Panasonic BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802.11 Review

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(More customer reviews)My wife and I wanted to keep an eye on the nanny with our baby from work. After researching the network cameras for several months, it seemed that only Panasonic cameras consistently received positive (usually glowing reviews) whereas cameras from other major brands like Linksys, D-Link, etc received mediocre or poor reviews. So I went with Panasonic. And after about a month, I have to say I am very impressed with it. Some background: I have a classic Linksys WRT54G 802.11g router, with 2 WinXP PCs connected to it via ethernet and 3 more PCs connected wirelessly; plus, I have AT&T/SBC DSL service via a Speedstream 5100 DSL modem. If you're moderately computer literate, you should have no problem following the included instructions to setup (view and control) the camera in wired mode or in wireless WiFi mode.
But if you want to setup the camera to be viewed (and controlled) from the internet, you need to do a bit more work. And this is where Panasonic's excellent, excellent customer support comes in. Panasonic's support line is 8_0_0-2_7_2-7_0_3_3; they are open Mon-Fri 9AM-9PM and Sat/Sun 10AM-7PM Eastern US Time; this tech support is available to you for the LIFE of the product. They will walk you through how to setup the camera, configure your router (for, among other things, port forwarding), and register with Panasonic's FREE Dynamic DNS web service. This last point is important: Panasonic network cameras include FREE Dynamic DNS hosting service for the life of the product; other brands offer the service for an annual fee.
Okay, step-by-step, here's how to config the camera for internet viewing:
First, if you use DSL as I do (as opposed to cable broadband), you have to configure the DSL modem for "bridge mode." (If you don't use DSL, then you can skip this step.) This is because DSL modems act as a router, and port forwarding cannot work behind both the DSL modem's router and (in my case) the Linksys WRT54G router. If you want, you can call your DSL tech support to ask them to walk you through how to "bridge" your DSL modem. But here's what I did.
1. Login to your DSL modem (for me, it's 192.168.0.1) using your DSL account (for me, it's my SBCglobal email address).
2. Select Advanced >> PPP Location
3. Select Bridged Mode (PPPoE is not used), then Change PPP Location
4. When prompted, restart the DSL modem
5. Login to your router (for me, it's 192.168.1.1)
6. Under Setup> Basic Setup >> Internet Connection Type, select PPPoE and enter the DSL login & password info you normally would enter in your DSL modem to authenticate your DSL service.
7. At this point, the "bridging" should have been successful. To check that bridging has been successful, click Status >> Router, and check that you are "connected" with an IP address showing. If successful, you should also see that your DSL modem's "internet" LED light is off while your router's "internet" light is on. What you basically have done is to move the point of authentication for your DSL service from the DSL modem to your router; your DSL modem merely acts as a bridge for the DSL service to your router.
8. Now, we move on to configuring the camera itself. I assume that the camera has already been configured for wired and wireless mode. Login to the network camera (for me it's, 192.168.1.253).
9. Click Setup. Change the Port No. from the default of 80 to 50000 (fifty thousand) and enter the IP address of the camera (for me, it's 192.168.1.253). Click Save, and the camera will restart. When it finishes restarting (taking as long as 1.5 min), it'll bring you back to the "Top" home page of the camera config screen.
10. Log back into your router, and go to Applications & Gaming, where you'll be able to set up port forwarding.
11. In the Port Range, enter 50000 as "Start" and 50000 as "End." Enter the IP Address of the camera (for me, 192.168.1.253). Check Enable. Save Settings.
12. Now, log back into your camera. Go to Setup >> DynamicDNS. Select viewnetcam-dot-com, then Next.
13. Click on "Your Account Link" to bring up the viewnetcam.com registration page, where you then select New Registration. Enter your desired registration info and select your domain name at viewnetcam-dot-com (e.g. yourname-dot-viewnetcam-dot-com). Click Choose.
14. Now, you will be shown a page confirming your registration. Under DDNS status, you will see Active-waiting. You need to wait up to 10min as the domain registration occurs, at which time, the status will change to Active.
15. We're almost done; stay with me! From WinXP Start Menu, click Run and type "cmd" to bring up a DOS window.
16. In the DOS window, type "ipconfig/all", which shows your computer's various network information. Under Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection, copy down the two addresses under DNS Servers.
17. Log back into your camera, select Setup, and enter the 2 DNS Server addresses from ipconfig/all in the 2 DNS boxes.
18. Go back to viewnetcam-dot-com, login to your account, and check that the DDNS status is now Active. If so, then you're all ready to go!
19. Go to yourname-dot-viewnetcam-dot-com:50000 to see your network camera on the internet!

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Wireless Network Camera 802.11g, MPEG4, Automatic Network Configuration, Universal Plug and Play, Set-up Wizard, Remote Pan/Tilt Control, Built in PIR motion detector

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RCA VH48 Splitters (3-way) Review

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(More customer reviews)In order to evaluate splitters, it is important to understand how they work. A splitter is not an amplifier. It takes a signal and divides it, so the sum of all the outputs must be less than 100% of the original signal strength, assuming even the slightest bit of signal loss. The goal is to have as little signal loss as possible.
Splitting a signal is like splitting a bowl of cake batter. If you split it in two, each new bowl would have 50% of the original, but some of it sticks to the original bowl, and some sticks to the mixing blades or spatulas. You might get 48% in each bowl, but if you were hoping for 76%, it's impossible. If you split one of the two new bowls, you will get two more with less than 25% each. A "78% batter loss" in one of the new bowls would be reasonable and is 88% of the maximum that is theoretically possible. (22 out of 25) Those who claim to be getting an 80% signal loss with splitters are in reality getting 80% of the theoretical maximum, and getting only a 20% loss, if the signal had been split twice. If they needed to add a new cable to use the splitter, it could also be part of the signal loss.
Some reviewers got a stronger signal from the port closest to the input. That means that internally, the signal is split once, half going to port one, and split again for the next two. A 7 db drop would be in the expected range for the second and third. My testing confirmed that the first port had a signal strength in the expected range for a two way split. The other two ports can do nothing more than divide what is left.
My setup consisted of an attic antenna with a two way Monster Cable splitter. It had very low signal loss. Replacing it meant that if the first port of the RCA splitter worked as described, the best I could expect from it was a signal level close to what I was already getting. I connected the first port to a cable that went to the family room, which is the farthest connection. I measured the signal before, and again after I changed splitters. I found that the signal strength was essentially the same as before for each TV channel. Any differences were within the margin of error caused by atmospheric conditions.
The signals remained within a percentage point in most cases, some higher than before. The signal to noise ratios were in about the same range as before, but there was a measurable difference in the AGC (Automatic Gain Control) levels. They were consistently about 1% higher (bad) but it's unlikely to be relevant for digital signals unless you start off near a 50% AGC level. You don't need to know what AGC is, only that the splitter does not cause a major problem for it.
The family room cable goes through a two way splitter before getting to the TV. That meant that the TV really got the same signal level as the other two outputs from the RCA splitter, just as it did with the previous splitter. The two way splitter also fed a media center PC, giving it the same signal level as the other outputs. Windows 7 Media Center allows users to measure signal strength, but does not give numbers. Each channel showed the same number of bars as before the change, as expected. In both cases, I got the maximum number of bars, all green.
Since the circuitry to split the other two ports is identical to that used with the first port, and since the connectors are the same on all ports, it's reasonable to assume that the quality is equally good for all ports. I don't have hard measurements from the other two ports but my bedroom TV now works the same with half the signal, and my office PC now has a strong connection.
In my case, nothing but the splitter changed between the antenna and the family room for these tests. If you have a cable going to your TV and you add a new splitter, you end up with three cables instead of one, and four more connectors. Unless you know how much signal loss there is from the cables and connectors, you can't tell how much is from the splitter. My signal loss dropped significantly when I stopped using the RG-59 coax that came with the house, and ran more direct RG-6 quad shielded cable throughout the house, both inside the walls and out. I used Steren Permaseal-II connectors, which minimized signal loss.
If you get this splitter and it does not perform to your satisfaction, getting a better one may not be the answer. Make sure that your cables are all of top quality and have top quality connectors. Don't use cables with twist-on connectors. Make sure that all your connections are tightened with a wrench. Make sure that you don't have splitters anywhere with more outputs than you need. And if that still does not work, look into getting a signal booster.
Some reviewers have criticized this splitter for its frequency range. TV frequencies go from 54 MHz to 890 MHz. This splitter goes from 5 to 1000 MHz and covers the entire spectrum. There are many uses for splitters, but if you are not splitting a TV signal, this may not be what you need. Cables that go into your set top
box might not be carrying TV signals at all but carrying digital data that the set top box can decode. Some data may be in higher frequencies. If you have cable TV, check with your provider. They might even give you splitters and cables for free rather than risking signal leakage.
Overall, this splitter worked almost as well as a much more expensive one, and the "almost" part was so small that it did not make a difference. If you need a three way splitter for TV frequency signals, I'd recommend this one.

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Mediabridge Ultra Series - Tri Shielded Coaxial Digital Audio Video Cable - Pro Grade F-Pin to F-Pin Solid Brass Connectors (15 Feet) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had a coaxial cable going to the cable box that kept loosening up on its own causing the picture to breakup. Although I had extra cables laying around, I realized that they were all junk and started looking for a decent replacement. I was going to buy Monster, but didn't need 25' or 50' so I decided to try Mediabridge. This cable worked great. I really like these connectors over the ones with molded plastic behind the nut. The nut turns easily without the rest of the cable moving with it. How long they last remains to be seen, but for now, these will be my cable of choice.

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