The Vue Personal Video Network device allows you to set up video cameras that connect to the internet easily. The Vue personal video network is a package that consists of two wireless cameras that communicates with a base station (the Vue gateway) to send your video to a website. It sells for $299. Additional cameras can purchased for $99.
Since Vue’s draw is its simplicity and ease of use, the VueZone site is easy to use. Logging in shows you your cameras and you can drag them into the “My Vue” area to view them. Once in the My Vue area, you click play to watch your camera.
While you can have multiple cameras communicate with one gateway, you can have only one camera live per gateway. The video player interface is self-explanatory. To take a snapshot or record video, click the appropriate button under the video. Additionally, image adjustments are possible to compensate for low light or bright situations using buttons under the video itself.
[adsense]You can share your cameras with your friends. You can see their cameras in the “My connections” area. Since they are probably using a separate gateway, you can watch their video as well as your own simultaneously. If you want to keep an eye on a friend’s fish or your relatives, it’s nice to be able to watch all from one interface.
Recorded video and snapshots can be accessed from the Playback tab. Chose a day from the calendar that is marked with a bold font and you can view a timeline of videos and images. The service gives you 2GB of storage space, which is expandable for a fee or you can just download your clips to save space. A 10-minute clip typically takes up only 15MB of space.
Images and video are also uploadable to Flickr and YouTube thanks to a dedicated “upload” button in the VueZone. Integration for social networks like Facebook and MySpace is coming. Sharing your cameras with friends just takes a drag and drop from your friends list to the “Permissions to view” area. Once a friend wishes to watch a video, they sign up for a free VueZone.com account, but they do not need to own the product itself.
New settings that are being added to the Vue will allow you to schedule recordings. Presently, you have to actively record clips. Look for the Vue to get upgrades in the future such as audio to better monitor areas and motion detection. (www.vuezone.com)
