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Testing Cisco-Linksys IP Home Monitoring Camera (WVC80N)

by Scott Oie, posted on Jun 20, 2010


How well can a $120 camera from Cisco work? Is it good (and simple enough) for your home? Does it make sense to integrate with a VMS system?

In this report, we examine our test results of the Cisco-Linksys home monitoring camera (WVC80N). Quite a number of people are using it as evidenced by the camera being the top selling 'home security system' on Amazon. We tested the camera with its own included software and with Luxriot's VMS. Also compare to our test of Cisco's SMB software and PTZ camera (PVC300).

As is standard with all of our camera tests, we recorded performance during daytime, nighttime, indoors, outdoors, wide dynamic range and at controlled lux levels (.3 and 1 lux). In addition, because the camera offers a remote access/managed video feature, we tested those capabilities (for a broader comparison of managed/hosted video options, review our VSaaS comparison report).

This is the first test in a new series examining 'budget' IP cameras. We bought a number of the top selling cameras on Amazon (also including D-Link, Panasonic, Trendnet) and will be systematically going through them in the next 2 months.

Inside the Pro Section

Pro members may access the entire report including:

  • 3 video screencasts examining the (1) physical setup of the camera, (2) software configuration of the camera and monitoring software and (3) imaqe quality analysis
  • 7 video sample clips (over 70MB) that can be downloaded to review quality during daytime, nighttime, indoors, outdoors, wide dynamic range and at controlled lux levels (.3 and 1 lux)
  • Recommendations on best uses and key issues in using the camera

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