Swann Home DVR Security Camera System with 1TB HDD, 8 Channel 8 Camera, 1080p Full HD Video, Indoor or Outdoor Wired Surveillance CCTV, Color Night Vision, Heat Motion Detection, LED Lights, 845808

Solid home surveillance system
Was about to pull the trigger on a $200 home video surveillance system, then I found a recommendation online to go with a swann system. Found this one on Amazon, looked good and the reviews seemed good so I jumped on it. Arrvied quick from Amazon. Noticed immediately that this is a well made, quality system. Nothing seemed “cheap” and it was well packaged, with DVR in one box and sets of 4 cameras in the two other boxes. Dry ran the dvr and a camera in my living room, everything seemed fine. Then I installed the DVR in a closet that has access to the attic, no problem except for the fact that I had to use a wireless access point to connect to the internet. From there I installed the cameras, running the cable through the attic to points outside my home. This is probably the hardest part of the install. I recommend getting a fish tape to help pulling the cables. Once you get the cable outside you can “dry fit” the cameras from the rough to exact locations. Using the Iphone app I could test place the camera and see exactly what I would get. The articulation on the base of each camera takes a little getting used to, but by the time you’re on your second camera it’s pretty much old hat. Expect to tweak the cameras at least a couple of times after mounting to get the right location. Video is crisp, but no way it’s HD. I access the dvr using iOS and Windows apps. Haven’t completely figured it out yet, but seems pretty easy to configure. I have to find the sweet spot on notifications though. It hits my iphone way too much when the leaves on a tree move or the dog goes outside. Bottom line is that this is a solid system, easily worth the $300 cost. And it looks like it’ll do the job for a long time.

Great Value
This is my 2nd Swann system so the install was very easy, used existing cables. Very pleased with product and upgraded app.

Works with my old Night Owl cables and cameras
Super easy setup, especially considering my story. I bought a whole new set of cameras because my discontinued Night Owl DVR was on the fritz and it was time to upgrade. My fear was I would not be able to use the existing cables and would have to go back into the attic of doom to run the wires. Turns out, despite Swann’s refusal to guide you regarding compatibility, the Night Owl wires DO WORK (same connectors, obviously), but more than that, my old heat/motion sensor cameras also work with the Swan DVR and look just fine. I laughed when I saw Swann claim each camera as a Swann device. Which makes me think they are all made in the same factory and white labeled, perhaps. But I digress…. Not every model of camera will work with every DVR, but in my case they did work no problems (yet), so maybe it’s the Swann tech rep’s job just to tell you “no” and steer you toward company products.I also wanted to say that the company declined to give me a credit against a large price drop that occurred within two or three weeks from my purchase. They have the right to do that, but you should know that they are going to say “too bad” if you expect that kind of accommodation. Helps you know the way the company does business.

False Advertising – No Cloud Storage
Carefull what you purchase, many limitations not mentioned in the the unit description. Many options are not available in each DRV. here is a short list of problems.1. PIR and Motion are the only viable option, detection does not work consistently according to my first support call when nothing was registering. 2. Took 3 format’s of the hard drive for the config to hold and work successfully. Support called 1:20 min late on scheduled call. 3. No Cloud storage. 4. Interface to DropBox requires a fee, the free version does not delete for files and reclaim the necessary / usable space from your account. My Cloud interface does not even have the enable option on the screen. Had to rely on a YouTube video someone put together to figure it out. Instantly filled DropBox.5. Phone App is cumbersome at best. – Filter options do not work constantly.6. Activating the camera light at night manually disables or eliminates the camera view.7. Support suggested adding a 4tb drive to increase capacity. Can only imagine what that will do to the warranty when I crack the unit open.8. Adding 4TB drive to the unit will give the thieves more to smash or carry away with them.9. Where there is only 2TB local storage this is not a viable option and is going back, I’ll try one of the many competitors models that not only advertise cloud, but actually have it.10. Email notifications do not work. After several email conversations with Support it was advised to switch to a google account as yahoo mail is not supported.11. Camera quality is nice, clean pic, but not 4K as advertised.12. Clunky DOS interface for programming13. Only two camera’s offer video to the cloud (assuming the DVR you purchased) can access the cloud, also not advertised.

Las cámaras muy bien pero ojo muchos problemas para configurar y autenticar el dvr te pide generes un correo Gmail q siempre te marca error y no hay ningún soporte de swann para asesórate , cómpralas bajo tu propio riesgo

Works good