| Creative Live! Wireless Internet Camera System |
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Model: 73VF018000000
Brand: Creative Labs
Manufacturer: Creative Labs
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 15
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP
Hardware platform: PC
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| Features: |
Product Type - Web Camera
Dimensions WxDxH - N/A
Weight - N/A |
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| Description: |
| 802.11g Compatible / Motion Detection Email Notification / Remote Monitoring to any Internet enabled device / Windows |
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| User Reviews (15 total): |
Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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A nice value, if it's what you're looking for, February 23, 2008
By user (San Antonio, TX United States)
Like many others, I picked this item up as a home security feature. I get some peace of mind from the fact that I can check on the status of something remotely with only an internet connection, and the motion detection works reasonably well. It does a few false positives here and there, probably due to changes in light coming in through the window, but they're really not that frequent.
The positives:
- Easy setup, at least for me. Had it up, connected to the internet, and the motion detection / email configured in less than a half hour.
- Motion detection works as advertised. Sometimes the pics are a little blurry if the light is low, but for this price I'm not complaining.
- Adjusting settings, turning motion on and off, even turning the camera on and off... it can all be done remotely via the internet. Solid.
Areas for improvement:
- Can we PLEASE get a timer option for the motion detection? Instead of having to turn it on and off, I'd LOVE to be able to set it come on between the hours of 8 and 5, Monday through Friday. That would make the motion detection feature far, far more useful if the unit lives in a trafficed area.
- It's a little wobbly. I ended up taping it to its wall mount bracket, and the additional heft makes it far more stable. Just use electrical tape, and it doesn't even look that bad.
- It really can't be used for monitoring outside. Any brightness much above normal inside lighting washes out the picture, no matter how much you play with the settings. Not a huge deal, just make sure you're buying it for inside use.
Overall, well worth the money.
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Just what I was looking for - great value, April 12, 2007
By user (Philadelphia, PA)
I was looking for a set of web cams for security purposes while we were on vacation. Setup of the cameras was very straightforward and had them both up and working the way I wanted them to be in about 30 minutes. I had one camera trained on the front door and one on the basement door. I was able to view both cameras side-by-side with Creative's Internet Camera Center software. The cameras are also individually accessible via any web browser.
To view the cameras, you have the option of subscribing to a DDNS service so your cameras can be accessed by a DNS name, or if you keep track of your public IP address (as I did), you can use that as well. If you have more than one camera, you'll have to configure a unique web and streaming port for each one, and port forward appropriately.
I also used the camera's motion detection capability. It has the capability to email you when motion is detected, and will send you a configurable number of still images of what it detected. If you do use the feature, be prepared for false positives. Sudden light changes, such as lights on timers, seem to trigger the motion detection. I probably only received five or six emails per day (all false positives, thankfully), which I thought was perfectly acceptable.
The camera image is quite good for a camera in its price range. I considered a Linksys, however after reading all the horrible reviews regarding its camera quality, I passed it up for the Creative.
Overall, I'm really happy with the product.
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Creative Live! Connects Wireless, but no to chat programs, March 8, 2007
By user (MA United States)
I got this product because I wanted to connect to a website wirelessly, but I also wanted to use it for chat. It said it could do both. It lied. My computer could not see the camera for any of my chat programs. I returned it and gave up on the idea of having a wireless cam for chats. Maybe someday in the future it will be a possibility. SO if you want a security camera, this one is fine, but that is all it can do.
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Easy to setup and functional, January 15, 2007
By user
This camera has turned out to be everything I wanted and more. Perfect for casual use, great value for the price.
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Much to be desired, January 9, 2007
By user
After spending a lot of time trying to set up this camera myself and time with the Creative tech support I actually ended up returning the item. Turns out that the camera requires the use of Port 80, which is blocked by my ISP and, according to my ISP, is blocked by many ISPs. Tech support wasn't much help either. I had to wait at least 20 min each time I called and I felt like I got the run-around each time, with a wild goose to chase in order to get me off the phone.
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not for night security, November 28, 2006
By user (USA)
good size camera,easy to connect, easy to view images in the computer/web. I wanted to record outdoor activity, but this camera only gave a visible image for one hr out of the day when the light was perfect according to the camera - basically sunny days, evening and in between did not record. For the one hour that there was an image(6 am)it recorded clearly & in color. I tried adjusting everything, but it didn't work... may work indoors only, or mine was broken...
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LAN not WAN, November 27, 2006
By user (Olympia, WA USA)
I got this thing up and viewable on my local network, but could never access the image over the web. Quite a disappointment. I do not recommend it.
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Terrible software instructions, November 9, 2006
By user (Washington DC)
I can never install the Createive-provided software on my XP professional and gave up. I probably put it up on ebay for somebody else who get more time to toy with it. My friend bought same item. He was able to install the software but cannot access the cam from work for some reason. I recommended Panansonic Wireless 802.11 b/g Network Camera which I bought for about $270 . It is more expensive but worth the price.
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Great for Grandson web cam, November 6, 2006
By user (Redondo Beach, CA USA)
While this camera seems to be aimed for remote monitoring of areas for security reasons, we have found it great for being our baby webcam. We just turn it on, point it at our son, and let people check to see how he is doing throughout the day. Also, my dad calls us using a web messenger program and we do video teleconferencing so he can keep up with his grandson even though they are 2,000 miles apart.
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Easy isn't always good..., September 8, 2006
By user (Westampton, NJ United States)
The good things:
- It works! (One shouldn't overlook how important this part is!)
- It is easy to set up.
The not so good things:
- It really really really needs more video and network settings. For example, to control the frames per second and the polling rate.
- More info. If you don't use the stupid network wizard, it never tells you anywhere the info you need to do it manually, (nor online). The port numbers listed in the device are not inclusive.
- Warning. If you have highspeed internet connection via cable, you may not have the upload bandwidth needed to get anything useful out of it remotely. The local cable companies frequently lie/mislead you about your UPLINK bandwidth...
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Installation was great - could use some additional features, August 30, 2006
By user (Poland, OH USA)
After reading other reviews for other units about how hard it was going to be to set up a wireless camera, I decided to try one of the Creative Live! units as a test.
Even thought I have a wireless access point and not a true wireless router, the unit set up easily and worked perfectly right out of the box. Because of the firewall I have set up, it was a bit harder to get the remote monitor access to work, but after setting up a VPN tunnel, it also works as advertised.
The only thing I am not really happy about is the motion activated e-mail system. It works, kind of... Because the motion detection is really based on changes in light and not true motion, every time the wind blows the trees outside the window, the change in light causes the camera to send out an e-mail. I ended up having to turn off that feature, because I was getting 100+ e-mails daily. What I would like to see is a method that allows the unit to write to a hard disk on the local network instead of sending e-mails. I contacted Creative technical support to ask if this was possible. The first response said yes, and gave instructions. Those instructions did not match my software, so I asked for clarification. The second response said I could not do it at all. I asked about the contradiction, and a third answer said to lower the light in the room. Needless to say I am not all that happy with their support department....
If they could add the ability to send pictures or video to a local hard disk based on motion, this would be a winner!
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Excellent Webcam, August 16, 2006
By user
The setup was quick and easy. The camera works great. I can now monitor the cam over the internet through my wireless router.
If you are looking for a wireless webcam that you can access over the internet this is an excellent choice.
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Easy to install and easy to use., July 5, 2006
By user (California)
I purchased the camera as a security cam for our house and as a way for my other half to be able to see the cat (the cat always sleeps in the same place by the window) when she is working out of town.
This camera works great with a Linksys WRT54G wireless router.
Just use port forward in the settings on the router and away you go. That fact that Creative will host the page with that displays your camera is fantastic.
It is a great buy!
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