Home Security

You know you’re a parent when the all-powerful surveillance and mind-shaping technology described in George Orwell’s 1984 starts to intrigue you, especially when it comes to home security. “Maybe, just maybe,” you think, “Big Brother has its uses.”

Well, D-Link’s D-Life Powerline Home Surveillance System may not convince your children that we’ve always been at war with Oceania (although it sure feels like it), but it will keep a watchful eye over a portion of the household, with a few nice features to boot. Just in time for Father's Day, I got a chance to review the D-Life home security video system. Here's what I found.

How it Works
In one DHA 390 starter kit ($269) you’ll find a camera and a pair of Powerline adapters. Unlike WiFi, which broadcasts data signals over the air, Powerline harnesses your home’s existing electrical wiring to send network data back and forth.

The virtue here is that you don’t have to run wires or fuss with getting various wireless devices to find and connect with one another. You do, however, need to place the camera near a power outlet – no power strips or extension cords will do.

One adapter connects to a router, the other to the camera and power outlet. Since the camera feeds data directly to the router, and not the computer, you can view the camera’s video feed from your Internet browser (unfortunately, only Internet Explorer 6 and 7 work at this point) whether the PC’s on or off.

You manage the entire system through a straightforward Web browser interface, not local software. There is also an option to invite others to view your camera feed as a guest. You can also download a “D Life Widget” to your desktop for instant access to the D Life page.

The cameras record VGA resolution video. It features a motion sensor with several user-programmable degrees of sensitivity. When tripped, the motion sensor can trigger the camera to take a still photo. When motion is detected, the camera can also generate an email alert, so you can log-into the D-Life service and take a peek at who’s breaking-and-entering.

Great for Paranoid Dads
I quickly learned that this feature has uses beyond crime detection; especially for nervous parents of latch-key kids and younger children You can mount the camera by the front door and be notified the minute they walk in the door. Works as well for maids or any scheduled visitors as a confirmation that they arrived.

Getting the sensitivity right does take some trial and error though. Too high, and changes in the ambient lighting can set it off. Too low, and it missed a few moving objects.

The camera also features a built-in microphone of limited quality, a .5 lux CMOS sensor which fares OK but not great in low-light situations, and an adjustable, mountable camera stand. Don’t expect crystal clear images and video, especially in low light, but there’s more than enough clarity to discern when my young son (who was about seven feet from the camera, in bed) had his eyes open or closed. They were open – far longer than they were supposed to be.
 
You can add three more additional cameras (the DHA-310) but they’re a little pricey at $199. You can also add the DHA-330 Internet surveillance video player for $209. D-Link bills this Powerline “CamPlayer” as a high tech riff on the video baby monitor – the unit’s 7-inch LCD screen can display live video feeds from all of your networked cameras. It has touch sensitive buttons for navigating through the menu, an alarm clock, and a built-in speaker for transmitting audio feeds from the camera.

It would have been nice for the CamPlayer to include a memory card slot for displaying digital photos (even as a screensaver, instead of the clock option you have now), because otherwise, it’s a pricey add-on for functionality you can already enjoy if you own a laptop.

The Good
Overall, the set up works as easily as advertised. You will need to be running Windows and use IE, as there several ActiveX controls to download. The D Life interface is simple to use and the cameras are sturdily constructed. You’ll have a few customizable options – video quality, motion triggering, etc. – to tweak the set-up without getting lost in a confusing maze of options.

The video quality is good for a security camera and while you won’t enjoy stellar low light performance, it’s passable for its class.

Limitations
Right now, the biggest limitation is the video stream to the Internet. If you’re not a local computer, you can only view your video for two minutes before it times out. To keep a steady view, you’ll have to hit refresh. If you want to share your video streams with friends or relatives, they’ll have to be running Internet Explorer (V. 6 or 7) and sign up for a D Life account.

The other present limitation is the camera. The only choice you have are indoor cameras. Competitive Powerline systems from Logitech (the WiLife) sell outdoors cameras as well as “Nanny cams” – cameras embedded into clocks for surreptitiously recording a scene. Hopefully new camera options will come on board soon.

Finally, while the D Life site will log 100 motion-activated snapshots, it won’t record or store your video. You will have to clear out your 100 snapshots if you want to record new ones, so there’s some care-and-feeding involved in using the motion activation feature which some people might not be keen on.

In Sum
The D Life Surveillance system offers a fairly straightforward, if a bit costly, way to monitor rooms in your home. If wireless networking scares you, and you want a way to monitor the kids with the potential to add extra rooms, the D Life is worth a look. It definitely stacks up favorably with IP cameras or basic wireless security cameras.