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Thread ID: 84045	2007-10-22 08:25:00	Linksys IP Camera	PMT (12533)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
604349	2007-10-22 08:25:00	I'm probably teaching grandma to suck eggs, but a 2 month saga with a lynksys wvc200 camera my help someone out there . . . . . Decided a web cam would be an interesting add on to our web site (small tourism operation) . Due to proposed camera location it had to be wireless . Did some basic research, consulted the wallet and decided on a Lynksys wvc 200 . Didn't have broadband, we were on a dedicated data line . Wanted to upload a 30 sec video every hour or so, and on dedicated dial up didn't see a problem . Well the camera arrived and worked just fine, on ethernet and XP . But darned if I could get my laptops wireless to work (adhoc) . Discovered I needed a router . and this propelled me kicking and screaming into telecom broadband and a Linksys wireless router . And then discovered that the wireless setup on my laptop just wouldn't work . At this stage I had to buy daughter a new laptop (Vista) . It worked just fine with the router on an infrastructure setup . So took the plunge and upgraded my machine to Vista . 3 days of downloading new drivers and programs to replace stuff that no longer worked and LO !! . Computer talked to router, wirelessly . And although camera was working the software for it went terminally catatonic and crashed the laptops screen every time I tried to access it . Several days searching internet, delving into Lynksys site, talking to foreign accents on the Lynksys help line and I finally got one of their people to admit that the software in the camera was NOT VISTA COMPATABLE !!!! and they didn't seem at all interested in rectifying it . . At this stage I was getting seriously sick of web cams and was considering sending it back . I'd uninstalled and reinstalled several times, no joy . Then for another reason had to re-install Vista and decided to have one more try . And the damn camera worked, sort of . To cut an already long story shortish there seems to be a work around in that as well as uninstalling using the VISTA uninstall setup, you also have to actually delete all the folder crap left behind . Once I had that sorted I then came up against the most pathetic heap of device operating programming I've ever seen . There is only very limited funcionality in altering video clip lengths ( minimum 1 minute), no facility whatsoever to to upload single photos with the same name to a web site (it insists on sequentially naming files) and a heap of other grief to boot . I've ended up with a program called Active Web Cam, which does of course add an resources overhead on my machine . Something I thought I might be able to avoid with an IP camera . Currently I've just got 5 or 6 stills per hour appearing, but will soon have the short video clip updated hourly as well . So I suppose it has ultimately been a success, if very frustrating . So in conclusion :- Lynksys WVC200 Camera . . . . . . . . . . Not bad as a camera . Reasonable colour etc . Linksys Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depending on who you get (and I've had a few) from duh!!! to excellent . Camera Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crap . Virtually useless in my opinion . Active Web Cam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excellent, but added some resources overheads I shouldn't have had to accept had the camera done anything like a reasonable job and also added $90 US to the total cost . VISTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I like it, once I'd got the hang of all the subtle and not so subtle changes . Lynksys Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ok, but every now and then either it or the modem joins the union and goes slow . But power off, and then on again sorts that out . I hope that that helps someone out there . And happy to answer any queries . Peter	PMT (12533)
604350	2007-10-22 08:38:00	Glad it all worked out in the end. Would have done the Mac version myself especially regarding the camera compatibility with Vista.	winmacguy (3367)
604351	2007-10-22 08:42:00	Glad it all worked out in the end. Would have done the Mac version myself especially regarding the camera compatibility with Vista. Really?	SolMiester (139)
604352	2007-10-22 08:46:00	Really? Yes. OS X doesn't have the 3rd party hardware issues with drivers for cameras that Vista does as they come with the OS and it deals with video feeds better, plus it talks to Windows too.	winmacguy (3367)
604353	2007-10-23 09:44:00	PMT, I think it might have been easier to post off oil paintings :horrified Thanks for the heads up. Glad it all worked out in the end. Would have done the Mac version myself especially regarding the camera compatibility with Vista. Amazing. And such a surprising sentiment too. Spam ? ?	R2x1 (4628)
604354	2007-10-23 09:48:00	Glad it all worked out in the end. Would have done the Mac version myself especially regarding the camera compatibility with Vista. Really? Yes. OS X doesn't have the 3rd party hardware issues with drivers for cameras that Vista does as they come with the OS and it deals with video feeds better, plus it talks to Windows too. Let's not give a bad first impression. I guess you are did the setup in US, PMT (since the price you quoted is in US$)? Cheers :)	Renmoo (66)
604355	2007-10-24 06:18:00	Generally I find software does so many clever things I only use a fraction of all the bells and whistles . It's a bit of a shock to come across something that doesn't even make a squeak, let alone a whistle . And live in NZ . Down the bottom end .	PMT (12533)
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