Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Highlights: reasonable value for the money - good hardware, better than WVC200, lousy software - having used it for a few months, I would buy another, but there's still lots of room for improvement. PTZ: only digital Zoom (not optical - so really, there's no Zoom, just Pan, Tilt).
Details: I purchased the camera in December, 2008. Prior to using the WVC210, I've used two WVC200s. The 210 is an improvement over the 200 - better color, better image in low light, two-way audio, and I haven't had to reboot the 210 (the 200s are prone to lockups, occasionally). I use the "Kiwi Syslog Daemon" with all the cameras. And, the 210 audit trail is much improved over the 200. One key logging feature that the 210 has, is the ability to audit who logged in/out (and when) - the 200 does not do this. If you think about infrastructure security, this is a plus for the 210 and a HUGE mark against the 200. Like the 200, the 210 does not do motion detection - they both look at overall light level changes in a defined region. Labeling the function as "motion detection" is false advertising. Two outdoor examples: (1) if you setup a screen region and turn up the sensitivity, changes in sunlight (caused by clouds coming and going) will trigger a false motion-detection event (2) after turning down the gain to eliminate false sunlight triggers, objects (person, dog, car) that appears small at a distance can pass through the region without detection. Both cameras use an ActiveX control to view/listen to video/audio. The problem is, most public internet computers block the install of ActiveX controls, so if you want to check on your camera(s) while on vacation (off site), you better have your laptop along. Additionally, neither the 200 nor 210 accommodate this known shortcoming - for example, both could easily have a firmware upgrade to allow the user to see a snapshot JPG of the current image (when the ActiveX interface is not available) - neither camera has this feature. As for the monitoring software bundled with the 210 and 200 products, here Cisco has done an awful job as it takes over the ownership of these products from Linksys. The "Video Monitoring System v1.0.0.0" bundled with the 210 is not at all backward compatible with the 200. Adding insult, the interface is user-hostile, not allowing you to size it or move it - it has to be in the upper left corner of the screen and it wastes a lot of screen real-estate. The "Monitor v1.0.0.18" bundled with the 200 has a smaller footprint and it allows you to size and move the interface. It is forward compatible to the 210, but video only (not audio). It also gives you much more configuration control at your fingertips including volume control and on-the-fly record / stop / playback. In a nutshell, the interface of the old software is much better than the new stuff. If you will have a mix of WVC200 and WVC210 cameras, and if you want to use the monitoring software to record surveillance video, you will have to use the software that comes with the WVC200. You can search for e-pinions by me for reviews of the WVC200 for more details about pros/cons of this family of ip cameras.
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Cisco WVC210 Wireless-G PTZ Internet Security Video Camera -w/2-Way Audio
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