Logitech alert commander camera compatibility how to#
Logitech alert commander camera compatibility software#
Logitech alert commander camera compatibility free#
Logitech alert commander camera compatibility windows#

Logitech alert commander camera compatibility software#

“Proper” is actually too generous a word on the Mac side of things there’s actually no Mac software to go along with Alert 750i. Regrettably, Alert demonstrates amply that Logitech-again, one of the best accessory hardware developers around-is willing to devote untold resources creating Google devices that no one wants, but can’t create proper Mac and iOS software to go along with products people would love to buy. The biggest problem we experienced was on the Apple software side. Alert’s higher-bandwidth cameras require more power, so the cabling was almost certainly unavoidable, but they could have been smaller and more conveniently operated over Wi-Fi. Vue had its own problems, however, its wireless cameras were a study in design elegance. Logitech could have avoided these sorts of issues by building 802.11n Wi-Fi or another wireless standard into its cameras, as Avaak did with its Vue Personal Video Network. In the other, more recently built home, we had no problems making connections with cameras that were several rooms away. In one of our two test homes, the power wiring for whatever reason didn’t let the cameras communicate with the router unless they were immediately nearby.

Logitech alert commander camera compatibility windows#

Users may well have more of a challenge finding space for the wall adapters, which are nearly twice as large as the cameras, than positioning the cameras themselves.īut depending on how her house is wired, and her expertise with Windows PCs, grandma might not understand the rest of the process. Instructions make the whole process obvious and conceptually easy.

Logitech alert commander camera compatibility how to#

Even a grandmother could figure out how to plug the yellow-ended Ethernet cables into the HomePlug power adapters and cameras, at least after the cameras’ bottom compartments are popped off, and doing the same with the router box only requires a hint of additional thought. Logitech includes all of the necessary cables and hardware in the packages, and yes, the Alert 750i and 700i are physically easy to set up. This necessitates that you connect these power boxes to your wall outlets-and have another one connected to your home router. As it turns out, the Alert system uses “HomePlug” or Powerline networking, leveraging your home’s power lines rather than Wi-Fi to carry camera data. Each camera depends on an Ethernet cable-tethered wall power supply, which similarly blinks with lights unless you flip an on-off switch on the side. The primary limiting factor in positioning the cameras is the way Logitech has designed their power and networking hardware. Each camera includes a full-sized SD Card adapter for the microSD cards, as well. You also get a couple of stickers to place on your windows or doors to scare off intruders, and an installation CD. Both the 750i and 700i sets include one camera, a passive plastic cradle, and a boatload of suction- and screw-based mounting hardware, so you can choose whether to place them on tables, hang them from the ceiling, or mount them on walls. Each camera includes a 2GB microSD Card, which you can expand for greater recording capacity at will.

They’re designed with Logitech’s handsome-though conspicuous-gray and silver webcam styling, with large red lights that flash during recording. You wouldn’t want to record home videos with these cameras, but criminals have been identified using still frames from lower-resolution black-and-white security cameras Alert’s are hugely better by comparison. While this frame rate falls short of the capabilities of Logitech’s top webcams, the resolution easily and substantially exceeds the quality of typical home security systems, including ones we’ve seen with iOS compatibility. Logitech’s Alert system cameras are capable of recording color 960×720 resolution videos at 15 frames per second. If you want greater control over the cameras, you need to pay $80 per year for a “Web and Mobile Commander” subscription service. This is as close to “live” as you’re going to get for something being streamed out of your house, to a Logitech server, and then to your monitoring device yes, that’s how it’s done, which means that if you’re standing in front of your camera with an iPhone or iPad, you’ll wait half a minute or so to see yourself walking up to it. What you get for “free” with your $300 purchase is Internet-dependent access to the video from your camera or cameras on a roughly 15- to 30-second delay.

Logitech alert commander camera compatibility free#

Alert 700e outdoor cameras go for $280 each, including night vision and weatherproofing we’ve only tested the 750i and 700i.Īdditionally, while the Alert system does indeed offer free viewing of live video anywhere in the world, there are a couple of caveats. You’ll most likely want not just the single initial video camera in the Alert 750i Master System box, but also at least one Alert 700i Add-On Camera ($230 each).

Though the Alert system starts at a base price of $300, there’s more to the story than that.