Re: Linksys WVC54GC wireless camera - pos

Three years ago, I bought the Linksys WVC11B, which was an earlier version
of the WVC54GC. It still ranks as one of my worst computer related purchases
of all time, and given the fact that I once bought a Texas Instruments
TI-99/4A home computer that is saying a lot. Those webcams don't seem to
work with any 3rd party software, so it is impossible to send stills by FTP
to a website. I finally found a software application that would do both
screen captures and FTP uploads at regular intervals, but I need to tie up a
computer to do this. The other problem I had was with the stupid web
interface for viewing; not exactly the look you want to use for a cam web
page. I eventually found a way to use media player as a plugin to play the
steam. I found that information on a message board, not through Linksys
support. The stream can be found at http://(your web cam's
ip)/img/video.asf. Only works with IE.

Recently I upgraded my router from an old Linksys B to a new Belkin G+. All
of my legacy equipment seems to work with it except for the webcam. It now
only works while connected by Ethernet. I use to be a big believer in
Linksys before my experience with this terrible product.





<notforemail@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:MPG.1f22d2e33b5dc495989681@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This is not a rant about the usual newbie networking problem trying to
get a wireless camera on their network.

This is about Linksys tech service, the firmware of this specific
camera, and its inability to perform major features advertised on the
box.

After 1.5 hours on chat with Linksys tech support, 1.5 hours on the
phone with them, and 4 days exchanging emails, here are the facts:

The camera requires MSIE to view video, based on its requirement of
ActiveX. The OCX that entails is invoked from the firmware. That OCX
contains a certificate that expired on 6.26.06 (it was a one week
certificate, for unknown reasons). So you have to open MSIE to run an
ActiveX with failed cert of publisher (security exposure).

On 7.13.06, Linksys put a firmware patch up to fix this cert. So if you
want to buy the camera and use it without opening a security hole, add
some time for finding that patch and reflashing firmware.

Tech support advised also reflashing the firmware and pointed to the
file on the download site. The only "bin" file available in that
download fails with the message "format error". So you can't even
reflash it.

Next, the WVC54GC will not, and I mean WILL NOT, send an email on motion
detection when properly set up per the doc. And I read ALL the doc.

Now to tech service, the happy experience you will have if you buy this
POS. One nice Indian suggested I change the port from 80 to 1024. When
asked how this affects the camera executing a port 25 smtp session, he
fell silent. Another suggested I turn on UPNP. When I asked how setting
up direct discovery from XP was relevant to the WVC54GC doing SMTP when
no computer was activated on the network (after all, it IS an
"internet" camera, not one processed through a computer, this camera is
on your net, not on a computer), he also fell silent.

Then of course, one takes me through the email motion setup, as if I
didn't read the doc five times and verify the setup before I embarked on
wasting hours with tech service.

In other words, this prox $100 WVC54GC internet camera comes bollicked
out of the box, the tech support is what you would expect from a gas
station being asked to defuse a nuclear weapon, and you need to expect a
few days of frustration before you take the WVC54GC POS back to the
store and stand in line to return it. Linksys and Cisco have really
screwed this up from start to finish.


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