Zmodo 8CH H.264 Security Video DVR CCTV Surveillance Camera System With 500GB Hard Drive 4 Sony CCD

I bought this system so that my elderly mother could enjoy seeing everything that happens outside, on this farm. I couldn't be more pleased with it. Now Mom sees all the activity--tractors, combines, trucks and people moving on our driveways and staging areas. I have two cameras inside the farm shop, so that Mom can see us working, there. In the future, I might install cameras inside Mom's house, in order to keep track of her, in case she falls.

So, security cameras are good for more than just deterring criminal activity.

The cost of security camera systems has dropped to the point where it's now a "no brainer" that every home owner who has any security concerns whatsoever should get one.

Since this is the only security camera system I've ever had, I can't tell you whether this one is better than any other. But I can tell you this thing has features I like a lot. The thing I like the most is that you can configure the system so that, whenever there is motion in front of a particular camera, that camera's view is shown on the monitor, FULLSCREEN...and it stays fullscreen until motion is detected on a different camera, at which time the system automatically switches to display that camera, fullscreen. Another feature I like is that you can configure the system so that whenever there is motion in front of any camera, the system box (DVR) beeps, prompting you to look at the monitor.

I have three VGA monitors for this system, one in a bedroom, one in the den and one in my office. I did this by using a powered VGA splitter. Two of the monitors are not near the DVR, thus I can't hear the beep at those two monitor locations.

I configured my system to only record a camera's video whenever there is motion in front of it. This makes it easy, when reviewing video, to find the event you are interested in seeing. (There is a timeline screen in which recorded periods are marked green....and this is done for each camera individually.)

This system has the capability of connecting to cameras wirelessly, through WIFI, but I decided to not go that route. I hardwired all eight of my cameras to the DVR. Four cameras were very distant. For them, I used direct burial CAT 5E cable with a baluns at each end of the cable. This worked well.

Cameras can be viewed remotely over a LAN and through the internet (using a computer, tablet or smartphone), but I have not set that up, yet.

Save 36% Off