Lorex - 8-Channel, 8-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wired 4K 2TB DVR Surveillance System

Great box camera kit with everything you need. Find the areas you want covered and mount cameras. Includes 4 cameras with 4 100' camera cables to wire to the dvr. Feel a little more security being hard wired than a WiFi one that could be hacked and worry about batteries. Easy setup instructions, plug and play, your on your way. Cameras have great clarity and night vision is very impressive. I like it!

I bought this system to replace an old 1280x1024 60 degree field of view security camera system. We had some auto burglaries in our neighborhood, and the old system could barely tell that the suspect vehicle was an S-10 pickup, and couldn't even tell if it had a license plate, let alone what the numerals were. I wanted higher resolution and better field of view, so if anything happens again, the video is actually useful to the police. My first disappointment out of the gate, is that after installing all of the cameras, I found that they would not work with my old cables. This despite them being continuous coaxial cables with the standard BNC plugs, and standard power connections. I ended up having to spend an extra $130 and ordered four 120 foot, high grade cables from Lorex, then of course spent 2 days in my attic and crawl space, re-running/fishing cable. Having the system not work with the existing cables caused more work and money spent. Once I got the system hooked up to the new cables, everything worked like a charm. I did notice the resolution was definitely not 4k, but a check of the system settings found they had the system set at 1080p by default. I switched it to 4k resolution, and it was a dramatic difference. The pros would be these cameras have a great field of view, much wider than the old ones, and the resolution on stationary items is fantastic. I could make out license plates on stationary vehicles up to about 70 feet from the cameras. The night vision and color night vision both also work very well, with very clear images of everything in the camera view. Now the con, and it's a big one- The cameras only record at a maximum of 7fps (they default to 1fps but you can increase it to max 7fps in the settings), which is just not sufficient for moving objects. Cars doing as little as 10mph are blurry, and the license plates are a lost cause. Part of what prompted this purchase was the prior lack of ability to identify the suspect vehicle in a rash of crimes in my neighborhood, and this system still won't be able to identify a suspect vehicle, due to that 7fps limitation. That limitation defeats the entire purpose of this purchase, and for that reason, I cannot recommend this system. If Lorex could resolve that and make a higher fps option via a firmware update that would resolve moving objects, then maybe then, but not at present. *Note- The white truck in the attached photo was coming to my house for a service call, and was slowing to stop and then back into my driveway. Even at only about 7mph, moving vehicles are blurry.

I did a lot of research on security systems before my purchase. A lot of the competitors are going wireless and have a cloud storage which comes at a monthly cost. With the Lorex 4k system(wired), it records directly your DVR up to 1 week on 4k recording or you can go out a few months if you set it up on lower resolution. This video system is 4k and for a residential house it's perfect. Plus, you can add cameras (comes with 4). I'm impressed with the day, color night vision, and in complete darkness it turns on the infrared vision to see black and white in complete darkness. It's not lacking on those features. The features I really like about this system is the ability to setup 24/7 recording and also motion detection that will send your phone app a notification that someone is within the video frame. It works for knowing when packages are delivered or just keeping eyes on your property while away. I can actually zoom all the way to my neighbors front door (about 200') and see if they have a package delivered. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to purchase their first or even a new security system. It does the job and has optional cloud storage from the company at a low cost if you absolutely want that feature.

I recently obtained an all wireless HD security camera system that I truly enjoy. However, we had one incident where the camera was not able to pick up enough detail. Even though the cameras for that system are listed as HD/1080p, there just was not enough fine detail. Now that I have the Lorex 4K Wired system I can see all the details that I have been missing. The comparison photo of the two systems below doesn’t really do it justice, but you should be able to see just how much clearer, sharper and detailed the Lorex is in comparison. The second picture is a comparison of the night recording. Color Night Recording is enabled by default only if there is enough ambient lighting. Some nights my porch light was enough, some it was not. When there is not enough light, it uses IR light to get the typical night vision image, but with great clarity and distance. The top two images are of the Lorex system while the bottom two are with the wireless HD system, with my porch light on and off. It is kind of unfair to compare a wireless system to a wired system due to their various difference, as I wanted the wireless system for the freedom of placement, but in comparison to price, the Lorex system is still cheaper than the wireless system with 4 cameras and the recording capability is drastically better. Setup is fairly straightforward, but requires some precise planning if you don’t want to have to purchase additional cables as the included cables are short. The BNC/Power cables are 60ft long and barely long enough to get around 2 sides of my house to reach a corner, but plenty long to reach the nearest two corners. The included HDMI, LAN and power cable on the other hand makes you believe that they intended for you to stack everything right on top of the DVR as they are not even long enough to connect in my entertainment center. I also have mine connected to an UPS to ensure recording even during power interruptions but that was a stretch with the short cables. Once everything is attached you can manage the DVR with the mouse for all of the setup. The interface is clunky and takes a bit to get used to. However, once a password is set up and connected to the network, I found it easier to use a web browser to manage the rest of the settings. You just access it by the IP that is displayed on the Info screen with the admin/password that you gave it. It will not work with Chrome due to the requirement to use NPAPI. The web interface allows you to do everything you can do directly through the device, just with the comfort of your regular computer. The DVR is designed to work with all kinds of different cameras, so some features show available, like Pan/Tilt/Zoom, but the cameras do not support it. One of the first things I did is change the resolution to 3840*2160(4k) for everything to make sure I get the maximum out of it. With that though, settings have a huge impact on how much you can store on the 2TB drive. I have had continuous recording on for 10 days with all 4 cameras at 4k, 7fps, CBR, 4096 bit rate and the drive now reads full. However, that just means the old footage is being overwritten. This is still more than my other service as they only kept 7 days without a paid subscription and that was only motion detection events. The Lorex Cloud app also allows you to manage your device, view live cameras, and look at playback. However, the resolution you receive through the app is horrible and more just for general reference and allows for push notifications when motion is detected. WIth that though, you will need to do some fine tweaking of motion settings as it is default I was getting notifications with every gnat that flew by. The app interface is just as clunky as the DVR interface. However, when looking at a single camera, you can enable the security light, which is just an LED, and the siren, which is laughable. I don’t expect that light or alarm to actually scare anyone from my house, but it might at least get their attention so that you get a clear image of their face. I was against getting a wired system, simply due to issues like being limited to 60ft. However, the 4K clarity of this system has convinced me to change over. Over time I might consider getting some different supported cameras so that I may use the PTZ features. But, for now this system has my house covered and I’m almost anxious to catch something in action so I can show off the detail to others.

This is a decent security system with some flaws and some things that I think should be changed or included with the kit. The most important thing I would tell you before you attempt to install this system, is to make a detailed plan of what you want to do and where you want it to go. I haven’t hardwired my system in yet because of a few reasons that I will mention later. I did however hook it up and test it in various conditions including daytime and at night. The cameras themselves seem to be pretty cheaply made, but the resolution is much better than I thought they would be. I tested them both at night and during the day and the images came across very clear. I did have the system hooked up to my Sharp 4k TV also. The playback looked very grainy until I changed the settings to 4k resolution, reset the DVR box and played with the camera settings a bit and it was significantly better. As I mentioned before, planning your installation is critical for several reasons. One, because the cables are only 65ft in length for each camera. For some installations, this may be more than sufficient, but for mine, it wont work, so I will have to shell out a minimum of $40 for either longer cables or extension cables to do the install. While 65ft may sound like a lot of cable, but by the time you snake it through walls and around studs, etc, that quickly runs out. The wall cable is also only about 2ft in length so if you are like me and have multiple items plugged into a surge protector, that is kind of short. See picture. Secondly, the DVR needs to be near your router in order to record and display the cameras. My office which is where my router is located is towards the front of my house, which is roughly 50ft from the back deck where I planned to install one of the cameras. That leaves me 15 ft to play with, which changes the installation location that I had originally planned. Ideally, a wifi connection would be preferred, but there appears to only be a handful of systems that have that feature. I did see that Lorex offers some wireless cameras that are compatible with this system, but they are a bit pricey, especially when you factor in the $600 this thing already costs. Right now, im kind of in limbo as to how I want to set this up. I do have Orbi and Velop routers that I can plug the DVR into which gets me closer to a middle location in my home to run the wires for the exterior cameras, but I prefer to have the DVR out of a common area. I do like that the cameras can be viewed remotely using the available app, but I haven’t had the time to setup this feature yet. When I initially setup the unit to test it, I got a chance to play around with the software and its pretty simple to use and you can also rename the cameras based on location or however you prefer to identify them. I definitely suggest using the 4k setting if you can, but the recordings will take up more space on the hard drive. You can take clips of videos and also have the option to backup your recordings with a thumb drive or possibly a portable hard drive which are great options if you need to use the videos to report any theft. Other than the items I mentioned, this seems to be a pretty decent system with some good features and easy to use interface. I just have to decide if I want to splurge for the wireless cameras for the back side of my house or just buy the longer cables to run through the walls. I would look around for some other options, but all in all this is a respectable system. Pros - Camera images are crystal clear - DVR is pretty quiet overall, just make sure you install in a well ventilated location - Software is easy to use Cons - Price is a bit on the high side - Short cables. 65ft cables may work for some installations, but 100ft would be better. Longer cables can run upwards of $40 each - Wall plug is less than two feet in length. - Would like it to have wireless connectivity so that I have more options for installation locations

This all-inclusive system has everything you need to get going right out of the box. The only obvious things missing are installation tools. There's enough cable to install in an average sized home (30x30). Setup was easy and is ready to go as soon as you plug everything in. For testing purposes, I connected it to my 55" 4k TV to check the resolution. I made some adjustments to get the image view in 4k though it didn't really look like 4k, probably due either to the h264.h compression or the thin looking cables supplied or both. Now, I see no reason to use up my last hdmi port on that not to mention constantly having the fan noise in the background from the dvr unit. The cameras are certainly high quality and I have no doubt they are capable of delivering true 4k video, though the cables appear to be rated for 1080p only. Increasing resolution causes the video to lag a bit to the tv and lag a lot to the phone app. I found the included mouse to be an invaluable tool setting up and using the features of the DVR. The remote has very little use other than switching views and a few other mundane things. The app from Lorex is perfect to fully utilize the systems abilities in a user friendly format. I initially used the Flir app I already had which also worked for most things. The deterrence system can be setup to flash the light after a certain hour which is good for deterrence and helps you find the keyhole in the dark. You can't automatically set the siren to go off in conjunction with the LED since it could be viewed as a nuisance in some communities. I had limited use with wired security systems since my current unit was a single wireless ip camera with pan/tilt/zoom capabilities. Though I was expecting these units to be stationary, the info says it zooms 16x digital; this is not the case. It doesn't zoom at all. The only way I was able to zoom in on things was through the app on my phone by just picking a camera feed and using the phone's pinch-to-zoom. Even with that type of zoom, you're able to see things clearly almost up to the max limit which is impressive! I think if you truly want 4k out of the system, you need to buy new cables. I might consider it for one of the cameras in the future, but for now, it's just right.

I have a one story home on a corner lot and was looking for something that would provide high quality video in both day and night. The Lorex 4k surveillance system met my needs and has an unexpectedly good 4k feed. In the box are 4 cameras with 4 x 60' cables, camera mounting hardware, a 2 TB DVR, remote, mouse, and HDMI and Ethernet cables for DVR. The initial setup is easy, with 1 page illustrated quick start guides for both networking and hardware installation. Once everything was set up I found that the 60' cables weren't going to be enough for full installation and will have to order longer ones, this is something to consider if you have a large amount of space to cover. The good news is that the power to the cameras is supplied via the cables, so only one cable to run per camera. Another thing to note is that the DVR defaults to 1080 resolution, so to get full effect you will need to go change the settings to 4k, the DVR will reboot and the resolution improvement is amazing! The cameras are off white, and fixed, so while the DVR will control pan / tilt you will need to buy additional cameras to use this feature. Once I had the cameras mounted and the right viewing angle set the coverage is almost a full 90 degree range, providing great coverage. I had no issues in daylight settings, and found that at night, I could get color video if there was enough ambient light (porch or street light) but in the areas with low lighting the cameras switched to the IR night vision which is grey scale. I included a photo of the IR camera in 4k as I'm still amazed at the resolution. The included security light and siren on each camera are underwhelming, and at best might startle the neighbors dog off your lawn. I didn't find this to be an issue, since I prefer that my cameras are not noticed. I do like how they blend in well with the overhangs, they don't stick out as much as the black bodied cameras do. Overall hardware rating is a full 5 stars. The DVR setup was straight forward, but I had to move my router nearby to connect via Ethernet. I see that wireless option is a planned feature, but would prefer it soon because I had to arrange my router to the DVR location, yes I know, first world problems. The app was easy to install and set up on my Andriod, overall the process was painless. The issue, and the reason for the 4 star rating, is because the DVR software is a bit awkward and not intuitive. Once I figured out the quirks things went smoothly, but I found that the interface just felt out of place with a DVR that supports 4k technology. You can play, pause, zoom, and capture photos from the video, you can also control your pan / tilt if you buy the cameras that allow this movement. I did like that I wasn't tied to the DVR and could set up motion alerts and live viewing via the app. The app is what saved this setup, if I was tied to the DVR and its software faults this would be more of a 3 star system. Overall, if you need the resolution and can run the cables, this is the system for you, just be patient with the DVR interface or skip it and use the app.

This system was easy to set up and provides the great reliability of a wired system with a real DVR. The easy set up guide with clear pictures, sticker based camera mounting template, and ability to setup remote viewing in the Lorex Cloud App using a QR code on the top of the DVR made installation much easier than I expected. One possible issue is that the included wires are only 60ft, which maybe too short. I also found that some non-Lorex (generic) 100ft cables caused interference on multiple channels meaning you need to get the longer Lorex cable or test them before install. I love the HDMI option for connecting to the TV. The color is not perfect, but image is sharp and overall quality is excellent and looks crystal clear on my 55” HD TV. In low light it toggles to black and white, but the image remains sharp with good contrast. Imagine quality in the phone app is ok; there is some distortion, but push based motion notifications come through in seconds and most of the DVR features are accessible in app. The DVR menus are clean, but not always intuitive. The mouse is required; the remote works best for switching views, but only allows basic selection. I found some settings and features through trail and error. The navigation also has no back or exit (you have to exit using the opposite mouse button). It is useable, but not as user friendly as it could be. Last is the key feature of this unit: “active deterrence”. The camera has a small light and siren, which can be manually triggered or set up as a motion event. The light is not like a spot light and is hard to see in even dim light. The light also caused the camera to toggle back to color in some situations and the image was actually less clear. The siren is not really loud enough; it is noticeable within sight of the camera, but quiet enough to blend in with normal white noise so that it is hard to hear inside or from a distance. They both only last about 10 seconds when activated from the App or directly at the DVR. I doubt the light or siren would scare any intruder, but it might make them aware they are being watched and cause them to move on. I would recommend this because of the image quality, set up, and lack of monthly fee for a solid remotely viewable system. The active deterrence is a partial success at least allowing you to make your camera more visible to would be criminals.