I purchased this DVR after doing considerable research, and finally decided on this based on the good reviews I read. Unfortunately, what I ordered is not what I got. What I did get was a knockoff, with no CIB logo (something USA Security Store is apparently aware of, since they even placed a warning in their product description), no supporting documentation, and a CD with a link in a Flash app to download the user manual. The manual contains ZERO mention of CIB, something very suspicious, since every manufacturer I've ever dealt with has their contact info in the manual.Additionally, there was NO warranty included as advertised. Not surprising, since by all appearances it is a cheap knockoff. I have reported it to Amazon, and advise caution to anyone planning on buying this item. If I could rate it a minus star, I would. One of the video reviews I had seen on this product warned that there were cheap knockoffs of this product being passed off as the real thing, and said two things to look for were both the logo and the warranty. As I noted above, both were missing from the item I received.
Here is the note that WAS included in the package, complete with misspellings and grammatical errors:
"Dear Customer,
Thanks for your order. In regards to your order the item R401M60W500G is currently out of stock.
Therefore we have upgraded your item to our advance version item H401D1W500G is a full D1 recording system. This is a one time exception that we give to our customer who ordered the item #R401M60W500G.
Sorry but we are not guaranteed that next time you will get this advance version if you order item R401M60W500G. Thanks for your supports!
Regards,
USA Security Store
Contact Phone Number: 408-736-3070"
I received the "Newer" version of this DVR (Model: H401D1500G or AVC793ZC) through USASecurityStore via Amazon. I was concerned about it being a counterfeit model since it didn't have the CIB Logo on the front. After some research, I found out that it is actually manufactured by AVTech. After searching for the actual AVTech model # AVC793 on the internet, I was able to find the specs and even found it on the AVTECH website. There are several variations of this model and some even support an internal DVDRW for backup purposes.
I called USA security store immediately upon receipt with my concerns, and they assured me that this was the brand new model that just came in, still had 1 year warranty, and was actually better then the R401M60W500G. They stated that it was identical other than that this one actually had full D1 playback capability whereas the R401M60W500G model didn't support this. And if I wanted to return it for the original model, they would be happy to do so. She stated that they "just got the original back in stock" the day I called. She suggested that I give this one a try before returning it and thought I would be happy with it. I have to say that the customer service was very good from USASecurityStore and this is why I kept the unit and gave it a try.
Well, I have to say that I'm glad I kept it. It is a great unit for the price and the smart phone capability is amazing. It truly does have D1 playback at high resolution 30fps per channel. The picture is absolutely beautiful via my Android phone which is one of the main reasons for my purchase. Network setup and remote viewing may be a task for only the experienced. If you don't understand basic networking, you may have some issues with setup. This unit doesn't play nice with any of my routers so I had to use a switch in between my router and modem. The next paragraph explains the ordeal I went through setting up remote viewing and my solution.
Regarding the setup of the remote viewing via smart phone or PC, I have to say that it just about had me pulling my hair out. It finally occurred to me (after hours of failures, finally taking a break, and several beers later), that the problem was actually with my routers and not the DVR, my PC, or my phone. No amount of port forwarding via any router would let me connect to this DVR for some reason. Even setting up DMZ would not work for some reason. This was easily resolved by using an Ethernet switch that I had on hand. I installed the switch between my router and modem and plugged the DVR into the switch. This way the DVR is connected directly to the internet without filtering or firewalls to block it. The rest of my network is still fire-walled behind my routers. The DVR is able to obtain it's very own IP address which makes connection very easy. I was immediately able to set up remote access with "Eagleeyes Plus" and it works flawlessly. I am completely satisfied with the the video quality via smart phone. It made installing new cameras a breeze since I was able to use my phone to view the cameras while I aimed and set the zoom/focus. It was truly a pain to figure out initially but now I am extremely happy with it. For anyone having troubles connecting, try this as it was a very easy fix. Ethernet switches are very cheap if you don't already have some laying around Use automatic configuration for the IP address of the DVR and then submit your email address to the DDNS server under the DDNS tab in advanced settings. They provide a free DDNS service to connect with whatever name you want, or you can just use the IP address. They will send you an email when you change the Name and give you the addresses that will work for Eagleeyes and the other remote viewing apps/programs. It works great and I absolutely love it, now that I figured out how to get it set up.
The software for PC is completely full of features, but the playback isn't nearly as crisp on PC as on your smart phone, or obviously as the monitor you connect directly to the DVR. It was a bit of a learning curve to understand the PC software but it is pretty straight forward once you understand what the buttons all do. It can be a bit sluggish at times but that may be due to the PC I am currently running it on. I will install it to other PC's later and see if it's only the PC that is causing the sluggish behavior. I'll update this when/if I get that done)
The manuals come on a CD in PDF format. This may be something you want to print out, or save to your smart phone to view on the spot if you don't have your PC with your DVR. The manual for the DVR alone is over 130 pages long. There is also a separate manual for the PC software and I believe a couple of other manuals too.
Setting up the recording schedule and motion detection was pretty straight forward to me, but I have been dealing with CCTV for quite some time and I'm familiar with the setups and features of CCTV DVRs. This one sets up very much like every other DVR that I have dealt with. They are all different in their own respects, but the basic functions are all the same. If you are new to Surveillance DVRs, you'll want to read the manuals so you have an idea what you are doing and why. The initial setup of this DVR system could be a bit tricky for a 1st timer. The default setup was far from a workable recording solution for my application, so I had to customize all 4 channels to record properly. This system is quite easy to use and can be completely setup and used with mouse alone.
The bottom line is that I will probably give this unit month of testing for durability and order the 8 or 16 channel version of this DVR. If am very satisfied with it so far. For the price, I don't believe you will find a better system anywhere. The sacrifice is in the initial setup. It is a bit tricky but worth it in the end.
The reasons for the 4 star review are this:
1: Not the exact unit that I ordered. (But I am very happy with this unit and actually glad that I kept it,,,, so far) Time will tell on this. Still, I should have been notified BEFORE it was shipped, rather than after receiving it with a note. That in itself really rubbed me the wrong way.
2: Difficult to set up remote viewing/access (at first). I couldn't get this DVR to work with any of my routers no matter how I set up port forwarding or even DMZ. I don't have the latest greatest routers so I can't truly blame the DVR. However my other DVR works fine with port forwarding and didn't give me quite the headaches this one did setting up remote access. Perhaps my routers don't support whatever protocol the eagleeyes plus and the remote viewer software use? I'm still scratching my head over that one. I could ping the IP address, but couldn't connect for the life of me, until I connected it directly to the internet. Once that was done, it was instantaneous. This is why I ended up using a switch between my router and modem and connected the DVR to the switch.
3: The included video viewer software for PC version 0.1.5.6 doesn't work! It only views one channel no matter how you configure it. You must download version 0.1.8.3 (or newer) for it to work properly. I ended up going to , setting up an account, and downloading the latest version of video viewer. This version works flawlessly.
If it wasn't such an awesome unit once configured I would have rated it much lower due to the hoops one must jump through to get it working properly. In the end it was worth it and that is why I am actually giving it 4 stars.
In the end: I like this unit so much that I will probably buy another and sell my other DVR. I will update this review if anything changes. At the time of writing I have had this 2 weeks and it's been working great so far.
Update: In just under 1 month, this dvr has started rebooting over and over again unless I stop all recording. I contacted the vendor on Saturday via email and they promptly responded stating they were sending out a new unit on Monday, and they would include a shipping label to return this one. So far I'm extremely impressed with the customer service, but I have to say that I am a little let down that this DVR failed so quickly. I sure hope this was just a fluke. I know all hard drives can and will eventually fail. Some just fail sooner then others. I only downgraded to 3 stars so far because of the outstanding customer service. I'll update further as this situation unfolds. USASecuritystore was extremely prompt with the replacement and I was blown away with the customer service.
Update: It's been almost a year and the replacement DVR "H401D1W500G" (AVTECH AVC793ZC)is working flawlessly. I only wish I could find the same model, or an 8CH version. I'm ready to expand my system and add more cameras. I have another system that is aging and ready for retirement.
I have no regrets with this model, and I'm glad that I received it rather than the original model.I bought this unit to replace the computer I had been using for a DVR. Since I already had the cameras, this made sense. Fully customizable recording setup, motion, timer, external trigger (door or window, glass break), Big 500GB built-in hard drive stores plenty of surveillance footage. Monitor the system from anywhere over the internet. Supports 4 channels of video and audio and uses H.264 compression.
I would recommend this DVR to all my friends and associates, and to anyone else looking for an inexpensive, yet fully functional DVR.This DVR is a really good value. I was a little skeptical at first since it isn't from a "major brand" however it was really easy to setup, worked really well from the start, and even had the correct date and time pre-programmed! If you are looking for a good basic DVR I don't see how you could do better for the money, it includes a remote and a mouse and the software is very user-friendly as well as capable. You do have to use the CD to find the user manual, however the default password is 0000 (it took me a while to find this so I thought it might be helpful to post it here). I'm sure you can spend more to get something higher-end, but for a basic unit this a really great. It is really quiet too (our old one was LOUD).Been using for over a month now. Was fairly easy install and setup. at normal video quality I get about 2 weeks recording for 4 cameras on the 500g drive. cameras good quality, nice picture and pretty good at night too! I like being able to see the video on my smartphone and the security features are very good.
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