in how I could submit these suggestions such that they would be read and considered. That was on 5/13/08, as of 6/7/08, I have yet to hear a word from them, probably because they did not read my response, despite all the polite and caring automated posturing.
I should note that to get the most out of this system, you really need to subscribe to their platinum service which costs 79.95 per year. If you have multiple locations then the cost is also per location. In my case with 3 business locations the additional value it provides is well worth the $240/year, but it does lack some basic capabilities that I hope will come in future software releases.
One such improvement would be the ability to set the alarm sensitivity separately for separate zones. In one of my applications where I have a camera on an fenced in equipment yard, I want to be alerted if there is movement outside of normal business hours. To set the sensitivity high enough such that it will alert me of movement of a human sized object along the furthest edge of the yard, it means it is also so high that a stray cat walking along the closest edge of the yard will also set it off, waking me at 2 am to view footage of a cat that could have potentially been a thief or vandal.
In summary, the system is great and generally easy to install, but don't expect to get any personalized support if you have a problem.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The WiLife Indoors Camera Starter Kit includes all the components for a full-featured, single camera system with three mounting options. This kit includes a smart Security Camera, powerful Software and free Remote Viewing Technology. Built-in Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) lets you automatically connect your cameras and PC. Designed for indoors use, the WiLife Indoors Camera can also be used to securely monitor outside using its window mount. View live video from anywhere, anytime Windows Mobile cell phone accessible Processing Power - 400 MHz DSP Onboard Image Encoding - Windows Media Video 9 Onboard Image Processing Motion detection - up to 16 zones & Auto brightness Resolution Selectable - 640x480 or 320x240 pixels Frame Rate Selectable - 15, 10 or 5 frames/second Bit Rate Selectable Illumination - 2 lx minimum per IEC 61146-1 Color Depth - 10 bits Focus User adjustable Viewing Angle - 80 degrees diagonal Pan Angle - 50 degrees manual Firmware Updates Selectable - Manual or Automatic Voltage - 110 Volts AC, 60 Hz Connector pin out - Per IEEE 802.3 Property Size - Up to 8,000 square feet Power Consumption - 15-Watts Requirements - CAT-5e or better, RJ-45 connectors & up to 120 feet (36 m) Camera Body Dimensions - Height 5.0 x Width 3.2 x Depth 1.8 (12.7x8.1x4.6 cm) Camera Weight - 6.7 ounces (190 grams) Power Supply Dimensions - Height 3.8 x Width 2.9 x Depth 2.6 (9.7x7.4x6.6cm) Power Supply Weight - 5.6 ounces (160 grams)
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