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Introduction
Home and business security is getting more and more technologically
advanced to stay one step ahead of thieves, robbers, and other people
that just don’t belong. Also keeping track of people around the
house of office is a fantastic tool for efficiency information gathering.
It is with some heart-felt irony that I write the review for this SecuriCam
now, as one my best friends experienced a break-in into his apartment
this very same week. I really wish I had let him borrow the D-Link DCS-5300
SecuriCam … it could caught the perpetrator in the act and led authorities
to an arrest. As it is, the individual responsible for the break in and
theft remains at large.
If there’s no better lesson than to see the absolute
necessity for a security camera that can record to your hard drive AND
be checked from the internet, then it is beyond my capacity to come up
with a better example. D-Link has addressed a serious issue for consumers
(safety) with a product that performs amazingly well.
Description of Technology
The DCS-5300 is a CCD camera that offers an impressive quality level of
visual and audio surveillance, and is hooked into your local 10/100 ethernet
network. The DCS-5300 Internet Camera differs from a conventional PC Camera
because the DCS-5300 is a stand-alone device with a built-in CPU and Web
server that allows you to access your camera using a modern web browser
(IE 5.x and above) from anywhere in the world. It has a pan and tilt function
that can be controlled from the Web interface. Autopan mode enables the
camera to move 270 degrees horizontally and the Patrol mode cycles through
up to 24 preset positions. The speed of either pan or tilt can be adjusted
to your preference.
 The
D-Link DCS-5300 comes with a ¼” CCD sensor with resolution
of 380 TV lines. The built in microphone adds sound, which accompanies
the video. All together, you can record streaming video that utilizes
high quality MPEG-4 Short Header Mode Compression to your hard drive,
enable motion detection, and set up automated email alert notification.
So when the camera is active, you can set “hot spots” in the
display that activate the camera to record if there is ANY motion within
the defined area – that way your hard drive isn’t boggled
down with useless recordings. If anything happens – bam –
it’s in your inbox.
The camera is mainly controlled through a powerful surveillance software
which is included to enhance the monitoring and management of the DCS-5300.
As mentioned before, the DCS-5300 allows you to archive streaming video
straight to your hard drive, playback video, monitor as many as 16 cameras
on a single screen, and set up motion detection to trigger automatic recording
– so utilizing more than one camera (up to 16) can greatly increase
the level of security.
Installation
Getting the camera up and running is really no hard task. You will very
quickly be able to install the camera into the network (plug it in) and
get the unit running by accessing its built in web-server which can be
accessed via any web browser. Setting up the surveillance software is
on the difficult side of things, as you will definitely want to take advantage
of the advanced features. Fortunately on the CD included with the unit
there is a very lengthy PDF file that covers installation of the unit
and there is a huge section dedicated to the intricacies of using the
surveillance software. Be prepared to spend a few hours getting the unit
completely up and running – it’s important to take time to
get to know ALL the features of this camera and how it works.
Also – getting the unit to run properly and
be accessible via the internet is not a “huge” process, but
you need to know how to assign it a specific port, know your IP address,
and how to open that specific port in your firewall/router. It is highly
suggest that you read this page on the D-Link website (http://www.dlink.com/products/dcs-5300/router-port-forwarding.asp)
to properly go through this process. Once all that is taken care of, you
are ready to roll.
Performance
This camera can be broken down to evaluate performance by assessing following
sections: 1) Quality of Video & Audio , 2) Surveillance Software usage,
3) Advanced Camera features.
The Video and Audio quality of the camera is pretty impressive. We were
able to set up the camera and access it from remote computers from all
over the world (thanks to our friends that helped us on this project!).
The reports were that the video was very impressive and there was very
little lag time with the audio. When setting up the camera in surveillance
mode, the recordings were crisp and sharp – definitely good enough
to identify someone even if they were standing a great deal away from
the camera.
The Surveillance Software is a very impressive utility
that can predefine camera features to pan around, record motion, or do
other advanced features and utilize up to 16 cameras simultaneously. This
program is pretty advanced, and offers users a ton of things to do.
The Advanced camera features, which integrate themselves with the surveillance
software, are very impressive. I think the ability to set up a motion
sensor for recording is the best feature this camera has to offer. You
don’t have to filter through hours and hours of video … since
the camera only records when there is motion in the “hot spot”
(you define) you only get the video you need. Equally impressive is the
ability to email you security updates to the email address of your choice.
Since this camera can be accessed from anywhere in the world, the level
of security is extremely high.
The performance of the DCS-5300 exceeded all expectations for quality
of audio and video, and the advanced features of the camera are worth
every penny you’ll pay for this advanced security system.
Overall Impressions
With some sense of irony, I’m giving the DCS-5300 top marks. I only
wish my good friend, who happens to own a D-Link wireless router and lives
only 20 minutes from their corporate office, had one of these units set
up in his apartment to catch the person that broke into his home and stole
his possessions. Through our tests, the quality of the camera and the
advanced features of the surveillance camera software would have easily
identified the criminal – or perhaps deterred the person altogether
from breaking in.
The only negatives I can say about the camera are that the price point
is a little high ($329) and might deter many consumers from seeing the
“real” value behind the product. Also, although the camera
is covered under a 1 year warranty, the camera may not last for years
upon years because camera technologies are constantly being improved and
wireless is becoming more and more mainstream. Due to that fact, you might
want to “upgrade” the solution down the road – but since
you can have 16 cameras work simultaneously, it’s not like you’d
be throwing the old one away in a few years time. As it is they both receive
high marks for Price Point and Longevity, but not perfect ones.
There is no doubt that the quality of the camera is top notch and deserving
of every single cent you pay for it. The D-Link DCS-5300 is a must for
any business owner or person looking to protect their home. It can serve
many functions, but none greater than keeping you and your possessions
safe. Through the high quality manufacturing that D-Link has consistently
delivered, the DCS-5300 is an innovative, useful, and powerful device
that should be a part of every home.
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10 / 10 |
OVERALL SCORE
96%
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9 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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9 / 10 |
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9.6 / 10 |
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