ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition - GeForce 6800

ASUS GameFace Live Hear No Evil, See No Evil

The next utility packed with the V9999 is ASUS GameFace Live. Used along with the USB Camera included in the package, GameFace Live lets users see and talk to each other while playing their favorite on-line game.  In fact, users can connect up to eight video streams simultaneously across a LAN or Internet in Network Mode.  In Local Mode, the display can work with any TV Tuner card for viewing broadcasts.  This can be interesting for users who want to have TV going in the background while gaming because standard TV software cannot run on top of a game as ASUS GameFace Live can.

ASUS gives you all the necessary tools to set up a networked session with your friends for some serious online fun.  From an image quality standpoint, the 300KB Color USB camera does the trick at both 176 x 144 and 352 x 288 resolutions, but image quality was mediocre at best.  Overall, image quality was acceptable for video chat, but we found it a little lacking in low-light conditions.  Nonetheless, ASUS includes an adequate Help file describing all of the features and options in GameFace Live.  We also think a basic understanding of networking is helpful before taking the plunge with GameFace Live.
 

ASUS Video Security Keeping An Eye On Things

The last software component we're going to spotlight is ASUS Video Security.  This is a simple program that also works with the 300KB USB camera to offer motion detection security.  Whether you want to monitor your window, doorway, or that expensive couch you keep telling the dog to stay off of, Video Security can help with minimal fuss.  In a matter of a few minutes, we had the camera monitoring a window for activity.  All someone had to do was pass by, and our speakers emitted a loud fire engine siren and the software began taking screen captures at regular intervals until activity was no longer detected.  You can adjust the sensitivity to detect larger movements, so a bird flying by would not trigger an alarm, for example.  Video Security also gives the option to narrow down what is monitored on the screen, again to help avoid false alarms.

One of the coolest features of the software is that it can email you with a predefined message of your choosing if the alarm is tripped, or better yet, the software can call you on your cell phone.

When we saw the advertisement for Video Security on the box of the V9999 GE, we had a feeling this was one of those "fluff" type products that is neat at first but then gets old fast.  However, we walked away with the exact opposite impression.  In fact, Video Security is pretty useful as a simple monitoring device to see what goes on when you are not around or as a training tool to keep pets out of a room or off of the furniture.  With the ability to assign custom audio messages when the alarm goes off, you can yell at your cat or dog without even being there!