I thought I'd report on a new acquisition of mine, a Linksys WVC54GCA network camera.
I bought it from NewEgg.com for $82.49. Linksys is a company known for it's disinterest in the Mac Market. From what I know few of their products provide software or support for Macs. But this camera for the most part works with a Mac pretty well. The included software is Windows only but it isn't required for setup or operation. The first problem I had was finding the device on the network. The manual shows how to set it up using a web browser (I used Safari). But the default address for the camera that it gave was wrong, the right address is 192.168.1.115. I had some problem setting up the WiFi, but I think it may have just been that I didn't give it enough time to restart. The max video resolution is 640x480 @ 30 fps. The video quality is quite good. It doesn't work well in very low light, aka night. I have it looking out on my street and can see almost nothing besides lights. You can use either a web browser or QuickTime to see the video. If you are using a NAT router (as in most home routers) you can set it up to view video from anywhere on the Internet. You can optionally password protect video access. I was able to so view my camera image today using Internet access via cell phone. The view (my street) is rather still so I couldn't gauge it's responsiveness. There are two functions which are not available to Mac users. The camera has a microphone but the sound does not come through when using a Mac. You need Active X (Windows only) to set up the motion detection function. VLC (Video LAN Client) can display and/or record the video stream. I am in the process of looking into other recording software that's available. PROS: Good video quality given adequate lighting. Inexpensive Can be set up without using Windows CONS: Can't see in the dark. Sound and motion detection setup don't work on a Mac. -- Clark Martin Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting "I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
