D-Link
Is This Your Business?Author: Kaitlyn Short
D-Link is a manufacturer of Internet technologies and hardware for home and business networking. They were founded in Taiwan and have expanded over the last 25 years into a global company. D-Link has many corporate milestones and awards that contribute to their global brand. One of the first network cameras on the market, the DCS-3415 Network Camera, won the IDEA Award for product concept design, making D-Link one of the pioneers in the Internet camera industry. D-Link was also one of the pioneers of laptop networking products, including several network cards that were among the first in the industry. For home network cameras, they have one of the most diverse product selections in the industry, which are priced extremely affordably, some costing as low as $39.99.
Keep reading for more pros and cons, as well as D-Link reviews from real customers.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Camera Options
- Cloud Solution
Camera Options
D-Link offers fourteen high-quality cameras at affordable prices. Many of these cameras are equipped with pan and tilt, zoom, night vision, full HD, and motion detection capabilities. They also boast a considerably wider viewing angle than cameras from some of D-Link's competitors, going up to 115 degrees. The D-Link Cloud Camera 1050 is a great buy. It is a daytime camera, limiting its functionality at night, but only costs $39.99. Customers can purchase cameras from Best Buy, Amazon, or the D-Link store.
Cloud Solution
D-Link also features a unique cloud solution for home automation that is unlike any in the industry. D-Link's "best practices" involves purchasing as many cameras as you need, purchasing one of their cloud routers, and attaching an external hard drive to it via USB port.
The Bad
- Video Sharing Cloud
- Add-on Purchases
- Storage
Video-Sharing Cloud
D-Link lacks a hosted video sharing cloud. One of the things that we found in the industry was that many sellers of home cameras have a hosted cloud service available at a yearly price.
Add-on Purchases
With D-Link, you have to purchase a router, and most often, an external hard drive to make your home camera system work. There are some benefits to this, however. If you buy a router and an external hard drive for your computer, this is a one-time purchase. You can also use the router to automate your home, hooking it up to other home security products.
Storage
D-Link offers a particular type of storage unit known as the ShareCenter 2-Bay Cloud Storage 2000 DNS-320L. This 8 TB storage device easily works into your home's network comes with 2 SATA hard drives. We found that managed cloud service with other providers often came with a SSD storage situation, which offers a better solution than a conventional hard drive network with D-Link; however, the low price of D-Link makes the ShareCenter a somewhat more amenable solution.
The Bottom Line
D-Link's prices are lower and there is only a one-time initial investment once you've purchased cameras and equipment. There are also app functions that make this system easy to use on your smartphone or tablet. If you choose D-Link over other providers, you are going to be fine with the price. You won't have a yearly fee to pay for cloud recording of video services, but you lose some of the "perks" that come with using a managed service. D-Link is a reputable company, has a wide selection of cameras, and you can "pick-and-choose" products that work adequately with your budget. Due to the one-time investment associated with purchasing from D-Link, and customers are strongly recommended using their cameras and routers for cloud storage in your home.
