Swann 8-Channel DVR8-2550 and 4 x ADS-180 CMOS SWDVK-825504C

I picked this set up last year. mounted the cameras on the eves of my house.

The overlap covers part of the road and with in a month picked up pictures of the vehicle

responsible for a neighborhood break in.

I picked up a second dvr and 4 cameras to completely cover the parameter of my house.

You can adjust the frame rate and with motion configuration I can block out my trees moving in the wind.

I set the camera pointing at the front door and gates at highest quality and the ones over looking the kids

play structure to a lower value to save disk space.

I have older kids and these camera seem to eliminate issues with coming home late.

I put one in the garage and can now find when/where my tools walked off to, "teenage son".

Word got out about the camera and the rift/raft now walk down a different street

It's a better world.

The only con: if you loose power the dvr can scramble your video index and/or stop recording.

I've had to unplug the cameras and restart to log in. Then format the hard drive to get it working again.

After the second time I bought a ups battery back up and plug the cameras and dvrs into this. Now

it works even when the power goes out.

I also run the provided application on my laptop at home to view saved fiels and I downloaded the android app so I can check my garage camera to make sure I really did shut the garage door.

Have had this for about 2 weeks now, and i'm satisfied with it for the $300 paid.

Pros

-price

-ease of setup

-nice daytime video

-weather resistant

Cons

-nighttime video pretty snowy

-one of the four cameras seems of less video quality than the others

One thing I can't figure out is the motion detection setup. It seems to be recording video all the time even when set to motion capture. What's the point if it's recording all the time anyway? UPDATE: solved

Buy Swann 8-Channel DVR8-2550 and 4 x ADS-180 CMOS SWDVK-825504C Now

I've used a multiple of these units in a variety of situations, and they've yet to let me down. I've even had success catching would-be thieves in the complete dark. The it's not lacking any features, and the improvements and services Swann is adding just sweeten the deal.

Setup is simple enoughthough I am somewhat of a techie. It includes a mouse for interaction with the UI, and you can even plug a usb keyboard in to make things easier. I've found, though, that connecting to the device on my computer and running the "NetViewer" app that is included makes setting it up way easier.

New features include a dynamic dns service called "Swann DVR", free for customers, makes it much easier to open up your system outside your network for use with smartphones and web browsers wherever you might be. With a bit of port forwarding within my router, you can set it up with all your devices quite simply. Their customer service is very helpful with this as well, even taking control of your computer and configuring everything for you.

The motion sensing features, along with the "night vision", make this an extremely efficient system. Just set it to only record when it senses motion (you can even specify where on screen to look, so if there's a tree that always moves or cars that go by it knows to ignore that area). This means I can just glance if there are any recordings, and if there are, I know something happened and I check it out. No more running through hours of footage just to see if something happened.

The included cameras have good video quality, but if you're looking for very powerful night vision, just buy a separate camera to plug into the BNC port in the back. It's couldn't be more simple. You can even buy a "PTZ" (Pan, tilt, zoom) camera in case you want to want to control the camera wherever you are.

Pros

-Great quality

-Great price

-Good cameras

-Plenty of features

-Helpful support

Cons

-Night vision is only 33 feet with the included cameras

-DVR UI can be confusing

Overall it's a great unit for serious security or just peace of mind. Having one of these has already paid off over 10x what the unit cost with recovered stolen goods.

Read Best Reviews of Swann 8-Channel DVR8-2550 and 4 x ADS-180 CMOS SWDVK-825504C Here

Most of the other reviews will give you an idea of what you are buying. It seems to be a good unit for the money. I use the Swann app on my Samsung Galaxy S III, not as intuitive as you'd like but it gets the job done for free.

I would like to focus on some install and setup issues.

For the phone app, if your DVR password is longer than 6 characters the whole password is not necessary, only enter the first 6 characters (this took forever to discover, very painful). Also, the app/DVR only supports 4 cameras at a time for this model, so even though you get 8 cameras with this unit (2250), you can only view 4 at a time. It's easy to switch to other cameras, but you get an error message when trying to access more than four at a time.

I did set up port forwarding on my Linksys router (I ran a cat5 cable to the DVR), this enabled me to view my cameras on my desktop and will aide in setting up the more intricate details. This .pdf helped with that process... do a google search for "swann view easy setup DVR8 I6-8500", should be the first to pop up.

My wife has an I-phone/pad/pod (#ridiculous), so this should help those out there with "those" gadgets... google search "swannview for iphone"

I ran all my cables through the attic, my daughter helped (small person). I connected the DVR RCA out to my 60" TV...so I can just switch the input and view my cameras if needed, no additional monitor necessary.

Additionally, if all your cameras don't appear, or you see "signal lost"...you might have a power issue, try adjusting your DVR power supply setup.

Finally, the manual that comes with the unit is printed poorly in black and white, many of the images are of poor quality. Go to Swann.com, DVRs and Monitoring kits, then scroll down for the DVR8-2550...there are a few there, just find yours.

I hope it helps, maybe it will save you some stress. Best of luck!

Want Swann 8-Channel DVR8-2550 and 4 x ADS-180 CMOS SWDVK-825504C Discount?

I decided on this product because I wanted a deter crime that has been going on in my area. I have a middle unit condo and thought this would be something good to have. The unit arrived ahead of schedule. The unit is extremly easy to install and very user friendly. The issues that people may encouter: The cameras are only good for 50 degrees of coverage and pictures are really only decent up to 20 ft.This is good for my driveway and backyard but if someone peaks over the fence, their face will not be decernable. The cameras really do not work well at night at all. The live feed seems to look pretty decent but when you go into the recordings it looks really bad. Nothing that would hold up in court. I have the system outside but may be better for inside monitoring. I think it may be on the lower end of adequate for a condo like mine but would suggest getting a better system if you have a house or need decent night time monitoring.

Save 37% Off