With D-Link’s ever expanding ecosystem in home security surveillance devices, the D-Link DCS-8300LHV2 is their latest Full HD Wi-Fi Camera to hit the market. The D-Link DCS-8300LHV2 is the newer iteration of their former release the DCS-8300LH where the newer model now offers an adjustable 360-degree base for optimal angle adjustment. Here’s a quick run down of the camera’s capabilities.

Cinematic Full HD 1080p resolution @ 30 frames per second with 120-degree field-of-view
IR night vision up to 5m lets you see what’s happening even in total darkness
AI-based person detection intelligently identifies human motion
Enhanced sound and motion detection add new lines of defence to your home surveillance
Two-way audio with built-in microphone and speaker
Supports cloud / microSD (max. 256 GB) / phone and ONVIF Profile S recording
Supports WPA3 – the latest Wi-Fi Security for more protection
Built-in Bluetooth Low Energy technology for faster setup
Adjustable 360-degree base for optimal angle adjustment
Wall/Ceiling mountable (hardware included)
Future-proofed with next-generation IPv6 support
Works with the Google Assistant and Alexa

Specifications

Built-in Speaker :	Yes
Camera Advanced Feature :	Person Detection\|WPA3 Encryption\|IPv6 Ready
Indoor / Outdoor :	Indoor
Power :	Included Power Supply
Camera Type :	Cube
Wireless Connectivity :	802.11n
Night Vision Range :	B&W 5m
Video Compression :	H.264
Digital Zoom :	Pinch to Zoom
ePTZ :	No
Ethernet Port :	No
Maximum Video Resolution :	1920 x 1080 @30fps
MicroSD Card Slot :	Yes
Motion Detection :	Yes
Motorised Pan / Tilt :	No
Warranty :	1-Year Limited Warranty
Smart Home Compatible :	Amazon Alexa\|Google Assistant\|mydlink
Sound Detection :	Yes
Two-way Audio :	Yes
Video Recording Option :	microSD Card\|mydlink Cloud Subscription\|ONVIF Profile S

Closer Look at the D-Link DCS-8300LHV2

The D-Link DCS-8300LHV2 comes in D-Link’s standard packaging which offers good insights of the product.

Opening up the box, you’re offered with a neatly packed camera along with a power adapter. The power cable is around 1.5m in length giving you a decent degree of flexibility around power connectivity options. A quick installation guide is provided for those who haven’t installed one of these before. However D-Link have made the installation process very straight forward via the mydlink app available on both Android and IOS.

There’s a Micro SD-Card slot if you wanted to store your video locally. You do have the option of free cloud recording for upto 3 devices should you wish to make use of that service.

The D-Link DCS-8300LHV2 is powered via a micro USB slot and in case you want to start over, there’s a reset button just above the power slot.

Soon after setting up the camera, the mydlink app would automatically create an automation rule to trigger notifications based on movement detection. Here we installed the camera in the laundry and you can see the automation rule created.

The picture quality captured defaults to 720p, however you can change that to 1080p if required. Here’s a screen capture during the day and it’s quite decent and offers good level of detail.

ONVIF Profile S

If you had a NAS such as one from Synology, you do have the option of continuous recording through ONVIF profile S support of the D-Link DCS-8300LHV2. One of the key things to make note of if you’re planning to go down this route is to note down the PIN Code that’s written on the back plate of the device before securing it in place on the wall.

Note however that if you connect the camera to your NAS, you loose the ability to control the device through the mydlink app and certain functionalities such as motion detection isn’t supported.

Conclusion

At a price point of only $129.95 the D-Link DCS-8300LHV2 makes a compelling reason to purchase it if you’re on the look out for an indoor Wi-Fi camera. The improved AI person detection is certainly helpful to get quick notifications when movement is detected. There have been a few instances where the notifications were delayed by around 5 minutes, however I wouldn’t consider that to be a deal breaker. Overall the D-Link DCS-8300LHV2 offers good all round performance at its price point and given the convenience of Wi-Fi you don’t require separate network cabling keeping costs to a minimum.