Panasonic Wireless Network Camera and Pet Cam (BL-C20A) | List Price: $199.00
Discount Price: Too low to display
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Platform: Windows
Brand: Panasonic
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - 802.11b Wireless Technology
- Just Plug It In and Play
- Sensor Recording and Email Alerts
needed a new router and some tech support [Posted on 2008-07-21]
We purchased this camera last week so we could watch our new infant puppy when we're not at home. The camera has been running for 3 days consistently and we are very happy with our purchase. However, we encountered a few troubles.
We are not IT people, but consider ourselves computer savvy. After realizing that the camera did not come with an ethernet cord, which is required for initial setup, we attempted to hardwire the camera to our desktop using the cable that was connecting our wireless router to the desktop. Then, we connected the desktop to the router wirelessly. This seemed great in concept, and it probably would have worked. Unfortunately, we were having a great deal of difficulty. So, we obtained additional cables and tried to set it up again the next day. Everything seemed functional, and then the next morning, everything quit. It seemed that after purchasing the camera and having to upgrade our wireless router firmware, and after the camera trying to access and change our DHCP settings, our wireless router finally died. It was four years old, which is apparently considered old.
So, we bought a new NetGear router. This time the install was seamless. Everything worked exactly as the install instruction said it would. We had one problem in that we couldn't access the camera from the internet. I called tech support and the problem was solved within 20 minutes. They were very helpful and knew exactly what to do. The software for NetGear autoconnects to the UPNP settings of the camera. When you set up port forwarding, the port is already in use. So, you have to turn off auto UPNP on the camera so that the router does not see it there. Then, the port is available for the incoming web traffic. Once we did this and changed the port number, everything worked flawlessly.
I recommend this camera to people who are computer savvy. You do not need to be an IT person to use this, but it definitely helps to know your way around your router settings. Overall, we are very pleased with our purchase and would buy another one.
Don't try it with a Mac [Posted on 2008-08-06]
I would imagine this is a great wireless cam in a windows environment; however, I was completely unable to get it set-up (as in just recognized as existing) on the network using a Intel chip Apple MacBook, even after trying it under Windows XP on the Macbook. I guess if I spent several days researching and calling support we could have eventually found out a way to get it set-up, but life is too short to waste time on that.
Finally Set Up (Maybe) After Three Days and Many Calls to Tech Support [Posted on 2008-08-07]
It took forever to set this up. The instructions were not detailed. Any time that we were stuck setting it up, we had to call panasonic, linksys (router), and our ISP. We had to bridge our modem, change ports countless times, and do many other things I had never heard of. Also, trying to view the camera on our smartphones (Blackberry Curve and Pearl)was a challenge which involved calls to Blackberry, our cell phone service, panasonic, and ISP. It does finally work and the picture quality is good for the price. If you have time to spare and knowledge of computers, this is a good purchase.
P.S. to view the camera from your phone, type "/mobile" or "/mobilex" at the end of "http://domainname.viewnetcam.com"
Wonderful once you get past the setup [Posted on 2008-08-08]
I bought this camera so I could monitor my cat's eating. The setup was not easy for me--I am fairly tech savvy but the documentation is very poor. After two hours of trial and error I was able to get the wireless to function and the camera to send me e-mails. However I had to call Panasonic tech support to set up the remote viewing. Apparently my router (a Westell customized for Verizon) did not support the necessary protocol so I had to update some settings. Tech support was great--and you get to talk to someone in the U.S. They had me set up in about 15 minutes.
The camera functions as promised. Whenever my cats set off the motion detector I get an e-mail sent to me. I can also go to a web browser periodically and see what they are up to. I would buy this again.
Excellent value. [Posted on 2008-08-08]
very good picture quality and motion detection. very flexible configuration. i have it set up in the living room, and it sends me email, cell text and cell picture snapshot when motion is detected while i am gone. can be turned on/off and configured using configuration parameters within a URL via a browser (http://panasonic.co.jp/pcc/products/en/netwkcam/download/us/document/new_cam_cgi_v106a.pdf). will be ordering at least a couple more of these cameras.
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