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Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Indoor Master System Camera | 
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| Brand: Logitech
Category: CE
List Price: $299.99
Buy New: $269.99
You Save: $30.00 (10%)
New (30) Used (1) from $321.19
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 3237
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 15.2 x 3.2 x 8.9
nv:Image Resolution: 1024 x 768
Movie Resolution: 640 x 480
Movie Mode: 15 fps
Movie Image Resolution: 640 x 480
Height: 5.0 inches
Width: 3.2 inch
Depth: 2.6 inches
MPN: 961-000286
Model: 961-000286
UPC: 097855052056
EAN: 0097855052056
ASIN: B0017U8FVI
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Box Contents - Logitech Indoor Camera, Logitech USB receiver, Logitech Command Center PC software, and USB cable | | • | 400 MHz DSP Processing Power | | • | Windows Media Video 9 Image Encoding | | • | Motion detection in up to 16 zones, Auto brightness Image Processing | | • | Selectable 640 x 480 pixels or 320 x 240 pixels Resolution |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Monitor your home or business with the Logitech Indoor Video Security Master System, a revolutionary video security system you can install in 15 minutes.Sleek, yet unobtrusive, the Indoor Camera fits seamlessly with your home decor.It's all plug and play. Using innovative HomePlug technology, the Logitech Indoor Video Security Master System transmits encrypted video over existing electrical wires straight to your PC.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
These can be a quick, easy, and effective wireless security video solution. December 18, 2008
W. C. Bryant (Columbus, OH USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Dogs are wonderful prognosticators when it comes to an impending knock on the door. Their only shortcoming on this front, really, is that they are limited in their ability to let you know who approaches. I've often been at work in some part of the house, typing away on my laptop, only to have a knock at the door derail my train of thought. Is it a delivery person dropping off a parcel? Perhaps a neighbor with a particular need or request, maybe it's a local kid selling for some fund raiser. I want to answer these knocks. But the carpet cleaning service trying to drum up business, or the friendly but somewhat sinister old ladies trying to sell their own version of the afterlife to me, or the relatively creepy guy that wants to sell frozen meat from the back of his shabby non-descript truck? I mean, sometimes I just have better things to do.
I've wanted a camera system for a number of years. It's one of those things where I would do some internet searches, read some reviews, browse around here on Amazon - but never saw the right time to take a leap. I wanted something that would integrate with my home network. I didn't just want a little dedicated monitor somewhere hooked up to a VCR, I wanted to be able to access the feed from any of my home computers, and ideally, over the internet. I didn't want to pay a monthly service fee, I wanted a range of camera options that included interior, exterior, and ideally some ability to see in the dark. Most of all, I wanted something that would be well designed and reliable. Wilife seemed to meet all of these requirements, so when the opportunity to try it out presented itself, I finally took the leap.
Things seemed to go pretty smoothly right out of the box. I mounted the camera with the provided suction cup on to a front facing window (ultimately I'd end up using the supplied hard mount to fix a better angle), ran the cable from that down to the supplied adapter set into a nearby outlet. By my desktop which serves as a print and file server for the other laptops, I plugged in the other wall outlet, and ran the USB cable provided from that to the computer. After installing the software and registering for the free online access to the feeds, it did a quick search, and suddenly I had a live view of my front yard before me on the monitor. I tweaked a few settings (went up to the maximum 15fps setting, and the highest resolution at 640x480), turned the lens just a bit to provide sharper focus, and everything looked terrific.
The Wilife control panel allows you to adjust recording sensitivity. Out of the box, when someone walked down the sidewalk on the other side of the street, it didn't record. Just to test it, I pulled the slider to the top of the 100 point scale. Now it would record when birds flew by. I took it down to the bottom, and even cars passing on the street didn't trigger it. I left it around 65 ultimately, which would pick up people or animal movement in my front yard, cars in the street, but not much else across the street. I found the slider to have a full range of sensitivity, rather than the "all or nothing" I've read about with similar products.
We were delighted, everything seemed to be fine, right up until I needed to send a document to the shared printer. No dice. When you plug everything in, a new network connection is created on your computer. All the data is passing through your electrical wires, which is why you can't plug the adapters into surge protectors and the like. Then it comes out through the outlet, passes through the USB cable into your computer, all within its own little network with its own IP address range. For 99% of those who buy and use this product, I think that's all going to work brilliantly. My network setup is a little more complicated. This desktop already had 3 adapters. Two wired, one wireless. Two networks converged at this point, one providing internet access. For whatever reason, the presence of the new USB adapter was preventing other computers in the same workgroup from accessing the shared resources. I contacted tech support over email, sent them diagnostics generated from the Wilife control center, and we tried disabling a variety of things that could have been interfering. After not having any luck in that direction, they sent me an ethernet bridge. During this time I could either have my camera up, or shared resource access to that machine - but not both. Upon receipt (which was literally the next day in this case), I disconnected the USB cable from the desktop and the plug to which it was connected. I plugged in the new adapter, and ran a standard network cable from it to my router. Instantly the camera came back to life, and we discovered that we could once again access the shared resources on the desktop. Problem fixed by the responsive, friendly, and entirely thorough staff - a wholly positive tech support experience that, quite frankly, I'm just not accustomed to. As the old saying goes though; your mileage may vary.
The same holds true depending on the relative power and speed of the computer you intend to run the control center on. Handling a 640x480 video stream at 15fps can task some older computers. Multiply that out across a few cameras, add the recording function which goes on and off dynamically (and/or by a scheduler you set), and you're apt at some point to start seeing some stutters on the live playback. I can't speak to anyone else's system but my own, but on a two or three year old desktop running an AMD64 processor at 2.2GHz with 1GB of RAM, the only time I notice a hiccup on live playback is when the recorder is kicking in, and I don't see the same when I review the recorded output. I'm at the highest possible visual quality settings, I imagine if I went up to 3 or 4 cameras, I might have to bring the settings down a bit -- but for the time being, it's smooth sailing even while that machine also streams audio out to the Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System, handles regular and generally large print queues, as well as limited browser function.
Since installing this system, this camera caught damage happening to a package which might have otherwise represented a difficult dispute, caught some local kids setting fire to a few bags of lawn waste (odd one, that), and gives us advance warning whenever something is about to be delivered, or a guest is approaching otherwise unannounced. We love our LukWerks.
 Peace of Mind for a decent price December 15, 2008
P. Falcioni (Central Oregon, United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is our second go-around with the WiLife system. I initially purchased WiLife last summer while we were getting ready for a month-long trip through Alaska on motorcycles.
I have an Ipaq handheld PDA with wifi, and was looking forward to being able to view recorded Wilife video (gotta see the cats!) whenever we got wireless Internet access on the road.
Unfortunately, even with a Premium (paid) membership, the system doesn't allow you to view RECORDED video on a handheld or internet-enabled phone. You can view live video on a handheld, or you can view recorded video on a regular laptop.
This wasn't going to meet our needs, so I returned the system.
However, With even more travelling in our future, and even though we have a very good security system, we still wanted to check on the cats every so often. So, I spent some time checking out other options. After exhausting all the possibilities under $500, the Wilife still came out on top.
So, we reordered from Amazon (they must think we're nuts!).
The new system was just as easy and quick to set up as last time. I had it all plugged in and running in less than 10 minutes.
The only issue is plugging the adapter directly into a socket by your computer. Most of us have both those plugs already spoken for! Fortunately we live in a new home with a multitude of plugs, after some shuffling, I freed up one by the computer.
Video quality is very good, even in low light conditions. For nighttime viewing, I have a regular table lamp set up on a timer in the room with the camera.
We have an automated cat food dispenser, so we know when the cats will be in this room (the food is dispensed on a schedule), so I'll know to have my iPaq fired up and watching the live video at these times.
I also set up the email notification system, which I have set to send single-frame shots of any activity.
Between these two options, we will be able to keep track of the cats, and be relaxed knowing they're healthy and well fed.
Although the WiLife system isn't perfect, and it's not cheap, I believe you get a good value for your money. With some thought and creativity it can suit most every need.
 Good Basic Digital Wireless Security Camera December 14, 2008
Weatherman (Northeast, Pennsylvania, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think my title says it all. Here is a good basic INDOOR security camera. It's not an outdoor camera (there is a outdoor camera available, but this is not the one), and it comes with the monitor and software. It's wireless, so that you do not have to run wires through the house, however you cannot plug it into an extension or surge protector.
It does take time to setup. Put aside a good hour if not longer unless you are well aware of computers and setting up this type of camera. IMHO with anything new, I set aside a good hour to do a setup as things almost always do not go according to plan, then I try to rush and do more wrong and things go from bad to worse. So set aside time.
There are some subscriptions you have to pay extra for if you wish. It'll all work without it (like recording and looking back), but again you do not have to. Personally I think a year should be included in the initial setup.
Some ideas for this system could be a baby monitor or indoor security system to keep it focused on a room.
Also, it does not have night or low light vision. But again they do sell cameras here at amazon to go with the system.
When setting it up, you'll want to do a manual check for new versions and upgrade as especially when you're upgrading you want to have the most recent version. And in the future, manual checks for upgrades tend to work better than auto. But again, set aside time.
Now keep in mind the camera itself is basic. It's not high quality to give details. You can purchase high quality cameras, but they cost money. Do a search for security cameras and see the prices. For all you get here, this is well worth it. Even with the extras you may wish to pay for, it's not a bad deal.
A good value for the price December 2, 2008
O. Lerma (Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thus far I'm pretty impressed with this security system. The cost is relatively low, setup is easy and the software offers many options for recording, viewing and notifications. The video signal travels through the electrical wiring in your house so there is no need to run additional cables for the video. You just need a standard electrical outlet. Also, you can't connect the camera to a surge protector due to the filters built into those devices. I haven't had to contact support so I can't comment on that part.
Pros:
- Fairly low cost
- Easy setup with good well written instructions.
- Good software with many options but still easy to use.
- Able to monitor from any computer with an Internet connection.
- Good video quality in good light.
Cons:
- Poor low light performance. Hard to ID even cars that pass under a bright street light by our home.
- Frame frame drops in low light. The normal frame rate I set is 15fps. This seems to drop to about 5fps in low light.
This could be a great system but they need to improve the low light capabilities
The Logitech Wilife Security LukWerks Indoor Master System - Nice Set With Updated Components December 2, 2008
Mark (East Coast)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security Indoor Master System is my second set in this group of security products. I've added on a few components and learned how to deal with more of the system's features and quirks. As far as home security camera systems go, this is a very nice value. While I haven't had any issues with the components I have purchased, the previous incarnation did have some warts that have hopefully been addressed with this update.
This unit includes the Wilife management software, one indoor camera, suction cup mount, bar mount, table stand and power and USB connectors. I like the product, although there are some reservations. You have to know your needs very well in order to know if this is right for you.
The design of the indoor cameras is very unique though somewhat blocky. The outdoor cameras are more traditionally shaped. In any event, they all seem to work well once set up.
PROS:
+ Updated hardware and software should improve reliability and ease of use
+ Nice power over Ethernet design means no batteries needed
+ Nice price for a fully functioning starter system
+ Improved cell phone and email alert features
+ Very easy to add cameras to the system
+ Nice available accessories to add on to your installation
+ Nice interface for management software with many customizable settings
+ Default settings will meet the needs of novice users without adjustments
+ System is motion activated, saving storage space
+ Video recordings are easily backed, copied, or erased
+ Video can be accessed via live feed over the internet
+ Firmware updates are readily available, with caveats
CONS:
- Installation can be somewhat time-consuming
- Despite what they tell you, DO NOT ENABLE AUTOMATIC FIRMWARE UPDATES!!! Do them manually
- Some features require a premium subscription at an additional cost
- The starter set should have included at least one more camera
- Lack of audio will disappoint more demanding users
- Latency on website video access
- Software interface requires some getting used to
CONSIDERATIONS
1. Your camera must be close to an outlet to connect it via the included 10 foot cable.
2. You have to manually adjust the camera focus, so adjust it before mounting.
3. Your computer must meet the hardware and software requirements.
4. Your computer must be on all the time for video recording.
5. You will need a broadband connection to access this video remotely.
6. This power-line connection will work better with newer wiring.
7. It's best to set up extra hard drive space for at least 10 GB of videos.
8. The computer recording video needs to be a PC. A Mac running Windows in a virtual machine software might work.
INSTALLATION
Physically installing the cameras is straightforward. The receiver and the camera must be attached through power outlet via receiver plugs. The system connects to your computer over the power interface via the USB port.
The software installation still requires some patience and hardware knowledge. Computers running Windows Vista, Antivirus software and software firewalls will need those security settings disabled to get the Wilife software to install. Still, it's well worth it to have this system installed on a secure computer. You can re-enable all that stuff when you are done, making sure to allow for your firewall to permit the Wilife software to access the internet.
Installing on XP may be slightly easier, but you will still have to deal with disabling your Antivirus or desktop firewall if you are running those. You should want the computer that's storing your home security video files to be secure. Taking the extra time to have AV and a firewall working is worth the effort.
Windows Vista requires a few reboots before the software installs and sees the cameras. On my first installation of the product I experienced some initial hanging, but I had better luck the second time I set up the starter kit in a different location. So the software has been improved, but it is still beneficial to be comfortable with computers.
Setup can take about an hour or two depending on how you place your cameras and the speed of your computer. If you have issues, contacting support should be relatively painless, though I have not had to call them with the two systems I have set up.
SETTINGS AND EXPANSION
The system has options for adding on hardware in terms of more cameras and software in terms of premium features. If you want multiple cameras, you will have to buy those additional units as add-ons. It would have been nice if they would have simply produced a starter set with one of each or some other configurations. Still, most users will be happy with the starter sets.
The Wilife Homeplug Bridge can integrate this with the pro set. Those that want to avoid using power-line communications may prefer to step up to the Wilife Pro Set or a different system all together.
The management options for this unit are nice. You can adjust the setting for motion sensitivity to your liking after you are familiar and have been running this for a while. Phone or email notifications are easily set for motion activated recordings. The software lets you define the limits that must be exceeded to trigger an alert.
The Wilife wasn't my first security system, and I've been happy with both the original and the update. Experienced users will love the features, except for a few functions which require you to upgrade to the premium package. Given the cost it's hard to argue with the features.
CONCLUSION
This is a nice set that has continued to improve. It's worth looking into depending on your needs and budget.
Enjoy!
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