Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11

OVERVIEWThe BL-C131A is a wireless/router based camera (no PC needed). In my view, this is the ONLY way cameras should be used due to the unstable PC connected solutions (e.g., PC freeze-up, lost power, etc). It is an IP based system which needs its own local internet address which the included software does a pretty good job setting up automatically.MY EXPERIENCESI have tried over 20 wireless web cameras from 7 brands over the last 5 years ($100-$600) and none are close to the performance, reliability, ease of setup of the Panasonic cams for a consumer based product. Dlink used to lead the pack until the BL-C20A/30A units came out. I was a fan of Dlinks but the software setup, remote camera configurations, and Viewnetcam dynamic DNS service of the the Pana's is just the best today.ADVANTAGES- The included software is the best on the market for finding the camera on your system and trying to configure it automatically. Most software engineers should be SHOT due to sloppy code but the Panasonic software and firmware (software inside the cameras) is pretty good for setup and reliability (I am an electrical engineer so I know the sloppy way most of these guys think).- Tech support for Panasonic is the ONLY support I have contacted from 7 brands with AMERICANS speaking ENGLISH (not "Engrish"). Their patience and overall knowledge is truly outstanding and worth every extra penny this camera costs.- I highly recommend you also buy the Panasonic wireless router. It automatically configures with the cameras and becomes really easy to find/control the cameras.- The ability to reset/reconfigure the cameras remotely is INVALUABLE! I am often travleing in China, at my home in Chicago, or my home in Florida and want to make changes. I can do it remotely with 100% success after the first setup. I was even able to configure some cams in Chicago and Fedex to my wife in Florida and they booted up into the other system perfectly!- The Viewnetcam dynamic DNS service is stunningly reliable. It has never gone down and my cameras reset/refind themselves every hour so if your local ISP dynamically changes your IP address (Comcast is worst) you are always going to have the cams back up in 1 hour.- The ability to snap images, group small video screens, and "mouse-point" the cameras via the pan-tilt-zoom are outstanding.- The built in microphones are AMAZINGLY sensitive and pick up small noises remarkably well. I could hear the kids playing outside the house with cams inside.- The built in multi-screen servers can integrate different models of cameras. For example, I use a BL-C131A cam as #1 at my mom's house for PTZ and audio. I then add a BL-C30A for simple PTZ photo/video and a BL-C20A for fixed photo/video. They all coexist in one screen and work beautifully!- The photo snaps work PERFECTLY for building a simple web page and placing multiple screen snaps on 1 page (I placed 8) thus a super slim matrix of what is happening in my homes. Each photo at 320x240 is only 8kb so they download fast.- The mobile function (viewing on a cell phone browser) works INCREDIBLY well. I use it everyday on my Treo700P via Sprint.DISADVANTAGES/CAUTIONS- ANY web cam is tedious to setup, no matter the brand. Be patient, and call Pana's tech support before returning the unit.- DON'T expect HD quality video - these are 640x480 screens as best and the upload speed of your home network will always be the limiting factor. I do not recommend more than 4 cams online at once since this overloads even a good 768K upload system.- The pan-tilt controls are outstanding. Lots of left-right-down travel but up is limited. Also, the zoom is a digital zoom (NOT an optical zoom) thus very pixelated and not worth much.- The cams can fight for packets and "burble" your VOIP telephone calls.SUMMARYOutstanding product. I now own 14 units around the world and all are stone-cold reliable. Just great products.

I've had this camera at home for about 2 weeks and I am almost to the point where I am ready to return it. On the surface the product works well, the picture and audio are fine. The external viewing capability is not as easy to get working as other reviewers have indicated, so that is still on my to-do list. The major problem i have with the camera is the fact that it hogs my wifi network and interferes with server-to-server connections I have at home. I am in the middle of copying a whole bunch of files from one PC to another, then I turn on this camera and the connection is lost. Also, if the camera is running and showing a picture and audio is coming in normally, then I start to do something else on the network (not necessarily on the wifi network) the picture will freeze and the camera no longer responds. I have lost track of the number of times I have had to restart the camera. I have upgraded the firmware, reset to factory settings and have not found a solution yet. I am a day or two away from giving up and sending this camera back and going with another vendor. I will update the review if I find out what the problem is later. If I could get passed this issue, I'm sure I would love the camera and give it 5 stars.--Update: I fumbled around with the settings a little more and have managed to get everything working. It seemed that I had an IP conflict with two other devices on my network that was somehow causing the camera to freeze - since I have resolved that the camera has never stopped. Also somehow the internet viewing capability is now working too, although I am unable to move the camera when viewing it remotely - I get "error on page" when using the navigation buttons. I am now raising this from 3 stars to 5 stars - and hope that I can figure out what the remote nav problem is soon.

I recently purchased a refurbished unit from Amazon. While relatively complicated, I was able to get it to work on my home wireless network in a couple hours. Next I tried to get it to work over the Internet. It appeared that it had been registered for online use by the previous "owner". I called Panasonic and they said it would take them TWO to THREE WEEKS to clear the registration. This was a factory reconditioned device so I'm very frustrated by the delay. I suspect many refurbished devices have been registered. The Panasonic representative gave a quick response so it appears to be a common problem. I tried to get them to exchange it but they said it was good product. Apparently Panasonic considers a product good even if it will take weeks to get it to work as specified.This a a very complicated product and I would suggest that unless you able or willing to spend time tweaking your router, configuring the camera, and on the phone to Panasonic that you wait until they are more plug and play. There is a reason Panasonic has knowledgeable tech support - lots of install problems!Addendum: 5/14/09 - Product is finally working and meets my expectations. I called Panasonic after waiting a week for the camera's previous registration to be cleared (this prevented online use). The support person indicated that the camera had been cleared and proceeded to help me setup online access. I'm not sure why I never received an email saying the camera was ready. I was also told that I was quoted 2-3 weeks because Panasonic Japan (server location) was scheduled for a 1-week shut-down for holiday. Normally the camera registration can be cleared in 2-3 days. The original support person should have said that - he made it sound like 2-3 weeks was standard processing time.I'm very satisfied with the camera but still believe that to configure the camera/router for online access will require panasonic support for most users.