Acer DVC-V2 USB PC Camera Kit

- The Good - The Bad - Test System Configuration - Conclusion - Rating - Other   reviews		Established in 1976, Acer is world's 3rd largest computer manufacturer and 8th PC brand, offering a broad selection of industry-leading, high-end multi-user servers, multimedia PCs, notebooks, computer peripherals and components, and communications devices. As the Digital Revolution brings sweeping changes around the world, Acer's vision continues to be a catalyst for a lifestyle revolution - creating greater opportunities for more people to enjoy life, increase productivity, and contribute to the communities in which they live. From the looks of their new range Aspire systems, and the sleek design of their notebooks, Acer is evidently trying to integrate their products into people's lifestyles. The DVC-V2 USB cam is Acer's latest creation to cash in on the video-conferencing frenzy. With most of us having a net connection nowadays, fueled with the plunging prices of web-cams, this little toy sure looks promising at first glance. Let's just find out how it performs!
		System Requirements PC with Pentium processor, 133 MHz or above Open USB port Windows 98 16 MB RAM or above 15 MB free hard disk space Multimedia speakers and microphone Modem or LAN connection

 At First Glance

The test unit I received was beautifully presented in a well designed box. It was manufactured in Taiwan, the most obvious thing I noticed was the "Support Win98 ONLY" text on the cover of the unit's box. Hmm I guess that rules out the folks with Win95 OSR2 (or anyone with USB support), though I did not try testing the unit on Win95.

On first examination of the unit, I realised how weird it looks. It does not conform to the "little cube" design of most of today's conventional PC cameras, rather, looks more like a flip top handphone :)

The unit was shipped with the following

• The unit itself
• A user manual, which has English and Chinese instructions
• A CD-ROM with the following utilities/programs
  • The driver for the USB cam
  • Acer VideoExpress (Video Mail)
  • Acer Photostation (Photo Album)
  • Acer EasyAxess (Video Conferencing Software)
  • Acer Cap (Still Image and Video Capture Software)

There are no on/off controls on the unit...in fact there are no controls at all on the unit...all there is is a little black cap which after 15 minutes I decided was the cover for the lens :)

Take a look at the Acer Program Main Menu

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The Good

Ease of Use and Fun to Play!

This USB cam was a breeze to setup, just plug the socket into one of the 2 USB ports in your system and you are set.... that gives the cam a "A" for portability. The CD-ROM included in the package contains some really useful and fun programs.

Acer VideoExpress is a video email program, it can record voice and video into a simple executable file which you can send either with VideoExpress's build-in mailer or as an attachment in your email program. File sizes are about 200KB for a 10 seconds "Hello Mom, Gong Xi Fa Chai!" clip.

PhotoAlbum is like a digital camera album, you can capture still frames and save them as photos/pictures in a photo album environment, you can then view them via a slideshow or thumbnail format.

EasyAxess is a easy to use Video Conferencing software, with it you can speak (and see) people from anywhere you like, provided they are also connected to the same EasyAccess NETUSA Name Server. When I tried to log on there were 10 people on...maybe when they product gets wider use, there will be more people on. You can either connect via the internet by using direct IP or through the server mentioned, you can also use a direct telephone dialup to connect.

Acer Cap is the FUN program, you can be your own director, making video (with sound) in a variety of formats, too bad there is a cable holding the thing down or I will be the next Stephen Spielberg.

This little cam sure comes with a lot of really useful software, which enhances its value per dollar. Even in low light surroundings, the build-in backlit option enables the cam to deliver. Below is a screen capture in low light. If anyone is looking for a cheap but effective PC cam, you might want to consider this one.

Screen Capture of Hardware Zone poster in low light

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The Bad

Ok, so the cam has many bright points, but the negative aspect of the Acer USB PC Camera is not really a problem with the camera, but with most cameras within this price range. The Acer Cap program allows you to capture in 640x480 in VGA mode, but when I tried it...it nearly cause my system to grind to a standstill :) (Drivers problem??) I found that the 2 smallest options were the best to use in most applications.

Video quality at this level was grainy but acceptable. The cam automatically adjusted to light levels in about 3 seconds. This ain't no thousand dollar cam and you can be sure of that when you use it.

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