We're looking into using these as baby monitors instead of traditional IP cameras. Anyone out there have any experience with that? We've got to monitor 4 separate rooms.

I'd love to know what the average up/down transfer is on the media server. I'm lucky if I can get 7MB/s on my current one over dual channel n wireless.

Here's a basic video example from Zyxel about their cloud cameras:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73vS4SOm4EM&feature=related

And their product page for the ethernet whatchamajigger.

Nothing of value to contribute regarding the cameras themselves, but God help you if you need to monitor 4 baby rooms...

Ramathorn wrote:We're looking into using these as baby monitors instead of traditional IP cameras. Anyone out there have any experience with that? We've got to monitor 4 separate rooms.

More pictures of the IP camera:
http://us.zyxel.com/products/details.aspx?PC1indexflag=PDCA20128&CategoryGroupNo=PDCA201218

Also a warning from that page:

4/14/2012 NOTE: We have discovered an incompatiblity with the iSecurity+ web viewer when using Firefox with Flash Plug version 11.2.x or higher. We are currently working to resolve that issue. In the mean time, please use Internet Explorer or Chrome to use the iSecurity+ site.

I love powerline adaptors, but depending on what you actually need, you may want to spend a few bucks more for the western digital ones.

They come with 4 ethernet ports instead of just one. If you just need to hardwire a computer at the wrong end of the house for wireless though, these are top notch. great speed and easy to set up.

This page on the OpenWRT wiki convinced me not to buy the router: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/zyxel/nbg5715

Powerline adapters Got good reviews on Amazon......and theyre also only $59.99 with Prime


Amazon

I am tempted by the NAS.

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/network-storage/1289791/zyxel-nsa310

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2012/01/25/zyxel-nsa310-review/1

From the reivews:

Pros: Cheap, effective and has enough CPU to stream HD content. Thats why you would want it, check.

Con: 1 drive bay, not 2. Not the fastest, and one of the slower NAS available for small files.

I want a NAS, but the only reason I have not bought this one is that it is one drive bay over 2. I love me some performance (I went with the i9 over i7 CPU just for performance) but the reviews basically say the thing is fast enough.

I just wish it had 2 drive bays. For comparable, it is 15$ more for this thing in 2 drive bay configuration.

ZyXEL NSA320 2-bay Network Attached Storage and Media Server

Price: $89.99
http://www.amazon.com/NSA310-Network-Attached-Storage-Server/dp/B005TJLU24

I've never had much luck with any web cams for live video! Used ones by Linksys and Panasonic, the Zyxel falls into the same class. IR illumination is a MUST for low light, but resolution will never beat your HD video camcorder, the real killer is frame rate. If you intend to monitor kids for like a daycare, you will see that kid X stuck something Y in their mouth or hit kid Z but you may not be able to tell what the item was or if someone like Z was injured. These are fixed length, with digital zoom which only make detail worse. To just count heads they fine.

One the PowerLine adapters these are great. My parents old house has areas we just can't run cable. These work great for interactive TV or DVD streaming. A multi-port like the Netgear or Slingbox brand might let you supply a TV, DVD and another device at one outlet or you can just add a 5 port switch to the single port for less $$. As long as they provide the same link speed the brand does not matter. The Zyxel will save you from spending 2-3x the cost on other units. The company first made dial-up modems many many years ago and did a good job back then. I'd have no problem using these over more expensive brands.

The lowest price I could find for the ZyXEL NSA310 1-Bay Media Server was only $5 cheaper with free shipping; however, that deal has since expired and the current lowest appears to be from Woot (according to my non-scientific, brief Internet searching). Personally, I'm waiting for a deal on the equivalent 2-bay model also from ZyXEL.

The features offered in the ZyXEL NSA310 1-Bay Media Server are hard to find in affordable, consumer Network-Attached-Storage (NAS) devices and especially without a bundled hard drive. NAS devices are often bundled with low-end or over-priced hard drives; not having one included saves you money and offers greater flexibility. This is a great buy at $69.

Full specifications from ZyXEL: http://www.zyxel.com/ProductTab.shtml?pid=20110426084939&idx=6&c=gb&l=en

Latest ZyXEL firmware downloads: http://us.zyxel.com/Support/Download-Library-Result.aspx?mif=20110426084939&type=Firmware

Pros:
1.) No bundled Hard Drive: This means you can use any existing SATA drive or purchase one of your preferred quality that fits within your budget. You could save money with a normal consumer drive or invest a little more for an enterprise-grade drive that offers better long-term reliability.
2.) Gigabit Ethernet port: Gigabit LAN connectivity is ideal for transferring files and streaming content over a multi-user network.
3.) eSATA port: This gives you a faster method (compared to USB 2.0) for connecting the ZyXEL NAS device to your computers.
4.) Two USB ports: Nearly all computers have USB ports, having this option guarantees you a ubiquitous method of connectivity.
5.) Firmware-upgradeable: Using the latest firmware the ZyXEL NAS device supports 3 TB hard drives according to the following official source: http://www.zyxel.com/support/knowledge_base/kb_detail_13824.shtml (indicates that 3TB-size hard drives are supported starting in firmware version "4.22(AFK.1)C0" and greater -- ZyXEL has since released a newer firmware version on 2012/03/09)
6.) Active Cooling: Cooling is essential, and the 1-Bay model includes a cooling fan to ensure your hard drive does not overheat, helping it to last longer and ultimately better protecting your data.

Cons:
1.) USB version 2.0 instead of the newer USB 3.0 AKA "SuperSpeed": Available for about 2 years, it is taking manufactures more time than I had hoped to develop and release products using the latest USB specification; however, because the ZyXEL NAS device offers both Gigabit Ethernet and eSATA -- in addition to USB connectivity, this should not be a deal breaker by any means. I would consider the USB ports a safe and reliable alternative in case you are not yet able to take full advantage of Gigabit Ethernet or in case you do not have any eSATA ports on your computer. Expansion cards are readily available for most computers to add support for Gigabit Ethernet and or eSATA ports.

Does anyone know if the powerline adapters need a specific router? Or do you plug one of them into the router and the other into the PC (or other client)?

Really good review of the router on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1AQ40TD3CM0JG/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005GRFC82&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=

I loooove these routers. I have about 5 of them in the field at work. Using them to give IP communication to mini-powerplants. They are great for the price and work superbly with the UM-175 3G air cards from verizon (which go for real cheap on ebay).

I too am thinking about clicking the huge yellow button on the NAS too. Although I have never owned a NAXS the closest thing is file sharing over a router with a usb drive (terrible as the router has no power for media streaming only for file storage) this setup does not allow me to stream in HD (worked with SD but why would I want SD media when i can use HD? )

So in all is this NAS powerful enough to stream full 1080p as my media streamer only has 1tb of space and is not available to other devices like the Xbox and other computers.

That's my only question (which could be an issue for me) as IMO not having a built in hard drive (unless its a large SSD cheap which i wont get) i would rather use my own drives. The only con for me is not having usb 3.0 but i can live with that.

Also any HDD recommendations for this?

lebeatnik wrote:Also any HDD recommendations for this?

For NAS storage I recommend hard drives that include the following specifications:
5-year warranty
64 MB buffer/cache
7200 RPM

Examples:
Hitachi Ultrastar 7K4000
Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000
Hitachi Ultrastar A7K2000
Seagate Constellation ES & ES.2
Western Digital (WD) Black
WD RE4 (RAID Edition, 4th-generation)

My family is really hooked on the internet so I always buy an extra modem and a router to keep on hand so if one goes bad we won't be offline long . When the
ZyXEL NBG5715 Dual-Band Wireless N Router came up on woot I ordered one even though I have never used this brand. This is my 4th router over the years. I got my router and 3 days later darn if we didn't get a storm that burned my other router up so I was happy I had this one.
This router was not only very easy to install it is a great router. The wirless is faster than my old one. BUY BUY! Great router!