Customer Ratings & Reviews

This Night Owl system is an excellent choice for a very strong security system that can be expanded from the 6 included cameras to as many as 10 cameras and has a very friendly user interface. The included cameras were interesting in that there is no external antenna on the camera. I had some concerns about range but I was able to easily operate the cameras first at 50 feet, then at 100 feet from the NVR base unit. You do need to pair the cameras within 8 feet of the base, but after pairing they can be moved to their final location. When I used the phone app to turn on a camera spotlight, I could set a variable time for the spotlight to be on. The spotlight is very bright. You can also have the spotlight on solid or pulsing. A spotlight on a security camera for me is a must have feature. I also added a Night Owl camera that did not come with this system but was compatible and it paired perfectly and worked great. This was a 4K camera so that showed a couple good things about the ability of the NVR to pair with other Night Owl cameras and the 4K versions as well – excellent. Nice job by the Night Owl engineers to have this compatibility. This system can be installed using the method of a TV/Monitor and the NVR attached to a router, or it can be installed simply via your cell phone and the NVR attached to a router. I chose to use the Night Owl cell phone app process this time although the TV/Monitor method is almost as simple. The cell phone method was terrific and you do not need computer skills to easily configure the NVR and your cameras. Be sure you keep the cameras close to the NVR when you first pair them. Voice prompts will tell you when the cameras are progressing through the pairing and going ‘on-line’. The app makes it easy to use the two way communication to each camera, to use the spotlights and to view live or recorded videos. The 2K was very clear, the 4K compatible camera I tried was even more clear; but slower to come up as is logical. You can configure some ‘canned’ responses that the camera that will announce to intruders; things like “You are on Camera” etc. This is a nice feature and does not use your own voice. I had another Night Owl security system running on the Night Owl app. It was not a problem to setup another NVR in the app on my phone. Each NVR sees the cameras paired with that NVR. Another tip of the cap to the engineers at Night Owl for a system which can be expanded easily so that more than one system can be controlled via the single Night Owl app – very smart. These NVR type systems have the added bonus that they do not require cloud storage. The unit does keep your videos safe in its own storage. This avoids paying a monthly charge and for a small business or home owner it is fine; and you have the only access to your videos. I have used various systems and I do notice via my testing of many systems, that the newer systems using WiFi are getting better and better. This is especially true in terms of longer reliable range such as this system demonstrated. The WiFi connectivity is very important in terms of ease of installation. Although you do run power to each camera, this is typically not a very big problem. Running communication cables back to the NVR is cumbersome and very tedious and is eliminated when you have a system like this one. So the WiFi connectivity of the cameras is what I find very convenient, and for me another must have. I prefer running power to each camera because battery or solar powered devices are not as reliable in my estimation since you constantly have to determine if the batteries need to be exchanged. As a tip for running power, it is not difficult to find an outlet on an inside or outside wall that can be utilized. Just run the power to each camera and the rest is done by the NVR network to talk to each camera. I would highly recommend this well designed, water resistant, expandable, easy to use and very functional security camera system.

Coming from a $100/year (and likely to go up) Ring Protect subscription for only three cameras and two doorbells, I was excited to get into a system that didn't go into my pocket every year. The other thing I was excited about was that the "brain" of the system (ie. the local control and recordings) would all be on my home network. With the Ring setup, I randomly experience latency or delay when trying to access my cameras. Not helpful in the event I need to answer the door or see something quickly. I set this system up with the DVR unit hardwired to my router and with an HDMI cable going into my HP 2K monitor. Everything was app controlled, which I assume is all local to my network. With this setup, I did not experience any lag or delay when trying to access the cameras. The picture quality is absolutely perfect and controlling the lights/audio works without hassle on my robust home network. The only downside with this product is the setup of the cameras if you don't know what you're doing. With the Ring cameras, I am able to wire them directly into my flood light fixtures. As an electrician, this is trivial work for me and a neat look. These cameras must be plugged in, which for placement and convenience is a plus for most people.. but that's where my biggest issue is. I understand that electrically, there has to be a transformer, but having a wall wart on an outdoor camera is a nuisance for most. I placed two through my wall (not code) and sealed the hidden wire to plug inside. For two others, I used a weatherproof in use bubble cover. The other two are in my basement to protect both entrances. Please note how these are going to be mounted and set up if you're thinking about buying these. Otherwise, it's a perfect system as long as you're aware of the installation method.

Over the past several years, I've been adding to my home automation/home security setup quite a bit. I live in a condo but am still concerned about security just with what's been going on recently with package theft and stuff as well as home invasions. As such, I have quite a few different cameras from different brands spread out within my place. This security system accomplishes two things that I find are big issues with my current setup. 1. I no longer need to have multiple cameras from different brands in my place. This also means I don't need multiple apps on my phone either which can get real annoying when it comes to viewing live cameras or enabling/disabling them. In total, I have 5 different cameras from 4 different brands. I have Eufy, Nest, Wyze and Ring. Each of these have different apps on my phone BUT can be controlled simultaneously through Apple HomeKit or Google Home apps. Also, from a financial perspective, I no longer need separate subscriptions from these apps to utilize them. 2. My recordings are no longer in the cloud and sit right in my hard drive of my security system. There are pros/cons to having your data in the cloud however, I'm starting to feel a little uneasy with this recently; especially when it comes to the layout and contents of my place. Recordings can still be accessed through the cloud with this system however, I find it a little more secure if it's also in a physical location. Probably the biggest issue with this system is A) unpacking it and B) installing these cameras. The packaging on this system is a tad over the top I think. Everything is boxed/wrapped separately which takes some time to unpack everything. And since these cameras mount to your wall, you'll need to drill holes for these locations which can be quite tedious. But, once done, these cameras connect pretty fast to the base unit and are ready to go. You can customize names of cameras as well as view all of the in the companion app. The recordings themselves are great quality in day or night conditions. I still need to setup 3 more cameras but I'm liking how everything is looking so far. So, I get a cohesive security system with 6 cams that I can view whenever I want. I'm able to cancel a couple unneeded subscriptions and the quality of the recordings is great. Kind of wish I did this earlier. If you're in the market for a first home security system then this might be a good choice to look into

Great video quality, set up was very easy even if it’s your first time setting up security cameras. Will buy more cameras soon.

Excelent product and very to install i will buy it again if i have to

Is it wireless or you gotta connect it with the wires??

Night Owl won't support their products and will require you to update to their "new" products. All kinds of time to run wire for safeguarded cameras all to have the DVR stop storing footage. Find a company that backs their products until you decide to upgrade! rather than planning their products to fail and forcing you to spend again more money!!

These cameras do not have audio and sometimes they’re blurry. They are no good. You have to be resetting the cameras.

Worse camera ever had, connected to WiFi or hardline