Zmodo KNS4-IASFZ4ZN-1TB Security Surveillance DVR Kit (White)

Because of the instructions the initial set-up was Very difficult(programming the cameras)......But once I figured it out-it was a breeze.I had to repeat ALL the steps several times for each camera before they finally picked up a signal. Be sure not to miss any of the steps.. I purchased a separate monitor so as not to clog up a T.V. and a longer cord from to go from the router to the NVR so as to put it in another room.The night vision is pretty good and day vision is awesome. I am using them for home security. So in all I am pleased with this little set up.

Purchased the Zmodo 4 camera wireless system for a couple of reasons: Price and its wireless design. The cameras themselves I think are decent, and Zmodo's customer service was excellent no complaints there at all, very nice, very helpful. What was very disappointing was the software. The process to set up each camera unless you are fairly computer savy, would prove incredibly frustrating, and even for those that can set it up themselves, the process you have to go through to set up each camera takes heroic patience. And even if you manage to get the camera set up correctly and it works, the software to view the camera does not always work, and you're sitting there trying and trying to get the software to even respond. Then there's the recording system. The software to run that, by today's standards, seems either archaic or designed for someone who's a computer programmer by night and can appreciate it. I honestly didn't feel secure that whatever I set to record would actually get recorded because of how the software was set up, etc. If you want my review summed up in 4 words -cheap junk from China. That's basically what it is in a nutshell. Would not recommend it. That being said, they did promptly refund my money and even reimbursed half of the original shipping cost as well.

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Like my friend below said, "the initial set-up was a torture... Because of the instructions, the initial set-up was Very difficult (programming the cameras)......But once I figured it out-it was a breeze." I also thought the base was going to be able to use my wifi but actually you have to connect the base to the router with a Cat 5 cable... that forced me to put it in a visible place and not where I would have liked to...

I had to repeat ALL the steps several times for each camera before they kept the IP number; (and I figured it out), settings and be sure to do one at a time and I mean it, if you think you can add one and then the other one and so on and so for, you are going to end up loosing the configuration and you have to start all over again. Be sure not to miss any of the "save" steps... then close the IP program and launch it again for each camera, including the base... you will understand this when you have to deal with it... I know it sounds annoying... you can imagine how much I had to suffer to figure this out... :-)

The night vision is not really working for me... or maybe I was expecting a better performance.... or I installed them wrongly :-/

The customer support never answered the phone....

and if you want to use it with a MAC... dont waste your time.

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First of all, the Good:

once you get this thing going, it works pretty well! I can see the cameras in real time!

no issue with Night vision, though not sure if it does 60ft. more likely 30 but no big deal.

customer support is at par with my expectations (am a tech support my self).

motion detect works, but make sure you have updated firmware. tech support can give it to you.

the bad

see the reviews of this not being easy to set up? its true! as a tech support guy my self, i disregarded the fact that there were a number of reviews out there saying this is hard to set up. I told myself, "what a bunch of noobs!" i was so wrong. they were right! forgive me amazon reviewers, i doubted you!

not sure if its a bad thing but keep in mind that while the network connectivity is wireless, but unlike your laptops or ipads, it has no battery and you would need a nearby power source. so before buying, plan out where you want to put the cameras and make sure you have a power plug nearby. for me, i just used my old extension cords i used last Christmas and it worked perfectly :-)

could not add any more cameras! thats just 4! bummer! i think the limitation is the software of the nvr.

not sure if its another bad, but you can only use IE as it uses activex. unless you can make this microsoft application run in chrome or firefox, good luck!

some tips:

before you set it up, watch the online video. watch it twice, do not even think that its easy because it took me a total of 4 hours to set it up. and i am a techie! dont get me wrong, the actual physical set up is a breeze. setting up the sofware is a challenge. so be prepared. grab a coffee, grab a snicker bar, tuck the children to bed firs.. you will need all the concentration on this one. crack your fingers and be ready for a challenge.

don't mount the camera's yet until its working for you and rebooted it atleast 5 times. prior to upgrading the firmware, i rebooted it (the camera) once, it retained the config. installed it with ladders and all. power blip happened, lost all connectivity.... frustrating.

inital setup will require that you plug the camera to a network port. so put it all near your computer while setting it up. and yes, grab a coffee or coke...

even before opening the box, call tech support and make sure that they give you the latest firmware update for both the cameras and nvr. The reason why it took me too long to set it up was because i keep loosing the saved details in the cameras. apparently i just did not have the updated firmware. had i updated it the first time, it would have saved me a lot of time. once you intially set it up, upgrade the firmware. that should help.

visibility is ok, but night vision captured image might be a challenge to recognize. so i placed one of the cameras in the hallway entrance of my house in that way i can take a good picture on whoever comes in.

when you are all set up, and want to set up motion detect. please make sure that the interval of it taking a screen shot and sending to your email is long enough. i made a mistake of a 2 second interval for 24 hours and put it into sensitive mode. the result? i received 1900 + emails. even the camera flicker is considered a motion and sends me an email. there is an option in the camera it self (accessed via IE) to only activate motion detect at certain times of the day.

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The setup was no more difficult than other systems I have set up. All the cameras worked. The NVR worked nicely although the power cord seems sloppy at the transformer end. The instructions tell you how to do what you are looking for to set the system and cameras up. However, someone not used to setting up security systems and port forwarding and addressing the cameras might find it a very steep learning curve. What is missing is the "why?" I am not familiar with the concept of looping for instance. It would be helpful to know why I would want to loop for instance.

What really is troubling is the lack of motion detection. The instruction manual on disk shows how to set it up but the functionality doesn't exist on the equipment they shipped. Why would anyone be interested in a system that doesn't detect motion?!!!!

I'd have given them five stars if it did motion detection because everything else seems satisfactory and for that I give them 2 stars but unless they come up with answers fast, I'm shipping this back on Monday.

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Update 12/01/2012: Zmodo responded to tell me that motion detection does work, just not with the main NVR unit. I also has to upgrade the firmware. Now, you have to log in to each camera through the IP address. You can't control the parameters remotely, at least not now. For that improvement I'm adding a star. The remote operation worked initially but now is refusing to let me access any of the NVR functions. I have several other IP cameras that work with no problems (HooToo and Agasio). Several times during the setup procedure the NVR changed parameters on it's own, like the Host forwarder provider information. I suspect that is what happened again because I have lost contact. At another time the NVR did a shutdown on it's own. These things make me very nervous about the product.If these things aren't fixed soon, I will have to downgrade the unit to one star.

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