Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is one of the best Cams out there, I think. You will need extra cable if you have a big house but you can also use the extenders to connect two wires together. If you are looking for a 4k Security cam buy this one!

We recently had four cameras installed and they work fine. However, little did we know that the DVR was going to run extremely hot and loud. We had it installed in a home office and it is very annoying.

So far this SECURITY CAMERAS SYSTEMS its amazing. It has Two way talk communication Audio recording LED Motion Detection

Great surveillance system. I love the NVR box. it's all withe and very sleek no matter where are you going to install it. About the system setup: -Software waise it's a breeze. -To run wires you either good at it or better hire someone it's definitely and advantage that takes signal and power through the same Cat5 cable. Picture quality is great Both Day and Night. Motion detection works like a charm and you get that flood light from the cameras that would possibly scare unwanted people/animals of your propriety. It's also got speaker and the camera quality it's good. I will attach some pictures with my cameras and what i saw through the app, but for a world where everything needs subscription This Lorex security cameras are great.... Bunch of nice security features with great 4k quality image and motion detection at 1 time cost of purchase. NO Monthly Fees*

Had a cheap ebay surveillance system for about 2 years no issues, upgraded to a Swann system for 6 or 7 years with no issues. Decided to upgrade again with Lorex on 8-14-21. A little more difficult to get to work on the phones, but no biggie as it looks like a security feature. Sound quality very poor. with the Swann I could clearly hear people talking by the street, Lorex I can just hear noise, garble there is sound but nothing understandable. About 1 month ago, out of 5 cameras, I lost one camera and two of the others would go out and require a reboot to get back on. I decided to do a full shutdown and start up to see if it would help, and the unit would not turn back on. My wife called Lorex and they told her to plug it into another outlet. I tried that and it tried to boot, but would not pass the lorex splash screen. When I called lorex and explained the situation the phone disconnected after about 10 minutes and no-one bothered to try calling back. My wife tried calling again and they tried to put her thru a whole troubleshooting course on the system. I just wanted the warranty honored. I'm happy to box it up and ship it to Lorex, just need a label. They can trouble shoot all they want and fix it. Otherwise it looks like a game to make the customer give up. Looks like it will wind up in the trash. $700 and lasted 3 months what a deal. Maybe I can sell the cameras on Ebay to help recoup some of the money.

All right before I start with my review, let me start by giving some advice and tips to whoever is looking to buy a security like this one. - Probably the most important. If you have a small attic to where you can barely fit, Do Not Get a system like this unless you really want to go through the trouble or you're going to hire someone to do it for you. - If you are not sure what system to get, watch some videos that explain what every type of security system does to help you decide which one fits your needs. - IF you are installing the wiring by yourself make sure you plan where tu place your cameras, where do you want your DVR, and make sure you have the right tools. Now here is a TL;DR Pros - Internet security i would say 4/5 - No Cloud Storage and can view up to 10 days worth of recordings through the NVR - Metal shell on the cameras - Mobile App easy to navigate - Good Night Vision Quality - Good Overall Image quality - Menu and settings easy to navigate - 2way communication - Various sensor modes, schedules, and custom areas Cons - Installation (specially the Ethernet cable and the hole sizes for the cable) - Frame Rate (on 4k you only get 15 FPS) - Home assistant integration is not the greatest (Firestick, Echo show) - Only Digital Zoom - No keyboard included only a mouse Now for the actual review, here are my thoughts Installation installation is pretty straight forward, you plan your locations, drill some holes, run your wire, and plug everything in. Well that is what the guide tells you, but actually there is more to it. I would say installing it my house was kind of a pain since the attic is pretty small and also since i live near the water the humidity is bad during the day. But anyways, what i found annoying is that Lorex includes these really cheap Cat5 cables that get tangled and pinched pretty easy and also these Seals/gaskets that you can not take off unless you break it off the cable. If you decide to keep those seals you have to drill a hole close to 1 inch in diameter which is huge for just an ethernet cable. In my opinion instead of investing on a seal, Lorex should of invested more on providing a higher quality ethernet cables. The foam seal that comes on the body of the camera is more than enough but I also feel they should of made a cover for the wire notch for better protection if you end up not using it. Before thinking about buying a system like this, get to know the layout of your house better. It will save you time and money trust me. Also if you decide to get system like this watch a video or 2 on how to install the wiring and what tools you need. Use my installation as an example. I used tools to cut sheet rock, nut drivers, extenders, a drill, fish tape, drill bits, ladders, and a stud finder. I mention this because i know people that want to do DIY projects, but run to the store every other hour to get something they missed. One last thing, the little hole layout stickers they provide are pretty useless, dont use them. Tips: Planning is key on any type of installation. Make sure you know where you place your NVR also make sure that place is accessible to run wires through the attic. 2nd- make a list of tools and hardware you are going to need, 3rd- The cameras will not always be exactly where you want them to be. Look around your attic and see the areas you can access. You dont want to be drilling a lot of holes all over the place Hardware The shells of the cameras are made out of metal which is great for outdoor use. The only complaint i have is the lens that protects the LEDs and the camera is made out plastic and can be scratched pretty easy. Another thing thing that i found somewhat disappointing about the camera is that you can not move it left or righ once you install it. The LEDs on the camera are great but they are not actually that bright (even at night you can barely tell the difference). As mentioned before, the cat5 cables Lorex includes are not great (sorry Lorex but it had to be said). The HDMI and the other ethernet cable for the router are pretty short, so if you are trying to have your NVR far from either your router or TV/monitor, you are going to want to run a longer cable to that device. The NVR its self looks like a TV box in looks and size. On the NVR your have your 8 PoE ports for the cameras (what the 8 channels mean), an internet Input, audio inputs (for a microphone??), a HDMI output, a DVI output, and a usb port on the back and one on the front. They also include a mouse to navigate through the software on the NVR, its not the greatest but all the systems similar to this one, do the same thing. Software Out of the box set up is easy. I would recommend setting up the NVR first before you run any cables or install the cameras. Once set up, you can view your cameras through the lorex app which helps with the placement of your cameras. Once you have everything installed you can change the preview on the monitor/tv to show oly the active channels (in this case only 4). You can also turn on the LED, take a pic, start recording, etc... (You can also do this through the app which is pretty neat). Once you enter the main menu you have several options. You have playback which you can go back and watch previous days or hours. When it captures any type of motion, the timeline shows a little yellow spot. Next on the menu screen, you have events. In here, you edit everything related to the sensors on the cameras. You can set up the motion sensor area, sensitivity, schedule, etc.. I believe you also have a missing object sensor to use with static objects such as a boat, a ride on mower, or any object you rarely move. On the other tabs you have Back Up which you use mostly if you want to save a video on a flash drive and Display which only changes the resolution and transparency of the menu. On the Camera Tab you get to change the type of video and audio encoding. If you're not familiar with this option, everything is set up to the most optimal settings. In all honesty i wish these cameras would run in a frame rate higher than 15 or at least let me drop the quality to 2k and run them at 30 or 60 fps. Also this is more of a personal nitpick, but I also wish you could record at a bitrate higher than 4000. I know the software on these types of systems run very weak processors so i can not be asking too much. Anyways you also have your Network tab, and in here it is all about the security of your system. Personally I do not have much knowledge on these types of things but the option is there for those who do know. It is not that complicated and you can watch some videos to learn what these options do and if it is something you want to change. Lastly, you have your System, Storage, and Account Tabs. System and Account are not really that important since you only change the time, date, and set up the admins for the system. On the Storage Tab you can change the way your recordings are saved on the system. You can set up schedules, look at the space and estimates, and other options. One last thing that kind of dissapointed me is the Alexa integration. I was planning on getting a firestick later to view my cameras through my other TV. but then i read the reviews... Lorex please work on your apps Final thoughts In all honesty, if you are worried about your security both for your home and on the internet this is the way to go. Installation is somewhat frustrating but worth it at the end. Cameras are made out of a nice material and look nice. Software is easy to use and with a lot of options. I know these types of NVR systems work in a similar way so look around to make your final purchase decision. Personally, i would recommend this system but once again do some research and make sure this is right for you

This is a great Home security system with no monthly fee and a very reliable setup. I unboxed 4 camera's, NVR, spare network cable and power cable. Pretty easy after that. In my case I put the NVR where my TV is which looks like a cable box. Then I ran the 4 network cables to my 4 corners of my home. The hard part was getting the ethernet cable ran the an already built home in Florida. I had to bring a installer out to help me run some of the cables. When done I connected the cameras and ran thru the install wizard. Setup was pretty simple. User name/password and I had camera's. After running them for a few days I can see that there is a distinct difference from these vs 1080 camera's. Also the light that comes on really makes the night footage viewable. I tried the talking function but they could not hear me since the camera's are mounted off my second story for better coverage. I also like the lights that turn on when someone approaches the house. It makes it known that the home is being monitored. The app is pretty easy to navigate and you can easily download pictures and video clips to save or share. I did find the notifications inaccurate and quite annoying with all the notifications. I turned it off in the end. I was unable to connect my video doorbell to the system for a single point of access. I assume because it was from a different company. I also liked that I can expand 4 more camera's and increase the HDD storage to 8Tb which would hold 4x more footage. I was able to get Alexa to display the camera's on my tv via voice command but found it easier just to check the app on the phone. One thing to note is you still need decent internet to access the footage remotely since it is still depending on your upload speed of your internet. For the money this is a great system that is reliable and performs the functions I would expect of a home NVR solution without the monthly cost. For me that is the biggest selling point. Also since it is not wireless there is less to mess with on a regular basis. Last thing is that these camera's are full metal and I feel like that will last a long time outside in the elements unlike others I have had in the past that are plastic.

As the craziness in the world has gone up, the cost of security cameras has gone down. New names pop up all the time throwing their hat in the ring to get your hard earned dollar. But one name that has been around for a long time and will continue to be around is LOREX. I originally fell in love with them when they were a product of FLIR as we had their products at work. I was a little leery when they were purchased by Dahua, but I think that has added to their product tool belt and only made them better. This particular system with the new N843 recorder and E892AB cameras are a great solution for any resident to monitor and deter problems on their property. And when I say any resident, I mean ANY resident. This package comes with everything you need. 2 TB of storage space, 8 available channels, four 4K cameras with Active Deterrence, and POE TECHNOLOGY! What is POE you ask? By literal definition, It is an abbreviation for Power Over Ethernet. But what that translates to is that you only need to run ONE WIRE per camera. This makes install SOOOOO EASY and allows you to avoid rats nest of wires, monopolizing power outlets in your room, and drilling bigger holes than you need to. Also, Lorex makes it so amateur friendly that they are pretty much plug and play. As long as you plug a Lorex Camera into the Lorex NVR, it will add itself. For those of you more technologically advanced, there are other cool ways to minimize your work or fancy up your install, but if you are already at that level, you dont need this review. Now onto probably the most important question someone would ask...How is the image quality? See the attached images. 4K. Its pretty darn good. Probably the best image you can get for the price point. Lorex is great with that. They give you the meat and potatoes for the price of the broccoli. They know how to give you a quality product for less. Are their better cameras out there? Sure. But one of those cameras is going to cost you more than this entire system and the average person will probably not be able to tell the difference. Add onto it that these Lorex Cameras have Active Deterrence! When they detect a person or vehicle within the specified area and schedule, they will illuminate a light from the camera which its output would compare to a camera flash. This is not meant to light up your yard, but rather draw attention of unwanted intruders and give them a little nudge saying "Hey there little guy....I see you on my property. Better be on your best behavior because I see everything that you are doing!". If that doesn't keep them from being somewhere they shouldnt, GIVE THEM THE SIREN!!!! Yep. These cameras also have a manually activated siren that you can use to scare people away. Now probably the next most important question...is it user friendly? The answer is yes. Lorex has really improved their Lorex Home App and made it my favorite surveillance camera app on the market. Its very intuitive while being feature packed. Spend 5 minutes in the app and you are a pro. Smart Motion is a godsend. This system can tell the difference between people, vehicles, and random blowing leaves and branches. That way you dont have to worry about your phone blowing up with motion notifications all day and night like you would with pixel based motion detection. This way you truly know when you need to actually check in on your property with your camera. With all of my praise for this system, why wouldn't I give it 5 stars? Well, I did run into one issue that I have not experienced before. For some odd reason, only 3 of the 4 cameras loaded on my Lorex Home App. All four are on the recorder and can be viewed via the connected monitor, but the fourth just does not populate on the app. Now I would guarantee that 97.2% of you will not be in the same boat I am as I have all of my IP cameras connected to a remote POE switch and have multiple brands of NVRs connecting to the same cameras so that I can use it as a test bench for ONVIF compatibility (Which the N843 NVR does better than any ONVIF compatible NVR I have tested btw). But it does make me wonder what bug is there between the NVR and the app server. But again, this will most likely not be a possibility for the average joe. Would I buy this system? YES Would I tell my friends and family to buy this system? YES Is it worth it? OHHHHH YEAHHHH (Enter Koolaid Man). If you are looking for an easy to install system that will leave no doubt what happens on your property, this is it.

LOREX is a proven leader in security products. The first thing I noticed was the care and details in the packaging of my NVR recorder and camera kit. All are recyclable too. After connecting the networkable recorder to my router and 4K monitor, I powered the unit up. Next a quick firmware update, I was able to set my security password and start labeling the cameras. The whole process was easy and smooth. I did stumble when adding cameras. I didn't understand what private meant. This is a mode where the live feed isn't visible as you might have set for interior cameras. Once I reconfigured the camera's setting, it was again visible on he screen. Learning curve! The clarity and definition of 4K cameras are still amazing to me even after years of installing and using security cameras. Right click and jump to MENU, CAMERAS for a real treat. The settings allows me to rotate the camera view in 90-degree increments. Which is very useful when you set up the camera and m=need to flip the image 180-degrees. Done via software. Full range of camera settings too; darkness, day/night modes, sharpness, etc. So be sure to check this out when setting up the cameras. Standard monitor views are included, 4-up 8-up 1-up. Right clip and you can draw a square around an areas and instantly zoom in. Then you can pan around the view as needed. Pretty slick if you ask me. I can easily distinguish a 1/4-inch orange rod used to mark the edge of my driveway when covered in snow or at night from 30-feet away. That's how clear an image the 4K gets me. Nice white NVR case. Poe for 8 cameras built in. Activate the warming LED lights and siren on each camera either from the front panel button or the software app. I use my iPad which is simple and great for monitoring on the go. I also have the ability to trigger on either facies, people or cars. The nicely allow me to silence this when kids are playing in the yard or party on the patio or pool. All welcome functionality. Being able to monitor the pool is especially nice for peace of mind, more so for safety. Absolutely recommend this especially for the large 2tb capacity drive. Great updates from the 2020 version. Comes with 30 mete (100 foot) cables for maximum distance via Poe.

I have been waiting to get an opportunity to use a PoE security system. I have had BnC type of units for almost 10 years now. I started with 480 then 720 then 1080 now 4k all BnC. BnC has its limits. It requires a Siamese cable 1 for video 1 for power and if you want Audio you need to run another separate cable. Quality and length of BnC cable affects the image so keep that in mind. PoE is just 1 Cat5e cable and if you don't have a PoE router you need to use a separate power source. But for this stand alone system you don't need another power source or another router if you conn CT directly to the NVR unit. Anyway. This system is Freaking awesome. I am so impressed with PoE. Let's start with installation. Installation can be tough because you need to install Ethernet cables. Thank goodness this system replaced my BnC in my garage and my garage has open ceiling. If you are going to run this in your house and you have either crawl or attic space and don't know how to run this then HIRE someone. Because it is a pain. Also before you start to run the cable put everything on your dining room table and setup all the cameras and NVR prior to doing anything physical. You don't want to run 100 ft of cable to find out your cable is bad and then your are screwed. 1 bone of contention with Lorex. The cables are a pain to deploy. It gets all tangled and messed up and in a knot. These Ethernet and the BnC are just wrapped in a pain and unrolling them is just a hot mess. See photo of ball of wire. Took me 10 each with each run. Pain! NVR firmware update took about 10 mins and mobile app setup was a few seconds. So here is another small detail. You need to account for the Ethernet connector size and will need to drill a BIGGER hole to pass it through the wall or whatever you are mounting the camera to. Stucco wood studs etc will all require a bigger and potentially longer drill bit. Note to self on that. Performance. Is superior to BnC. Lag is minimal from mobile app to cameras. Motion detect is nice. Siren is not very loud. It is more audible at night but not during the day. Also the speaker function is nice. You can speak your voice over the system but you can't hear them. Not very loud again during the day but better at night. All due to ambient noise. Also want do you expect out if a small little speaker. If you want to pickup audio you will need to run another separate mic and BnC cable for this. Night vision is great. Crisp and clear. Color is good. Day vision is great. Field of vision is also good too. Night motion detect with light coming on is great. The cameras themselves are nice. Made out of steel. Really nice upgrade from previous plastic cameras. With 1 adjustment screw and a ball joint to move the camera into position along with a base that clicks and rotates to swivel and allow for another adjustment. NICE job... This is my 3rd Lorex system and all 3 of them I am impressed. I think Lorex is a notch above other security systems out there. I don't have other wireless fusion Lorex products to test but if I can get my hands on them I would love to test it with this system. Anyway don't hesitate to buy this system. This is a must for security cameras. Also no monthly payment for storage and access for this system.

I have had several Lorex security systems over the years and they all have been really reliable. Each system has been progressively getting better, including better camera builds, better clarity, better detection and this time a better menu system. However, there are still some things about it that just feels like they haven’t improved enough. Having had a DVR system and a NVR system, I can say hands down if you want better image quality, higher field of view, higher frames per second and two way audio, the NVR systems are the way to go. They may cost more, but you can really see the difference in them that makes it worth it. I also prefer wired over wireless as they have been more responsive and 24 hour recording means you can go back and review things that may not have triggered motion, such as someone intruding on the neighbors yard. They may be a pain to set up, by running cables all around the house, but once that added sense of security is in place, I don’t regret it. Initial installation is straightforward and fairly simple, test the cameras and wires, run the wires, install cameras and connect everything up to the DVR. The most difficult part is figuring out where to run the wires and getting them in place. The included ethernet cable for internet connection and HDMI cable are fairly short, but easy enough to swap out with one that may work better for you. Using HDMI to a 4K TV is certainly the best choice, but regardless of a lower display, you can continue to record in 3840 x 2160 resolution and download or play from a different device. Image quality during the day is amazing, clear, sharp and vibrant colors. The 4k resolution helps notice details that others may not and makes it so that you can digitally zoom and still get decent quality. Though still decently clear, the night vision seems a bit foggier looking than my previous system, like lost contrast. As with most systems, there is a bit of blur in low light motion and you get a bit of ghosting when the color night vision kicks in and the subject isn’t in bright light. The deterrent lights are surprisingly bright and I like that they are spaced on each side of the camera helping to distribute the light. There is also a siren that you can configure, or trigger through the user interface or app, but it’s not going to alert anyone as much as it is just going to draw attention to the fact there is a camera there. The menu system on the recorder is better, but it all leads right to the same old looking user interface. There is a lot that you can configure through the recorder and it takes some time to figure out what it can all do. The biggest thing to pay attention to when configuring everything is the ‘Apply’ button. If you make any changes and then select the next camera, if you didn’t hit apply before selecting the next page, all those previous changes will be lost. This can get slightly frustrating after you try and set up specific zones for the different detections. One of the new features is the ability to set missing object and abandoned object detection. Instead of the standard vehicle/person or motion detection, you can set it to alert you of something being placed into an area, like a package at the door, or something being removed after it had been there for a while. The only problem is that by default it seems really sensitive and gives a ton of false alarms. This has also been true of vehicle and person detection as it has given every alert for my little dog being on the back deck. He has triggered being abandoned, which makes sense after he has stood in place for a bit, or missing after he leaves, but has also popped up as a person and a vehicle. Through the recorder is the only way to change the specific settings for these rules, but if you don’t want a bunch of event alerts, will take a bit of tweaking to get just right. The other part of a security camera system is the ability to remotely monitor. The Lorex Home app is a whole lot easier to use than the recorder UI, but is limited in what it can do. You can add the device by scanning the QR code on the information page of the recorder from your monitor, or manually add the information. Once logged in you can easily view your cameras, take snapshots, record, enable the light or siren and use the two way talk function. Take note though, that the resolution you see on the app is not the full resolution that is being recorded to the NVR. The timeline for each camera through the app shows blue for regular recording and yellow for an event, such as motion or specific but makes it easy to pan through the time for as much as the DVR has recorded. At 2TB with 4 cameras at 4K, you can get about 10 days worth of video and audio. But, this will vary if you add additional cameras as well, such as a wireless camera from the same network. Another feature that isn’t well advertised is the ability to use the Lorex Cloud application on computers. This makes it easy to monitor multiple systems live or playback and download the full resolution video without having to go to the recorder and use a USB thumb drive. This application is also limited in what you can configure, but you can see the rules you have created for zones and actually see the tracking of events that trigger the rules, such as a vehicle passing through the zone. Overall, this is one of the best security camera systems I have had. It is a bit sensitive in detection, especially at night. However, if you take the time to configure zones and sensitivity, you can reduce the number of false events. If they could improve the user interface, or make it easier to fully configure from a PC, I would like it even more. But, needing to be within mouse length of the DVR and monitor to click through the settings and hit apply to everything gets tedious at times.

Overall The LOREX surveillance system is a solid piece of hardware and a worthy upgrade to my older system. The 4K resolution is a major upgrade and very noticeable when compared to a 1080p system. The package includes your standard NVR system, 4x 4K cameras with RJ45 and auxiliary power pigtail, 4x 100’ Cat5e UTP patch cables, power supply, optical mouse, and 1x 4’ patch cable. The actual NVR houses a single slot for an HDD while the housing seems of plastic. Honestly, I’m not a fan of the presentation they went with as it reminds me of an oversized router without antennas. Features The LOREX NVR comes feature packed. I thought the 2tb HDD would be worthless with 4x 4K cameras but the high compression h265 method really helps. On average I saw about 300gb on 2 cameras during 1 week of use. Aside from your standard NVR recording, each camera includes a slot for an sd card for local recording of that camera. Gives a bit of redundancy to the system if you opt to not use an ftp server for added backups. They also include 2 small LEDs on the camera which output roughly 500 lumens (I didn’t look this up or noticed those details mentioned in the product description). The pinhole mic on the front of the camera captures great sound detail. Lastly there’s a small set of holes under the camera for 2 way audio. On paper, all of these make for a really great system. On the software side of things, the NVR adds motion detection, smart deterrence, unattended object, (for lack of terminology) missing object, person detection, vehicle detection, active zoom, face detection, and mask detection. Plus many rule sets to trigger each and every one of those detection features and a handful of notification options from buzzers, on-screen notifications, and email notifications. To top it off it offers up a web GUI for viewing on any device connected to your network. No ONVIF support from my digging. Considerations So first I’ll layout what worked for me. Motion detection, regardless of camera position or general lighting has worked flawlessly. Smart deterrence was a bit more finicky but also worked great. vehicle detection also worked perfectly fine. On the other hand, unattended object, missing object, person detection, mask detection, face detection, and active zoom were all a hit and miss. With person detection and active zoom, the way to get them going felt more like a process or cheat codes in a video game. It worked when you performed some kind of ritual beforehand. Face detection and mask detection were finicky. Their success really seemed to be determined by the environment. Unattended object never seemed to work no matter what I tried. Face detection would come on at strange moments or not come on at all

Lorex is a few simple steps away from having a real gem of a package here that would be worth way more than the price tag. It’s a shame those steps weren’t taken. But I still love what the set has to offer. All items were well packaged and nothing looked to be overly hard to find in the box at all. You even get a throw-away-grade mouse to help the setup. (Pro tip: you can easily plug in a wireless mouse with a dongle to get that section of the setup complete.) You get some instructions, but you are going to want to consult resources online to guide you on this install. This can run out of the box. But I think you would be better off looking up some tweaks to increase performance. Setup isn’t difficult and the instructions provided are more than sufficient enough to guide you there. Mounting cameras and routing cat 5 is the lion’s share of the work. The set top box is very light and easy to manage when plugging everything in. As light as it is, I can’t imagine the components would generate much heat. However, it does when operational, and the internal fan makes quite a bit of noise. It enough that it drowns out the HTPC I have right next to it that has quite a few more fans in it. After a firmware update, account setup, item registration (you need to scan a QR code on the set top box using the Lorex Home app), you are looking right at a live feed of your area(s) of interest. At this point you will have the opportunity to fine tune settings like naming cameras, changing the video compression settings, outlining areas in views for motion detection, testing lights and two way talking, etc. The flexibility this system offers through the number of settings it has is amazing. There is enough there to keep a novice just as happy as a near professional. Camera quality is ok. It honestly feels like a stretch to say it’s 4K resolution and you’re more likely to be convinced it looks maybe a bit better than 1080p. The lights really function as a warning. And the speaker is a bit low. However, the space between homes in my area is kind of close and honestly the levels both of these are just right for my specific application. I will say that the construction quality of the camera housing is excellent. These are dense and rigid enough to feel like they could get hit by hail and barely flinch. Outside of internal fan being loud, being a little disappointed in video quality, the lack of a more concentrated instruction set (I’m still looking for some details), I’m still very pleased with this system. It’s a very robust set for the price.

Pros Metal housing for cameras Smart alerts to reduce false positives App can stream high quality on cellular easily App is quick App works on AppleTV More up to date NVR interface 15fps even on 4K Limited ghosting in color night vision 2-way audio No subscription fees No internet required Works with motion sensors and door sensors Supports wired and wireless cameras Continuous recording H.265 support saves space Cons Can’t turn off active deterrence lights Night vision has noticeable ghosting Object recognition at night is only about 30 feet App zone configurations conflict with NVR Most configuration still requires NVR access Push notifications sometimes fail to show preview image Motion clips sometimes have no video Resolution seems much worse than old 4K model Adjustment screw difficult to tighten in certain orientations Headlights shining into motion zone can trigger vehicle alert Some trees and animals can trigger person alerts The Lorex 4K UDH NVR focuses on modernizing a traditional design with hardwired cameras and local storage that can still get the video without any internet. What is new is the NVR has an updated interface and adds the functionality to work with other Lorex Fusion products including wireless cameras, video doorbell, motion sensors, and door sensors. Design The NVR has a more modern appearance as a white box with rounded corners. Included in the box is a small, wired mouse, 90Ft of Cat 5E cable for each camera, and the 4 cameras with mounting hardware. A wireless mouse would be a good first addition to make adjustments easier. The cameras are almost completely cast aluminum with a small section of plastic.] Setup Setup requires you to have access to a TV, ideally 4K, close enough to connect to the NVR. A wizard guides you through the basic choices and will automatically update if the system is connected to the internet. Setup is done directly on the NVR where you can set up your motion zones and schedules as well as make camera adjustments. You can remotely view the cameras via the app and get alerts. Setup of the app is easy. After creating a Lorex account you just scan the QR code on the side of the NVR to add it to your account. The cameras include screws, anchors, and drilling templates for installation. After mounting and adjusting, you lock the settings by tightening a single screw. While convenient, a hex head would have worked better as it can become difficult to access in some orientations and the phillips head screw can be easy to strip. This leads to possibly not tightening the lock screw enough where hex head would work easily in tight spaces, not require you to press to tighten, and would allow you to more tightly lock the adjustment. The app does allow for some camera adjustments but, at least at the time of writing this, you should not make any camera adjustments through the app. The reason is the NVR has distinct zones for motion, person, and vehicle detection where the app only has one zone. If you configure the zone in the app it ignores any person and vehicle detection and all alerts become for motion causing a lot of false alerts. It seems Lorex hasn’t updated the app to mirror the NVR so your best bet is only make setting adjustment directly on the NVR. For each type of motion, the NVR allows you to create two zones to monitor. Each of the zones has four corners which can adjust and doesn’t allow adding more to refine the shape further. Also, for the vehicle zones you have to be careful about headlights. In some cases, headlights of passing cars can trigger the vehicle detection even if the vehicle never actually enters the zone. If you check video clips directly on the NVR, you can have it highlight what actually triggered the alert to help you fine tune your zones. If you were thinking to only use the active deterrence lights on some cameras, you are out of luck. Unlike previous generations of active deterrence cameras there is no option to turn off the lights. You can set them to 5 seconds on but there is no off option. There also isn’t an always on option or on during motion option. It only allows it to be a set time that is triggered with AI events. Also, any additional devices you wish to view video on requires setting up another Lorex account with another unique email address. This isn’t a problem for family members with their own phones but let’s say you want to view the cameras on your tablet or Apple TV. Even though you likely use the same account and email address on your tablet or Apple TV, Lorex will require you to have or create another email address for each and add them as authorized users. Performance Out of the box, video quality is decent but washed out. Most of the camera adjustments also aren’t described in the manual so you will need to find the definitions from third party websites to understand how they work. It is just worth noting as more people are expecting to just plug in cameras and have them not require anything further. However; default audio quality is near useless. It defaults to a lower quality mode, presumably to save storage space. The result is it sounds like you are listening through water which is most likely caused by heavy compression. The good thing is you can adjust the quality setting and on the highest setting it is very clear and two way talk is respectable and works well. Video quality is hit and miss. This newer version handles strong light source better than previous versions while increasing the speed to 15fps versus the 7fps of the older versions. Unfortunately, noise is dramatically increased with far more grain as the light drops off. During the day, the higher frames per second equates to catching more detail in motion but then overall clarity and sharpness of details is markedly worse than previous generations of Lorex 4K cameras as a whole. In fact, the overall video quality appears to be more along the lines of something between 1080p and 2K. Moving objects, such as people, tend to have a halo ring around them of blurriness. It’s possible this is related to the new H.265 compression but support was not able to assist in reducing this effect. In the end, people were still recognizable, just less clear. During daylight, people are recognizable to about 50 feet. Once the sun goes down, this drops to about 30feet. At about 50 feet, if there is no strong ambient light then people walking at a casual pace become unrecognizable blobs with only their audio captured. This occurs with or without night vision on as the IR doesn’t reach much beyond 30 feet as the IR isn’t very strong. On a positive note, this weaker IR means less chance of blinding the camera from reflections. Ghosting in color night vision has also been reduced. Overall, it seems to be a tradeoff. Older generations of Lorex 4K cameras favored clarity over speed resulting in losing video if someone was moving faster whereas this generation seems to favor catching faster motion at the expense of some clarity. You could improve both with bigger cameras with larger sensors but then it would increase the price of the system and who this is for. Once you have everything set up, day to day usage is fairly reliable and you shouldn’t have too many false positives once you work around headlights and certain trees. It would be nice to see further improvements to the AI in the future so these workarounds weren’t necessary but overall detection is decent but not as accurate as the cloud based versions. Strangely, if you have good internet then AI detection locally on the NVR won’t seem any faster than the cloud based versions but connecting to view cameras does seem faster. Detection events take about 5-10 seconds to reach your phone regardless of if you are on wifi or cellular. Motion events usually work but on occasion the app didn’t provide the thumbnail in the notification. Also, a small number of motion events would end up being empty clips. Lorex support has been notified of these issues so hopefully they will be corrected soon. Unlike older NVRs, the new app doesn’t require the old method of manually choosing between main stream and substream. You just open it and if you want higher quality just tap the SD button and it will switch to HD. With good internet viewing cameras in HD on cellular was fairly quick. A nice touch is as long as you are still in the app you can swipe between cameras and you won’t have to wait for them to relaunch. Pinch to zoom is a slow to respond and zooms back out each time you restart the video and wont’ stay when paused. The 2-way talk, if set correctly is clear and both sides can talk at a normal volume and be understood without issue. There are also features such as the ability to automatically zoom in and follow people or vehicles by cropping in but the feature only works when you are front of the NVR, is very jerky and hard to watch, and typically ends up zooming in on the torso instead of the face. There is also a face detection which can be used on up to two cameras, but you have to turn off other smart features, mount the camera lower, and yet again adjust it directly from the NVR. Final Thoughts Build quality with metal components is very good, video quality and AI are decent, and app and NVR software have a lot of room for improvement. It is definitely a step up from traditional NVR’s but nowhere as easy to use as cloud based cameras. This could be a great system with further software and app improvements. So the big question is who is this system best suited for? If you want local storage, with continuous recording, alerts with low false positives using AI, don’t mind getting a little technical in setup, can accept that most functions besides viewing will require you to be in front of the recorder, and want a package with all parts required without spending tons of money or pay for a subscription this Lorex 4K UHD NVR could be for you.

I was blown away by the quality of the cameras and the clarity of the images. I was not a firm believer that 4k was that much of a step up from 1080p or 2k. It does make a big difference. The hardware was very easy to connect and install, I did have to purchase POE router but that was a minor fix. The single ethernet cable was very convenient and i was able to install it myself. I have zero complaints on the a hardware or video quality, both are amazing. The software did give me a few issues. There are moments when it freezes and/or crashes. I have the 1 gig service so it is not the internet signal so i am hoping there is a patch release or update to fix this in the near future. It does not happen often but it happens enough to frustrate you. When viewing it on the computer i have no issues with software but for me the whole point is remote viewing using the app. Overall i would still recommend it because the minor app glitch is not often and the quality of the cameras, quality of the video and easy installation more than make up for it. On top of that, the software is easily fixed once they release an update.

This is a great value for a Security System. There is NO subscription fee at all to use. It comes with 6 cameras and a substantial amount of wire. These camera only need one wire to the DVR. Supplies power and video which makes installation much easier. Cameras have built in mic which is very good quality. Night vision is good and video quality is excellent. Cameras have a few added settings like deterrence lights and a intercom speaker. Has an app for remote viewing and using the camera intercom. Much easier then plugging in a mic into the DVR. On max settings the DVR can hold up to a week of recording at a time. Only two things that keep me from giving a 5 star rating: First, the DVR has no built in WiFi so you will need a wired internet connection to enable the app features which can make where you install the DVR and run all the wires more inconvenient. I used power line wired internet connection and that worked for me but it may not work for everyone. Second, using the interface with the provided mouse can be clunky. I recommend a wireless mouse which is what I use. Not sure if a keyboard can be plugged in, I haven’t tried it but would make entering your password much quicker. Besides those two quirks, I highly recommend this system. It makes us feel much more secure in our home now when we are home and when we are not.

Great cameras. We have only had them for a couple of month but are very pleased. They have very good picture quality with night vision, alarm, voice activation, motion detection and recording capabilities.

Best cameras everyone always ask the brand i beyond love them

Overall amazing. Still work to this day after daily use!

one of the best cameras I have ever bought and a very good brand I recommend them Lorex