Q-See QSTD2408-500 8-Channel H.264 CIF Real-time Recording DVR with Mobile Phone Surveillance, Remo

Overall this is a nice product. There are somethings that will make you want to run to the nearest medicine cabinet and pull out the asprin but overall the DVR works as advertised.

CONS:

1. Noisy, if you planned on placing this somewhere in the open plan on hearing it run, the fan is very noisy. Not a problem for my installation as it is in an area which I seldom enter.

2. Big. The unit is larger (Depth) than some others but again not a big issue if you have the room for it.

3. Manual. Ok, this will make you run and buy another bottle of asprin. The manual is written in an "interesting" fashion. You can download a copy of it from the Q-See website if your interesting in seeing it before you buy it. Most of the setup is easy, you may have some problems with the internet portion, but most teenagers should be able to get that hooked up for you in no time.

4. Mouse could be alot better quality than what they put, but with the cost of a good mouse being as low as they are not really a problem overall. Mouse is USB by the way.

PROS:

1. Handles the inputs of both PAL and NTSC without problems (yes, only one type at a time and you can not mix them but most people do not worry about that so pretty much a non issue).

2. Is 110/220 volt. Nice for those who may move around alot or live outside the USA.

3. Good quality recording, monitoring and overall video feed. The live view has a very slight delay but nothing to really worry about. The recording comes out a very good quality. Have not been able to test all 8 cameras at same time yet but will update when I can for now this comment is based on 5 cameras at once.

Overall I would give this a 4 as the item works exactly as advertised.

great product! our DVR died and as soon as we plug this in, it started working. excellent picture!!!

con: noise... not a problem if you put it under the table... however, if its on the table, it is noisy.

mouse came dead.. used a spare usb mouse

iphone driver needs to be downloaded from istore (for free though).

pro: easy interface, great picture, 500gb hd is awesome for about 2 weeks worth of recording. option to recycle hd automatically.

viewing option: 3x3,2x2,1x1

good remote control

ability to add extra sata harddrive easily via a server like slot

ability to add esata hd

internet viewing works great

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I had a professional install the cameras, power supply and DVR. That's probably the way to go. The unit works very well. It is noisy, but I think they're probably all noisy. Install the unit in a room you don't sleep in.

Besides having a professional install the system, I recommend you make sure it's on a surge protector w/ some battery backup AND that the location to access the DVR is in a lockable/secure closet. The area probably also needs decent air circulation/cooling.

What I like:

1. It is reliable. Knock on wood... Q-see has worked through all kinds of stuff including a few power outages. It's on usually 24-7 and hasn't let me down yet.

2. It works well with a variety of cameras. I bought different types of cameras...the picture is as clear as I would expect etc. Only one camera caused problems, but it's the brand of camera...not the Q-see.

3. I can hook up the DVR to my projector or a variety of PC monitors. The DVR has many connections including the video connections via a "round" serial port, which a lot of "newer" machines do not have. But my projector (another rock solid purchase, knock on wood) was only 400 bucks five years ago at Home Depot, and it STILL works gang-busters. I'm not getting rid of it just because I need an new-fangled video connection.

4. "Programming" is easy Customizing the sensitivity and alarms for various motion triggers on the cameras is EZ! I am pleased with the features.

5. Internet access works You need to use IE, but viewing the cameras and recordings and setting features works well through the Activex interface. My only issue is the firewall at work...

To make setup even easier, Qsee's website now has port-forwarding instructions. Setting up the internet access is a little "trial and error" but that's the fault of firewalls and routers. The only teensy issue w/ Qsee itself is that I need to restart to have the port-changes "stick."

Great instruction booklet. Yep customer service is not "babysitting" but the DVR is well-designed and relatively simple to use, it's a non-issue for me.

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I have gotten the product. It seem to do what it is suppose to do. The user interface design is something to be desired, but the product is functional and does what it says it does.

Mine has a few hardware problems. The remote does not work. The case fan is really loud. Channel 3 does not work must be a solder or component problem. Channel is a bit lose.

These should be minor problems to fix; however, since I have had no luck contacting support via phone or internet, I am a bit dissappointed. I would probably rate this a 4 if it had no problems or if support had been responsive.

Shipping from amazon was great! Price was great!

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i bought this DVR with a new Qsee security system. It doesn't come with much of a hard drive so I bought a 1 TB SATA hard drive as well as the Qsee extension 100 foot cord, for the camera's.