Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
198 of 202 people found the following review helpful.
Good product, but with some caviats
By Devin
The good:-Extremely easy to setup, was up and running in well under 15 minutes including unboxing time.-Gateway grabs a DHCP address from your broadband router and connects to the my.vuezone site.-Smartphone clients for Android, iPhone and Blackberry devices. (Update: Blackberry is no longer supported)-Cameras are completely wireless, allowing for extremely easy installation-Cameras seem to have a very decent range from the gateway.-No line of sight needed for the cameras, no problems for me going through walls and floors of brick, wood and drywall. Metal building supplies may pose issues though, but this will be the case with any wireless camera.-1 year of Premium service comes with the system, currently only $49.95 per year after that.-Snapshots/videos are recorded out to the website immediately, and can be played back from almost any internet connected computer.The bad:-Motion sensing does not work through glass.-Cannot set ignore times for motion sensing/alerting, it is either on or off for each camera.-Low-light performance leaves much to be desired. Despite several streetlights, no picture was visible in an area easily visible to the human eye.-Operating temperatures limited to 32º to 122º F, so mounting options will be limited to temperature controlled locations for most locations. (Update: per Avaak Tech Support, this is a limitation of the batteries, not the camera.)-Cameras have no wired power option, so you'll be using up batteries even in areas where you could easily connect wired power.-Fixed 60 degree field of view on the cameras is a bit limiting.Overall, the system is good with a few caveats. With more camera options, it would be great. Unfortunately, it appears Avaak has gone the other way, as the Outdoor rated camera has disappeared from their site.I would love to see cameras with an AC power option, an outdoor rated dome camera (Pan/tilt/zoom would be outstanding) and perhaps others integrated into the great gateway and website that Avaak has going for them.Update:Outdoor (waterproof) camera mounts are now available! This doesn't address the temperature restrictions of the batteries, but gives you a lot more flexibility in the mounting location. Avaak has changed their service plans several times from when this review was written, so check the latest account details on their site. They also run sales on the service renewal from time to time, so renew when the sales are going to save yourself a few bucks.My concerns with eating through the batteries seems to have been unfounded, as I'm still on the original batteries in all the cameras. Also, the sticky-back on the mounts should be looked at as a BACKUP to the screw slot on all but perfectly smooth surfaces. I had a camera take a nasty 8 foot fall onto concrete which left a crack in the housing, but it still works perfectly.
61 of 61 people found the following review helpful.
Perfect for basic use...
By Matthew
I have had my VUE SM2700 motion detection camera system up and running for about a week now, and so far so good! Installation really is a breeze, and the wireless cameras (and their mounts) are so convenient to use. I have the receiver upstairs along with one of the cameras, and the other camera is downstairs. Both cameras have perfect reception and the viewing resolution is better than I expected. Also, there are three adjustable settings for the available lighting the room provides, which is accessed through the software so you can easily change the settings even when you are away.I tested the motion detection once, and it worked fine. An email was immediately sent showing a video clip of the movement. This can be adjusted from a 10 second or 40 second clip. I will do more extensive testing at a later date, but so far it seems to work well. The 2x zoom function also works well. You get to decide what to zoom in on, and the resolution is excellent. The movements on screen are a little laggy, but that is to be expected and really its not that bad at all. If someone was removing something from your home, I think you would be able to get a clear shot at the persons face along some point of a 40 second motion video. A lot also depends on how far you setup your cameras from the objects they may be viewing. The brighter the available lighting and the closer the better.I have had zero issues using the software on a PC, IPAD, and on my Android phone. They all three work perfect so far. This is great news, something that actually works!So far I am very happy with this setup. I will say that this is NOT a high end surveillance system so dont buy it with unrealistic expectations. However, for basic home use I think you will be hard pressed to find anything better anywhere near this price range. I only wish a future firmware upgrade will add a schedule setting that allows the motion detection to turn off/on at a certain time. That way when you come home at 5pm everyday, you dont have to disable it manually.Otherwise, no real complaints! Two thumbs up!
75 of 82 people found the following review helpful.
Quick and easy set up but poor frame rate
By Pikmin
It is very easy to set up the cameras and "gateway". No technical knowledge is necessary. The gateway has one USB port but the manual and web site do not mention any use of it. I wish the recorded video could be stored in a USB flash attached to the gateway. Lens are not wide-angle. To capture a view of entire room, the camera has to be placed high on the ceiling.I am not happy with the frame rate. Eight frame per second at 320 x 160? Come on, this is not in the 80s.A nice feature will be providing advanced functions by connecting to the gateway directly, just like you connect to the web site inside a Linksys router and change the settings. This feature may be present but hidden.Don't bother to view the camera at night. The FAQ web site says at least 40-watts light bulb is required. I tried it. The image was very grainy and painful to see.Overall, the product offers basic functions of live video camera. Make sure you have adequate lighting, or preferably in bright daylight. Online registration is quick and easy. I can view the camera immediately after registration. However, if your network is down such as no Internet due to ISP (Internet Service Provider) issue, you're doomed. You can't view the camera.
See all 126 customer reviews...
Another piece of Dakota junk
