WiLife Gives VARs A New POS Surveillance System

So often we read about technology products being "easy" to use and configure or "quickly" installed. At Business Solutions, we avoid those vague terms and attempt to qualify what "easy" and "quick" truly mean. In the POS (point of sale) 'Channel News' section of the July 2007 issue of Business Solutions, I wrote about how WiLife expanded its line of security systems with the creation of the WiLife Professional bundle, aimed at POS VARs looking to offer the value-add of a surveillance system. The WiLife Professional line consists of Ethernet-powered cameras, whereas the original WiLife LukWerk cameras are networked via HomePlug technology. HomePlug is a networking technology that connects devices to each other through a facility's electrical system. WiLife makes some bold statements regarding the simplicity of installation and use of its products. To test the validity of the company's statements, WiLife sent me an indoor starter kit, complete with one HomePlug camera and WiLife's Command Center software. Quick and easy? You be the judge.

Installing the software on my Pentium 4, 1.8 GHz PC took 2 minutes and all user prompts during the installation were clear. Once the software was installed, I moved to the hardware. Each component in the bundle was separately wrapped and securely placed inside the bundle box. Being somewhat of a techie, I usually skip the reading of any included instructions and just start hooking things up as I think makes sense. In the case of the WiLife bundle, each piece can be connected only one way. That is, the cameras and power adapters each have a connector that can accept only a specific included cable. In short, it's impossible to connect the devices together incorrectly. The total hardware hookup involves connecting a cable into each adapter, plugging each adapter into a power outlet, connecting one cable into the camera, and one into the USB port of the PC. The most challenging part of the installation was trying to determine where I wanted to place the camera. Connecting everything took two minutes.

Upon the first running of the Command Center software, a setup wizard walked me through locating all cameras connected via HomePlug. My single camera was found in less than 30 seconds, and then I was ready to begin configuring camera and software options. Again, rather than read any instructions, I decided to just play around and see what I could do. From the Command Center options menu, I was able to adjust brightness, contrast, resolution (available resolutions are 320 x 240 and 640 x 480), frame and bit rate settings, and allocate disk space for storing the captured video. I was also able to create up to 16 motion-detection zones, allowing the software to record captured movements within those zones. Another recording option was to set specific times and dates to record video. The next option tab contains settings that allowed me to alter how the software alerts me to captured motion. Within a minute, the software was configured to automatically send me video surveillance clips via e-mail.

Recorded video can be selected and viewed by using a timeline or traditional DVD controls. That is, if you've ever used a DVD player remote, you'll be able to stop, play, rewind, and fast forward through video. Captured video was clear and colors were accurate. The HomePlug technology worked flawlessly. I was particularly impressed because the electrical system I used was over 20 years old and lacked today's standard specification of being properly grounded.

My final task was to set up a free remote viewing account on WiLife's Web site. Remote viewing allows a user to view camera footage remotely through a Web browser. The registration process took 30 seconds and I received confirmation e-mail less than 1 minute later. The e-mail contained five steps I needed to perform to enable me to view my camera remotely. The steps took a couple minutes at which point I was able to utilize the remote viewing feature and access my camera while on the road.

So, I was able to install the software in two minutes, connect the hardware in another two minutes, and find the camera in 30 seconds. At that point, I had a fully functioning video surveillance system. I played around with the options and then spent about two minutes setting up remote viewing. I did all of this without reading any instructions. Is that what you call quick and easy?

Mike Monocello is the Supply Chain & POS editor for Business Solutions magazine. He can be reached at mikem@corrypub.com or at (814) 868-9935 x221.

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