Thread: Dlink DCS-910

The Dlink DCS-910 supports 10/100 Mbps Ethernet connections. Bulky and powered using an external power brick, the camera cannot be locked to the mount, making easy to steal.

The camera does not need any driver but comes with a detection tool that has to be installed after the camera is connected. Once it is traced, configure it with an IP address, username, password, and Internet settings. The rest of the configuration can be handled from any PC on the network using a Web browser.

The DCS-910 can handle video at 160x120, 320x240 and 640x480 resolutions. Frame rates or the speed of the video can be between 30, 20, 15, 7, 5 and 1 fps. Video or stills can be sent to the administrator or a recording device via the built-in SMTP server or FTP. Authorization profiles can also be created and additional features include backup and restoration of settings, firmware upgrades and built-in help. Just punch in the IP address of the camera from anywhere using a browser and you can receive live video via activeX or Java.

The software bundled with the camera is called D-ViewCam. You can monitor and record from up to 32 cameras at once. You can even build a motion detection surveillance system and scheduled recording. Presets help you set up 24x7 continuous recording, 24x7 economic recording (motion detection), and define peak and non-peak hours. The only things that could have made the DCS-910 more valuable would have been voice recording and Wi-Fi, for a wire-free surveillance system that would cut out cable clutter and make installation easier.