Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security--Indoor Master System Camera

I purchased a WiLife master system and one extra indoor camera to replace an old video system. I purchased it specifically because it was inexpensive, seemed easy to use, and required no installation. System has been running for a year now. My office is a 90 year old home, formerly a duplex, with heaven knows how many kinks in the wiring, since we're constantly having to update it to carry computers and peripherals. We also have problems with power going down frequently in our area, since we're the last building on our local city power grid, as well as lightning strikes (highest point in the area), and power surges (see said city power grid....urgh...), and lord knows what else from the MARTA station and rail acrost the street and the military base next door. Whatever could possibly play havoc with our computers, has done so over the past thirty years. We've lost two routers and a workstation while we've had WiLife installed, but the WiLife equipment has had no trouble.Installation was fabulously easy, I mean, plug n' play easy. I LOVED that.I have two tips, though. First, our system kept going out and I'd have keep reinstalling it. Finally, called Logitech in a hissy fit, and the tech asked me if I was running it on a server, which I was. System is incompatible with a server, so I now run it on a workstation, and have had ZERO problem since then. The other thing I might mention is that, if you have automatic updates set on your workstation, every time the system reboots, your WiLife system will cut off until reboot/password/etc is complete, then it automatically brings itself back up again. This has never been a problem until the past couple of months, when it seems like Microsoft has been sending security updates every bloody five minutes. So I disabled the automatic updates and run them once a week instead.I also like it that the video saves as small, individual files. If I have anything out of the ordinary, I copy and paste that file to a folder I've made up for reference, or a customer is hassling someone in the office, I copy and paste the file directly to their customer efile. Gee, I often wish it had sound. Maybe someday.....As far as picture quality....front office is just fine. We actually left our old disabled camera up on the ceiling, and only a couple of people have noticed that the real camera is actually the sleek, unobtrusive unit sitting on a window sill. Quality is pretty decent, and covers a good bit of our front office, since we have it sitting in a corner diagonal from the front door. Picture quality may not be HD, but it is 1,000% better than our old VCR system.My second indoor camera is mounted directly to the inside of a rear window, with a suction cup, and gives me a very decent view of my parking lot, without the hassle or wear & tear of mounting one outside.The only problem I have with a camera aimed out is, if it rains, the motion detector occasionally records raindrops rolling down the window. I am today ordering an LED motion detector light to put by the door so it will pick up anyone trying the back door, or hanging around it, as has happened several times lately. I am certain the LED light coming on will trigger the WiLife camera to come on, and hopefully be lit enough to pick up faces. This camera is in plain, plain view, btw, and not one customer has noticed it, because it is indoors!Rather than subscribing to WiLife's pay service, I use an app called Logmein.com to log in to my desktop occasionally to view activity on the computer, and can do so from my phone, iPad, or any computer, anywhere (LOVE this app, it is worth every nickle!!!!). I do not have it set up to contact me automatically, or it would drive me nuts, since it picks up quite a bit of activity on our busy corner.Be forewarned that units will pick up headlights going by, billboards lighting up and going off at night, and even the passage of sunbeams along the floor in an empty office. I have NO problem with this. It doesn't take up much space on my hard drive (you can set it to record over and over on the allotted memory, which is a nice feature, since you don't have to deal with manually cleaning it)and I like to see everything that goes on. I have it set on "medium" sensitivity and the most frames per second.Logitech has since come out with a newer system that records to a chip directly in the camera. I am in two minds about this. At least with the one I have, I can view and adjust the camera very easily, but it would be nice to have the data recorded elsewhere. And, of course, since I don't subscribe to their backup service, if someone steals my desktop, but we mainly have it running for safety of personnell, rather than burglaries.Finding the clip I want on their software is quite easy, as LONG as I have a general idea of the time I want. I have often gone back after a long weekend, to view people hanging around in our parking lot, when tenants living next door have mentioned unusual activity. It only takes a few minutes, since everything is sequential. You can scroll back using a slider/clock combination,or hit a specific date on a calendar to go back quickly.For the price I paid for this system, this review cannot glow enough.oh, and once a month they send an email of "Winning Videos" users submit, having caught people or animals in the act, and I have to (embarrassedly) say, I look forward to them. Some of them are a riot, especially the poor Logitech user who recorded the crazy plant-destroying neighbor.

Think of this as a simple to install "basic home system" and not a bet your life on it protect a jewelery store type system. It's more for casual home use to monitor your driveway, watch the dogs and things like that.Disclaimer, this is how my experience was and is, yours may be different.Your "reason" for getting this is what is important. This works well for some uses but not as well for others. I would also not put this in a remote location where you don't go every few days or atleast are able to remote access (RDMPlus, LogMeIn, etc...) the computer if needed. (see below)For recording when your out or monitoring things when your there, it will "record" 10 out of 10 and the motion detection can really be tweaked making it work well after some adjustment. The video quality is nice and you can tell what your looking at fine but your not going to be able to read license plates. No problems always seems to work.For email alerts, it will "email" you 8/9 out of 10 so you will get most alerts. The email has the time/date and gives you a picture or video clip and looks great. Not a lot but every once in a while it will give you password or other errors for no reason after it was just working fine. You need to restart the Command Center software. (reason for remote access or being able to get to the computer when needed)For online viewing, you can "view online" 7 out of 10 and when it works its nice but the problem is its hit or miss from my expereince. I have to restart the software every few days to keep this working. It still records and sends email alerts with pictures though so you can always check the recordings when you get home or with remote access. (reason for remote access or being able to get to the computer when needed) There are two different online viewing modes, direct and relay, if your computer supports direct you will get almost a live feed, if your computer does not support direct, then online viewing is delayed 2-3 minutes as it has to go thru Logitechs servers.Setup was very easy and only took minutes. The thing that took longer was deciding where to put the camera(s) and adjusting all the settings. Out of the box with no adjustments, the motion zone is full screen and anything and everything will set it off. You will get email after email of nothing important until you adjust things.A few tips. Its VERY important to clear the full screen zone that is the default and only select a smaller area that you really need. Also to lower the movement sensitivity so you limit the number of false alarms. Keep in mind shadows, tree branches, squirrels, birds, reflections off cars and so on can set off the motion detector so be selective and make the zones as small as possible to be useful.Another suggestion is to add a second monitor to a different location if you want. For about $30 I bought a monitor splitter adapter and 50' extension cable and added a second monitor in my living room. Now I don't have to go to the computer room every time I want to see something and can leave it on for live viewing as I am in the living room the most.Bottom line IMO. This is really not a bad system for the low price. I installed this Master System and 3 more cameras from Ebay for about the cost of the newer single camera Logitech Alert Master system and as long as you put it in a location you can reset it every now and then its fine. I can easily have sent it back if I wanted but the only real problem is having to restart the software every now and then, I can live with that.