Comments for Outdoor Wireless Camera

Comment on Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras (Black) by Bikramjit Ganguly "Icandy"

Bikramjit Ganguly "Icandy" — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:38:56 +0000

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

lots of hoops to go through--, June 27, 2011

Bikramjit Ganguly "Icandy" (Prosser,wa usa) -

This review is from: Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras (Black) (Electronics)

one reported way to look at a live feed is to register at yoics.com and then use a dynamically generated url. turns out that this does not work with any modern browser and windows 7. tried IE 7/8/9, chrome and firefox. no luck. the only way we could get the feed to become visible, is by using XP and IE6 (using the debug tool ietester).
this also requires, that you login first to yoics, with its numerous in-your-face upgrade popups, and then wait for a dynamically generated url. you have to repeat this step each time you use the yoics mechanism. very frustrating.

the other problems are that each camera and its wireless receiver , require their independent power supply. the dvr requires its own power supply as well. so 9 free power slots required. the 4 BNC connectors for the receivers are literally no more than half an inch apart from each other. a real pain to setup 4 BNC connectors. the dvr can't directly be connected to a laptop for first time setup. an independent monitor (or TV) is required. the camera's switch to IR in night. so, in the presence of a nearby porch light, it will get completely washed out. resolution at 480p is poor.

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Comment on Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras (Black) by Victor Rodriguez "Muscle Man"

Victor Rodriguez "Muscle Man" — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:14:49 +0000

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras, August 3, 2011

Victor Rodriguez "Muscle Man" (New York, NY) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras (Black) (Electronics)

Setup was pretty easy but then again I am a computer technician. Navigating within its controls is another thing. Took a little while to figure out how to look back on events in time. Still haven't figured out how to get sound output but I may not be using correct cabling or receiver inputs...still looking into that. Camera are supposed to be for outdoor/weatherproof use but rep on phone said it cannot be out in open exposed to rain so that's a little bit of a problem because I'll need to mount 2 of them under an overhang of my house somewhere. Also the cameras require a power outlet close by because wiring from adapter is not very long. I'm going to have to get outdoor extension cords that are somewhat thin and small so I can insert them under moldings in siding of my house so its not visible. Night time viewing is not what I expected. Cannot really make out anything in great detail because everything looks white as snow with no color. I think one camera may be failing because at night it exhibits jumpy lines in lower part of video and I lost connection to it twice and had to physically go outside and unplug/replug adapter in to get it to work again. Will have to watch that. I would have liked to have gotten 6 channel but couldn't find one and would have had to go up to 8 channel which jumped up over $1000 which I didn't want to spend. Overall for the money I paid its a good surveillance system.

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Comment on Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras (Black) by Michael Dunniway

Michael Dunniway — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:45:56 +0000

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Wireless security system, May 26, 2011

Michael Dunniway (Chewelah, WA, US) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Lorex EDGE+ 4-Channel Video Security DVR with 4 Wireless Security Cameras (Black) (Electronics)

The Lorex wireless camera system is limited in it's ability to give sharp video images day or night (you cannot read a car's license plate). The most disappointing of the features is the very limited distance range that the cameras are able to connect to the DVR. At best, I was only able to be about 40 feet apart. I had to have the inside antennas on a windowsill in line of sight of the cameras. My home is a wood frame structure. The software is somewhat cumbersome in that when you access the "List" of videoed events, you cannot erase the entire previous day of numerous tapings. You have to constantly use a toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You select the event you want to view from the "List" then move the cursor to the tool bar to watch the event or erase the event. Then you have to go back to the "List" to select another event. I may have 400 plus events a night to review. If you want a wireless video security camera system that is easy to install in a very small area, this product may work for you.

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Comment on Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 30 Meter Night Vision and 8mm Lens (32° Viewing Angle) – Silver by David "MCS"

David "MCS" — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:17:37 +0000

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

is ok item, March 24, 2011

David "MCS" (Costa Rica) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 30 Meter Night Vision and 8mm Lens (32° Viewing Angle) - Silver (Electronics)

The camera is ok for the low price, but the software,that come with the camera, is bad really bad.
is impossible conect to this camera from Internet. the camera send a menssaje (the camera cancel the conection)
maybe if this company, patch up the software,o make a new software, the camera will be a good camera.

What the company have to do is fix the software problem.
this camera not is a good choise, to buy with this problem, if you need conect from Internet to watch you house or oficce is a big problem.

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Comment on Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 30 Meter Night Vision and 8mm Lens (32° Viewing Angle) – Silver by John Poindexter

John Poindexter — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:12:28 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Great inexpensive camera, December 7, 2011

John Poindexter -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 30 Meter Night Vision and 8mm Lens (32° Viewing Angle) - Silver (Electronics)

I couldn't believe how good this camera worked. At $105, I wasn't expecting much, but this camera delivers. The color isn't very good at night, but it's amazing how well the nightvision works. I already have ordered another.

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Comment on Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 30 Meter Night Vision and 8mm Lens (32° Viewing Angle) – Silver by Margaret J. Lynne

Margaret J. Lynne — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:39:10 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Good for my app, October 16, 2011

Margaret J. Lynne -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Foscam FI8905W Outdoor Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 30 Meter Night Vision and 8mm Lens (32° Viewing Angle) - Silver (Electronics)

Mounted this on the house to monitor an entry about 150 feet away. Hook to my wireless router was easy and worked reliably for the last year. Good at transmitting pictures on motion detection. Picture quality not the best at that distance but adequate for intrusion monitoring. Have to keep resetting the contrast to get adequate picture quality at any distance between grey days and very bright days. Otherwise picture is too dark or washes out. this one better than my other foscams I use inside.

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Comment on Loftek Newest CXS 3200 Wireless/wired Pan:340°&tilt:100°,ir Cut, Dual Audio Alarm Ip Camera,8-10 Meters Night Vision ,67° Viewing Angle,easy Installation.black(replace 2200) Reviews by WELIANG GUO

WELIANG GUO — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:12:45 +0000

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Impressive IP Camera, August 24, 2011

WELIANG GUO (Sunnyvale, Ca United States) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Loftek Newest CXS 3200 Wireless/wired Pan:340°&tilt:100°,ir Cut, Dual Audio Alarm Ip Camera,8-10 Meters Night Vision ,67° Viewing Angle,easy Installation.black(replace 2200) (Electronics)

As anyone who owns an entry-level IP camera knows, the color quality sucks. One of the most annoying things is the fact that the colors are totally distorted - Trees look white and purple, black clothing looks blue, etc. It's not really a huge problem, but its annoying enough that I had considered dissecting a webcam, removing the IR-Filter, and gluing it onto my first camera (Foscam FI8918W). However, according to the forums, once you glue an IR filter on, you lose night vision capabilities - kind of rendering a night-vision camera useless. I was skeptical that a camera for this price could offer an IR filter as well as night-vision ability. Evidently, its a physical mechanism inside the camera that automatically filters the light during day time, rather than a software or firmware upgrade. The result? I'm very impressed with this odd-looking thing. It also has a slightly wider pan-range (340 degrees over the one I was using before, 300 degrees). Additionally, I opted to use the camera's built-in DDNS. I was previously using a free one from the DynDns website, but using the built-in one is much faster and easier.

It solved my problems of psychedelic colors, and at a very reasonable price! Aside from that, the functions are pretty standard, and almost identical to the camera I was using before.

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Comment on Loftek Newest CXS 3200 Wireless/wired Pan:340°&tilt:100°,ir Cut, Dual Audio Alarm Ip Camera,8-10 Meters Night Vision ,67° Viewing Angle,easy Installation.black(replace 2200) Reviews by Jack

Jack — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:57:31 +0000

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent Price Leader, October 16, 2011

Jack (Florida) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

Let me preface my review by stating if you have never set up a wireless IP camera, get ready for a couple of long nights of Google searches and YouTube how-to videos. However, once everything is up and running the results are amazing. Who would have thought that you could watch what was going on inside your home from any where in the world via a phone?

I have tried 3 different wireless IP security cameras; Foscam FI8918W, LTS LTCIP830MV-W, and now the Loftek CXS 3200. For the money you cannot beat Foscam or Loftek for image quality and ability to find and hold on to a wireless signal. Either one is an outstanding buy.

The Loftek CXS 3200 may in fact be the same camera as the Foscam FI8918W, but in a different body. The software links up and the Loftek camera is visable in the Foscam software. The image quality of the Loftek is great (day and night). With a little help from a Diamond Multimedia Repeater and Range Extender (also sold on Amazon) I get a very usable camera signal through 2 walls.

Remote view via my Android phone is outstanding using either tinyCam Monitor or IP Cam Viewer (buy the "Pro" version to support the devs!). My favorite feature is the email motion alert. Alerts come to my phone within seconds giving me ample time to look at what may have triggered the alarm (via tiny Cam or IP Cam Viewer) and letting me decide whether or not to call the police.

While no security solution is perfect, I feel more secure knowing my little Loftek is on patrol.

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Comment on Loftek Newest CXS 3200 Wireless/wired Pan:340°&tilt:100°,ir Cut, Dual Audio Alarm Ip Camera,8-10 Meters Night Vision ,67° Viewing Angle,easy Installation.black(replace 2200) Reviews by Terrence R. Bayne

Terrence R. Bayne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:45:40 +0000

70 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

Decent camera with a serious security flaw, November 23, 2011

Terrence R. Bayne -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

Note: Updates to this review have been moved to the end.

Overall this is a good camera for the price point with one glaring flaw:

The camera ALWAYS attempts to make an outbound connection to a server in China (IP: 58.61.155.158). There is no way to disable this "feature". When I contacted Loftek support, here was the reply:

-------
Thanks for your message and suport on our product. Please don't worry , 58.61.155.158 is our server ip address . All of our camera ,if you ping its DDNS ,it will resolve to 58.61.155.158 . It is set up for your remote view. It is safe and have no influence to your network. If you still wanna disable it . please close the port forwarding for your camera and disable UPNP in your router. Thanks.
Any question , feel free to let me know.
Thanks for your time.
Best Regards.
-------

So what they suggest is that I modify my firewall to fix a problem in their product. I have suggested that they change the firmware to make this an option that is turned off by default.

Note: Given the way the firmware is designed you can't turn off this feature. It would be easy to make this an "option" so the customer could disable it. The camera will ALWAYS attempt to make an outbound connection to the server mentioned above every time it is turned on. Don't know about you but I am not comfortable with a server in China knowing the externally visible IP address of my camera.

Update (28 November 2011): I have received numerous emails from Loftek asking me to "Fix" my review. I have asked them to stop emailing me with these requests, yet they persist. My review is not broken or inaccurate in any way. The emails claim that they have a way to remove the "hard coded" DDNS server address and to prevent the camera from making an unauthorized outbound connection to their DDNS server. Yet they have not provided me with the information as to "how" to accomplish this. I will continue to update this review. Should they actually provide a way to disable this outbound connection from within their product, I will update this review with that information.

Update (30 November 2011): Last night I received another email from Loftek support. Rather than ranting I will post the email and my response below. At this point I feel I have given Loftek every opportunity to fix the security flaw - to no avail. I have purchased another (non-Loftek) camera. I will post my review once it arrives and I have a chance to test it. Here is the email and response:

-------
>Dear Terrence R. Bayne,
>Thanks for your message. As for your problem , we can delete the DDNS compeletly from your camera. Would you mind tell me if your camera >available for remote view now ? if it is ok , please sent me a Administrator account and password, so that our tech can access your camera >to destroy the DDNS. Please advise.

-- My response --

Let me be sure I understand what you are asking....

1. You want me to provide admin access to a device inside my firewall.
2. You want me to do this so your technician can modify my camera to
remove the DDNS information.

Is this correct?

If so my answer is "No". You will not get access to ANYTHING inside
my firewall. Not even temporarily.

This request clearly shows that you folks really don't have any idea
about network security, or security in general.

Why is it you won't provide the information so I can disable this
functionality myself? Obviously there is a way to do it, so provide
the information to the public so everyone can benefit (and can vet the
process as well).

Note that I will be adding portions of this email conversation to the
review on Amazon.

If you are NOT willing to provide the information on how to disable
the DDNS within the camera DO NOT CONTACT me further.
-------

Update (01 December 2011): Another round of emails with Loftek support. This shows how truly clueless they are. They seem to think it's ok to access a device inside my firewall (they assumed that I thought they wanted to access my PC and that I shouldn't be upset that they want to access the camera). And they feel that the "fix" is some sort of a trade secret. Here is their email and my reply:

Dear Terrence R. Bayne'
Thanks for your message. Acctually we just wanna access your camera not your PC. So sorry we can't offer the information to you to delete the DDNS because it involve our product brand. Hope you can understand. Anyway , if it is not available for us access your camera , we can sent you a replcement camera without given ddns.
Thanks for your time.
Best Regards

My Reply:

Good Morning,

Really? The automatic DDNS entry is some sort of "trade secret"... Read more

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Comment on SE Fake Surveillance Camera with Sensor Reviews by Alice Burley

Alice Burley — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:59:01 +0000

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

Not appropriate for an Office, March 18, 2008

Alice Burley -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Fake Security Camera w/ Motion Detection Sensor & Activation Light - No Wiring Necessary (Misc.)

I bought 6 of these cameras for our various offices and they are very noisy. They move alot, but due to the noise they make one would not be able to use them in an office environment. When they move back and forth they don't really focus at the person who activated the motion sensor, so that appeared to be very unrealistic. Their appearance from a distance might fool some, but they look very much like a toy.

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