Introduction
Updated 1/13/2011: Updated D-View Cam info
At a Glance | |
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Product | D-Link Wireless N Network Camera (DCS-930L) |
Summary | Inexpensive Wireless IP Cemera with motion detection and remote web access |
Pros | • Low cost • 802.11n wireless • Good quality video, including low light • Audio monitoring |
Cons | • A few quirks • Recording not built in • Motion detection setup can be finicky • No MacOS setup or mgmt / recording support |
Over the years, I've had an occasional need for a security camera to watch over my house. I've checked out a few cameras, but found that the inexpensive units on the market were really no more than toys that weren't suited for 24/7 deployment. But times change. These little security cameras are getting better, adding more features as their prices continue to fall.
In this review, I'll check out the
The 930L consists of a camera unit and a swivel stand along with the power cord. In use, the camera barely registered on my
On the front, you can see the lens, a microphone opening and a LED that is used to signify startup network status and activity (optionally). On the back panel (Figure 1) you can see a 10/100 Ethernet network port, power connector, reset button and a WPS button for easy wireless security configuration for those with compatible basestations.
Figure 1: DCS-930L Back Panel
Setup
Even though the box for the 930L advertises "support" for MacOS users, when you insert the included setup CD and read the installation instructions, you'll find that installation is strictly
Figure 2: DCS-930L Setup Wizard
The main purpose of the Wizard is to configure networking and set up an account on
As I started configuration, everything was going smoothly. A
Figure 3: DCS-930L Wireless Setup Error
With not much of an option, I chose to continue on with using a wired connection. Once your configuration is complete, further setup can be accomplished via a web browser so I connected with my browser and returned to the wireless setup. There's where I found out what had happened with the original attempt at setup. Figure 4 shows the browser view for wireless configuration.
Figure 4: DCS-930L Browser Interface to Wireless Configuration
It may be a bit hard to see in this
I have it "fuzzed out", but this screen also shows my wireless network