Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Outdoor Master System Camera

Reviews of Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Outdoor Master System Camera

1.) A good, inexpensive video security system
Reviewed by: R. Roach
Rating:
I purchased one outdoor camera to monitor my driveway. The 15-minute setup is not likely to occur, in my opinion. It took me about a half an hour. I had to change my firewall settings. Once it was determined that it worked, it took another hour to mount the camera outside. For this price, I am impressed. I asked my alarm company what they would charge and they say $4,000 or more. The quality is good, it is recording based on motion detection. The software is easy to use. I am not interested in remote features so I can't speak to them. I think this is a great product, and am considering to add another camera.

2.) Exactly what I was looking for
Reviewed by: D. Warner colorado
Rating:
As usual Logitech exceeded my expectations. This system is a perfect all-in-one camera/dvr setup ready to use right out of the box, just make shure your own a decent PC. Out of all of my computers the Intel Duel-Core(@1.7ghz each)processor works the best. Execelent picture quality surpassing even some high end panasonic and sony systems I have used through busnesses. Very easy to use, hardest part would be mounting the camera.Tough built-temp. already been below recommended operating temp in my area, still no problems.Extention cords of any lenght don't effect performance.IMPORTANT: completly weatherproof connections NOT with tape. if possable run under edge of roof or if possable use garage power source. I highly recommend this product, if you buy it just to test it I bet you will keep it.


3.) Wow!
Reviewed by: Sandman Woodlawn, TN USA
Rating:
One word...Outstanding. The WiLife system misses NOTHING...even a deer in the driveway at 3:45 am gets recorded. The system is easly expandable and I will be adding more cameras soon.

4.) Caught a culprit, then became a turtle cam!
Reviewed by: Jean B Los Angeles, CA
Rating:
I initially bought this camera system in Sept. 09 to mount on the front of my house to figure out who was walking their dog late at night and letting it poop up and down the sidewalk on my block (was an on-going regular problem for months). I was able to adjust the brightness and contrast under the camera set up options in the command center to get a good night picture on a dimly lit city block. With the adjustments, the picture was good enough at night to see who was passing by, and it even captured opossums at night. There was a lot more activity on my street than I was aware of. I was able to set the camera recording area and sensitivity to not pick up movement across the street, just on my side of the street. And I caught the culprit...

After figuring out who the inconsiderate neighbor was, I moved the camera next to my raised pond in my backyard, where my turtle (Stephen Colbertle the Turtle) lives. I've wanted a turtle cam since building the pond! Stephen is a red eared slider, so I hardly ever get glimpses of him out of the water. Now, I can see him up close and personal whenever he gets out to bask in the sun. I've adjusted the camera sensitivity so it doesn't turn on when the wind blows the pond plants a little, and I've set the brightness and contrast to auto-adjust (which works with the sunlight changes thoughout in the day). I've set up a free account on the wilife website so I can even log in and check on my turtle when I'm at work. It doesn't make for super exciting viewing but its pretty cool (okay, has been called geeky).

When the camera was in my front yard, it was close to my computer inside the house (just one wall between camera and computer). Now that it is in the backyard, there are three rooms between where the computer and camera are, and some yard space, and there are no problems with the picture.

I haven't had any problems with the camera, and I think the software program with command center is very easy to use and intuitive. If my camera dies, I will buy another one (if out of warrantee), and I am considering buying some additional ones to add to my system (watching for price drops).

One thing I would recommend to anyone purchasing, rather than using the CD that comes with the camera to load the software, go to the wilife website and download the most up to date software for the system.

I didn't expect the camera to work as well as it has (but I was tired of the dog poop on the sidewalk, and stopping that was enough motivation to give the camera a try). So far, it has worked great for me and I am very pleased with this product.

5.) Easy Setup
Reviewed by: W. Stoddart Idaho
Rating:
This product worked just as described. The setup was very easy. The camera works over the electrical system in your house so all you do is plug in the camera and the reciever and you are good to go. I was able to get the camera to work over a hundred feet from the receiver as long as it is on the same electrical system. The camera can be easily set to record and it can be set to be very sensitive to movement, so it is good for security. The system is very easy to access online. The only problem I had was that I had to adjust my firewall to allow the camera in but one short call to tech support and they had me fixed up.

Con: The only thing I didn't like is that the pan and zoom features they promote when accessing the camera online are only available for extra money.

6.) response to O. Mccoy "mccoy"
Reviewed by: Ann Parks Saint Clair Shores, MI United States
Rating:
These cameras are set up for 24 hour motion detection right out of the box. If you need them to record constantly, then you need to create a schedule and tell them to do so. Make sure you have alot of hard drive space because the files are huge, due to the quality of video.
Also, if there are times that you want recording to be off, you also have to schedule it and tell the cameras to not alert or record.

7.) Good Value for the Cost...
Reviewed by: ppro Morgantown, WV USA
Rating:
After a few neighborhood events and some teenage pranks on our home, I decided I wanted something to give me a view to what goes on outside my house.

I found the system to be very easy to install. The cameras may be placed anywhere there is a solid surface to mount them, and a way to run power to them. The power line supplies the video feed so there is nothing else to wire. I put three cameras in by simply affixing them to my house and running the power to a convenient outlet out of reach of outsiders.

The receiving end of the video is a box that plugs into the regular power outlet in the wall, and the USB plug on the back of a computer. The software installs very easily.

In my case, the cameras came online immediately and the video image is reasonably good quality.

I did run into one problem that I have not been able to solve. And Logitech Customer service has been totally unresponsive to my submitted problem reports: I cannot access the cameras from the free web site they provide for this purpose. I believe the problem is related to my internet service provider configuration, my wireless router, firewall and IP addresses. I suspect a session with customer service would get me through this, but no such luck yet.

Notwithstanding my inability to get customer service and remote viewing, the system works great and records any movement detected to my hard drive for live or later viewing. I can see the comings and goings, and also what's going on at night. One caution - the cameras do not work in darkness without some sort of light source. In my case, I have motion activated spots that are pointed at the same areas as the cameras so I get good images of any motion at night. My friend who bought this system but does not have outdoor lighting, does not get any images at night, even though the cameras will detect motion and come on. So purchase some motion-activated spotlights or another system. Also, the infrared lighting that Logitech sells is not for the outdoor cameras so keep that in mind.

Overall, I think this solution does a decent job of adding to my security profile.

8.) Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Outdoor Master System Camera
Reviewed by: Charles W. Burrell Missouri
Rating:
I am not a GEEK but this product makes me feel like one. Software is VERY easy to install and use. It looks great and everyone I have sent videos rave about the clarity! Highly recomend!!

9.) logitech outdoor camera fix
Reviewed by: steven a markham
Rating:
The Logitech Wilife outdoor cameras have a known defect (caps melting). They fail in about a year. This is due to the following four 1000uF caps: C26 C27 C31 C32. The initial was a10v cap then later releases were 16v. I replaced them with 25v. See Digikey part number UHE1E102MHD6. The caps are from Nichicon and are Aluminum Electrolytic. They are rated for 10,000 hours at 105 degrees C. The caps don't fit perfectly (the original are 8mm diameter versus 12.5mm that I put in) so insulate the leads and let them float above the circuit board.

10.) Perfect (so far)
Reviewed by: hoos30 Washington, DC
Rating:
I've only had my camera installed a for a little over three weeks so I can't speak to the longevity of the product, but so far this security suite has been great for us. Ease of installation, picture quality, features (emailing motion detected images is great!) have been wonderful.

I will update the review after I pass the dreaded 12 month mark.

11.) Easy to install and works great!
Reviewed by: John V Syracuse NY
Rating:
This outdoor camera works very well and the program installation is very easy. I plan on adding another outdoor camera to the system soon. Works well in low light conditions too.

12.) Good idea, Great possibilities, Satisfied with product
Reviewed by: Pinney Georgia
Rating:
I have had a Logitech WiLife Security system for over two years and there is a lot that I am satisfied with. It was easy to install, the motion detection that can be activated by each individual camera is great and saves having a constant recording, connecting to my computer by house wiring is a great idea and one of the best features that I like about this system. I am operating two cameras. One of the went bad after an year and Logitech replaced it promptly. I can keep at least four months of motion detection videos from two cameras on my computer and use less than 20 gig's. With cats and other animals around, there are a lot of video recording. To be able to attach this to my computer is another great feature of this product. I have two desk top computers and I leave them on 24 hours a day 365 days a year. I have done this for at least 7 years ahd have never had a hard drive go bad. This is mainly due to very good battery backups. Since I was already keeping my computers on, the Logitech system adapted well to my setup. The only complaint I have is that I wish the cameras could produce clearer pictures. I cannot read the letters and numbers on vehicle license plates that come down my driveway. When compared to other security systems that a home owner can buy, these cameras are just as good or better. I firmly believe Logitech has a great product and I wish they could improve the cameras. Everything else works great. I can also view the recordings when I am away from my home.

13.) A breeze to install, easy to use
Reviewed by: E. S. New York
Rating:
I purchased this outdoor camera after considering virtually every other option out there, including various IP cameras. My intention was to use it to show my driveway, as stuff has been stolen out of my vehicles over the past few months while they were right in my driveway. I had a couple of concerns about this product, primarily the 15 fps frame rate (which was half of other cams), the rated temperature it could withstand (I live in the northeast), and the low-light capabilities.

I ended up purchasing it after seeing the high cost of various outdoor IP cams, and the fact that they were more involved to install. I'm tech savvy, but not interested in doing wiring. Turns out this cam solved all of my concerns.

First, the outdoor cam is extremely easy to install. Up and running just as advertised, although I will have to drill a big hole behind the cam to run the power cord through. Be advised that it is permanently affixed to the cam, meaning that you will have to drill a big enough hole through wherever it's mounted to fit the plug end of the cord. Drilling that hole is really the biggest issue with this camera. If you don't have to do that, you're golden.

With regard to the 15 fps, during the daytime it's no issue at all. Very smooth and clear. At night however, I've found 15 fps isn't quite enough to get perfectly smooth video. It's a bit jerky, but not overly so. For my purposes, it works. You wouldn't want to use it at night professionally though, I dont think. With regard to its low light capability, I was pleasantly surprised. I live in a suburb of NYC, so we have street lights and neighbors close by, so there's always quite a bit of ambient light about. Therefore, even before my motion-activated lights turn on and brighten my driveway, it gives a pretty good picture. If you are out in the middle of nowhere where there isnt a lot of ambient light, your results may differ, but it should be fine anywhere you have any additional lights about.

Finally, I was concerned about the durability of the cam itself. I believe it says it's temperature rated down to about freezing, which concerned me, but I just used it during a blizzard and sub-freezing temps and there were no issues. Not sure how that affects product life, but time will tell.

Viewing the cam online is a snap, and provides various good alert functions to send the alerts to either an email address or a cell phone. You can limit the sensitivity of the camera itself so it doesnt record every time car headlights reflect off you windows, and limit the area in which the camera will attempt to detect motion. Very helpful. You can only view a live feed online, not the recorded video, unless you purchase a platinum package from Logitech, currently valued at about $80 for the year. I just recevied a $20 off email though, so I am considering it. It provides additional features other than uploading your video to their server for viewing and storing (for the safety conscious), and also includes the ability to pan, tilt and zoom their indoor cams.

The only real drawbacks are the lack of audio (not needed for my purposes), and the 15 fps at night. Otherwise, this is a great cam, which can be added seamlessly to their other indoor cams. It is cheaper than other good outdoor wireless IP cams, requires no wiring and does the job as advertised for residential purposes. Not sure about using it commercially, as I have no need for that. Overall, I highly recommend it for home use.

14.) Excellent Value
Reviewed by: DZA New York, NY
Rating:
Installation of the outdoor camara was a little long but more so due to it being placed on the exterior of my home. I had to drill a hole big enough to fit the cord and plug which plugs into an interior outlet. Once I patched the hole, turned on the pc and synced them, the security system was up and running. No problem. I have the motion sensor on. It sends a image when the camara detects motion. Beautiful!!!!

15.) Good Product
Reviewed by: TCB San Diego
Rating:
I have installed these on several households now. If you have a computer that is fast enough to support them and your normal use then it's great. I used my older desktop I don't use for anything else. Works great on all the households. On older houses you have take special consideration on where you plug them in and how many are on the same circuit. Plug and play pretty much. In older houses or older wiring use only one camera per breaker circuit. Seem to work fine that way without any issues. If you always have unsteady power to your house they might lag when your power level shifts. Works in low light but not the best. Best thing for households and small businesses.

16.) Good but doesn't always work.
Reviewed by: Christina WI
Rating:
I like the ease of set up, the video quality; however it does not work consistently and I find this frustrating. I can not make sense of when it works and when it doesn't. I don't know if it's because my home's wiring is older or if the product is faulty. When it is working - it is great. Another thing to be aware of is that it's very tedious to get rid of video footage that you no longer want. Each tiny segment has to be deleted one piece at a time. I haven't found a way to delete large chunks of time; such as deleting one day.

17.) Cannot be used as a standalone alarm for business.
Reviewed by: T. G. Kraft Alpharetta, GA
Rating:
OK, I like the camera, seems to work most of the time but something keeps taking the cameras off line and requires a power cycle to get them back on-line. It could be the building power (Historic district, 80 year old house) and I'm running two cameras 300' from the main panel. Not the level of reliability I was looking for in my business, but finding a way to make it work. I went with the Pro upgrade and it needs more features. I should be able to control all aspects of the command center remotely but cannot change brightness (for example), but what is there seems to work fine.

I'm using snap shot alerts sent via multi media to my blackberry, they are slow and not considered useful in catching someone in the act. Sometimes I get the multi media alert 24 hours later. Could be AT&T, but haven't figured it out yet.

You really should have a dedicated computer to run more than three cameras, it chews up disk space and bandwidth fast. We noticed a serious slow down of our database applications when the cameras are on.

Super easy to install, software is easy to understand.

Great monitoring tool, not a great alarm system.

Extra cameras are too expensive when compared with other systems.


18.) Somewhat Satisfied
Reviewed by: Fortunecookie Delaware, USA
Rating:
I was satisfied with the purchase but did not like that you had to pay for an additional fee if you wanted to get an arial / zoom view. This was not stated in the description of the product. Furthermore, I thought is was on the pricey side with having to spend the same amount for additional cameras. For the price, it would have been nice for night vision.

19.) not what we expected
Reviewed by: Rob Delta, Oh.
Rating:
Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security.. Outdoor Master System Camera
It was well made and tech support was good,but when we purchased it, they never said you couldn't use it in the dark at night without lighting. Also because our garage has has a separate electrical system from our home we wouldn't be able to use it without a computer in the garage. To much for us, to much to deal with.

20.) Easy.. but not reliable at all
Reviewed by: Chris Bloomfield Hills, MI
Rating:
The product was very easy to set up, but is not reliable. I find that 35% of the time i go to check the cameras they are not working and take a while to get up again. I am not getting good range on the cameras either. 30' at the most. I might be doing something wrong, but i have read the instructions many times... I do NOT recommend this product... Way more expensive than it should be... doesn't work well... add on cameras are ridiculously expensive... not reliable at all

21.) Manufacturer Support Does not Exist
Reviewed by: MAGS Virginia Beach
Rating:
The camera works. The software works. I tried originally to install on laptop and it did not work at all (USB obviously not sufficient). Tried to remove software. Can't do it as it keeps running. Tried to contact "Support" via email and phone - does not work. If you have problems, pack it up and send it back. Waited on phone over 11 minutes just to be disconnected. It's OK. No more/no less. Don't know how to store info. They want you to buy "Platinum" to do more (zoom, etc.). False advertising if you think you"ll get that with the regular package. I am not inclined to spend more considering the total lack of Customer Support. I, personally, would rather spend more and have the support. Will never buy this brand name in the future.Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Outdoor Master System Camera

22.) Not as expected
Reviewed by: Reil
Rating:
Before I purchased this product, I would like to have known that there was no "sound alert" available unless you purchased an additional software upgrade. This is very deceptive marketing.

The most valuable part of a security system is the protection it provides during occupancy. If someone is breaking into (or intruding upon) another part of the house (or business) while I'm there ... well, Logitech thinks you're looking at the video even while sleeping. Unless ... yep ... unless you pay for a software upgrade. And if you want to "schedule" when the camera will run ... yep, pay for a software upgrade.

As the only functional camera that works over house wiring (not running cable thru the attic), it was a very attractive system. Now, after carefully "channeling" the plug-in connection to hide the power cord, I feel I'm "stuck" with this system.

I'm angry, but I'll live with it. Buyer beware.

23.) Just don't get it evidently. ?????/
Reviewed by: mccoy west virginia
Rating:
I bought the inside at sam's and the outside on here, but i can't get direct mode, and i can only get a few minutes or seconds of the recorded video, either i don't understand how, or it just doesn't do what i want it to do, if i leave it on record, the next day, it only gives small sections, i need something to record and be able to go back to it all of the hours of the day. Anybody responds, let me know. thanks omccoy

24.) Wrong item sent
Reviewed by: John Noonan East Falmouth, MA USA
Rating:
Amazon sent the wrong item and they cannot rush the correct item for some reason. Consequently, I have an area at my office that has been broken into twice and a month after ordering this camera it is still unprotected because I have yet to receive the correct camera and system.

25.) Didn't stand the test of time
Reviewed by: Michael Hershberger Cincinnati, OH
Rating:
When I first got the system and installed it, I was excited. Installation was easy. It started right up. It was sending me email alerts. I could access my cameras from the internet. How cool was that!!

But now 3 months later the bloom is off the rose, and I am ready to scrape it or send it back. It is just too unreliable. I have my system at a location that I only visit once a week. I would estimate that less than 25% of the time does it make through an entire week with all three primary functions (local recording, email alerts, internet viewing) all working, all week. And it's not just one thing. It's multiples. Logitec's help system always has suggestions but reliability never improves and the same problems continue to repeat.

So unless you can physically access the system daily and/or are ok with parts of the system going down for periods of time, I would stay away from this product.

Great idea. Flawed execution.

26.) Quality and camera life are terrible
Reviewed by: Jack Arizona
Rating:
I bought this camera over a year ago and from the beginning the image quality was questionable. After about 1 year, the outdoor camera burned out. I contacted their customer support, but they were unable to assist. I then took the camera back to the store where I purchased it and they only offered to give me a discount on another one, so, like a fool, I bought another one. This time the camera burned out within 3 months. If you want a camera that will last, this is not the camera for you!

27.) Unreliable
Reviewed by: J. T. Zimmerman Pittsburgh PA
Rating:
I bought this camera for an external view of my driveway, the fact that it would send the signal across the power line really appealed to me as I did not want to run cable for a camera.

I had the USB powerline adapter on the exact same circuit breaker line on a computer in my house that I used to monitor the camera, record images, etc.

The device is completely unreliable, it will drop the feed and you have no idea anything is wrong until you check on it. I had to reboot the camera and/or powerline adapter once every couple of days.

I bought another computer specifically for the camera thinking a closer range might help. I put a computer in my garage which defeated the entire purpose of using this product to begin with. This lasted about two months and the camera and/or powerline adapter completely died. The camera can no longer be identified, I suppose after reading similar comments the camera burned out.

For 250 dollars this is a complete waste of money, they also mislead you with the 'advanced features' in the software that should be part of the entire suite but they don't tell you that until after you buy it. Overall I think its a poorly engineered device, and more importantly it is completely unreliable. Obviously it was hit and miss for about a year and I am out of my warranty, the support people are also completely clueless as to how their own product works, I had to manually edit the configuration file to get mine to work.

Overall, its an interesting novelty but the picture is jerky, by the time it takes a snapshot the activity has long since passed.

I would highly recommend another product, I wasted 250 dollars, the components themselves are made in China and are worth maybe 20 dollars tops.



28.) Not happy
Reviewed by: Java 1 Las Vegas, Baby!
Rating:
I tried this camera out for about 25 days and I am sending it back. It's an OK camera overall but the software is not very intuitive and it keeps losing the signal from the camera. To reset it you have to reset the camera which you can't do from the remote Internet site. I'm looking for a better system.

29.) Caveat Emptor With This Security System
Reviewed by: candorguy Los Angeles, CA
Rating:
I thought I was getting a fairly reasonable outdoor security camera system. Installation was a breeze. However, I was very disappointed that the outdoor camera lasted less than two months! As a result, it has been over five months collecting dust on my shelf. Despite the fact that I have five months of warranty left. Forget about brand loyalty; this outdoor security camera is the pits! Customer service? They should know by now, that this outdoor camera gets very hot. And as a result, it is bound to fail--pure and simple! Spend more time on quality control! If I had my way, this camera is for the highway and gets no stars. My advice is to stay away from this product!

30.) Not last
Reviewed by: Simple Man
Rating:
I had 3 defected units exchanged for warranty. Right now I had 1 dead( out of warranty). One more still working but I expected It will go out of service any day. I am looking another brand. This is a costly tried out for me.
UPDATE:
My last camera just die 2 weeks ago, May 2009. as I expected. Be careful when you choose this model.

Features of Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Outdoor Master System Camera

WiLife Digital Video Security Camera Outdoor Master System

1.) Weather-resistant Design;
2.) Support For Up To Six Cameras;
3.) Motion-activated Mobile Alerts;
4.) Multiple Mounting Options;

Package Height x Length x Width: 17.3 in. x 17.3 in. x 9.9 in.
Package Weight: 2.9 lbs.

Accessories for Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Outdoor Master System Camera