If anyone has been able to get remote viewing with the Vanguard Internet Control software to work, please reply to this message. Comments regarding remote picture quality, remote camera control, etc. would also be appreciated.
I've posted 3 questions here over a week ago. 2 of them were moved, none of them have been answered. Tech support is even worse, with clueless reps giving scripted answers that are no help.
Before buying the Vanguard Internet Control software, I read this in the knowledge base:
Questions
Will Vanguard Control Center work with my firewall or proxy server? How?
Answer
You can use Vanguard Control Center with a firewall or proxy server with no problems. If you can surf the Web, the Vanguard remote connection should work just fine.
Apparently this is completely false, at least according to the tech support people. I have yet to be able to view my cameras over the internet either from work or from two friends computers. Tech support says i need to open a network port at work. I'm sure my corporate network administrator would be very happy to do this (yeah right). Strange that this is not mentioned in the knowledge base (where most people would look to find answers before purchasing, as I did).
My two friends computers can't even view the Vanguard page on gate.x10.com. Both computers have all ActiveX security settings configured as Enabled or Prompt.
The first clue of the problems with this software are that Windows XP Firewall must be disabled. Hmm, the firewall software is there for a reason. Why don't I just disable my virus scanning software, and leave the keys in my truck while I'm at it.
Hooking up multiple cameras? Sure! Plug an RCA splitter into the USB converter, then make sure only one camera has power at a time by using appliance modules. Unfortunately they don't tell you that every time a camera loses & regains power, it re-centers the position and zoom so you have to reposition the camera again to where it was when you switched. Another option is to buy a $200 multiplexer.
The one good thing about my experiences is the Vanguard camera. The zoom is excellent as is the night vision. I would like the option to purchase the Sentinel camera dome seperately.
I'll be sending back the Vanguard software. If you just want a camera for viewing locally, the Vanguard is great. Just forget about remote viewing.