D-Link DCS-2100+ wireless Internet camera

If you want to keep an eye on your home or office without stringing wires everywhere, D-Link's DCS-2100+ wireless video camera can help. It gives you acceptable pictures and the ability to receive an e-mail alert if anything moves. Getting it all to work is a two-hour job, but it's worth it because the excellent suite of surveillance software can monitor as many as 16 different cameras. D-Link's DCS-2100+ has built-in Wi-Fi, and it connects directly to 802.11b or 802.11g networks. It lacks a zoom function and a remote control, but the DCS-2100+ is the best low-cost surveillance system we've seen.The package comes with a camera and a stand, an AC adapter, and a six-foot Cat-5 cable. A CD contains the installation and surveillance software; for documentation you get a well-organized and thorough, 102-page manual and a handy, 10-page start-up guide.

The initial installation requires plugging the camera into AC and connecting it via a wired Ethernet connection to a PC running Windows 98 SE or later (sorry, no Macs). Then you run the IP Installer from the CD; it sniffs the network for the camera, then launches a wizard that lets you change the IP address and configure the camera's wireless settings. After you have configured the camera to join your network, you can pull the Ethernet plug and install the camera anywhere within range of your wireless network. The included stand and mounting bracket make the physical installation easy. The camera doesn't take batteries, so you'll need to have an AC outlet within range of its six-foot power cord.

The camera's single, green LED glows, showing it's ready. Open an Internet Explorer window (the camera requires IE 5 or higher) and enter its IP address; a stream of 320x240-pixel video appears, complete with a time and date stamp. It can also send 160x120 video.

The core of the software package is the IP Surveillance suite, which has Monitor and Playback programs and provides a slew of recording and viewing features. The application is easy to install and run, but it takes up the entire screen, and the image stretches awkwardly to fit anything other than a traditional 4:3 display. You can view as many as 16 different video streams in a variety of formats.The DCS-2100+ has a good feature set that includes a motion detector and the ability to monitor up to 16 cameras simultaneously. It can alert you of intruders via e-mail, or it can start an external application that can make a recording or play an alert sound. You can't remotely aim, focus, or zoom it, though.

The DCS-2100+ transmits acceptable-quality (30 frames per second) video, with excellent sound synchronization. Under the best of circumstances, its output has a red cast to it in spite of an automatic white balance, and in a dark setting, the output is grainy, black-and-white video. The camera is not weatherproof, so you must mount it behind a window to monitor outdoor areas.

D-Link Ant24-0801 Pico Cell Patch antenna for even better range. The DCS-2100+'s data stream imposed no noticeable burden upon our network, even while we had six additional data streams running.We wish the D-Link DCS-2100+'s one-year warranty were longer, like the three-year warranty that the company offers on some of its other wireless networking products. The D-Link Web site is very helpful. It's searchable and organized by product. It offers downloadable firmware, replacement applications, and diagrams that explain how the camera fits into your network. At any time, you can tap into the company's extensive knowledge base or call its 24/7 phone support for help. Unfortunately, the Web site lacks a video-based training guide, something that the company offers for several other products. Hide Review User Reviews See all user reviews Average User Rating 2.5 stars out of 15 user reviews Rating Breakdown 5 star: 4 4 star: 1 3 star: 2 2 star: 4 1 star: 4 My Rating 0 stars click stars to rate product Most Helpful User Review 1.5 stars 9 of 9 users found this review helpful "WiFi mode a problem! Please note!" Mar 17, 2005, 1:30 pm By PeterHS Pros Do not know yet.... Cons Could not get WiFi working on D-Link cameras Summary I bought three D-Link WiFi cameras. They worked just fine on wired Ethernet. They would not work at all on WiFi (I even have a 15dB gain antenna so its not a signal issue!) and would not connect from even 10 feet away. Clearly others here have had this problem. ... Expand full review Summary: I bought three D-Link WiFi cameras. They worked just fine on wired Ethernet. They would not work at all on WiFi (I even have a 15dB gain antenna so its not a signal issue!) and would not connect from even 10 feet away. Clearly others here have had this problem. I took them back to the store and bought three Panasonic WiFi cameras (which I have to say are excellent - albeit more expensive) instead. Initially I had the SAME problem. They worked wired but not WiFi. I spent half a day trying to figure this out. Here is what I found: I have a NetGear WiFi Access Point. It is configured with WEP, etc. etc. As such, I had selected Infrastucture Mode. Nothing worked. There was no selection on either the D-Link cameras or the Panasonic cameras to select the network type. I assumed that as it was set to WEP it defaulted to Infrastructure Mode. However, I noticed that there were actually three options in the NetGear setup security selection: Ad-Hoc, Infrastructure and Mixed. For the hell of it I selected Mixed to see what would happen. Hey presto the three cameras instantly burst into life!!! I have no idea what is going on here. There is nothing that monitors anything that you can see to find out. The only thing I can say is that I now have three working WiFi cameras - and, as I said, the Panasonic ones are excellent (and also have pan/tilt and access from Smartphones and PDas and a good number of other great features). It may well be that the D-Link cameras would have worked too if I had chosen Mixed on the NetGear Access Point. But I had already taken them back to the store...... If you haven't got a NetGear WAP or one that has this Mixed option, you may never get the cameras working! Of course, I could be wrong about this but it is the only thing that I changed that had an immediate effect on the non-working WiFi cameras. Anything else I tried did not make a bean of difference...... Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 15 reviews) 1.0 stars "Don't Waste Your Time and Money" Dec 9, 2005, 11:10 pm By gbrown0619 3.0 stars "Good, but WEP does not work" Aug 21, 2005, 10:34 am By vvesk Thanks for your submission! Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community. Write a Review Quickly sign in with: or Log in or create an account to post a review. You are logged in as . Please submit your review for D-Link DCS-2100+ wireless Internet camera 1. Rate this product: 0 stars 2. One-line summary: (10 characters minimum) Count: 0 of 55 characters 3. Pros: (10 characters minimum) Count: 0 of 250 characters 4. Cons: (10 characters minimum) Count: 0 of 250 characters 5. Summary: (optional) Count: 0 of 15000 characters Add Your Opinion The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Click here to review our site terms of use. Where to Buy MSRP: $299.99 See manufacturer site for availability Set price alert Sponsored Premier Brands on CNET BlackBerry Samsung Monitor T-Mobile Sharp Where to Buy MSRP: $299.99 See manufacturer site for availability Set price alert Which Wireless Network is right for me? With so many possible ways to build a network, it pays to home in on the solution that best suits your needs before you buy. 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