D-Link DCS-935L mydlink Home Monitor HD Wi-Fi Camera Review

Software

The setup of this D-Link DCS-935L is as easy as it could be. Within the package, you will find a little cardboard card that will allow you to get started in 3 simple steps. First download the mydlink Home app in iTunes or Google Play store, either manually or by scanning the QR code on the card. Launch the app and scan the second QR code on the rear of the card. And that is all, everything is up and running now.

Mobile Impressions

When you launch the mydlink Home app, you’ll first be presented with a list of devices in your setup. In this case, we only have our DCS-935L and that is the only device being displayed. As I’ve previously mentioned, there are more different devices from D-Link that can connect and interact via the mydlink Home app.

The app will automatically check if there is a firmware available for your devices and a single tab and a confirmation will start the upgrade.

You can now start to watch live video on your smart devices. You can glimpse my hand and tablet in the shot below while I’m testing the gadget. The scenario might not be the most interesting, but I picked it for a reason that I’ll get more into later.

You can access different settings directly from the live video stream such as sound and take snapshots as well as which between HD mode and not. The app can also show the camera and video information as an overlay.

There are both settings for the app and the camera itself, both are seen below. The app allows you to add new compatible devices as well as create schedules while the camera settings will allow you to change aspects of that part.

Event triggers are one of the advantages of this camera. It can trigger on both motion and sound. To the right below you see how you can define the grid where the motion sensor should be active as well as define the sensitivity for the event.

The sound detection works on a simple dB measurement where you’re able to set the detection level yourself.

You can create action and rules in the app for all available sensors. These can also include other mydlink IoT devices and don’t need to be the ones supplied by the camera.

We have two sensors at our disposal in this case and both are built into the camera, motion and sound, and we can create rules based on both.

Desktop Impressions

You can connect to the camera from any browser, but you will need one that supports JAVA. Chrome won’t do you any good here, but Firefox still allows you to enable it. Then all you have to do is navigate to the IP address of the camera and voila, you’re connected and can watch live video from anywhere.

At the bottom of the live video page are controls to enable fullscreen, capture still pictures and videos, turn the sound on and off as well as adjust the digital zoom level from 1 to 8 times. You can also change the folder to store captured video and photos right from this control panel.

Moving on from the Live Video to the Setup pane and we find a whole list of settings. As it always is with D-Link’s user interfaces, we find useful hints to the right of every page we navigate to. If you hadn’t already configured the camera through the mobile app, you could do it here. The setup allows for a more or less automated as well as a manual setup.

If you do not wish to use the Wizard again, then you move on to the manual settings below and the first is for the basic network settings and wireless settings. You can configure the ports in use, enable secure connections and UPnP as well as Bonjour.

The wireless settings include connection mode, encryption method, and password.

To have an easy remote access to the camera, a dynamic DNS address might be needed. Very few people have a static IP address these days and a URL is easier to remember too. This is also a great feature for those not running with UPnP enabled on their router.

You can adjust the image settings as well as audio and video.

Motion and Sound detection are two awesome features that can alert you when those actions occur.

If you prefer to get a notification via email instead, the DCL-935L can handle that too.

You can set the DCS-935L to interact with an FTP server as well and you can set separate servers for both snapshot images and video.

Time and date are two relevant factors in surveillance and you can configure the DCS-935L to automatically get that from NTP servers, including Daylight saving settings.

Some placements can also require you to set a specific mode, either day or night. The default setting is, however, automatic where it detects what mode it requires by itself. You can also set it to manual mode where you decide by a press of a button when it should switch mode.

We are through the setup pages now, but there still are a few things to show in regards to the camera. The Maintenance pages allow you to change the passwords and server settings of the camera as well as add up to ten extra user accounts.

Create backups or restore settings is also done under the maintenance and this is also the place where you can force the camera to reboot, in case it should be bugged in some way. We have to remember, it is basically a complete system that resides inside the camera

You should always make sure to have the latest firmware. When I ran these test a new version was available as you saw on the mobile pages. The upgrade is easy and painless, so it’s nothing to worry about.

The final page is the Status page where you can find all the information about the camera’s status and its setup.

There’s also a Help menu that will explain each page and their functions. It is quite detailed and should answer any questions you might have.