[quote=“mario23, post:140, topic:165921”]Does anyone know if the Foscam FI8905W will work with our setup?
or am I the first to try this one???
I asked for it as well as the Fi8908W for Xmass but I have a feeling this is the one I’m getting first :)[/quote]
I have the FI8904W and it works fine. I believe all the Foscam software is the same (except for the PT or not depending on the cam).
I also have a Fi8908W, which is a solid cam, the image isn’t awesome but passable. I also have one of these Mole IP Cams and it’s got a much better picture and a mic built in. It’s a bit more expensive but with all the extra features (SD card, mic, timer, youtube, twitter) it’s worth it. It also works great with Vera though I haven’t figured out pan/tilt yet.
Sorry, after re-reading my previous post I want to clarify something. The Foscam is a fine cam, once David K. from IPCam-central.com contacted me and helped me resolve any issues I was having. I do recommend both of these cams and most of all I recommend IPCam-central.com.
[quote=“mbairhead, post:141, topic:165921”]I have the FI8904W and it works fine. I believe all the Foscam software is the same (except for the PT or not depending on the cam).
I also have a Fi8908W, which is a solid cam, the image isn’t awesome but passable. I also have one of these Mole IP Cams and it’s got a much better picture and a mic built in. It’s a bit more expensive but with all the extra features (SD card, mic, timer, youtube, twitter) it’s worth it. It also works great with Vera though I haven’t figured out pan/tilt yet.[/quote]
I place a high value on image quality, so maybe I should go with the Mole Cam. With all the positive feedback about IPCam-central I went to their site with the intention of buying four or five cameras. Someone needs to tell those guys that their site makes it way too hard to decide which camera to buy. Their descriptions make every camera sound identical to the others, but at wildly different price points. I finally gave up trying to figure out what the differences were between all the offerings. It doesn’t really have to be this hard.
Thank you for your constructive critiques. We and will address them ASAP. There is some limitation with our ISP-- it is unable to create a dynamic comparison between the products, but we will put effort into finding a technical solution for this.
Since we offer an assortment of cameras on www.IPCam-Central.com and www.Wansview.us, that satisfy multiple customer application needs, from the very basic, to the more complex ones (including system design and wireless infrastructure design) we would be glad to provide you objective advice regarding what camera will best fit your needs. Please feel free to contact us directly via the respective emails: cs@ipcam-central.com and cs@wansview.us.
All our current camera models have support for Vera2 gateways. Newer camera models have the support, based on customer demand (we can provide it in approximately one week ARO, after getting it validated by Vera customer support).
We provide the SmartEye NC530 (under Wansview NC 530). This camera works with Vera as well, and provides similar, and for some specific functions, superior functionality to the Mole. I would be happy to discuss a feature comparison, via email or phone, between the two cameras, if you are interested.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to have this dialogue.
I just purchased a FI8908W. Installation went great. I have a MacBook my primary computer and a Dell. When I log in to my camera’s IP on the Dell (IE) I am able to access the audio features of the camera. When logging in with my Mac (Safari) I only get the option to view the camera with the pan and tilt features but no audio. Is this a limitation of not using IE or am I missing something in Mac setup?
The Foscam cameras as many other ones in that category use ActiveX for the Audio support. ActiveX is available with IE ONLY.
If Audio is really important for you and you want to use it with Safari or any other browser, please consider using the SmartEye NC530, on our www.IPCam-Central.com site. The camera is using QuickTime for the audio and video playback and therefor will work on a MAC as well.
Ok another question. I have my FI8908W camera set up and can access it on all my home devices. But I cannot get access to my camera over the internet when not at home. I know I have to make the camera visible to the internet but not sure how to set up the camera’s configuration or router configuration. Any advice?
[quote=“ald, post:1, topic:165921”]I am looking to add some cameras to my new Vera. I was looking around for the best value and came across this Foscam FI8908W Wireless IP Camera (See link below). I did some searches for any posts in the forum on this unit but nothing came up… I as wondering if anyone had tried it with Vera.
If not, I am would love some suggestions on a good value camera for Vera.
i am looking for anyone who has had luck setting up the wireless on the foscam .willexcept any advice.my email is jamesm@yucca.net phone number is 575 791 9227
Set a static IP assignment on your Foscam. Here is an example from my network
Foscam → Basic Network Settings
Obtain IP from DHCP Server: UNCHECKED
IP Addr: 192.168.1.127
Subnet: Mask 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.127
DNS Server: 192.168.1.127
Http Port: 81
Reserve the IP address in your routers DHCP Reservation list, supply the mac address (from bottom of foscam) and the ip address set in Foscam settings in step 1 ie
Set a port forward in your router for port 81 to your Foscam this routes any internet request on port 81 to your Foscam (such as http://www.yourdomain_or_ip.com:81) . You’ll find port forwarding sometimes under applications/gaming on some routers, and under port forwarding on others. You want to set a “Single Port Forward”
Router → Single Port Forwarding
Name Ext Int Protocol IP
Foscam 81 81 TCP/UDP 192.168.1.127
determine what your external ip address is (assigned by your internet provider). if you have a dynamic IP address with your internet provider then use http://www.whatismyip.com to see what IP they’ve assigned you. Then to test it try that ip address and append :81 in your browser. You should be able to access the foscam from outside your local network using this. For example if your external IP is 66.163.62.183 then type into your browser http://66.163.62.183:81
If you have a dynamic IP as most people do (static IPs are typically offered as a premium charge, most people don’t have them) your external IP address will change periodically, ie when you reset your DSL/CableModem or depending on the IP expiration settings your provider has set in your modem. In order to give you a consistent way to access your home network remotely regardless of how often your IP changes, you can use dyndns. Most routers support dyndns.
You simply create a free dyndns account on dyndns.orgMy Dyn Account and choose a free domain name like myname.dyndns.org They will try to upgrade you to pro and premium services, but you don’t require them. The free ip hosting service is all you need. After you create your dyndns free account, go into your router and look for dyndns, or ddns, or dynamic dns.
That should do it. Then you should be able to access your foscam from outside your home network with any browser by entering http://myname.dyndns.org:81
Do you know your wireless SSID (wifi network name), Security Type (WEP, WPA, or WPA2), and wireless password? If you have these three things it should be pretty straight forward to set up. In order to set up your wireless settings in the Foscam you do need to first plug the Foscam into your router using an ethernet cable, then setup the wireless settigs, then after you set it up you can disconnect it and access it wirelessly.
Does anyone have any issues with the Foscam losing the wireless? Mine can’t seem to hold a connection for more than 12 hours and I have to power cycle it to recover.
I think I figured it out - I didn’t have the FTP server information set up, but might have had it trying to upload images to FTP (I can’t tell, it doesn’t show me the current config under Motion Alarms, I’m using firefox on Mac), so I started the motion alarms from scratch and didn’t include FTP upload for sure and now it’s working tip top.
Thanks!
EDIT: Spoke too soon - it only lasted about 24 hours this time. The camera is still running - it just loses WiFi connectivity. My router is fine - nothing else loses connectivity…
Indoor. In the same room as a wireless printer that has no issues.
It’s a strong connection with low latency for the first few hours it’s connected.
I restarted it again this evening and it didn’t stay connected for more then two hours. To rule out the chance of being too far away from the ap I’ll move it tonight and see how long it stays up
Indoor. In the same room as a wireless printer that has no issues.
It’s a strong connection with low latency for the first few hours it’s connected.
I restarted it again this evening and it didn’t stay connected for more then two hours. To rule out the chance of being too far away from the ap I’ll move it tonight and see how long it stays up[/quote]
For point of reference, we have one of this guy’s relatives (FI8918W) out in our garage, through several layers of walls and about 60 feet from our Linksys WRT54G. Fixed IP, and the thing has never dropped the WiFi that we could tell. So that would be about 60 days at this point…
Last night I moved it closer to the AP, still dropped connection in around 12 hours.
Tonight I’m going to set it 2" from my AP and see if it can last longer than a day.
If not it’s going straight back to ipcam-central.com as DOA. It’s completely worthless to me if I can’t make it stay connected with any kind of reliability.
YMMV, but I am not impressed with this POS.
The ipcam-central.com support is just as worthless. “it may be a problem with your router or the settings on the camera. Consider purchasing our support for remote config”
I have plenty of wifi devices setup around the house with absolutely no connectivity issues.