Author: Fido Posted on: 4/8/2003 Sponsor: DLink Discuss: In the forums

Introduction When D-Link recently showed the DVC-1000 i2eye Videophone at CES 2003, it did manage to stir up some news in the tech community, and was even a finalist in TechTV's Best of CES Awards. The product has now reached the mass public and is available for purchase from a very large number of retailers. Now that the product is here, does it really do what D-Link claims it can do? Is the setup and operation simple enough for your grandparents to follow? How many frames per second will you really get? What is the quality of the video and audio feeds? This review will attempt to answer these questions... and more. The DVC-1000 was designed to bring live streaming videophone capabilities to the mass public via a broadband connection to the Internet. Now, before we get too far into this, let me start by saying this device is not a "glorified webcam". It uses a combination of the latest ITU-based standards for streaming and compressing both audio and video, and channels this data across the Internet to another location. By taking advantage of IP-based protocols and advanced video and audio compression techniques, D-Link claims this product can stream live audio and video at up to 30 frames per second across a 96 Kbps connection to the Internet. In my opinion, the concept behind watching and talking to another person across the Internet using the DVC-1000 is best explained graphically. In the image below, the two people depicted will have the ability to not only hear each other, but can watch each other in real-time. Both parties have a broadband connection to the Internet (DSL or Cable), a television, a telephone, a router, the DVC-1000 video phone, and of course someone on the other end who's willing to talk to them. Some components shown in this picture are required, while others are not: Broadband connection to the Internet This is a requirement. You must have a cable modem, DSL, high-speed wireless, or a high-speed satellite link to use the DVC-1000. Television A device with RCA inputs capable of receiving a video feed is required. If you have a PC with video capture card, it will work but keep in mind that the optimal focal distances for the DVC-1000 are between 5 and 10 feet. So if you're planning on putting the DVC-1000 on top of your monitor, you may have some issues with clarity and resolution. I would suggest using a television, but you're free to feed your signal to whatever you want. Telephone The telephone in the image below is connected to the back of the DVC-1000. Since the DVC-1000 has a built in speakerphone mic input along with an audio out channel that can be connected to your television, a telephone is not required. However, if you want to communicate with your party using full-duplex audio, a telephone is required. Any phone will work - wired or wireless, digital or analog. You can also use the phone to dial the person you wish to conference with, in lieu of using the on-screen menu system. Both options will route continue to route the audio and video signals across the internet, so either way you're going to eliminate any long distance phone changes that would normally occur. Router / Firewall This not required. You can hook the DVC-1000 directly to your Internet connection, but if you have a computer in your house (yeah, I know... who doesn't) and you're wanting to share your Internet connection between your computer and the DVC-1000 you'll probably want to have a router / firewall of some kind in the picture. Keep in mind, that if you are using a router / firewall, you will have open several TCP & UDP ports which are required by the DVC-1000. Someone to talk to You have friends don't you? As this review continues, we'll talk more about each of the required and optional items covered above. But let's get the specifications and features out of the way, and then we'll get down to business and start using the device. Specifications: Internal Processor ARM-9 ASIC Communication Processor Standards H.323 (IP communications) H.263 (Video) G.711 (Audio) G.723 (Audio) Frame Rates 96 Kbps-512 Kbps Up to 30fps Video CIF (352 x 288 pixels) QCIF (176 x 144) Audio Telephone Interface Echo Cancellation Voice Only to / from Voice over IP Endpoints Half-duplex Speakerphone Input/Output Power Audio Out Video Out Ethernet RJ-45 External Microphone Camera Manual Tilt Manual Focus User Interface Dialing Diagnostics Quality of Service Measurement Manual or Auto Answer Incoming Caller ID Privacy Via Video/Audio Mute and Do Not Disturb Mode Answer with Infrared Remote Control or Telephone LED Indicators Power Status Video Monitor Ethernet Link &Transmit Dialing Capabilities Speed Dial List (10 Entries) Dial VideoPhone Number Using Built-in i2eye Directory Service Dialing Using Direct IP Address Entry Remote Software Update Software Update, Automatic or Manual Dimensions D=6.08" W=8.07" H=1.50" Weight 14 oz. (.398kg) Warranty 1 Year Features: Overview Stand Alone Operation - no PC needed High Quality IP Video Conference Calls Up to 30 Frames per Second Auto-Detect System Upgrades Easy Setup Wizard Remote Control Included H.323 Internet Videoconferencing Standard Compliant Picture-In-Picture or Full Screen View Speed Dialing Built-In Adjustable Tilt and Focus Lens Auto IP Mapping Audio / Video Privacy Protection with Built-In CallerID The DVC-1000 comes packaged with everything you will need to get it up and running. The DVC-1000 unit is packages complete with a small condom-like rubber cover to protect the lens during shipment, a comprehensive manual and a getting started guide, the remote control, a CAT 5 ethernet cable, the AC power adapter, and a RCA A/V compatible cable. With only the pictures on the D-Link website as reference, I was quite surprised at how small the DVC-1000 was. It's only about eight inches wide and can easily fit in the palm of your hand. It's also very light, weighing-in at under one pound. My only complaint about the contents of the package is the length of the AC power adapter cable, and the RCA A/V cable. The RCA A/V cable measures 5 feet in length, and the AC power adapter measures 6 feet in length. If your TV is mounted in a very large entertainment center, or you have a very large-screen TV you may run into a few problems trying to get things connected. Both TV's used during the tests conducted on the DVC-1000 were above 56 inches in size, and while the RCA cable was able to reach the input on the back of the TV, an extra extension cord was needed to reach an AC power source. Your situation may be different though. Just keep this in mind, and plan accordingly.                           Setting up the DVC-1000 Setting up and using the DVC-1000 is so simple, you can probably have it up and running in about 10 minutes. And while I could probably write for days, essentially rewriting the entire user manual in my own words, I'll try to keep much of this as simple as possible. Begin your installation by spending at least the first few minutes planning out how you're going to connect the device to your network and to your television. Make sure all the cables are going to be long enough and decide whether or not you are going to use a telephone with your DVC-1000. You can now start the process of connecting all the cables. The connection points on the back of the device are labeled very well and are uniquely colored to help you through this process.        Now that everything is connected, it's time to talk about the networking specifics required by the device. There are two ways you can connect the DVC-1000 to the Internet. Either by connecting it directly to your DSL / Cable modem, or by connecting it to an open port on a router / firewall. There could be other possible connection methods, however for the purpose of this article we're going to keep the scope narrow. There is an optional DWL-810 device that allows you to configure your complete system without wires (you need a wireless router or access point). The DWL-810 bridges from i2eye's wired Ethernet connection to a wireless router or access point that is connected to a cable or DSL modem. For the DVC-1000 to work properly on your network you must have a public IP address. Most Cable and DSL services automatically provide you with one, however some ISP's may give out private IP's and then NAT (network address translation) them to the Internet. If your ISP does not provide a public IP address, you'll have to ask them to provide you with one. Using the DVC-1000 with a firewall / router If your Internet connection is being shared by using a router / firewall you have two options. One option is to enter the IP address assigned to the DVC-1000 into the DMZ field on your router. Going this route is probably the easiest and fastest way to get things up and running, however I would not recommend implementing this method as a permanent solution. The second, and recommended option, is to forward the necessary ports required by H.323 standards. The following ports must be forwarded to the private IP address assigned to the DVC-1000 by your router / firewall: Port 1720 (TCP) & Ports 15328 - 15333 (UDP). If you don't know how to do this, refer to the user manual that came with your firewall / router. Using the DVC-1000 with a broadband modem only If your Cable / DSL modem automatically assigns an IP address to a device that is connected to it, you've got it made. However, some ISP's require manual configuration of an IP address, gateway, subnet mask, etc. If the manual method is required, you'll need all of the information provided to you by your ISP before you configure the DVC-1000. Further limiting the network configuration scope for the purpose of this review, from this point forward we're going to assume you are using the DVC-1000 with a router / firewall on your network. If you haven't already, it's now time to turn on your DVC-1000 and configure it. The first screen you'll be prompted with is the welcome screen. You'll be using the remote control to navigate through the menu system. Press next on the welcome screen to proceed: The next screen will ask you to enter your personal information. Here is where you enter the name you want to be known as, along with the phone number you want to assign to yourself. You can use your normal home phone number, or you can make up one on your own. When someone wants to you call you on your videophone, they will have to know the phone number you've assigned to yourself or your public IP address. How does this work? The phone number you enter into the device, along with your public IP address are stored in an LDAP server that is run and maintained by D-Link. When you power up the device, it figures out what your public IP address is, and sends it along with the phone number you've assigned to the D-Link LDAP server. When someone wants to call you via the phone number you've entered, their DVC-1000 will ask the D-Link LDAP server what your public IP address is, and will then establish a direct connection to your public IP address. Depending on your specific network setup, the information you'll be entering into the next screen may be different than ours. We're using a router / firewall that automatically assigns the IP address, gateway, subnet mask so all we need to do is check the box at the top that states "Obtain an IP address automatically". If your configuration is different, enter the required info on this screen. If you've manually entered your IP address, gateway, and subnet mask, you will be asked to enter the IP address of your primary and secondary DNS servers. If you used the DHCP option on the prior screen you won't need this info - so you won't even see this screen. You're almost done! The next screen will ask you for information about your Internet connection speed. You have the option to select from DSL, Cable, or T1. Each option will give you a different default set of send / receive speeds. I highly suggest you estimate your speed as low as possible. When you're communicating with someone using the DVC-1000, and you've set your network speed settings too high, your performance will be terrible. For example, if you have a DSL line, and you try to trick the videophone into thinking you have a T1 line, it will believe you and attempt to send massive amounts to data through your DSL line which will result in packet loss, and dropped frames. You can always test these settings later on and tweak them up gradually - believe me, you'll know when you've set them too high! That's all there is to it. The final setup screen asks you to reboot the videophone to apply the configuration you have just set. Using the DVC-1000 To use and test the DVC-1000, you'll of course need someone else with one to talk to. I hit up former LWD staff member Max. His configuration was very similar to what we have here in our lab, but we purposely attached a telephone to only one endpoint for testing purposes. Test Endpoint One (Fido) DSL Internet connection SMC Barricade SMC7004BR 56-inch TV Optional Phone used - Full-Duplex Audio Test Endpoint Two (Max) Cable Modem connection LinkSys BEFW11S4 62-inch TV Optional Phone NOT used - Half-Duplex Audio The main menu on the DVC-1000 looks like the image on the right. Dial The dial sub-screen is where your speed-dial list (address book) is located. From here you can dial, edit, add, or remove people from your speed-dial list. You can also manually dial someone who is not in your speed-dial list. Both methods of dialing someone can be accomplished either by using the telephone number they've assigned to their device, or by entering their public IP address. View There are three different screen configurations available while using the DVC-1000. The default view, which is similar to the image to the right, a full screen view which has no borders or buttons on screen, and the option to display your connection status. Connection status will show the number of frames per second you are sending and receiving, the number of bps you are sending and receiving, and the percent of packet loss you are currently experiencing. This is a very handy tool, and I prefer to always have mine turned on. Settings Four submenu screens are available under the settings section. These include general, personal info, network, and update. General settings includes things such as the option to automatically answer all incoming calls, automatically adjust contrast, and turn on video privacy when answering calls. Personal Info is where the name and phone number that you entered when you setup the DVC-1000 can be changed. Network setting options include IP address, DNS settings, Public IP info, and speed settings. Update settings include the ability to have the DVC-1000 automatically check with D-Link for updates, or you can manually tell it to check for updates. Within the first five minutes of online use, our DVC-1000 notified us that update was available for the device. For testing purposes, we updated the device located at Endpoint One, but not the one at Endpoint Two. Once activated, the process will download and update itself, and then reboot. At press-time, the update that is currently available improves the performance of the DVC-1000 when it is used on a "slow" Internet connection. Privacy You have the option to enable or disable the audio and or video at any time during or before a call. You can also set a do no disturb flag that will alert a caller that you are currently unavailable. These can be very handy if you have a habit of sitting around the house in your underwear all day. To better explain all of these settings, below are two videos that you can download which cycle through the various screens and settings available on the DVC-1000. These, and all other videos available for download throughout this review have all been encoded in Windows Media Player format. If you have Windows Media Player 7.01 or higher, you should be able to view them without any additional codecs. I do have MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 versions of these files as well, and hope to have them available for download soon. Video clip displaying the contents of the Dial screen Video clip displaying the contents of the View, Settings, and Privacy screens I think we've covered just about enough when it comes to the installation and configuration of the DVC-1000. Now it's time to have some fun and actually use the thing! In all, we've logged many hours on the device, and have tested it using several different configurations. We tried the DVC-1000 with and without using a telephone to enable full-duplex mode. Full-duplex mode is definitely the way to go. When using the built-in microphone in half-duplex mode, not only will it take some time to get used to the "walkie-talkie" type conversations, but you may run into some noise-gate issues if you're not speaking loud enough. When using the phone in full-duplex mode, both parties come across very clear and without noise-gate interruptions. Another advantage of using a telephone is the ability to answer and place calls from the handset, as opposed to using the remote control. You can simply pick up the phone and dial the number of the person you want to call. We also tried increasing the bandwidth settings to their maximum level, which yielded some very unstable results. D-Link states in the manual that if you raise the speed levels too high, it could result in a large number of lost packets and will result in very poor performance. They weren't joking! Always start out by setting them low, and gradually increase them to find your optimal level. The buttons on the remote control are easily learned and well labeled with the exception of the "A" and "B" buttons. A quick glance to the user manual was required to figure out what the "A" and "B" buttons were used for. Instead of listing what each and every button is for, we have included an image that shows a detailed layout of the remote.              Performance throughout our testing ranged from 14fps to 15fps. Image quality is sacrificed in the name of frames per second when either party moves around a great deal. If you're just sitting there moving your hands while speaking it isn't very noticeable, but if you want to dance for someone in front of your videophone the images will get pixelated at times. Audio quality was similar to a telephone conversation when using phone handset mic - when using the on-board mic quality was similar to a typical speakerphone. The manual focus camera did take a few minutes to set properly. If you have two people, one person to focus the lens and another person to sit on the couch, it will make this task easier. The range on the manual tilt lens is broad enough to span most living rooms. You could even lie down on the floor and talk if you wanted to - but if you start getting rug burns, and you want to move back to the couch you'll have to manually tilt the lens back into position.              Light sensitivity of the camera lens did become and issue at times. If the room was too dark, it became difficult to see the person clearly. Attempts to toggle auto-contrast did not affect light sensitivity. Just make sure you've got the lights on when you're chatting, and it shouldn't be an issue. It's difficult to convey in words what it's like to talk to someone using the DVC-1000 videophone. We feel the best way explain this is to show you what it's like. Below you will find four video clips of the DVC-1000 in action. These were recorded by using a digital camcorder instead of a television at Test Endpoint Two. The raw video was then trimmed down into four separate clips, and compressed using Windows Media Player codecs. We do have MPEG1 and MPEG2 formats of these videos as well, and hope to be adding them to the review soon. In some of the videos, it's very difficult to hear Max's side of the conversation - this had something to do with the configuration of the digital camcorder. During all tests, both sides of the conversation could be heard. The videos we captured are also much darker than what you would see if you were using a television. Again, another side-affect of the camcorder capture routine. Max receiving an incoming call from Fido. Switched from speakerphone to telephone mode on the fly. (26 seconds) Middle of a conversation between Max and Fido. Cycles through different viewing modes and shows the infrared remote control flashes picked up by the camera lens. (32 seconds) Max placing a call to Fido. Walking over and sitting down shows the pixelation that can occur if you move a great deal. (27 seconds) Full-Duplex conversation between Fido and Max. Shows frames per second sent and received in the connection status window. (34 seconds) Summary D-Link has done an excellent job building a user-friendly videophone that can be used by anyone with a broadband Internet connection. By designing around the internationally accepted H.323 standards, not only will future products have the ability to easily communicate with the device, but current H.323 complaint devices can be used as well. For example, someone using Microsoft Netmeeting can place a call to someone with a DVC-1000. Image quality is not too bad considering your looking at an image with a maximum resolution of 352 x 288 pixels being streamed across the Internet at a rate of about 15 frames per second. If either person moves around a great deal, you may notice some pixelation in the images. Additionally, the camera lens is not very light sensitive, which means you'll want to use it in a room with plenty of light. Auto-contrast mode does attempt to compensate for very dark rooms, but it will still be noticeable. When using a telephone for audio input, the full-duplex audio quality is very similar to what you would hear during a typical phone conversation. When using the built-in mic for audio input, the half-duplex quality is similar to what you would hear on a conversation speakerphone, complete with possible noise gate issues if you aren't speaking loud enough. We were slightly disappointed by the length of the included AC Power and RCA A/V cables. Granted not everyone will have issues with the cables, but those that do would be very disappointed if we didn't give mention to this in our review. By stating the length in this review, you'll be able to plan ahead for any potential problem you may have. The DVC-100 is currently being sold in the $250 - $300 USD range. Some sites are also offering a pair of DVC-1000's for around $500 USD. The price may be a factor for some who are thinking about grabbing up a DVC-1000, but as time goes on, I'm sure the price will continue to drop. While we're on the subject of price, it is also important to state the fact that you can call anyone, anywhere in the world, as long as they have a DVC-1000, free of charge. For many people, setting up the DVC-1000 will be a relatively simple task. If you have a router / firewall, you'll have to make a few configuration changes before it will work properly, but it's pretty easy to do. A non-technical person though, may have some difficulties. It's not quite plug-and-play at this point, but neither is a PC or a router for that matter. Some may consider being one of the first to offer a broadband videophone to the world a very bold move on the part of D-Link. At this point in time, it may be difficult to argue that point. Not many people have videophones, so if you buy one for yourself who are you going to talk to? I suspect this will all change soon, as more people discover videophones, the prices continue to go down, and as additional models are introduced. And as long as D-Link (and others) continue to build videophones that utilize the H.323 International Telecommunications Union standards, we as consumers will be the ones who will benefit the most. Our thanks go out to D-Link for bringing the world one step closer to the Jetsons' lifestyle. Now if I could only get my very own Rosie the Robot, and car that can fold into a briefcase...

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Published on: 2004-02-01 (20654 reads)