Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2193 in Camera & Photo
- Brand: Optex
- Model: IVISION
- Dimensions: 2.10 pounds
Features
- 300ft transmission range, line of sight
- Two way Intercom 2.25" LCD Color Monitor
- Live browsing feature when door / camera unit is hardwired
- System can store up to 163 images
- Day/Night Operation
Optex iVision Wireless 2-Way Video Door Intercom System
Product Description
The new iVision achieves both by giving you the ability to not only know when somebody is outside your home, but to view and talk to them from the safety and comfort of any location in the house. The iVision package includes a convenient hand-held wireless receiver with 2.25" LCD monitor and battery operated doorbell/camera unit with over 300ft. transmission range. In addition, the doorbell/camera unit can be hardwired into existing doorbell power supply to allow the user to utilize a "browse" feature on the handheld unit. This feature allows the user to monitor the view from the doorbell/camera unit on the LCD display.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
Product descriptions are 100% accurate
By Andrew J Lund
A previous reviewer stated, inaccurately, that the product descriptions for this unit are misleading. This is not the case. I am submitting this review to (hopefully) correct the misperceptions created by that review. (If said reviewer happens to see this, check the last part of my review to see how to correctly use your unit. I think you will be pleasantly surprised to see it will, in fact, very easily do exactly what you purchased it for, based on your stated needs.)Here is the Amazon.com product description (my comments added):"The new iVision achieves both by giving you the ability to not only know when somebody is outside your home, but to view and talk to them from the safety and comfort of any location in the house. The iVision package includes a convenient hand-held wireless receiver with 2.25" LCD monitor and battery operated doorbell/camera unit with over 300ft. transmission range. (Specifies that the door unit can be battery operated, which is accurate.) In addition, the doorbell/camera unit can be hardwired into existing doorbell power supply to allow the user to utilize a "browse" feature on the handheld unit. (Very clearly specifies that ***IF*** you wire the door unit to the existing doorbell power supply, ***THEN*** you can do more things with it. Note that this says nothing about wiring it directly to AC power - this unit operates on low voltage only.) This feature allows the user to monitor the view from the doorbell/camera unit on the LCD display. (States what the addition capability is. Monitor simply means to be able to view the camera at will, versus interacting only as a two-way video intercom when the doorbell button on the door unit is pressed. It should be noted that this product is called a VIDEO INTERCOM, not a full-time surveillance camera. And it really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that the ability to sit around viewing the camera whenever you want, for as long as you want, would require some additional power source at the camera besides the small batteries it uses. The manufacturer locked that function out when on battery only mode so people wouldn't sit around constantly running down the batteries in the camera unit.)One can certainly understand if, upon receipt of the product, the purchaser realizes he/she did not fully understand the product description and decides to return it. (My sympathies to the reviewer who apparently went through product return hell.) But to give the product a one star review because you didn't fully digest the words you read is unnecessary. I have used many Optex products over the past 15 years, and I say with complete confidence that they make uncommonly solid, reliable products.HERE'S HOW TO WIRE THE DOORBELL/CAMERA UNIT, QUICKLY AND EASILY:Note: This assumes the existing doorbell a) Exists, b) is functional and c) is a hardwired doorbell. The overwhelming majority of homes in the US have hardwired doorbells. Whether they are functional is obviously a matter of whether they have been maintained in working condition. If your existing doorbell system uses a wireless doorbell button (usually done as a quick, inexpensive fix when the hardwired unit malfunctions, rather than having it repaired), you will not be able to use the browse mode on the camera without wiring low voltage power to the doorbell/camera unit. If you don't know what that entails, find or hire someone who does.Installation: Hardwired doorbells use a transformer inside the house to convert AC power to a low voltage power source that operates the doorbell system. Basically the same as all the bazillion transformers we all have plugged into our outlets to power various things, except this one is hardwired directly to your AC wiring instead of plugged into an outlet. That low voltage output powers two things - the doorbell itself (the actual ding-donger), and the button by the door. ALL THAT IS NEEDED TO HARDWIRE EXISTING DOORBELL POWER TO YOUR NEW DOORBELL/CAMERA UNIT IS TO TAKE THE EXISTING DOORBELL BUTTON OFF THE WALL AND ADD A FEW INCHES OF TWO-CONDUCTOR WIRE, GOING FROM THE TERMINALS ON THE BACK OF THE BUTTON TO THE POWER INPUTS ON THE DOORBELL/CAMERA UNIT. REATTACH THE OLD BUTTON, SCREW THE NEW UNIT TO THE WALL, AND YOU ARE DONE.If your original doorbell was working, then the new one should now be ready to go. Note that this means the unit is intended to be mounted next to the door (just like your existing doorbell button), not on the door directly. If you don't care about the extra capability gained when hardwiring, and just want to stick with battery operation, slap it right on the door if you want to. Keep in mind that if you choose not to wire it to the existing doorbell, the existing doorbell cannot activate the video intercom, as a previous reviewer noted. But that really shouldn't seem like rocket science to anyone smart enough to get online and order products. :-)I am not affiliated with Optex in any way. I am self-employed in a service industry. I just ordered one of these units for my mother, who is about to have hip-replacement surgery. It's a brilliant design, easily installed and operated, and from a good, reputable manufacturer.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Pretty nice system to have!
By Josh C
There is not too much to say that isn't already mentioned by Andrew. I took off 1 star because this is a half duplex system. Meaning that if the person outside is talking and you start talking from inside then you can not hear the person outside while your voice is transmitting to them. For 200+ bucks full duplex it should have been full duplex. Conversations are limited to 60 seconds. The device does store snapshots of the individuals that ring your doorbell so that you can see who may have stopped by while you were out. The camera works great in darkness but not very good when the suns brightness is reaching the camera.I think some way of communicating with the person at your door without opening it is important to have. Being able to see them and automatically snapping a picture is a huge plus.Heres how we installed the device on my house that has Vinyl siding. We removed the doorbell then removed the 2 wires that was hooked up to the doorbell. we then drilled a hold from the right of the doorbell (where the vinyl meets the lip thats next to the door frame) hole into the doorbell hole then attached those 2 wires to some wires in a flat telephone line. We then hid the flat phone line in the lip next to the door frame (where the vinyl meet the lip) and we mounted the intercom right next to the lip. Looks great but right now my intercom is only being held by the vinyl so its not as secure as I would like it to be. Perhaps I need longer screws or maybe needed to find a "stud" first. We are newbies at this kind of stuff.
31 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Don't purchase this from Surveillent
By Smart Shopper
We purchased a device advertised as a two-way intercom security system. However, it only works if communication is issued from one-end thus not fully making it two ways. This did not suit our needs and we contacted Surveillent via phone four times over a period of three weeks to initiate a return authorization prior to the 30 day return window and received no response whatsoever. We then contacted the company via email through Amazon.com and finally received a response. They made no apology for lack of customer service in returning our initial phone calls and proceeded to tell us that it was our fault we purchased the wrong product even though the product description is very limited and reads as follows:Technical Details* 300ft transmission range, line of sight* Two way Intercom 2.25" LCD Color Monitor* Live browsing feature when door / camera unit is hardwired* System can store up to 163 images* Day/Night OperationI explained that there was no way we could know how this works without seeing the product. What then ensued was the single worst online shopping experience I have ever had. Surveillent told us that we had abused them by "trying to using their products as our own research facility," mocked our "inability" to do proper research and subsequently harassed us through seven different emails. They threatened us with a "dream team of lawyers" that they had $30 million in sales and they were going to "teach us a legal lesson." Clearly at Surveillant not only is the customer not always right they are to be abused while shopping. If you want to by this product do so through a different Amazon seller in case it doesn't suit your needs.
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