ZoneMinder Forums

This camera works fine, just be sure to use 'video.cgi' for the remote host path. I stumbled across 'image.jpg' first, and was wondering why I only had less than 1 fps.

In a word, it's CHEAP. I wanted a network camera, and this was the cheapest one I found in my (limited) search. Of course, you get what you pay for. It is intended for indoor use, can't handle low light conditions at all (I get a black picture on the camera long before I am unable to see what's outside). But it is adequate for my needs (when the motion light kicks on outside, I can see a person walking by).

It is also small. A cylinder, about as big around as a soda can and half as tall.

Joe

I am also using a couple of these cameras, because they are cheap. Unfortunatly in this case cheap also means minor bugs.
Works good with Zoneminder but:

The D-Link Webinterface is buggy and can cause a camera system lockup if not treated carefully. Update to newest firmware (which is not recommended by D-Link) helps slightly

How can D-Link not recommend that you use their latest firmware? Why would they release it if they didn't think it was any good?

I can't say I've ever heard any positive comment about D-Link IP cameras, I know my DCS-1000W is pretty dreadful when it comes to image quality, so maybe I shouldn't be too surprised!

Phil

It does seem strange. But this is a quote from www.d-link.com regarding firmware update for DCS-900.

"This firmware is engineered for US products only. Using this firmware on a device outside of the United States will void your warranty and may render the device unusable."

I used it anyways, and it has reduced the lockups of my cameras.

But let me be honest, I do regret having bought the cheaper D-Link cameras, since the AXIS cameras I also use (205, 206, 206W, 2100) offer better workability in all aspects, and more than justify the premium price.

If any of you want an more detailed comparison between AXIS and D-Link send me an e-mail.

NO I DON'T WORK FOR AXIS, but the ongoing problems with D-Link have wasted too much of my time.

I'm getting black stills when using the DCS-900w using either the image.jpg or the video.cgi. Could one of you guys (or girls) push me in the right direction as far what configuration settings work and perhaps any tips/tricks with this cam? I think it's probably configurator error (me.) I can find nothing helpful in any of the zm logs, interfaces or system logs. New to zm.

Hi.

Check your settings - for 320x240 resolution set for the camera, the ZM monitor should be defined as follows:

Remote Host Name: username:password@IP (username/password if set)
Remote Host Port: 80
Remote Host Path: video.cgi
Remote Image Colours: 24 bit color
Capture Width (pixels): 320
Capture Height (pixels): 240
Orientation: Normal

Should work - for some reason, I couldn't enable the 640x480 resolution, no matter what I did, I got a black screen.

The resolution you're using in ZM has to be the same, as the one set on your camera.
D-Link standard setup is 320x240.
After changing the resolution on the camera, 640x480 works for me.
The camera does tend to lock up at irregular intervals even with the newest firmware, giving you black pictures, but after a reboot (poweroff/on) it usually works again.

I've changed my DCS-900 setting to 640X480 and Zoneminder, and I still can't get that resolution. I just don't think the DCS-900 has real 640x480. But in my case it doesn't matter because this month is my year anni for running Zoneminder. One full year of security. So to celebrate I'm going to get a nice Axis