iWatchLife IP camera Home Monitoring System

Over the past year I have done a couple of Network Camera and associated monitoring site reviews, this is the first time I have been able to review a iWatchLife IP Camera which is designed for home or small business. IP based video surveillance has been around for a while, so often times the differentiating points between manufactures end up being the monitoring services features.

Several years ago I had professional installation of a multiple camera wired monitoring system that records areas outside my residence/business along with key areas inside. While my solution is fantastic it comes at a hefty monthly price and required an initial very large cash outlay. Most of us do not need a big fancy system like mine, most of us need a couple of cameras to monitor key areas.

The camera that came with the iWacthLife kit was an Axis IP Camera that retails for $279. Setup was pretty straight forward, within about 5 minutes I had the wireless camera setup and feeding the iWatchLife website video. Camera configuration was managed through the iWatchLife.com website.

What struck me about the Axis camera that was different from other IP cameras I have reviewed was that it had a microphone, so not only could I watch what was happening I could hear as well.  The cameras video quality was fine and it did fine in low light.  The camera also had a feature where I could turn on a light mounted on the camera from the iWatchLife website.

The iWatchLife.com website and feature set is what really sets this IP camera package apart from others. You could configure the monitoring website to send  email alerts and record specific actions. The list is extensive intrusion, network outages, major scene changes, dark to light, light to dark, motion and scheduled or on demand video recording.

You can configure multiple cameras and the cameras are tied by serial number to your account making them very secure. The iWatchLife dashboard allows you to see a live view, review security events, and of course manage the cameras.  Cameras are priced from $199 to $279 per year. The iWatchLife service is free but they do have enhanced services priced $59 or $79 per year which allows you to store 75/200 hours of video coverage.

The simple fact that you can grow this monitoring system as you need to is a big added plus. Overall I am very impressed by both the monitoring website and camera options.