Ok, one of the biggest gripes about the VueZone camera system was the fact that you never knew when to peak in to see what was happening. More often then not I would login to check on the cat, and the cat would be in another room. If the cameras only had motion detection. Well Avaak (Vue) has finally released their indoor motion detection camera (CM2040) to the world. Read on for a full review of the VueZone Motion Detection Camera after the break.
Before reading more about the CM2040 motion detection Vue camera, read our review of the Avaak VueZone Video Network here.
Now on to the latest addition to the Avaak VueZone system, the motion detection camera.
The packaging and product are on par with past VueZone products – neat, clean and everything you need to get up and running quickly. The contents of the box are a limited warranty card, a quick install guide, a notice to update your software, two CR123 batteries, a magnetic Vue mount, a screw with wall anchor, and a Vue camera.
I assumed that the motion detection camera was the same size as the normal cameras. It isn't. The motion detection camera is wider and requires, not one, but two of the expensive CR123 batteries. Another bummer is the recent update on the VueZone site that effects all of the cameras "“ they used to say "1 Year under normal use (5 min. per day)", now it has been quietly updated to "6 months under normal use (5 min. per day)". That is quite a significant difference, 50% less battery life across the board? I doubt anything really changed with the hardware, most likely just a more realistic estimate of how long the battery will actually last.
Before installing the camera on your VueZone System/Network you will need to update your cameras/system to the latest version of the software. Currently this is version 01.01.08.00. After the 5 minute (approximate) update is done you can easily add the camera to your camera network.
Ok, so here is where the fun starts, The motion detection actually works as you would expect it to. However, I have the sensitivity set to the maximum and the range isn't that great. The 15-foot range, for 130lb person, quoted in the manual is about as much as I was able to get. I wish the range was a bit longer.
The email alerts work well and are sent out rather quickly. I would typically get an email alert about 1 minute after motion was triggered. Currently email is the only notification that is supported. Avaak, I hope you are reading, please add an option for cell phone SMS alerts.
There are 3 resolution settings; 320 x 240, 640 x 480, and 1600 x 1200 but I could not activate the 1600 x 1200 in Firefox 4.0.1 or Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.19088. The only way I could get the 1600 x 1200 resolution to stick was via the iPhone application. (bug?)
All-in-all I like the new VueZone Motion Detection Add-On Camera (CM2040) and hope the small tweaks I mentioned above get added and/or fixed. Another part that is a tad difficult to swallow is the $99.95 price, I am hoping that the price comes down to about $49 so I can really start adding cameras around the house, after all the system supports up to 50 cameras (but who has $4,997.50 laying around?).