Doubts regarding Logitech Alert system purchase

[Asvin]

I am very much serious in buying a Logitech Alert system. The thing is that i did lot of research regarding this security system which is where I made a mistake, as the reviews of this system really confused me. Yeah I did read almost all the review of this system on net where some were very nice and complimenting and some were not up to the mark. I was very much surprised to see that there are people who really liked Alert but then also there are people who didn’t really like it anyways. I personally feel that the user error maybe one of the major reason for this huge difference in their opinion. Anyways there are other more things that really concerned me a lot for which I came here. Few of the things really confuse me all the way. I somehow believe that after installing the system if I wanted to add up few additional cameras then I guess all of them would have to be on the same electrical circuit which will be connected to the same circuit breaker. Is there anyone who can let me know whether it’s a fact or not? And if it’s true then please let me know whether it would really limit the additional cameras where they could be limited.

Also I am very much unsure about the Home current and POE, I am confused with the Homeplug and POE working. Is it that thePOE allows just running the cable from the camera directly to the modem or the router without even requiring a huge brick adapter that would simply have to be plugged into the electrical outlet. Is it that I will have to use a kind of POE adapter that would be needed to connect to the router? Lastly I would like to know whether is it finds if I go for an external camera instead of the Master 750e system and then simply downloading the Commander software or just using some unique software application. In my mind when I think about a software application, blue iris is the only one that comes to my mind. Is this a better option if not then what would be your suggestion? Please help me out and clear all my doubts if possible, try to help me out will the entire question that I have asked you as all of them according to me is very much necessary to be cleared.

[Dannai7]

If you go on to think technically then probably adding up the additional cameras would not really require you to have all of them together on the same electrical circuit connected to the same circuit breaker, its completely not true. But yes somewhere it also depends upon the wiring of the building. You know the similar breaker and the circuit is the only best option and chance for HomePlug to function, but again not sure with that.

Regarding the Homeplug and POE, I must say that you might not find any special benefit by using HomePlug. You can also simply run the cameras to the POE switch that is connect to the router or the modem. The best and the major difference between POE and Homeplug is that you can easily add on the switch and the router on a UPS by using the POE and therefore you can prevent the cameras from going down in a power glitch. Remember that if you go with POE then you need not have to worry. You just have to simply go on for a B700e cameras software with no Master system things or Homeplug stuff.

[JErastus]

I am extremely sorry if I am interrupting the conversation or if I have posted at the wrong place but I feel this is where the right place for my placing my question. Can you please let me know from where I can actually purchase this Logitech Alert? I am quite doubtful with this thing. Found that Crutchfield are selling out their Master kit with one camera for $349 and not just this they are also offering a 60 money back warranty with a lifetime tech support that too for free. Other than all this they are also providing a free shipping and also they are not charging any tax at the time of delivery. If you check out Amazon they are giving it for $310 with no tech support and charge taxes. Also I read that HP Direct asks for $280 including tax with free delivery but no tech support other than provided by the Logitech. Please help me out where should I go. Very much confused, but if no one suggest me with anything then I might probably turn towards Crutchfield.

[Faiyaz9]

If you planning to go with POE then all you need to do is to buy it from the Logitech site. There is many other one which don’t even carry out less expensive B700 cameras. Let me tell you that cameras are almost the same in all the variants. I was once in need or a reliable switch for POE that was supposed to be run with the B700e, most often I used find them for $55 but alongside I use to also like something called as the POE injector that was for something $21 I guess. I do have a new Linksys wireless router. I always think whether this router would really need a switch or it’s simply a POE ready which probably doesn’t need a switch.

[ErikaGeek]

Hey if I am not mistaken then I am sure that router do comes with a POE ports, but they are quite less in number I guess. E1200 as compared to the one which you have mentioned is quite cheaper and low cost which comes without a POE. Actually the thing is that a router is bound to do multiple and complex things that somehow varies in a wide range depending upon the person who need to do but when it comes to the switch then know that its just a simple thing that acts like a splitter or amplifier for a TV antenna. A POE is nothing but just an injector that is something which you somehow let you with the power for one of the device on the Ethernet cable. whereas if you check out he POE switch, they are supposed to have some 4 to 8 ports and these ports has the ability of supplying the power. Always remember if you are planning to go with one camera then I think the best would be to go on with the switch which would be quite cheaper.

[fflygirl]

I personally have 6 cameras in total installed at my place and let me tell you that all 6 of them are POE through two POE switches. You know my POE switches are very much high at the higher end of the consumer devices as for my gigabyte network i.e. D-Link DGS-1008P I do use those non POE ports. Look according to me whichever brand you find suitable and comfortable for yourself would be fine and also for your kind information your cameras won’t require those gigabyte ports but somehow there might be some other things that may use it and if not then definitely 10/100 PoE switch would be very much fine.

If you really need a POE switch then what you have to do is to plug the switch into the electric outlet hen use a piece of Ethernet cable in order to connect the POE switch to the router. Once done with that you need to however plug one end of the supplied cable into the switch and the other end to the camera. Rest everything is fine, you need not have to do anything further, now just use the commander software in order to simply view the image and videos being captured by the camera.

[phunsuk]

There is a huge problem from my end I guess; I am unable to see my camera at all at the Logitech’s official site. There is no problem view it in commander but its not appearing over there in the site. Whenever I try to check in the camera I find that DHCP has actually not been assigned an IP address to the camera. Until now I tried running diagnostic report for which I found that the camera’s IP address is something 169.254.223.209 and now the most interesting thing is that Actiontec says that the IP address found by diagnostic report is actually not a real IP address, it says that this address is just a placeholder address. Also another thing is that I am unable to find my camera’s Mac address too amongst the listed attached device in the router. I have a strong feeling that there might be something wrong with the PoE switch, I have a TrendNet TPE-S44 PoE switch and I think I have hooked it up in a wrong manner which is somehow causing the problem.

I also have a laptop that is connected to the PoE switch from its Ethernet port i.e. port#6, a non-PoE port. The port switch is connected to some visible Ethernet port onto the router from the POE switch i.e. port#8, a non-PoE port. Then I have a camera that is connected with the supplied cable to Port #1, a PoE port. I can probably see the camera and its video very much clearly in commander and if I however connect the laptop to the router directly rather than the POE switch I might simply loose up the video. Till now the only thing I could do is to make out whether I have a POE switch that is connected very much correctly to everything.