Customer Ratings & Reviews

OUTDOOR OUTLET ENCLOSURE VS NIGHT OWL POWER CORD Who wins? Not the Customer!!!! If you plan to plug Night Owl Camera power cords into any outdoor outlets that have the plastic weather enclosures around them, forget it! Their Power plug is orientated sideways in a way that won't allow plug in. Highly documented here and elsewhere. (I have attached picture of my outlet enclosure and the NIGHT OWL camera power cord and their competitor's power cord. The Night Owl cord on the right, is "wedged" into enclosure and won't plug in. The competitor's cord on the left, fits into the enclosure easily due to its plug being orientated correctly to fit every outlet.) So, you will need to spend more money on an extension cord to make these cameras plug in to that enclosed outlet if you have them. 4 cameras = 4 extension cords Want to call customer service to discuss this or anything, forget it !!!! I WASTED over a half hour on each of 4 calls to customer service with NO ANSWER and then their system hangs up on you! I had to email them to get them to finally respond a day later. What a joke. If you are ok with this TOTAL lack of Customer Service and you are OK with all the power cord hassles, then the system is ok. It records images, faces, cars, etc. with enough clarity to know exactly who that person is etc. I have seen others dive into 1080p versus 4k picture quality etc. This is NOT a review of a Big Screen TV, and you are not watching the newest Movie that we need to have that super high-quality resolution. I think the resolution of the recorded video is acceptable. If you are trying to catch a good view of that guy's face who's messing with you, or his license plate number, then this system will be able to do that. I have recorder up high on a shelf in my house with cameras as far as 75-100 ft. away and there is NO ISSUE with reception from cameras to recorder. We have Wi-Fi reception out as far as 300ft.+ away from house and I'm fairly certain this unit would allow cameras nearly that far away as well. I wish my system came with Black Cameras that "hide" better than these white ones. I wish overall length of Camera Plug In cords were about 4ft.-6ft. longer. You do NOT have enough cord to place camera at the peak of a standard 1 story garage and have enough cord to reach a standard mounted outlet at 1.5ft. off ground. You will need an extension cord. With the Outlet issues I was having; I just went out and bought four 12ft. long outdoor extension cords for over $40 to make this system work for my house. Not an ideal setup and was NOT at all expecting to spend more monies to make this work just because I have "Standard" industry utilized plastic weather enclosures around my outlets. Here is another curve ball they will throw you. No written mention is made in their "EASY" set up guide to the fact that each camera must be within 8ft. of recorder to "initially" boot their system to find the cameras. This first gets mentioned "after" you link to NIGHT OWL setup on your SMART device. BAD if your cameras are mounted up on the walls already!!! You can't "walk" the recorder around to within 8ft of the cameras because that is "tethered" to your Wi-Fi router. So, guess what, you unmount the cameras, boot them, and remount them. Set up was fairly easy once I got past that cord plug in issue and the camera boot issue. Tech Support answers their phone, so help can be had there. Pre-Sales Support will always answer their phone to get you answers to buy their system, so lots of help can be had there. But unfortunately, if you need After Sale Customer Support, forget it! Overall: I HAD TO BUY A SURVELLAINCE SYSTEM. This was my choice based on its features of basically Wireless and 1T Recording. I did NOT like White Cameras. I had NO IDEA camera power cords wouldn't fit outlets because I has missed those earlier reviews by others. I WASTED 2 hours on Customer Service before I just went out and fixed their problem with $40 worth of extension cords, which I probably would have needed anyways due to short camera power cords. Does the system work for what I wanted it to do? Yes. Am I totally happy? No, not at all!! It was a very frustrating overall experience, but the output/results of what the system does is what I was after. It works ok on that aspect. 2-3 stars due to all the hassles. 2-3 stars due to design issues they could have already corrected. 0 Stars for ZERO Customer Support. 4 stars for overall system output/results. (Maybe 5 if I catch the S.O.B that is messing with me!) Would I buy it again? Maybe. Would I recommend to a friend? Maybe - but he'd be well informed on all its issues BEFORE he made the purchase. OVERALL- 3 stars at best!

I recommended these to my mom and I got them for her but most of the time two of the camaras are offline maybe is low internet don't know but I've had mines for a few years and had same issue. Other than that they look great love the voice and night vision. Would give it a 4 out 5

This is exactly what we were looking for. Great quality and very easy to hook up :) Now I’m buying more cameras. Love the app on my phone!

The housing is poorly designed with a lot of cheap plastic in key pivot point. One rotating piece broke just trying to loosen it to rotate the camera up and down. The swivel to rotate the camera when mounting does not leave many options since you cant rotate the viewing orientation they have to be mounted up right only, which means you need the viewing area straight on from where the camera is, no mounting and viewing around a corner. The picture itself ia very clear and nice but a little choppy so it wont make a good trail cam for viewing outdoor animals while they move, but getting a picture of a criminal would be very easy and look exceptional. Hook up and install were very easy but ultimatly it is going back to the store and back on the hunt for all the features i need. Had the mounting/pivot points been more versatile or able to rotate camera view in the app it would of gotten 3 to 4 stars and i would of kept it so i did not have to put everything back in the box and unmount the 1 camera i installed.

Amazing product I recommended I was think brother more better quality but not

Easy to install. Great picture. Works like it should

Good system worth the money. The color visikn at night works well. The security alarm settings are cool as a deterrent. Easy access from my phone. You need internet to run the cameras.

The system is great and the night vision distance and clarity is awesome.. The only downfall, which has nothing to do with Bestbuy is the nightowl app... very lacking in features for such an expensive security camera system... i have 5 stars for the cameras... love them

Terrible set of cameras. The important parts skip.

Easy to use, I like you don’t need to subscribe to anything, just plug and go.

Don’t work well each time stop recording or simply don’t see nothing

This is my second Night Owl product and like the first, I am not disappointed. Inside the box pretty simple... The NVR 1TB head unit with 10 channels, power supply, 4 camera's, antenna's, power supplies, HDMI cable, Ethernet cable, very basic mouse and obligatory documentation. Setup was simple. Plug in, connect to network, connect with app (or live via the HDMI cable) and add camera's. Plug in camera's one at a time and they were up and running in about a minute each. There was one camera that was bad but a relatively quick call to tech support and they sent me a new one. The cameras have two-way audio capability but it is NOT particularly robust. Is it a tool or a gimmick? Dunno' but it's worth noting. The camera's also come with 2 LED lights hat can be set up to activate on demand, on motion, facial recognition or remain off. Again, not particularly robust lights but they may be perhaps a slight deterrence in having someone know they are being recorded. For me the lights and audio are all turned to off as I have no need for either but if it works for you, I guess it's a feature some may prefer. The NVR is nice. 1TB can hold several days (if not weeks) worth of recording. Camera's can be named individually and previously mentioned lights and audio can be managed from there. You have the option to watch live or view recorded instances. All of those features can also be done from the app. Fairly robust in all. The only complaint I have is in comparison to previously used wired systems... First, the video quality is very good but a slight drop-off from my wired 4K system. Second, there is a several second delay. The wired camera's view is real time whereas this is not. A deal breaker? No, just an observation worth noting. The motion detection is good. I did not fiddle with the facial verses other motion identification because that's not a useful feature in my environment. That said, my experience with Night Owl and it probably is a decent feature if it fits your needs. End of the day, like the title says, a decent choice. As you can see from the pictures, I have camera's currently deployed indoor and outdoor. It being a 10 channel unit, there are certainly plenty off opportunities to add camera's. Also being wireless, you can easily move and relocate camera's as needed. I would recommend to a friend.

With Wi-Fi Security Cameras becoming the norm in smart homes, I appreciated the approach of having “Wi-Fi” capable 4K cameras without the on-going monthly fee to access them. In the box you’ll find the DVR, a box with all the accessories for hookup which include an Ethernet cord, power adapters, a mouse, a Pin Key for resets, and mounting hardware. You’ll also find all four cameras neatly boxed with antennas detached, and mounting screws for each. You can perform setup with either your smartphone, with the Night Owl Protect App installed over Bluetooth, or follow the on-screen prompts to complete setup. The smartphone app, while intuitive suffered from issues from the start, with the DVR box beginning and finishing the firmware install, rebooting, only to act like it wasn’t paired to the App or the account I set up from the beginning. I then power cycled the DVR, only to find it was acting as if the set up never happened, and then proceeded to perform the setup manually using a monitor and the mouse. Adding the four cameras also became a pain, as somewhere down the line the DVR remembered it was already paired, and then failed to see the last two cameras in pairing mode, necessitating that I start the set up process all over again. Either way, the initial install was a frustrating experience for me. Next up, mounting. Once you’ve paired all four initial cameras, you can then unplug them from power and proceed to mount them. This is where I found myself hit a wall and was unable to further continue with proper setup. The power adapters that come with all the cameras are oriented in a way that makes them impossible to plug into power in an outdoor weather covered receptacle. I had intended on using these cameras for outdoor use to monitor my entry way and around the perimeter. My home was built only 5 years ago, and the rectangular power adapter doesn’t fit in the outdoor power plugs, due to the weather protective box that covers them. Calling an electrician and was quoted a couple hundred dollars to replace the power plugs with covers that would allow for the adapters to plug in. The only recommendation from support was to purchase aftermarket power adapters, that meet the same specifications on the power adapters themselves and would properly fit into the plugs without issue. Unfortunately, this wasn't an investment I wished to proceed with, as my previous cameras didn’t suffer from this adapter issue. Although the picture quality would be ideal, given the 4K resolution and wireless capability, I wonder if Night Owl had researched power receptacles on a variety of homes, or just assumed they’d be plugged into an exposed wall plug or surge protector with plenty of room for their OEM adapters. Given the frustrating setup process, and the inability to use the plugs to power the cameras outdoors, this makes this camera system a non-starter for me. So, I went to my brother’s home hoping he could use them, and again was met with the same style/size outdoor power plugs unable to use the power adapter in the orientation they’re in. For all these reasons listed, I’d only recommend these for indoor use either in your home or small business, or those who have power plugs that aren’t obstructed by newer weather resistant outdoor power plugs. Once the DVR and Cameras were properly paired, I was happy with the overall experience of using them, but given my inability to use them as intended, they didn’t stay powered on for long.

Night Owl Bluetooth Wi-Fi NVR w/ 4 Wi-Fi IP 4K HD 2-Way Audio Cameras : $499.99 I’ve previously written a review of Night Owl’s 1080p wireless security system, and I liked it quite a bit. It continues to operate flawlessly one YEAR later, is very easy to use, and except for some setup hurdles, I endorsed it enthusiastically. I couldn’t resist adding this 4K, updated system to my property. It is MUCH easier to setup, operates just as nicely and ensures accessible security for my home. Even a business owner would love it. Here are some details. SETUP: Opening the compact package reveals carefully boxed cameras (4), the 1TB Digital Video Recorder, all the necessary power cables for the cameras and DVR, and the antennas. It could give you cold feet or send you looking for an installer, but don’t let it. The toughest thing you will do at this point is remove all the plastic wrap and unwind the power cables. Night Owl seems to have addressed even the minor issues I had with their previous wireless system version. Nothing requires you to mount the cameras higher than you feel comfortable doing, and they will need to be within around 15 feet of an outlet. (And, yes, I’ve got extensions to bring power to where I need it.) I took Night Owl’s suggestion on the glossy instruction sheet and used the Bluetooth setup requiring only my phone iPhone 12, (Android should work similarly). This represents a glitch-free setup, truly easy user interface, rapid camera registration, and obvious confirmations of success. When my initial listing of cameras didn’t include all of my cameras, I backed up one step, and in under a minute all my cameras were discovered. They immediately started broadcasting beautiful images, I was operating my system and re-deploying cameras in their final locations within 20 minutes of unpacking. The most IMPORTANT SETUP feature in this entire review involves the final location of your cameras. CAMERA RANGE is the most important, and often the most limiting characteristic of any WiFi security system. I placed my cameras at the outer perimeter of my 1-floor, 2800 sq ft home. The WiFi network established by the Night Owl DVR is more than capable of communicating with its cameras. Every camera stayed connected and was available for viewing fairly quickly (approx 10 seconds) when opening the Night Owl App. Wonderfully unfussy setup. Kudos. OPERATING the system: What’s to operate? If you do NOTHING at all, the Night Owl system will capture the default MOTION, OBJECT DETECTION incidents and arrange them historically in the EVENT directory. It will not send NOTIFICATIONS unless you set this as enabled, but once enabled you can choose what types of events are sent to you. You are able to select detection (ACTIVITY) zones for each camera and the level of sensitivity as well as the type of activity (Human, face, vehicle) or all. Night Owl even allows you to send AUDIO alerts, including a siren if it’s a critical location for you. From the LIVE VIDEO image you can select and enable the MICROPHONE, the SPOTLIGHT and the AUDIO alert. You have FREE, virtually UNLIMITED recordings of every event on YOUR recorder for archiving, sending to anyone else or to be deleted as you wish. NO SUBSCRIPTION necessary. EVER. You can’t run out of storage space, because you can manage hard drive (one terabyte) storage and choose to archive elsewhere. There are complete “Export/Save Recordings” instructions in the User’s Manual. And, because it isn’t necessary to use every feature of the NIGHT OWL, I almost forgot to mention that you can permanently attach the multi-camera video feed to your TV or a monitor for serious security surveillance along with access via your phone. Night Owl does NOT use your wireless network. It establishes its own, meaning it doesn’t burden yours and, in fact allows you to separate from the internet if necessary for added security. SUMMARY: This is a great security system in every way. Setup is a breeze. Operation is loaded with easily accessible features. The Night Owl security system could just as easily protect a business or home. I can choose to view my cameras from home, work or while on vacation. I am in control of everything. And there is no need to ever pay a subscription to access my videos.

Excited doesn't truly express my feelings once the cameras and NVR were connecting. I took all the components out of their respective boxes and proceeded to set up the system on my table near the HOME Wi-Fi router. That's where I connect the NVR (network video recorder), I loaded the night owl protect app on my iPad and began setup. As a new user, I created my FREE account, the app recognized the new NVR and from there it was simple. This next step will save you some time. Place all your cameras on the table within 8-feet of the NVR as it needs to pair via Bluetooth, then the app connects the cameras via Wi-Fi. Once paired and connected, I moved the cameras to there permanent location. All I needed was an outlet to plug each camera's power cube into. No video cables to run. How nice is this! Well work the cost verses wired cameras. And moving them are just as easy. The app provides great sound as well as full HD picture quality. Nice to have audio with the video images. I was very impressed by the component quality , auto light adjustment as well as night time picture quality. You can install an use the recorder without a separate monitor, but it has a HDMI output if you wish to use one. If you know which end of a screwdriver is which, you'll have no trouble installing and setting up this great DIY camera for peace of mind. Great set of eyes when you can't be there.

Pleasantly surprised with this camera system. Installation Took about 15 mins. Pretty quick compared to other competitors. 1 firmware update only and it took 5 mins Max Downloaded android app scanned DVR and Cameras Done I have 1.5 con with installation. The .5 will be explained. See below. Operation App user interface really good (much better from my last product I reviewed from night owl). Easy to go to events Easy to capture video and still photos Lag is there. Maybe 5 to 6 seconds. Wireless penetration through stucco and a garage refrigerator and a big wood header Siren is customizable British voice is pretty hilarious for a warning 2 way talk is not bad Video Quality Pretty good for wireless. Much better than the previous product from night owl that I reviewed. Night vision is good Aperture size is good. So I reviewed another product from night owl and it was not good. They really turned it around with this product. Their engineers really made huge strides with this product. From ease of installation to user interface betterment to video Quality. Good job. 1 con with installation. If you don't have existing Siamese cables the given power cord is about 10 to 15 ft long. So you are limited by that if you done have Siamese BNC cable. You will need to either get a Siamese cable or make sure you install this next to a power outlet. So take that into account into your placement or installation. The .5 is the antannae. It is a bit big so you need to take that into account with your installation as well. 1 other preferential con is that the camera is made of plastic. Although the size of the camera is small but I would have preferred a metal housing. Other than that I would recommend this product. Good job night owl in changing things up and doing a better job on this product.

The system works well. Clear video, responsive to movement. Clear at night too. Easy to install if you read the instructions first. I wish the software had a few more features, like having the option to remove the name brand "Night Owl" off the screen, and having the option to adjust the size and location of the date/time stamp. The only other 2 issues I have with a really good system is 1. I have no option to copy videos or take snap shots from the NVR. 2. The system is already wireless/Wi-Fi. Why must the NVR be hardwired to use another device like a phone to view or operate the library function. The option to connect wirelessly would be of value even though it would slow the real time result by several more seconds. Other than those issues, I believe it to be a good system and worth the cost. I have had it in place for about a month and have had no operational issues. I would buy it again and recommend it to a friend.

The Night Owl camera system offers a lot right out of the box. It’s a nice security camera package with an all in one bundle to help save money. The main points are that you get four total cameras with 4K clarity, that is all on your wifi network and video can be stored on the provided 1TB hard drive. The cameras work well but start to act finicky when they get a bit further from the base. My four cameras tend to stream video on and off as they tend to lose connection with the base at times for odd reasons. My house is appx 2400 square feet but I can get the cameras to work efficiently when they are within 10 feet of of the base. The cameras are wireless, but each will need to be plugged into a nearby power supply. Also a nice feature is that these cameras can be linked up to your Google assistant account and device. I’m liking the cameras ability to offer built in spotlights, voice alerts that can be loud to be heard, smart AI detection technology, and the ability to communicate with anyone through the camera. The app is also available on my iPhone. Speaking of the app, it is a functional app but cumbersome and could use some more refinement to be user friendly. Overall a good camera system with hard drive that needs some more refinement. I like it so far for my home and outdoor security to help keep an eye on things without having to pay monthly service fees.

Setup was easy after a reset on all the cameras. Cord length was ok, in my situation they were adequate. My only gripe is, my hard drive started giving up after a while (reboot would usually help), some connectivity issues which may be related to placement, and the app would report most days but not some. Recent update on the app wouldn't let my phone show recordings without downloading them and using a VLC player when before the app handled it. YMMV? Otherwise it worked decent until that last update and my hard drive failing.

Sometimes loss video connection best video quality 4K