I purchased two of these systems for a total of 16 cameras the rationale of two units being that there was a staggered element of redundancy should one 16-channel DVR fail.First, the hardware is pretty good quality. The cameras offer a very narrow field of view (about 60 degrees) which can make it difficult to establish proper overlap if you are mounting the cameras at about 10 feet clearly this system was designed to be mounted on a second story roof. The funny thing is that I took one of the cameras apart, and they could easily manufacture a wide angle lens for it. As far as the DVR itself, it's a pretty impressive integration of components for an embedded solution.
Second, the software is absolutely terrible. It is quite clear their R&D budget was blown on the hardware, and the software was an afterthought. As a software developer, I don't understand how a company can sell a product with very apparent and frustrating discrepancies between the web interface and the console functionality there are several things you cannot do on the web interface that requires being on the console. This would normally not be an issue, but my DVR's are mounted in a secured location to prevent the theft of the DVR itself.
Third, the Active X control that runs in Internet Explorer only, doesn't properly capture keyboard events, like the tab key, to tab from the username to password field.
Fourth, the Q-see app for Android is actually pretty good, however you must reboot your phone after viewing the camera, otherwise the app will continue streaming in the background and kill your battery in short order.
Fifth, the email alerts simply do not work. I receive test emails, but motion detection and loss of video signal do not generate emails. This I find particularly irritating, and do not buy the answer they gave the other reviewer complaining of the same thing that "There is an error in the manual and website".
Sixth, and this is the part that irritates me the most they advertise 24/7 technical support. Except they are lying. You can submit your question 24/7, but you must wait 3-4 days for a response.
Overall, I'd have to advise against this system. If I hadn't spent 30+ hours meticulously installing this system and inhaling insulation dust, I would rip it out and return it.
Though clear, the cameras' CCD arrays have some shortcuts for size/power/cost, and they simply don't register green. Scenes look okay, but bushes look purple.
The composite video-out (the simplest way to port the monitor information to secondary displays) only shows the static 9-grid display. Only the VGA feed shows the full-screen views and the rotating viewing scheme.
Minor note, the metallurgy of the camera mounts is sub-standard. I split one of them with only finger-strength tightening.Received it today and hooked it up, Worked ok when hooked up (and arrived with 8 camera) BUT 2 of the wires were damaged and only allowed for 6 of the cameras to work. I"m returning it for another versionWe had to return this camera system. The description listed the system to include 8 cameras. The system the shipped to me only includes 4 cameras. I would like to purchase the 8 camera system for the advertised price...
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