Customer Ratings & Reviews

this system is the worst! install was easy but the weatherproof stuff it comes with does not work and you lose feed the first rain, the cameras are not true 4k the feed is "ok" just not 4k quality as clamed. the APP is horrible to simply put it! after un-shading trees and overhead wires that move you still get false alerts every minute (no joke) in one hour i had 52 alerts! on average I'll get 100 to 150 alerts a day and that's after setting every camera to lowest setting, heres the best part the system go's "inactive" in the app so you cant view the feeds but will get sent alarts so if your not home you free out the 1st few times! calling support does nothing they talk you true a "factory reboot" system shows active in the app then just go's inactive again I bought two of these systems and they BOTH do the same thing!!!!! one is located in a vacant property that had new internet installed just for this system everything is new and just this NVR is using it directly plugged in but support will only talk you true a "reboot" and not deal with getting it resolved today they hung up on me 5 times dont waist your money!!!

Bought it on sale. Good for the price and better than nothing. If you have the money, I would suggest a different set up. Camera's constantly detecting motion that is not there. Night vision is good but no matter if it is day or night if someone is moving even very slowly, there is soo much motion blur you cannot tell who it is, they have to completely stop to get a good view of them to be able to make out who it is.

The cameras are good quality. The night vision almost makes it look like daylight. Installation and hooking everything is extremely easy. The only down side is that it seems like you need to connect to the internet to reveiw the footage.

I never write reviews but we’ve had these cameras for over two years and they are no good!! The app always has signal issues and at this point they are basically just for decoration. Would not recommend this brand

Excellent definition and wide vision, the improvements in this system are amazing

Easier way to look at history for checking human movements and faces

Have replaced device with no luck. It will record for a day then says there isnt a hdd. Hard to format or anything when device doesnt recognize its own hdd. Also tried to buy storage online but since the internet knows my device has a hdd i cannot link device to online storage. Whats the point if i cant rewind.

Worked great for a little over a year then became a door stop. Unit restarted on it's own and then froze on the startup screen. Incompetent customer service tried to help me for over an hour before telling me they would replace it. A follow up email let me know that it was out of warranty, so there was nothing that they could do. Don't waste your money on any night owl product unless you pay for the extended warranty.

Very good product & price!!Clear images day and night.Recommend!!

Very nice picture quality. Lots of false alerts. Sometimes doesnt alert you. Can only do a playback from the DVR unless it was an "Event". So that kinda sucks. Apps easy to use. It has 2 way microphones which are fun to use to fuss as the dogs.

The Night Owl Wired NVR Security System comes well packaged, the hardest to unpackage were the 60 ft. Ethernet cables. Some of the Ethernet cables were wrapped with extreme amounts of plastic wrap. However, the cables are wrapped in a way that allows you to remove a secondary plastic wrap, leaving the main plastic cable wrap, so you can utilize both ends of the cables (for testing the cameras) without removing all the wrap and uncoiling the entire 60 ft. The Night Owl Wired NVR Security System comes with the following, 1 NVR (Network Video Recorder) NVR-BTN8-82-CN5 1 NVR Power Adapter 1 6 ft. HDMI Cable 1 6 ft. Ethernet Cable 1 USB Mouse (Wired) 6 Wired IP Camera(s) IP-8LTA-B-V2 6 60 ft. Ethernet Cables 6 Waterproof Cable Covers 6 Set of mounting hardware I set up the NVR with an Ethernet cable to the router. Our provided service is 1G of fiber optic cable, so this should be more than enough internet connection speed. The instruction manual states “While Internet is not required, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Without an Internet connection, you can still use your device’s Bluetooth® Wireless Setup to get the product easily setup and configured. However, you will not be able to view or access your system remotely from a Smart Device or computer.” The Night Owl Hardware Setup and Bluetooth Configuration for Bluetooth Enabled NVRs Video states “if your Firmware version is NVR-BTN8-8_1.1.10 you will need to update your Firmware.” All my systems state the NVR-BTN8-8_1.1.10 is the Up To Date version. Attempts to set up the cameras, using the Night Owl Protect app, was confusing, following the instructions did not work. I could not find information in the Night Owl Protect app that pertained to these cameras. After struggling through attempts to connect the first two cameras, I found you could connect the cameras to the NVR, hit the add button on the Owl Protect app, give it a few seconds or so, and the cameras connected. Once the cameras connected a voice would come on stating the camera was ready for use. To start the set up I connected all the cameras to the NVR inside our home to insure they were all operational and for some initial testing. The automated audio announcements are mediocre quality, very tinny sounding. The audio for speaking with a guest or intruder is good. Video quality is going to be affected by the quality of the video device you are using to monitor the cameras. All the better-quality video devices I utilized for testing produced good video quality from the Night Owl NVR and Camera system. The night vision of the Night Owl cameras is exceptional. I do have other cameras that produce a better-quality video and at the same price point or better. Had a lot of trouble utilizing the Night Owl Protect app on an acer Chromebook. A good portion of the equipment information would not synchronize with the app. Downloaded the PC application but it would not work, displayed the NVR system but stated it was not connected to the internet. According to the Night Owl manual, the icon on the TV was displaying that it was connected to the internet. Using the Quick Set Up Guide was good, however, once you are ready to dig deeper into the capabilities of the system you will need to go to the online manual. The online manual is frustrating as it covers many diverse types of Night Owl Security Systems, so you must read and pick out what information pertains to the system you acquired. I am assuming this is done to control printing costs, but it is frustrating. Connecting the Night Owl Wired NVR Security System Cameras requires a VOE (video over ethernet) connection. The system comes equipped with 6, ethernet cables, each being 60 ft. long, 1 per camera. This means that you will have 6 Ethernet cables running from your cameras to the NVR unit. Feeding 6 Ethernet cables down a wall and into the NVR is not an easy task. You need to be sure to plan out your location for the NVR unit, remembering that you need access to, power (preferably a protected power source) and a router / network access point. If you connect all 6 cameras your plan must include having access to run the (6) 60 ft. Ethernet cables from the cameras to the NVR unit. Additional Ethernet cables and connectors are available for purchase, but you may need to add an additional power source to the camera depending on the distance the camera is located from the NVR. I found the best means for mounting the cameras was to remove the small positioning lever, located at the midpoint of the mount, to release the camera from the mount, slide some of the camera cable out through the mount base and let the camera hang down, out of the way, while you mark, drill, and screw the base to the mounting surface. Then you can, carefully slide the camera cable back through the base and reinsert the small positioning lever. Do not unscrew the entire camera and base stem from the mount base when you attempt to screw the camera and stem of the base back onto the base you will twist the cable. The plastic stem on the camera mounts appears to be light weight and feels flimsy. The cameras have good picture quality however I do not find the quality of the 4k video better than our 2k video security cameras. The night vision is a quality video, and the dual lights are extremely bright. The Night Owl Protect app has a good reaction speed and became a little easier to navigate as I got accustomed to using it and I did find a few nice features that I preferred over the other camera app systems I am using. Based on your needs and accessibility to install a VOE (video over ethernet) security system the Night Owl Wired NVR Security System is a good system. I will recommend this security system based on the overall quality.

This system is a robust security system with 6 cameras with lights, a 2TB DVR for storing all of your videos, a power supply, a 6 ft HDMI cable, a USB mouse, 6-60ft Ethernet cables, 6 waterproof cable covers and mounting hardware. You can connect the DVR to a monitor and connect the mouse to do setup or you can use your smartphone. I loaded the Night Owl Protect app from the Google play store and configured everything using the software. I started by setting up the DVR and connecting 3 cameras. I placed the cameras at different locations in front of my house and used the smartphone app to configure them. While not the most difficult task, I found a few things with the software interface that I did not care for. When configuring each camera, you have the ability to setup an activity zone. This zone is the area of view that you want to monitor for motion. The display shows a grid of small boxes, 22 boxes wide and 18 boxes tall. You have to select the areas to detect or not detect by clicking on these little tiny boxes. The view is very small and the boxes are extremely small and difficult to click on or off. They have some shortcuts that allow you to paint areas off or on, but I find it difficult to do it quickly or accurately with my large fingers. I had hoped that by using the software on my tablet the boxes would be larger, but the app only works in portrait mode and even on a 12” tablet, they are still very small. You also have the ability to select the detection sensitivity level. I put mine into “highest”. I found the detection to be hyper sensitive. It was picking up leaves blowing in distant trees and bugs flying anywhere near the camera. Lowering the sensitivity to “Medium: greatly reduced the number of false alerts, but I would have liked to try it is “Lowest” mode as well. Unfortunately, several long phone calls with support were unable to let me set it to “Lowest”. They are working on the problem. You are able to configure the application to send you notifications based on motion or object detection. These notifications are sent to you via SMS Text Messaging. It is able to detect humans, faces, and vehicles. You can set these settings for each individual camera, or the system as a whole. The lights on the cameras are bright and can be manually turned off and on, or they can automatically turn on when motion is detected. They can be on steady, or strobe. The cameras are equipped with 2-way audio so you can listen, speak, or play selected sounds through the camera. The software can be configured to notify people they are being recorded, or play a siren automatically when someone is detected, or you can have a live conversation with the person on camera, using your smartphone. You can schedule when the cameras are recording and when they are not, based on day of the week and time. The camera video quality is wonderful at 4k resolution. Everything is crystal clear even when you zoom in. They seem to be built well and are easy to mount. Keep in mind that these are NOT wireless cameras. Each camera must be connected to the DVR via an Ethernet cable. If any of your cameras will be more than 60 feet from the DVR, you will have to buy longer cables that support POE (Power over Ethernet). You can view the cameras individually in the app or show all of the cameras at once. The DVR connects to the internet for remote access and for firmware updates, but all of your video is stored locally on the DVR, so it isn’t using your internet bandwidth to backup the video and no monthly subscription is required. If setting up cameras outside or different rooms in you home, keep in mind that you will have to drill holes for the ethernet cables. When hooked up to a monitor and mouse, there is limited functionality. It starts by having you log into the device then shows you a screen with all of the cameras. Right clicking the screen brings up a menu on the bottom of the screen. The menu allows you to power off the DVR, change the number and location of cameras shown on the screen, allows you to view a calendar of events, allows you into the System Information menu, and allows you to send your selected alert message to a camera. The system information menu lets you update firmware, run diagnostics, set date and time, configure the network settings and make very minor changes to the camera setups. To really use the system, you need to set it up with a smart phone. Pros: Fairly easy to use interface, High Def 4K cameras, no subscription needed, because the cameras are wired the won’t be as easily defeated with jammers, reasonably priced for what you get, and 2-way audio is a nice feature, good for small businesses Cons: Setting up activity zones is difficult because the boxes are so small, cameras are wired so you must run ethernet cables to each camera location drilling holes as needed, I feel it is better suited for small business than for home use, but still plan on using it at home. Overall it’s a nice system and I can recommend it, provided you can deal with the Pros and Cons listed.

When you are in the market for a personal home security system, certain things need to be considered before making you purchase. Things like coverage area, wireless or wired, paying for storage, video quality, ease of installation and features all come into play. The most important factors to consider are wired or wireless and both systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. I have had the opportunity to test out both systems and I prefer wired systems over wireless. Though these types of systems are not the easiest to install but they offer reliability, control and the best part you don’t have to pay any extra fees for anything else. This system by Night owl offers most of the features that I was looking for such as 4K video recording, a 2 TB DVR system and system I can hook up anywhere, and set it up using Bluetooth. The hardest part of this security system will be to figure out where you want the cameras and how to run the wires. Setting up the system takes a few minutes, but to setup the cameras and to run the wires will probably take you a few hours, but the end result will be worth it. Unboxing and Setup: In the box you will find: 2 TB HDD DVR system and 1 power adapter for the DVR 1 Mouse 8 Camera and Cables (60 feet each) 2 power adapters for the cameras & 2 power splitters cables for the cameras Before you begin anything, I would highly recommend that you figure out your camera placement, once you figure out the placement then figure out how and where you will run your camera wires. The good thing about this system is that you don’t need a TV to set it up. Once you run all the wires to a centralized location you can setup the DVR. Night owl systems have incorporated Bluetooth technology into the DVR so you can easily set it up via your phone and the Night owl application. Once you connect all the power to all the systems you should be good to go. Using Bluetooth to setup the system was fairly simple. once I connected all the cameras and powered the system on, the application picked up the system and walked me through the rest of the setup process. Your phone also allows you to remotely unlock the system, so you do not have to put the password in every time. Using the app, I was able to name every camera, setup different settings such as motion and privacy zones, and record based on motion or your own set schedule. The app also allows you to easily switch between the cameras view all the recorded history. One thing I noticed in the history is that it marks each clip with, either M for motion, V for vehicle, and H for Human, and F for Face. Everything Is saved in the DVR so you don’t have to pay for any cloud-based storage. All of your recordings are at your fingertips. You also have the ability to download specific clip if needed. Cameras: The cameras in this system record at 4K (3840 x 2160). These cameras provide a super clear and crisp image. The cameras have a built-in spot light, not the greatest, audio and siren deterrence systems. The cameras have a 100 feet night vision and 100-degree field of view. The cameras are stationary but do offer digital zoom. The system will accept up to 8 BNC Coaxial cameras but will also allow you to add up to 4 compatible WI-FI If needed for the coverage you need. I was able to accomplish what I needed with just 6 cameras. Usage: I have been using this system now for a few days and I must say I have no complaints. I love the Field of View the cameras offer, which is much wider than what I had before, also the video quality is much better, all my recording are easily accessible via my phone and I can download the clips directly to my phone. This system is also compatible with Google and Google Home. After linking my system to my Google eco system, I was able to view all my cameras on my google display. The system is easy to use and setup, the hardest part will be setting up the cameras and even that is not that bad. I would recommend that you check out this system if you are in the market for a wired security system.

CONCLUSION: There is a lot down below. So, put simply I do not recommend this system. The amount of time I have spent trying to get this system to work is astronomical and even then, it limps along. Software needs a lot of work and is very buggy. Picture quality is adequate. Alert recordings and Push Notifications are hit and miss. Constantly completely missing huge events (like a person being in the middle of the yard or me in my hot tub). It doesn’t come with animal motion detection. It has Bluetooth but no wireless forcing you to plug in directly. Also, for being a brand-new system it is pretty barebones. But outside of that, it is a solid product. This could be improved with updates. But as it stands it’s a no from me. WHAT IT COMES WITH: It comes with the NVR, NVR Power Adapter, 6ft HDMI, 6 Ft. Ethernet Cable (Cat5e), USB mouse, 6 Wired 4k Cameras, 6 60 ft. Ethernet Cables (Cat5e), 6 Waterproof Cable Covers, and Mounting Hardware for Cameras. However, you’ll need to buy mounting hardware for the cables along with a Smart Phone. Optionally, you can hook it up to a monitor. The NVR supports up to 8 Cameras and 4 Wireless Cameras at the same. INSTALL PROCESS: I unpacked everything, plugged everything in, setup an account (which was a process), and then went through the Bluetooth setup process which was easy. This allowed me to ensure all cables and cameras worked before installation. I then planned where I would put my cameras and installed them. I ran the wires by plugging them into my camera first and then running them to my NVR. Only one was a bit short so I bought an ethernet extender that supports PoE and it works well. They do report if you go with a cable longer than 200 ft. that signal strength can diminish, and you’ll likely need an Ethernet Repeater. My Router/Modem is too far away from the central location of my NVR, so I opted for a Wifi Range Extender that had ethernet ports built in which worked. Other considerations could be a Network Access Point or Powerline Ethernet Extender. As for some reason this doesn’t come with a wireless card or support wireless USB sticks. Now that I had everything plugged in, I powered everything on, fine tuned camera angles, and went through the settings to tweak everything to my personal needs. With this being my first NVR system, it took me about 15 – 20 hours to fully setup. Most of which were spent on running/hiding wires. So, just know going wired is a significant investment. CAMERA QUALITY: Image quality is a bit disappointing. It’s perfectly adequate but I find it closer to 1440p or higher end 1080p over 4k. It is perfectly adequate but less than I was expecting at this price point especially since it is wired. Night Vision is excellent, and I can easily see everything. It has a zoom which goes far but pixelates quickly preventing me from reading license plates from moderately far away. Recordings have an automatic overlay with a timestamp and Night Owl branding that can’t be turned off. Each camera has several features. Starting with the alarm, which is moderately loud, about the same as someone yelling. Along with three different alert sounds you can change in the app. Each camera has an LED light which for the size is mild/moderately bright. Last, it comes with a speaker and microphone. I found the microphone did well as I could easily hear things. But the speaker wasn’t very good and was quite tinny. STORAGE: This device comes with a 2 TB HDD. It automatically comes set to only record alerts. But under the settings on the NVR itself (not through your smart phone) you can set it too continuous. They do mention that once the device is full that it will delete the oldest recording first to make room for the new stuff. HDD tend to be slow, but I found this to be relatively snappy. The only way to delete a recording is to reformat the entire device adding to overall security. They report to not open the device itself, so I didn’t. But once this hard drive goes, I’m not sure if you can replace it without buying a new system. You can back up the drive by plugging in an external drive. Along with download specific clips to a thumb drive if you so wish. But you’ll need it hooked up to a monitor. They report you can also download scenes directly to your phone but that didn’t work for me despite having the correctly settings (or so I think). ALERTS: This system allows you to capture motion along with “human, facial, and vehicle” alerts. But does not support animal detection which is a huge bummer to me. As one of the best parts of having a camera (especially wired) is to see all the animal life that goes on around you all the time without you knowing. But I find the detection to be terrible and is easily the BIGGEST con of the entire system. As I found that it rarely captured the right things. I would get a TON of alerts on motion for it to show nothing at all. I tried to reduce the sensitivity, but the settings wouldn’t save (tried on app) and would keep going back to highest sensitivity. Which would make you think that it would easily catch big events. But on average it completely misses them. Two quick examples were having a neighbor come into my yard to get his cat after she relieved herself in our yard and then he came back later to clean it up (very nice of him) and it missed that completely. Seriously, zero traces of it. But my doorbell camera (from another company) captured it despite being on the fringes. The second was me going for a soak in our hot tub. It didn’t register any of that encounter at ALL despite being like 30 feet away. I’ve also had multiple people go down our main walkway and it completely miss them. If it does capture something and I go into the settings to see the event it will say nothing has been captured. If I wait a few hours, it will eventually show up… sometimes. In the end what is the point of having a security system if it doesn’t capture anything important? I set my main places I want evaluated on continuous recording so if something were to happen at least I could go look. But if you try to do this with your smart phone the feed will freeze and glitch out. So you need to watch it in real time without any interruptions. Or you can go to the NVR itself but even then the fast forward function doesn’t work well. Making this process grueling no matter what. SOFTWARE: I have never had a buggier experience in my entire life. Even the website wouldn’t load things correctly. With this being a Bluetooth device that is what most people will be using. But I found the Night Owl App to have a ton of issues. First setting up an account was a massive headache and constantly gave me errors. After a bunch of trial and error I found that sometimes it wants your email, other times your phone number, and other times your username. All dependent on where you are trying to sign in (device and app). My tablet likes my username, my phone likes my phone number, and the website my email. When I do get logged in my DVR pops up quickly. Then when I click to go into it loads all my info quickly but then I get a loading wheel for about 30 – 60 seconds. Once I’m in if I click on device info, I will get another loading wheel for at least a minute so try to avoid that as much as possible. Otherwise, everything else is pretty snappy. Going into a recording is quick to play. But if you try to record or rewind forget about it. It will glitch out and show you a static image or blink going back and forth to the static image or a frozen picture despite the timeline continuing forward. A lot of the settings are buried in menus and then will apply to all cameras instead of just that one. It takes a while to find what you are looking for. If it exists at all. As mentioned in alerts a lot of time they don’t show up until a lot later to actually view. I am unable to download something directly on my device itself so would have to do it on the NVR itself via a thumb drive. When I went to adjust any settings (camera orientation, contrast, brightness, motion sensitivity, per camera settings such as alerts and sensitivity) all of that wouldn’t do anything if I changed it. Outside of the alerts. But I can’t change alerts to a per camera basis. As a change on one makes a change on all of them. My internet is 300 mbps down and 30 mbps up. With the Extender it is about 200 mbps down and 30 mbps up. Meaning my internet shouldn’t be the cause of any of these issues. Also, my other wireless cameras don’t have issues. The NVR itself was the best experience and I didn’t have any issues with it. But it is quite limited in what you can do. I also found it to be about 70% intuitive with the rest of the stuff tucked in strange places. But found it to be quick and snappy. Bluetooth setup went fine without any issues once my account creation actually worked and I was able to sign in. But having Bluetooth but not wireless is wild to me. Last, they say it works with Google Assistant. I couldn’t get it to work with mine. As it would ask me to sign in, I would, then it would disappear into the ether. So I gave up. I do wish it also worked with Alexa and Apple Homekit, but alas it doesn’t.

The Night Owl 4K 6-camera DVR kit (BTN8-82-6L) comes with everything you need to setup your own home security camera system. I tried my best to get this system setup and installed, but I was limited by bad weather so I only got a couple of cameras in place. This is my second time installing a wired camera system, but it’s my first IP system. The kit includes 6 IP-8LTA-B-V2 4K cameras and the 8 channel 2TB BTN8 NVR. Also included with the kit are 6-60ft long CAT5e ethernet cables, 6 waterproof cable covers, a 6ft HDMI cord, a 6ft CAT5e ethernet cable, USB mouse, a surveillance window sticker, and the power supply. There is some included documentation, but it is very thin on details – you will need to download the manual. Unfortunately, the manual you download has info for multiple camera systems offered by Night Owl, which was confusing to follow. IP NVR vs. Coax DVR My first wired system was a coax DVR system. These systems have been around forever and work well. They take an analog camera signal, convert it to a digital file, and record to a hard drive. Mine was also accessible remotely. They use a special cable for connecting cameras, and tend to have some reduced image fidelity and frame rates. They are also a cheaper system to purchase. IP NVR systems are the next generation and utilize PoE connections for the cameras. These systems use a basic ethernet cable for connections and are made to sit on a network. The cameras in this system handle the digital processing of the recording, while the NVR just needs to store it. This leads to the cameras having an edge in image quality and processing. It is a less complex system overall, but the cameras are more costly and lead to a higher price point for the overall system. One thing I loved about installing the IP system over a standard system is the cable difference. With IP it’s just an ethernet cable. With a standard system you have Siamese BNC/DC cables. When pulling BNC/DC cables you have to drill a ¾” hole at a minimum just to get the connectors through – there’s no easy way to cut off connectors and terminate them once you have pulled the run. The cables are only 3/8”, so you are left filling a decent sized hole with silicone or foam sealant. With my last system the cables were 60ft, and if I needed a longer cable I had to buy a full length cable (not cheap) not an extension. With ethernet cables you can get away with drilling a ½” hole to pull a single cable through, and you are left with a ¼” cable to seal around. Or you can easily cut the connector off, drill ¼” holes, pull the cables, put a new connector on, and seal the tiny hole gap that remains. I already make all of my own ethernet cables, so I have the heads, and crimper tool. If the provided 60ft cable isn’t long enough then you can make your own cable, up to 300ft, and use that. Bulk CAT5e is cheap - $70 for 500ft and CAT6 isn’t much more. Installation For starters I tested out the connection of each camera to make sure everything worked and was connecting fine. For the installation I planned where I wanted to locate the cameras, so I had a full view of the property, entrances, and trafficked areas. Unfortunately, the weather here has been very uncooperative, so I have only permanently located 2 cameras. I have pulled wires for every location, but rain and high winds have made climbing around on my roof and ladder unsafe. I am mounting 5 cameras outside, and 1 in my garage. The outside cameras will be mounted under the eaves to the soffit along the house. My last time doing this I used 1/8” x 2” toggle bolts to secure the cameras to the vinyl soffit. This time around I have aluminum soffit so I will be using #8 x ¾” self tapping sheet metal screws. I would recommend making a paper mounting pattern template since one is not included. Tools used: Drill 12” drill extension attachment 1/4” spade bit 1/2” spade bit Fish tape Fiberglass fish rods Headlamp Electrical tape Siding removal tool Silicone sealant RJ-45 crimper Mounting the 2 cameras I have up was pretty easy. I mounted the cameras over the hole the cabling was routed through which keeps things sealed up. You can also leave the cable exposed and route through the notch on the camera base. Either way I utilized the connector sealing tube that comes with each camera – this prevents any weathering or dust/water intrusion at the cable connection. I had the app open and streaming the camera feed while I adjusted the camera position. Doing it this way makes finetuning the camera position easier. There are 3 adjustment points for position – 2 are toolless, but the last needs a Phillips head. Setup Hooking everything up to the NVR was fairly easy and far less cluttered than my DVR system’s install. For right now I have it connected to my basement TV and I’m using my wireless Logitech M325C mouse. This connection really isn’t necessary since the app contains all of the settings/info you would get on the TV. The NVR is powered by a battery backup, so losing power won’t take down the system unless power is down for a considerable amount of time. Initial startup was buggy. I tried going through the app and connecting via the QR code scan and Bluetooth. I could never get it to connect, so instead I opted for network discovery. This worked for me right away. The setup process was very quick – time zone, name of device, device sharing, etc. were all covered. Connecting each camera was as simple as hooking in the wire and waiting a few seconds for the NVR to recognize it. Once recognized the camera will give a voice prompt through its speaker. I did find that I had to kill the app when adding a new camera – I didn’t have all the features/settings available on each camera unless I restarted the app. After each camera is connected you have a number of options for object/motion detection and how each event is treated. Notifications can be tailored to each camera – you can opt out of notifications for a camera for instance while maintaining the notifications for the rest. You can also decide not to have a camera record events. In effect you can configure a camera to notify you of an event, but not record it and vice versa (if you so choose). There is also a recording scheduler that will only trigger recordings during set days/times. In my limited use of this feature, it works well. There are also audio triggers to setup – you can have a siren, a prompt saying you are unavailable, or a prompt saying you are being recorded. These can be very high volume audio triggers, so there’s no chance the intended recipient won’t hear them. The spotlight can also be set to shine for different lengths of time or can even be changed to strobe. The Good There were a number of things about this system that I liked. Compared to my other install experience I have really liked the IP camera wire routing. Honestly this alone is worth a chunk of the price difference between analog and IP systems. There’s 2 open ports for additional cameras and the manual says this NVR is compatible with some of their wireless offerings. The 2-way audio works great and its very clear. There’s only a minor delay – maybe 1s. It was easy to understand the person speaking to the camera, and the audio coming out was loud and clear. The spotlight and audio siren/triggers are pretty effective. The light is bright enough to illuminate things well, and the audio can be quite startling. The system comes with a 2TB hard drive which is pretty good sized, but you can upgrade it if you need more space. The website gives a lot of conflicting info as to what is compatible (5400rpm or 7200rpm, 6TB or 8TB). The cameras were easy to install and align. This is critical when you are way up on a ladder or roof. The cameras are also lightweight, so installing onto soffit isn’t an issue. The night vision works great. You can really see around a room or area in pitch black conditions. Clarity is a little better than my other system. There are no subscription fees to go along with this system unlike cloud based systems. Notifications are reasonably quick – maybe a 2-3 second delay from the event happening to the notification on the phone. You get a preview image on your phone so you know if you need to log in. This works out well if you want to jump on and communicate with a delivery person at your front door before they run off. You can manually record what is happening on a camera straight to your phone through the app. Same goes with snapshots. The Bad The settings you can adjust are really limited. Almost everything has a fixed setting except for the alerts, notifications, and recording triggers. I initially felt like I was not seeing some menus or something. I have not found any way to adjust the following settings – recording resolution, event recording length (default appears to be 20s), panic button (enable all lights and sirens at once – this is possible through the mouse/monitor interface), overwrite settings, and event detection sensitivity. My other system, by contrast, allows all of these things. The app is not the well thought out. When viewing my library, I always have a popup that asks which recorder I want to view – I only have one. I also have to kill the app occasionally because it won’t refresh. Lastly it had difficulty completing an event download to my phone. It took a system reboot to correct. The camera occasionally can’t decide if it wants to record in color or night vision when the area is fully lit. The spotlight is always going to be on for motion/activity events (day or night) or be turned off. You can’t set it to turn for just events at night. Overall the system – cameras, install, NVR, event detection, etc work great and are easy to setup. The Achilles heel of this bundle is the app and the system UI – they need some work. There are a lot of settings not available on this system that my other system has, and the app is often buggy/glitchy.

The Night Owl BTN8-82-6L is one of Night Owl’s latest NVR Security Systems that provides POE capability, 4K resolution, and fairly simple methods to access DVR content via app or PC app. After spending several hours with a non US based customer support team trying to iron out issues that occurred upon setup, here are all the details you need to know as of this date in time. Please read thoroughly! In the box: - NVR (2TB): NVR-BTN8-82-CN5 - NVR Power Adapter - 1x 6ft HDMI Cable - 1x 6ft Ethernet Cable (White) - 1x USB Mouse - 6x Wired 4K POE/Dedicated Power Cameras: IP-8LTA-B-V2 - 6x 60ft Ethernet Cable (CAT 5E Black) - 6x Mounting Hardware Setup: CHECK NVR FIRMWARE! After setting up the unit plugged into an Orbi Pro range extender, we were encountering some weird bugs with the NVR software, app connectivity, and CMS software for PC. This was ALL due to the NVR not being shipped with and/or not picking up the latest firmware OTA for this camera system. Long story short the non US based customer support was not helpful but one of the last things “tier 2” asked was for the firmware version. Lo and behold it was out of date! After side loading the update (NVR-BTN8-8_1.2.5) via USB the NVR, app, and CMS PC software all worked in unison perfectly! The bugs pertained to the NVR only showing 6 camera capability (When it should be 8 Wired + 4 Wireless) and the CMS software stating the NVR was offline. The app worked with the old software but it would flash “unable to check firmware” when you tried to update the NVR. Overall, I was very disappointed with the customer support provided as the checking the firmware version should have been one of the first items checked for functionality problems. The setup via Bluetooth is very nice as the system automatically detects the NVR once the Night Owl app is opened on your phone. NVR Functions (Connected via HDMI): The menu system and functionality of the NVR when hooked up via monitor are fairly easy to navigate once you get used to everything. There are some hidden menus as there are clickable items that you wouldn’t think are clickable but inside end up being very important settings such as changing the display quality of the monitor you are using between 1080p and 4K. Since this was hooked up to a 4K TV, the 1080P setting out of the box was not formatting correctly on the TV (Everything was slightly off screen) but once changed, it formatted perfectly to the TV. From the NVR you can change settings of the cameras such as EVENT or CONTINUOUS recording of each camera. You can also change speaker volume, LED light settings, and siren functions. One missing feature I can’t find is the length of the clips recorded when the camera detects motion under EVENT. It records 20 second clips but I would like to change this to a longer clip as I found the cameras do not always pick up a 2nd EVENT clip right away (Ex. Person stays in frame for several minutes). If the system is recording continuously this is not a problem. Most settings are available via the APP as well including unlocking the NVR via Bluetooth if the device is close enough. Cameras: The camera resolution leaves a little to be desired. The cameras are 8MP (3840x2160) and record at 15.15 FPS. This appears to be sped up or recorded in a way that appears to be closer to 30 FPS when played back after being recorded. Even though the cameras are recording in 4K resolution I would compare the quality to that of something around 2K. It looks good but not great even in the best light. The spotlights are bright. The speakers on each camera are decent but could sound a little clearer. The 2-way audio works ok. My biggest complaint about the cameras are the way they integrate the Ethernet connection. Each camera has about 14” of cord that splits into a “Y” and turns into a POE and dedicated power connection. Given this is advertised as a POE kit, why do the cameras need to have a dedicated power supply option? POE can reach lengths of 300’ which should be plenty for most applications of this system so the cameras should integrate the Ethernet connection into the mounting base so one doesn’t have to find room for hiding additional wiring outside when mounting. Outside of this, the mount feels pretty sturdy and the and the cameras feel plasticy but robust enough to withstand the elements. Ethernet Cable: The included 60ft runs of CAT 5E Ethernet cables are just way too short for most applications. Including 60’ assumes the NVR will be centrally located in a home with each run being less than 60’ but this is not reasonable. Most NVR’s will be located in basements and/or on one end of a house which makes some runs closer but others farther away. For example, the where mine was placed the included 60’ would be able to reach just 2 mounting locations on one end of the house. Many homes are 40-50’ long in a straight line let alone accounting for any turns/bends in running the cable so this is a big problem. Given this fact, I chose to provide my own CAT 6 cable and create custom length runs to each camera. I also chose to use white Ethernet cable given this matches the sliding on my home rather than worrying about hiding black Ethernet cables extra well so they aren’t seen anywhere. My longest run is approximately 125’ but several are right around 100’. If Night Owl wants to sell these 6 cameras kits, I would like to see at least 3 runs of 100’ or more included alongside 60’ (or even 75’) runs standard. If you choose to buy your own CAT 5E or CAT 6 cable to make your own this will be an added cost of $100-200 for outdoor rated cable at 500’. Pros: - Easy setup* (Assuming correct firmware installed) - POE + Wi-Fi inputs - Complete kit* (If able to use 60’ cable runs) - App and CMS PC software compatibility - DVR can support up to 6TB (Pre-installed with 2TB) Cons: - Customer support not US based - Camera Ethernet connection not integrated into mount - Camera Quality (Not awful, not amazing) - Short, 60’ runs of cable included - My NVR would not find latest firmware version OTA (Had to side load via USB) - Couldn’t get Google Assistant functionality to work inside Google Home app Overall: Given this is my first experience with Night Owl, I have to say it leaves something to be desired. My main concern was the customer support not being able to diagnosis the issue of them shipping out NVR systems with the incorrect firmware for these cameras. Outside of that, the camera quality isn’t amazing but isn’t anything so bad that it isn’t useful. Like I mentioned earlier in this review is that longer Ethernet cables really should be included so that an additional cost of longer cables isn’t placed on the customer after buying this kit. After all the pros and cons are weighed, I have to say I don’t think I could recommend this kit but if you follow my instructions in checking the firmware, you’ll have way less pain getting everything up and running within 30 minutes.

After our move to a new home, and larger property, I needed to pick up a camera s that would allow me to address the coverage challenge that I was having using wireless camera solutions. I needed a system to monitor my barn and it’s contents on the opposite side of the property. I trenched CAT6 out there because it will eventually serve as my home office, and am using routers that support POE so I picked up this system to address my security concerns. The system is pretty complete with 8 channels, a 2TB hard drive that can store plenty of video, and six 4K wired IP cameras. I really prefer the wired solution and using IP cameras was a smart move for Night Owl. No more running multiple sets of cabling to support video and power. Once my remodel is complete, it will be completely hardwired and I’ll be running in-wall CAT6 to every corner of the structure to support plug-n-play devices like these cameras (and smart speakers). The 4K cameras are a must have. Yeah, 1080P was okay, but when it comes to really delivering on what you want to use this sort of product for, you really need to get high quality video if you want it to make a difference. As with all Night Owl products that I’ve purchased in the past, the build quality was good, especially for the price point. I really like the addition of the Bluetooth setup via my iPhone app. My biggest ding in the past for Night Owl was the setup interface, but I’m also a techie so i was fine with it. However this new app and technology really raises the bar. The cameras have lights, mic and speaker to support two-way communication and really perform well. The picture quality of the 4K is top notch. Just remember, if you connect this to a TV or monitor that only supports up 1080p, regardless of the camera tech, you’re only going to see 1080P, so make sure you connect this to something that can give you the full glory that 4K brings. Really an amazing value for the price point!

I’m from Portland, you’ve probably seen us on the news the past year or two cause life out here is getting a bit more….exciting? Break ins are up, gang violence is up, and vagrant population is way up. When Tech Insider asked if anyone would review the 4K HD Wired NVR Security System from Night Owl I jumped at the chance! I was a little concerned at the wired part of the description but as it turns out the entire setup comes in the box and its fairly simple if you’re willing to drill a few holes. In the box you get a 2TB NVR recorder, six of the wired spotlight/2-way audio cameras, six rolls of RJ-45 ethernet cables, mounting and waterproofing hardware for the cameras, an RJ-45 ethernet cable for connecting the recorder to your router, AC adapter to power the NVR, a mouse and HDMI (if you opt to use a monitor for setup rather than app), a big sticker to promote you’re protected by Night Owl, and a fold out setup guide. The box is almost literally wall to wall with everything you need to set this system up, I was super impressed! I did an in-home test first before putting holes in anything: downloaded the app, hooked up the NVR to the router and power, then ran a few cables down the hall to bedrooms. Each camera is designed to be mounted on the wall and the cable comes out the back and into the home (for outdoor setup) so it's tamper proof. The spools of ethernet cables for each camera were 60ft which was plenty to get from the camera to the recorder, even given my unfortunate router location (obviously your setup will make things harder or easier so think it all over before you start slapping up cameras). With cameras mounted, hooked up, and the system powered on it was easy enough to download the app, create my account, and scan the QR code on the NVR top and it auto detected the cameras and gave me live displays. So fast, so easy! Each camera views 120 degrees and comes with spot lights, 2-way speaker, as well as night vision out to 100 feet. On the app you can click a button to turn on the spot light, speak to and listen to anyone near the camera, as well as click a button to make the camera say “Smile…you’re on camera!” (it also does this once you set up motion detection and I’ll be honest it was a little annoying after a while). The app also allows you to take a still picture or save video as well as automate the process by either continuous recording, motion detection (face, human, or vehicles). Really easy and fairly intuitive as long as, like I said before, you think about it before you start mounting cameras around the property. With my test complete I unhooked everything and began to do the real setup and this is where I ran into problems, not sure if everyone will or if it was my network/phone/etc. Once I had it all hooked back up the app claimed it couldn’t find my NVR. I tried the QR code, finding on the network, as well as manually entering the ID number on the unit but it wouldn’t connect everything. This would normally drop my rating but the app had an online chat option which connected me almost immediately to a rep who walked me through the process of factory resetting and restarting to get it all working. Unfortunately this required a monitor and mouse to do but it was fast and I was back in business within 20 minutes. The support was VERY helpful, patient, and knowledgeable (I never felt like we were “turning it off and on again” to check off default basic steps like other IT reps with other items). So overall this system is an awesome setup if you want to cover a large amount of space with some fancy bells and whistles like being able to hear and reply to people nearby (delivery drives ideally and unwanted criminals worst case). The feed is clear and easy to see, hearing was not top notch but plenty good enough to ask the delivery man to leave the package on the porch or play pranks on the kids in the backyard, and the way it will just auto record until its full then rewrite over the older files makes data management easy. If you have the budget for this system I’d highly recommend it, even if you’re not great with running wires (although it will look neater if you verify before buying that you have room in the attic to move around and lay the wires).

In the past, I have installed a DIY home security system for my house, and I am satisfied with that product because the images are better. I prefer a wired connection instead of a battery-operated one because it is more secure. After using this new system for a week, I am impressed with how it works. The image quality and sound are very good. What I like about it is being able to monitor with my phone on the Night Owl Protect app. Before running the wires through your house, test the entire system to see if everything works properly. Connect the NVR to the router/ Wi-Fi hub, Ethernet cables, cameras, and power the system. Complete the setup using Bluetooth or the network to which the system is connected. The only tricky part for most installations is running the wires through your house. It is worth the time to set up motion detection and active zone for each camera; this way, you will be recording important actions and not moving trees. The Night Owl app is straightforward; no issue there. I have a TV connected to monitor when I am in my office. To conclude, this is a good security system and very easy to set up.

We wired these cameras so that they go directly to a monitor, instead of using the wireless Bluetooth capability available. That is one of the reasons we like this system - is that you can do it either way. The instructions for installation were very clear for each method and while it strongly recommends connecting to the internet (and tells you the limitations of NOT doing so) it still allows you to connect the system without the internet. We did call customer service, which was very friendly and professional, to ask about the power cord on each of the cameras. The cameras do not need a separate power supply unless you go over 60'. Wiring the system took some time but was easy. We recommend drawing out on paper where each camera will go, and measuring distances to the recording device. Each camera can be customized to turn on/off the motion lighting and sounds (it says "Smile, you're being recorded". We had a little difficult time accessing the software on our monitor but figured it out. The recording quality is exceptional and it's easy to go to the selected camera and see where it recorded something. Overall, we HIGHLY recommend these cameras for either a main security system, or a backup in case internet is not available.