Review of Cisco PVC2300 Business Internet Security Video Camera w/Audio

I was extremely excited about this product when I saw it.It has the Cisco name, PoE, HTTP and RTSP protocols built in.

Initially, I thought it was a perfect fit for my needs. I need to webcast something to a viewing audience around the globe, not a lot of people, but enough that I needed RTSP capability.

This camera would not broadcast outside the router firewall. It worked fine inside the private network, streaming to Windows Media and RealPlayer.

But when we opened up the firewall ports for outside viewing, NOTHING. The players could connect to the camera fine (login authentication was requested) but the video would simply not stream.

I contacted Cisco, and they told me it was my router set up and they couldn't do anything about it. I read things, went on message boards, etc.Nothing about this particular camera was helpful.

I called Cisco back and demanded they look into it.I told them that we weren't dummies, that we knew how to open up ports on the firewall (we got the HTTP stream just fine).

Turns out, their engineering staff couldn't get it to work either!

On top of that, it turned out that their activeX certificate built into the firmware was expired.Expired! You couldn't load their HTTP viewer activeX control without disabling the warning in IE. The workaround they gave me was to download the activeX to the PC directly, then it would work OK. That's fine if you only have one user, but the idea is that anyone with the login could connect to the camera and, viola! The activeX loads and installs and everyone is happy.

The hardware itself seems robust, and the PoE feature worked fine. The viewing angle was a little narrower than I would have liked, but since it had the ability to change lenses, I was okay with that.

I have returned this camera back to Amazon, and I have ordered the D-Link camera instead.Hopefully, that works better.

At this price point, you are better off with something else.

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Product Description:
Whatever your surveillance needs, mounting, connecting, and accessing workplace video has never been easier. Formerly Linksys Business Series, now Cisco Small Business Video Surveillance Cameras, the PVC2300 box camera supports interchangeable lenses and filters for use in a variety of environments such as low light. Its compact size allows placement in a protective enclosure for outdoor applications.The Power over Ethernet (PoE) function of the PVC2300 allows it to draw power via Ethernet cabling, enabling installations near ceilings, on rooftops, or anywhere where electrical outlets may not be available.

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