12. Linksys Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera WVC54GCA

• WVC54G Wireless G...
• • Buydig.com
  • $99.00
• • ABT
  • $99.00
• • 6th Ave Electronics
  • $119.99
• • California Computer Center
  • $124.00

$119.99

A dad worries about the security of his family and home. Especially if younger kids are involved, you can never have enough eyes watching out for everyone’s safety. Whether it’s as a middle-of-the-night monitoring of the front and back entrances for intruders or a way to watch the babysitter and kids in the living room from the comfort of one’s smartphone, IP-based cameras can deliver extreme peace of mind. The trouble with many IP cameras, though, boils down to two things. Often, they’re too hard to set up and use fully. Moreover, most only communicate via wired Ethernet, with wireless units pricing out beyond most consumers’ budgets.

Enter Linksys’s Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera. Let’s be clear right up front. This is not a point-and-click device. This is one of those harder-to-install IP cameras. Setup involves digging into the camera’s internal settings via it’s embedded Web server as well as performing port forwarding in the router and assigning the camera a fixed IP address. (If you don’t, it will lose its wireless connection certificate and drop off the network.) If you don’t already know how to do this, the information is on the Web, and Linksys support has always been helpful to me in the past.

If you can get past the setup, though, the Wireless-G packs a lot of great functionality. You have your choice of either 10/100 Ethernet or 802.11g WiFi connectivity, complete with WEP-64 through WPA2 wireless security. The 640x480 CMOS sensor is sufficient to capture decent detail within the camera’s 61.48-degree field of view. As with many surveillance cameras, Linksys includes its own monitoring application, and this one can view from one, four, six, or nine cameras on a single screen. When performing motion monitoring (recording starts when the camera detects movement), the user can establish up to three zones within a scene to watch. This is handy for excluding areas such as windows, which might have a view to passing cars or waving branches. You can also adjust a motion tolerance slider.

Unlike many budget-priced surveillance cams, this Linksys can also record audio. Video gets encoded in either MJPEG or MPEG-4 formats, and, with the proper setup, you can stream live video out to any RTSP-capable phone. Alternatively, you can configure the Linksys cam to email brief video captures out to up to three recipients when a motion alarm is triggered. This can save on a lot of unnecessary and frantic driving time to come check the premises for intruders.

The Wireless-G measures only 3.54” x 4.72” x 1.46”, making it very discreet, and the camera sits atop a swivelled based suited to both desktop and wall mounting. For all this capability, the Linksys Wireless-G is a screaming bargain with street prices at $100 or less.