Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11

I got this for monitoring my pet remotely. It has been completely reliable, the image quality is fine for the purpose and for such a small device, ease of remote use through my Windows mobile phone is good. It is compact and attractive enough that it doesn't look weird or obtrusive sitting in my living room bookcase.

I have had trouble setting it up, but that's because of my own lack of expertise configuring my wireless network. Configuring a wireless camera with a high level of WiFi security such as I use is complex and beyond my capability.

Fortunately the customer service is absolutely superb. Seth at Panasonic stayed with me on the phone until everything was working completely properly, he was able to figure everything out despite some ignorant and misleading input from me (I told him I didn't use MAC filtering, but I actually do, which sent him and me on a wild goose chase). Several months later I messed up my wireless router settings, and got Rachel at Panasonic on the phone. Rachel's support was equally professional, patient, and completely effective.

I wouldn't be able to use a device such as this without the kind of support Panasonic provides, and probably wouldn't buy another one if it weren't for the support I received. I am considering adding another network camera soon, and it will be a Panasonic almost without question. My experience with this camera and Panasonic's customer support has given me a very strong bias toward Panasonic in several other electronics purchases since then, including a cordless phone and flat-screen TV.

I really like it as I have been watching my home while I am away at work.

Not too reliable. I can't keep the web based access working even with an auto restart everyday. I have to restart this camera about 2 a day to keep the web based access working. The local access works fine.

I love my new little wireless toy! I found many uses and applications for it and it turned out to be both fun and useful. Here are some of the ways I use it... When I'm away from home I can check when my UPS delivery was done or when my assistants come or go from the office (I have a home office with two assistants) I also use it to check on kids when I'm not around, provided they don't unplug it (it happened once) :) When I'm too lazy to get out of bed, I check the weather or snow outside. I installed it in such an angle so I can move it left-right and can see both outside and inside the living room. I set a few preset points to be able to change position easily and quickly. I love the sound, I sometimes use it to communicate with my friends or my family in Europe. Next step is to get the controller and add more pieces to my wireless home - the wireless lock, the thermostat, light switches, etc. The camera will be programmed to record and save events during the day so I can review them at night. I wish the camera had a bigger range of motion left to right so it could cover more ground and I wish also it had zoom - but I guess these features come with a higher price. All in all I'm very happy with this new toy and with the possibilities it creates.

Having tried and regretted many IP camera purchases (esp. Linksys) in the past, I researched and compared other pan/tilt/zoom cameras before finally arriving at the BL-C131A. While the one I purchased was used, it still worked like a charm, and from what I can tell went through the same setup steps that a brand new device would.

Originally, I hooked it into my wired LAN so I could access-then-configure it via the software, and while it took a minute or two to find, once it was discovered the rest of the setup was a breeze. It's now wirelessly connected downstairs to my Linksys WRT300N upstairs, and has been going strong for days. I often log in from work just to check on things at home, and make sure nothing's amiss.

While cool, it also is hopefully going to help serve as a nannycam. The main challenge in doing that is that I cannot record video easily to my website (for review at end of day). This is a major downer for me, but the ease of use and fantastic pan/tilt/zoom features make up for the loss (while I'm looking for solutions).

All in all, it's a great cam which fits the needs I've got now, and hopefully will work for my future needs as well. If it does, I'll be getting a couple more to complete the kit.