Comments on: Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security System Review

By: Sally

Sally — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:49:35 +0000

Started with 5 cameras down to 3 as of today. I liked the system at first and had to replace 2 cameras under warranty. I will not replace and pay for the 2 are not working. Would not suggest anyone wasting money on these.I will use the other 3 until they also bite the dust. For what I paid for 5 cameras 2 yrs online service I could have had a security system installed and monitored in my home. The more I think about it maybe its time to do that and sell the remaining 3 ( As I’m sure there not going to last much longer ) HMM E-BAY

By: darrell

darrell — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 05:04:13 +0000

I bought this system last year. I can appreciate the simple and easy to use set-up of the security system. BUT I would NOT recommend this product to anyone. Reason for this is the cameras like to go off line for no apparent reason and back on again. The soft ware allows you to do a camera search if they are off line. It tells me it cant find them but the next day they are back on line. If I where to buy another system, I would buy a hard wired system with its own hard drive. Trust me, anyone who reads this, it just isn’t worth the money. Please please don’t waste your money on this product. If you think logitech makes a good security system, I’d be happy to sell you mine.

By: Nev

Nev — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 11:56:03 +0000

I have installed the Wilife system 3 indoor cam’s 3 outdoor cam’s the first few hours all ran fine then I noted a time delay occuring I ran the diagnostic’s many times it showed all the outdoor cams returning poor results so I disabled them and ran diagnostics the indoor camera results stayed the same excellent. So I swapped an inside for outside. And ran the diagnostics it showed excellent I repeated this process with each outdoor camera location and each time returned excellent results. Once I returned the outdoor camera’s to the positions the results were poor to bad it appears the outdoor camera’s are junk. I have tested this system on 4 of my pc’s. An Cant blame the pc’s or the power lay out in my house as the indoor camera’s work perfect no matter where located. I would buy the indoor cam’s again but run fifty mile from any outdoor one’s

By: Roger Burton

Roger Burton — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:07:38 +0000

Hi I’m looking for a single outside camera which will be located outside my cottage, which I can view on my lap top when I’m away from home and/or can view night time activity up to 8hours later on the morning after when I am at home. Do you have such a product?

By: Elliot

Elliot — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:12:46 +0000

Thanks for the update! I’m looking at the newer cameras but I’m sure they’ll have the same issue as far as the power networking.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:35:44 +0000

I have been frustrated by the inability to use the system on an Iphone. I found three workarounds that allow you to get all the functionaility on your Iphone.

1. Use a service called iphonevideoserver.com to convert email alerts with attached wmv files to quicktime and mail them to your iphone

2. Use an Iphone app called AirVideo that will allow you to view recorded video from your Wilife host PC on your Iphone. Access to all cameras and all recorded segments.

3. Use an Iphone app called Logmein Ignition to remotely view/control your PC from your Iphone. You can use this to do real time viewing of the cameras.

Not pretty, but these all work.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:34:34 +0000

REALLY need to develop an iphone app! I will be buying more cameras if you can make this happen.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:53:54 +0000

@raju The Logitech WiLife will allow you to remotely view your cameras via their web portal.

By: raju

raju — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:32:26 +0000

i live in calgary (canada).i want instal one out door securty camra in U.S.A my home.how can i watch live online vedio in calgary.i want instal camra without pc in U.S.A. in my home.pls help.

By: Keith Turner

Keith Turner — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:04:40 +0000

I have been loking for some time for a way to view my cameras on my iPhone…. and I found one today! Remote Jr app allows you to view and operate your desk top from your iPhone, I can now check my cameras when away.

By: Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:42:11 +0000

I bought the outdoor camera command center ! I have a 6 year old dell 4600 . I had to go into device manager and click on the intel chip set and look for and install the update before the wilife system would work ! Then I found out that if you have a groundfault interupter outlet in the house , it has to be removed before the camera can be found ! I removed the outlet and the camera worked fine. I attached it to the outside of my detached garage where I have a motion spot light. So if someone comes around at night the lights come on and it takes a nice clear video. Whats nice about this is that it will send a picture message to my iphone when motion is detected. I added a spy camera to my house so I can keep an eye on my cats . You can also go on any computer and see your cameras live for three minutes for no cost and without paying for platinum. The outside cameras are guarenteed for 2 years and the indoor cameras for 1 year. All in all I am pleased with this purchase and feel alot more secure about my house. I plan to buy two more cameras.

By: chris

chris — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:23:58 +0000

Still a complete waste of money without Iphone App or viewing option………………

By: David

David — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:12:16 +0000

A lot of typical uneducated computer user responses here, no offense intended.
For $300-400 for a Master System what do you expect to get? Professional CCTV systems cost many thousands of dollars. Don’t expect this system to give you comparable results to a professional security system costing 10x to 20x as much.
Before purchasing and installing anything like this I recommend people find someone who is computer savvy, especially with some security system experience. You WILL need a dedicated computer to use this properly, with relatively modern hardware and Windows XP SP3 (I don’t recommend Vista/7 use on the type of low-power PC you should have for this system due to its non-accelerated GDI and Aero composite design).
The WiLife is just your basic inexpensive SOHO (small office home office) security camera system. If you are thinking it is anything more than allowing you to peek outside then you are fooling yourself. Get a dedicated Intel Atom computer to run it on, the Atom is ultra low power consumption which is good for 24:7 on-time.
The WiLife video quality is decent; the software needs a good re-write since the [idiot] programmers don’t understand what double-buffering a UI is (flicker flicker); it does suffer from “real-time” playback lag often which may or may not be solved with a reboot (the delay is in the software’s wmv playback since the record indication timing for the motion event IS correct but the video playback itself is delayed).
Since it uses the electrical lines for the remote cameras, you will require proper location wiring that is up to current code. My home based business residence is circa 1960 but has proper wiring, so I have no problems with the cameras at all.
I use the cameras mostly to monitor entrances to watch for people/clients.
If you are using it in a SOHO and are worried about B&E theft of the computer itself, hence you will lose your recordings, simply purchase an inexpansive NAS (network storage) box (these are an external hard drive with some networking hardware), a 250GB drive is plenty for most setups, network the computer running WiLife to the NAS, and use the NAS’s drive-share as your Video Path. For example, map the NAS to drive letter Z on your computer, then specify “Z:” in the WiLife’s Setup -> Recording -> View Disk Usage -> Video Path.
Hide the NAS somewhere secure in the building, such as next to the alarm panel in the basement/electrical area. All the NAS requires is AC power and Ethernet to the WiLife computer system.
If the place gets burglared, simply connect the NAS to another computer and view the .wmv’s with regular Media Player.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:51:42 +0000

I’m not sure what all the complaining is about. The documentation clearly states that cameras need to be on the same circuit and the software has requirements that have to be met before it works. Just because setup is “easy” doesn’t mean that you do not need to possess basic understanding of how networks or computers work. This system is great once it is set up. The motion clips are put in a directory and time stamped for easy backup and/or parsing. Non IP camera based systems cost much more than this and are much more complicated to deal with. Installing this system is no more difficult than installing a home router and the quality/stability is excellent.

By: Al Dixon

Al Dixon — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:47:48 +0000

You have to pay $80/yr extra to get system alerts. You pay Digital River for the Platinum Service subscription which is re-billed annually. I had a very hard time canceling another subscription from Digital River/Share-It. Would not deal with them again. It is a shame since Logitech is a good company.

By: Dutch reader

Dutch reader — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:51:10 +0000

Good thing I read the commetns here…I got a couple of questions answered..
I was just going to order a complete set to secure our school-building, thinking this set might do the trick…
We wanted a system that could both record video form two different cams to a HD on a dedicated computer, but one also has to be used to monitor an entrance in real-time…
If this set doesn’t have a life-feed it is of little use during the day. Furthermore, being in an old building (1932) means having numerous powerlines running alongside eachother, some dissabled, some still ‘hot’ (but no-one knows why…) this means we would still have to put in an additional power cable!
We will probably look into another ip-cam….
Then again, people ending up here are most likely the ones with problems. I hardly read good comments with reviews.;-)

By: John

John — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:11:15 +0000

if your system cannot find the cameras, it is likely a software problem caused by Windows firewall or Norton/McAfee security. Open this program and uncheck the security options one by one. If your camera is found, restart the security options.

By: don

don — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:13:27 +0000

After reading this review, I’ve come to the conclusion this system leaves a lot to be desired. Other systems will do more with better cameras, w/o yearly fees for less money. Logitech should get their act together.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:36:14 +0000

I’ve owned 4 of these because I have to keep replacing each camera every 8 months when they die. You get a solid green light on the camera and it stops transmitting. I will never buy another one again!

By: Diamond Dan

Diamond Dan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:47:01 +0000

Have a master system with 1 indoor and 2 outdoor cameras. Nice picture quality on all cameras. Only problem I see is leaving your computer and the master system running all the time to view cameras remote while away from home. Love the digital recording ! The fact that they get you for $80 a year (what doesnt have an annual fee ?) kind of sucks. But hey I plugged one outdoor camera into my detached garage and it works perfectly. I have not had any overheating issues with my outdoor camera (yet) but then again I live in Buffalo NY which is right next door to Anchorage Alaska. With all the review complaints of outdoor cameras overheating I wonder why Logitech does not install a small fan inside and add $20 to the price rather than replace these units under warranty ? Who am I ? Just a paying customer ! Anyways my advice, place your outdoor cameras under an eave out of the sun and in the coolest place possible if you do not have such an option (Arizona) I recommend buying all indoor cameras and placing them in the window to record the outdoor area you want watched. Does anyone know if there are any Sony or other products that are compatible with the Logitech Master system? I would gladly pay more for a high price low light camera.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:17:43 +0000

Any leads on wifi video cameras that work with Mac OS?

By: John

John — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:19:07 +0000

I have the indoor master system. It cannot find the camera. Since I was in a different part of the building and possibly on another circuit, I picked up a 100′ extension cord and plug the computer into the same room as the camera (camera was already mounted). Camera still not found. Strange but I have no idea how this place is wired so I unplugged the extension cord and plug it into the SAME WALL OUTLET as the camera – still not found. Personal opinion (and without prejudice) – what a piece of crap. I also intensely dislike the idea that they are trying to lock us into using their servers.

By: Darrell Simpson

Darrell Simpson — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:26:23 +0000

I would like to know if there is any other night vision camera that will work with the WiLife system? It appears that Logitech does not have an outdoor camera with this ability.

By: Kate Carlson

Kate Carlson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:37:36 +0000

Command Center is not allowing video requests at this time. Command Center may need to be restarted if the problem continues.:

I’ve had my camera for 2 days, the 2nd day I’m at work and get this error, My BF was at home, he’s not all that pc savvy, but I had him restart the program and it still doesn’t work remotely! I think I’ll be returning this back to walmart for a refund. How Disappointing!

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:41:48 +0000

I believe for the homeplug stuff to network properly, the outlets you are using have to be on the same circuit. Which is why some of your outdoor cameras wouldn’t work regardless of distance.