Swann - Enforcer™ 16-Channel, 12-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wired 4K UHD 2TB DVR Security Camera Surveillance System - White - White

Initial thoughts: If you’re in the market for a wired all in one security system that is fairly easy to install and has no monthly fees then this may be the system for you. Also, this is NOT a wireless system, there are wires connected to each camera. What’s in the box?? -8 Channel DVR with 2TB Hard Drive -4K Heat and Motion-Sensing enforcer Cams (6 of them) -BNC Extension Cables that are 60ft long EACH (6 of them) -Ethernet cable -HDMI cable -Power cables (There are 3 total you will need to plug in) and splitters (2) -Mouse(wired) -Mounting Screws and Plugs -Quick Start Guide -Theft deterrent Stickers along with a number if you want to have it professionally installed. SETUP: Ok, not going to lie the hardest part was actually choosing where to place the cameras. For me that was toughest part, as I live in a 3 story home. For those of you that are handy and live in a single story, getting in attic and dropping lines may be easier. Once you get your camera lines ran and hook them all up to the main unit, then attach your HDMI cable to from the main unit to your monitor (and if you have access to the internet close by hook up your ethernet cable) plug in the power cord and Viola! From there it will take you through a setup process. Oh and one more thing is don’t forget to hook up the mouse so you can navigate through the on screen menus. One side note is that I tried to plug in a USB keyboard to use instead of clicking but it would not work! Using the mouse wasn’t that difficult truth be told. The setup wizard takes about 12-15 minutes to complete. Then you have access to control how and what you want your cameras to. Once you finish your setup you can access all the camera features. There is no real guide and you have to just play around with all the menus and buttons. Just a note if you manually turn on the sirens, they do get pretty loud. The App: So, let’s talk about the app, everyone wants to monitor their home from their phone these days. To get started I have an IOS device and I just scanned the QR code that was on my monitor screen and it takes you right to the app store to install it. If you have installed an app before then you know it comes with the usual questions such as notifications. Once you have the app downloaded and signed in you can do what we all do with our home automation apps. Now if you are expecting 4K UHD and real time from these images you will be let down. The images were pixelated but you could see well enough. You can also access your stored images and video (playback) there is also a user manual in there. If you are smart phone savvy you will have no issue moving around in the app. One last note on the app, I found that there was a 12-15 second delay from real-time. Picture Quality: Picture quality on my 4K monitor was nothing short of amazing. I thought that it did very well in bright light and in low light situations. I have another camera that struggles with really bright outside lights but these cameras did an excellent job at keeping the colors correct. Clear and concise(especially on a 4K monitor) nothing more to say. PRO’s: -No monthly charges/free recording up to 2TB -Wired, so you set and forget -Weatherproof Cameras -4K UHD -Night vision(up to 130ft) with color(up to 32ft) -Smartphone Control -Flashing lights and sirens to deter intruers CON’s: - Self install can be difficult if you are not handy -Lack of instructions on how to use the camera interface on the monitor -App could use some work and polish Final Thoughts: Overall, I feel that this product worked very well and I would recommend this to a friend if they are in the market for device like this.

SKEPTICAL NO LONGER! AFFORDABLE QUALITY REVIEW: Swann - Enforcer™ 8-Channel, 6-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wired 4K UHD 2TB DVR Surveillance System - White Model: SWDVK-85680W6RL-US Best Buy Tech Insider Network SUMMARY: I have been deploying security cameras for about 15 years at home, our local homeowner’s association, my office and for family. I am not in the industry, but I have probably deployed 6 different systems. I have always been skeptical about these “all in one bundles”. I think however I can say now they seem to have grown up to be capable units. There is lots to like about this unit, and not much to complain about. While not at the same level as professional grade equipment (costing 4x to 10x more), it does a good to very good job covering most casual needs. This is about as “turn key” as you can get. Plug everything in, turn it on, you are in business for basic monitoring. It also supports many advanced features that you can optionally expose and utilize if needed. I would recommend this package for anyone who wants to deploy something quickly without having to source each part out individually, and without breaking the bank. I have no hesitancy recommending this package, at this price point, especially for indoor use. You won’t find anything less expensive that is worthwhile. My only concern is that everything feels cheap and lightweight. There is even a giant warning sticker on the DVR “don’t put anything heavy on the DVR”. This summarizes my feelings about it overall. Again, there is nothing functionally wrong, it all works, it just feels cheap. UNBOXING: (see picture) INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: Everything was protected, but it also seems somewhat loosely tossed into the boxes. The important things like the cameras and DVR are well protected, but cables, screws, power supplies, etc are mostly floating around loose. As mentioned above everything felt very lightweight and inexpensive. I think the focus is on cost (which is OK). For example, what is the cheapest cable we can bundle that will do the job vs, what is a cable that will last 20 years once installed. Again, that is OK. Here is one simple example. The internal hard drive is a 2 TB Seagate Skyhawk LITE. Seagate Skyhawk’s have impressive quality and are optimized for security cameras. At first, I was very impressed that it had a Skyhawk drive. But I’d never heard of “LITE”. It seems to be a budget version (reduced specs and performance) sold primarily in India. Again, there is nothing wrong with this drive. For $10-$30 more I would have rather had a “regular” Skyhawk drive. If the focus is low cost, this is a good way to save money on each unit made and probably won’t impact performance. The Skyhawk drives are rated for about 60 devices and the LITE for about 30 devices (cameras). This DVR only supports 8 devices, so it is well within specs. INITIAL SETUP / TIPS: Here is where the SWANN shines. You can’t hook it up wrong there is only one way everything will connect together. I simply connected all the cables and power and video and turned it on, and instantly it all worked. There were some areas of advanced configuration that could have been easier or more intuitive, but it was not bad at all. I am confident that just about anyone without any technical experience, beyond turning on and configuring a laptop for the first time would have no problems with this system. The hardest part of any security system is running cables in a wall. TIP: NO WIFI As far as I can tell the unit does not have WIFI although some of the menus seem to indicate that on some units WIFI is an option. OK if you are trying to keep costs down, don’t include a $5 WIFI chip in the unit. It took me while to work around this topic. First, I had to connect the DVR to a wired network (back of router), and then get it all working. I had an extra WIFI to Ethernet adapter in my boxes of computer junk in my basement. This device connects to a WIFI network then bridges the WIFI down to a physical cable. Once I got that bridge working, I was able to move the DVR anywhere I had signal. So expect to spend an extra $50 on a WIFI-Ethernet Device if you need WIFI connectivity. Technically you don’t need it on a network other than TIME SYNC and remote viewing from the phone APP. TIP: LIMITED WINDOWS / REMOTE CONTROL / SUPPORT This is a dedicated DVR for SECURITY, it is not designed to be operated and managed remotely. It is meant to be sitting on a shelf with a TV/Monitor attached (Think of a small self contained solution in a gas station for example). This means you have to be careful where you plan to install the unit as it will be there for good once you run the cables, and you have to be able to get to it physically to do anything advanced. There is a windows app on the SWAN website, it does not list this model as a supported model, but it does seem to work. It gives you some basic viewing and capturing capability, but not full advanced functionality as if you are sitting in front of the DVR itself. So, expect to spend $100-$200 on a dedicated TV for daily use (vs just launching an app on an existing PC). The phone app works well for quick viewing and motion alerts. TIP: NO KEYBOARD SUPPORT While the DVR software does a good job of integrating mouse control, with the included mouse, it is still a pain to type in long complex passwords several times each session with a mouse. I tried plugging in a keyboard to one of the spare USB ports and it was not recognized. TIP: NOT MUCH HELP ON SCREEN As you start to try more advanced features, you are at the mercy of your wit and the people who defined the interface (or maybe read the manual). One example is scheduling for full time recording vs event recording. Here you paint the schedule grid yellow or green (or both) based on what you want. I only knew to paint the schedule because my other DVR system works the same way. But to took me 10 minutes or so to realize the “KEY” of yellow and green dots was more than a key, it was also a selection tool. So click on the green dot to paint green. Click on the Yellow dot pain yellow. Or, on some screens you can right click the mouse to unlock advanced features. As I as I said, you can just plug it all in and turn it all on and it all works. It is really the advanced features that take some time and work to reason out. For the record, in my experience, “ALL DVR SOFTWARE IS CLUNKY” and always has been. The easy stuff is intuitive, the advance stuff is clunky. This is not worse or better than any other DVR system I have ever used. TIP: FIRMWARE UPDATE ERRORS Normally when I first get a new device the first thing I do is to update the firmware. When you try to upgrade the firmware it gives what seems to be a server or network error. I think the real issue it that there is no new firmware for this device. I looked all over the SWANN website and this firmware is newer than anything that is on their website. It also does not list this model (too new or Best Buy Exclusive?). This makes me a little nervous as their support website is a bit of a mess. IMAGE QUALITY: My existing camera system is about 4 years old and is a network based system (vs a dedicated head end like this system). My existing cameras are 3MP vs the SWANN 8MP(?) cameras. In theory then the SWANN camera pictures should be about 2-3 times better, clearer, sharper. For comparison, my home system cost about $2800 for 6 cameras, 4TB storage. I plan to use the SWANN at my office since we have an unstaffed front lobby and I wanted to give the staff some piece of mind if they are working late or early about who is coming into the office or ringing the buzzer. I set up the cameras side by side and took snapshots at various times of the day. (See pics). For the most part, the images were about the same. Sometimes the SWANN was a touch better, sometime the SWANN was a touch worse. This is good news that for this price point, you can get good quality images. However, 4K did not really make much of a difference compared to my older non-4K cameras. NOTE: The maximum frames per second at 4K are only 8 FPS on SWANN. (Normal TV video is usually at least 30 FPS) FEATURES: This has everything I could think of for advanced features: Scheduled Recordings, Motion Detection, Scheduled Snapshots, Email Alerts, Alarms, Sirens, Audio Recording. I like the lights on the cameras that can be “on” or “triggered”. I liked that the cameras supported PIR to better identify people as motion instead of a tree or flag blowing in the wind. It has advanced analysis modes so you can fine tune motion detection. You can black out areas you don’t want recorded. You can set motion detection in only a certain area. As far as features go, I could not find anything that was not there. SUMMARY: I think this is 100% perfect for a small self-contained office or building like a gas station or retail store or small carry out restaurant. Home use is good so long as you can place the device where a 30 foot cable to the unit can reach the camera. Maybe, for example, you put the DVR in your garage and just have cameras around the outside of the garage pointing at various locations. I’m sure you can buy or build longer cables, but at some point, you start to lose the advantage of an all in one bundle. It is easy to use, easy to set up, and the image quality is pretty good.

So the biggest thing you have to know about this camera system is that it is extremely high quality. The 4k resolution is fantastic and the clarity is bar none. The app is horrid though. I was able to set this system up right out of the box. It can be a little intimidating at first, but the instructions are very clear and very intuitive. You place the camera and have to run the cables all the way back to the hub to connect it all. You connect an HDMI to your TV and an Ethernet cable to a router. Then you power all devices with the power supplies. You connect the included mouse and walk through setup step by step. Very easy. It is actually an easier setup than wireless devices because you don't have to link them all to your Wi-Fi. I was seriously up and running the whole system (not including camera mounting/wiring) in less than 10 minutes. The quality of this system is unlike any camera system I have had before. You select 4k resolution if you have it available and it just pops off the screen. The cameras work very well and have night vision that is also clear. I really don't have a bad thing to say about the cameras and their clarity/reception. Then there's the app. It prompts you to install the Swann Security app to control your system remotely via your smart device. This is where Swann really drops the ball. After installing you create a mobile account which is very easy. You scan the QR code to link your system to your account and that is a breeze. That is where the fun stops. The camera resolution defaults to a medium quality, which is bad, then lags when you change it to high resolution. The first time I tried looking at one of the cams it worked OK, minus the lag. You can turn on the LED light of the cam and even set off an alarm. I exited the app and re-entered it only to have multiple issues pop up. Trying to reopen for the first time it said "failed to connect to device". I exited and came back in and it was fine, but would not load any of the camera's images. Now the system is hard lined to my router so I know connectivity is not an issue. I then exited and opened again and was able to view one of the cameras. I then changed the app resolution to high and the image froze. I could not imagine that this will be quality experience in the long run unless Swann updates the app to correct these issues. I think this is one of the best quality systems you can own for camera security, but the app interface leaves much to be improved on. What you capture as far as image goes however is worth the money.

This is a new system form Swann called the Enforcer. I am assuming the name applies to the siren and light feature on these cameras. While you may not use the siren and or lights for all motion detection, you can manually trigger either the light or siren (or both) from the app if you are notified of motion and if you see something going on, you could trigger the siren manually to scare the heck out of someone as they are loud! I replaced a 3.5 year old Swann 1080P system with this unit. I was hoping for more resolution and better night vision. Luckily this system used the same BNC cables as my old one so I did not have to rewire. I had 8 cameras on my old system and I was also pleased I could still reuse 2 of my 1080P cameras on this new DVR. This was a real plus, and thank you Swann for that downward compatibility. BTW the resolution IS better with the new 4K cameras! For a new install, be aware you will spend 4 to 8 hours installing the system for a clean neat installation. My wires run through my attic from the outside cameras, down through a PVC conduit in my garage, into the basement, to meet up with the other wires from within the house. My DVR is in the basement hidden behind a desk where I have a monitor. I also power the system with a battery UPS to give me coverage if the power is out. I also HIGHLY recommend you follow Swann’s suggestions to set the entire system up on the floor BEFORE the actual install. This way you can TEST everything and make sure all the components work and get familiar with all the parts. In my case, the 1080P TV I was using to test the system did not work with the DVR at first. Absolutely no picture was showing. I had to connect a VGA computer monitor to the DVR to get into the DVR menu to set it to HDMI output. Not sure if this was just my situation or a glitch out of the box. I also had to change a menu setting for “Enable Over-scan” as the edges of the menus were cut off. When set to AUTO in the SWANN DVR menu it worked fine. Something Swann should have done out of the box. Make particular note that the 60 foot cables to the cameras DO have a proper direction. The power cable has a male/female end and needs to be routed appropriately to match the camera. It’s real frustrating if you install those backwards and realize your mistake when connecting to the cameras! Also set up the APP on your phone and test it. The APP can be extremely helpful aiming your cameras if you are working by yourself. You can zero in on each camera remotely and adjust the camera while you are on the ladder. PERFORMANCE: This system has many improvements from my older SWAN system. Resolution is better, night vision is better, and the I Phone app is EXTREMELY better. It’s faster, more responsive, and I’m able to take pictures and video right on my phone. You can also set off the lights and siren from the app if you desire. The app even set up a Swann Security folder on my phone for those pictures and videos. The DVR menu system is much improved. It’s easier to navigate and has a ton more features. You will need to get on the Swann website for detailed instructions setting up the features within the DVR. It will work out of the box, but I found the sensitivity too low to catch all movements with my cameras. It took me another hour to figure out sensitivity settings and to go test them with my walking by the cameras. Additionally I set up “blocks” of the screen on each camera to mask movements from plants and flags. I agree with other reviewers that I wish you could use a USB keyboard with the DVR for password input. CONCLUSION: Outside of some glitches with the DVR setup, and figuring out how to change motion sensitivity, the system is great! The cameras at first seemed a little “plastic” compared to my old metal ones; however, I think they will be just fine. They offer more features, are light to mount, and look nice once installed. I appreciate the improved resolution, the much improved APP, and the DVR offers not only more hard drive space, but more features. I would definitely recommend this system to any friend.

Included in the box: 6 cameras, The main DVR console with a 2TB Hard Drive, all the cables, screws and power adapter you will need, including an optical mouse (more than that in a moment) Digital Video Recorder: All of the cameras connect to the DVR, and you can connect the DVR to any TV, or monitor using different cables such as the included HDMI cable. You can also use a VGA cable that most older monitors support. As mentioned before, this particular system comes with 6 cameras but two more can be added for a total of 8. Packaging: Everything is packaged well and is easy to find what you are looking for in one of the three cardboard “briefcases” comes inside the box. Wired vs Wireless: There is always a trade-off between wired and wireless cameras, wireless cameras need batteries while wired cameras obviously need a wire going to them and for that you have to spend some time running the cables through your house or place of business. This security system uses wires but Swann took advantage of the continuous power by including a built-in speaker onto the camera as well as Sensor Spotlights, Police-style flashing light where they will definitely get the attention of an intruder..... If that doesn’t work then each camera is equipped with a siren, where when activated will emit a very loud high-pitched sound. Each camera comes with it’s own stand as well that can pretty much be installed anywhere with the included screws. Operating System: The DVR comes with a mouse included, A mouse is needed to navigate through the Windows OS STYLE menus. Everything could be as simple as connecting everything and just powering on the DVR, or as complicated as Setting the record time lenghts whenever the cameras sense moving. whether or not the spotlight and or the police-style flashing lights come on when if it detects an intruder (you can also manually turn them on if you wish to do so to scare away an intruder even if they haven’t tripped the cameras, toggle night vision on or off, sensitivity of the cameras, resolution etc... there is a lot here to learn and play with if you choose to do so. 4K: This Enforcer security system supports 4K resolution for life viewing, you obviously need a 4K TV or monitor for that, but if you don’t your 1080p Monitor our television will work just fine. App: Downloading and setting up the app is pretty easy and straightforward, The app it’s self is designed well and you have a lot of options you can control from your smart phone. The main purpose of the app is that you can view all of your cameras on your smart phone from pretty much anywhere in the world. Smart Speakers: This enforcer security system is compatible with smart speakers such as Google assistant or Alexa In conclusion: this enforcer security system has it all, 4K cameras, Heat and Motion sensors, spotlights, sirens, Night vision, the ability to see in color video at night, free recording onto the hard drive, waterproof, smart phone app, compatible with smart speakers and more, I highly recommend this system for anybody looking to protect their home or business.

I wanted to start off by saying this system will take some time to install and you will need to have a basic understanding of how to use a drill, connecting cables and setting up a monitor or tv screen. Also, you will need to know how to use your phone to download the app and connect to your system but only if you want phone access which is usually a standard today. You will also need to run cables to each 4K camera so if you are not sure how to run and hide the cables appropriately your attack, craw spaces or behind drywall I recommend seeking a professional to install the system. I have experience with many types of security camera systems including new wireless systems and older systems. I have had the pleasure of helping many others install their systems and having it setup successfully. Swann is an awesome brand and has been around for many years and have many years in the camera security business. This new enforcer system is a highlight to their success and proving that they can offer more than the competition. Anyone who wants more in a security system without the monthly fee should look no further. Everything you need (for the most part) is included in the box including a mouse to operate the DVR system. The only thing you will need is monitor or tv with HDMI or VGA (if you don’t care about clarity or if you will mostly only view from your phone and have an old monitor you can use laying around). The system comes with 6 awesome cameras packed with a crazy amount of features and a DVR box (which will act as your hub). You can add an additional two cameras to this system to make it 8. You also don’t have to use all 6 cameras and rather add them as you go to make sure all the angles you want are covered. The cameras have speakers, night vision, colored night vision, heat detection (this is crazy awesome) red and blue flashing lights (Yes, bright, like the police), spotlights and a siren. They are also 4K and are super clear on my 4K monitor and I would say much better than wireless. These cameras pack a punch to scare anyone who may enter your property even if they have permission. The cameras also have mounts. Another thing to add in is this system will connect to you amazon Alexa (which I have) or google assistant. There is so much I am probably missing something but I gave most of the key features on this entire system. For installation I am lucky to live in a one story so I ran all my cables through the attic. I ran an ethernet cable from my modem inside my house into the attic to the DVR box and also installed an extra outlet to where I have my “DVR station”. I located my DVR station with my added monitor to where my attic stairs are so I don’t have to travel far plus I will use my phone as my primary contact source with this system. I attached each of my cameras to each corner of my house on the exterior and I put one by the front and back doors. I pretty much have a 360 view with how I have everything setup and the cameras adjusted. The box includes further and proper instructions on installation of your camera. I do not want to go into further detail as you are the one who will be drilling and installing the camera on to your home. I will say it did take time but since I did it before it was breeze and I think if your even just a little bit handy you will be able to do it yourself. The DVR user face is decent and feels like it has quality compared to what I have seen. You have a million different settings to adjust exactly what you want. If you want to have flashing red and blue lights or if you rather you have spot light signify to an intruder that they are being watched you can make it happen. Pretty cool in my opinion. You can really adjust everything and I could write 4 paragraphs on just adjustments but trust me when I say there is more than enough and more access to adjustments and features than any other I have seen. Using an iPhone (sorry no androids here to test) was easy to use and get going. I didn’t have to retry the app 60 times to get it to work (which is a huge plus) due the simple QR code that you can scan. The app is not crazy but gets the job done. You have to remember you don’t have to pay for it monthly like every other service out there. You will need to access the main DVR to adjust most of your settings which is easier to do anyway as you won’t need to make these adjustments everyday. The phone app is my preferred method of viewing my cameras because who has time to go view the monitor everyday and you can now view your home from place you have internet access which now a days is everywhere. Overall, this is a great system and will get the job done. Are there some tweaks that could have made in the interface sure but they don’t really matter when all you want to do is secure your home and have good, reliable play back video. This system has great video quality with outstanding amount of features to keep those bad guys away. This system is built to last the outside weather and ready to protect you, your family and your home.

First and foremost if you are upgrading your existing system where you have old 480 Saimese BNC cables you will need to completely change out your cables to what is given in the kit. If you don't you will run into resolution issues. Also Google integration is not great. Google home sees the system, but I can't stream to a device. This not the only system that has given me this problem. I own a Lorex system and it has the same problem. I think it is a Google home issue or 3rd party software developer issue. Either that or my LG OLEG 4K TV is the crux of my issue where LG Qthink is the problem. I spent hours go through tutorials, youtube, etc and still no dice. My Google home sees the system, but I won't respond to my commands. Besides those issues the system itself is solid. This is my 3rd Swann System to own. I originally owned the first old generation 480 dpi then 720 dpi and now this 4K system. If you have never installed one of these sysetms before please make sure you set it up on a table big enough to lay everything out and near your router to hardwire the DVR to it. This should take abot 20 mins or so. Running the Siamese BNC cables will vary depending on your house set up. Since this was used in my garage it took about 4 hours to drill and run and hang. If you have a more complicated set up it will take several days. So word of advice plan this out well. Or just hire someone to run your cables especially if you have attic or crawl space that you have to deal with. So back to the system itself. The jump from 720 to 4k is pretty huge. Not as fuzzy. Low light and no light conditions are pretty good. The light and alarm features are pretty good. There is about a 10 second lag with live view of video. That might be because my garage router has a 100 mbps speed. Andriod Software version is a step up from the old 720 dpi system. Pretty user friend. You can pick between low, medium, high resolution settings. You can take snap shots, or live video record pretty easily. Searching for motion, and playback was pretty easy. False motion alarm was minimized due to software and camera hardware upgrades which is good. It can tell if it was a tree moving versus an animal or human. Which is a good feature. This will also save space on the DVR. I did not use the drop box function, as I don't want my video out in the ether. Other than the few cons that I have above, the biggest being that you have to run new cables Swann has always been a solid system to use. Like I said this is my 3rd system to own. I would recommend this system based on my knowledge and use of various systems that I have had and also the current features that this system has to offer.

I have setup a few other security camera systems at the house and relatives' houses over the last several years. Most of them were wired, some wireless more recently. I still prefer wired system, especially PoE systems that are much easier to wire and more universal, where you can just replace the cameras or the DVR with another compatible PoE system, without having to pull custom wires through the attic and side of the house...The Swann - Enforcer™ 8-Channel, 6-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wired 4K UHD 2TB DVR Surveillance System is a fine setup, though not perfect. The setup process was fairly straight forward, with good enough documentation for those with less experience installing such systems. A few hick-ups I've experienced along the way, the NTP time-sync is not getting the proper timezone no matter what I tried, including Daylight Savings Time settings. When in manual mode, there was no option to pick the time zone you're in, so I just manually set up the correct local time. Perhaps a firmware update can fix that. I actually tried to perform a firmware update and it failed with an error message that it could not connect to the Internet, even though the system was clearly connected. I'll have to check the router/firewall logs to see if it was attempting to connect anywhere and was getting blocked. Another annoyance is the on-screen keyboard that's time consuming to use when having to type the admin password in multiple times through the various setup screens that require it. Also I like to play it safe and shutdown the DVR every time I added a new camera, since I wasn't able to wire all cameras in at the same time...shutting down requires the admin password twice! I understand this being a security system is meant to be on 24x7, so once you have all the cameras wired up, maybe you never have to shut it down, so it's ok. I tried a USB keyboard, but couldn't get it to work, but I don't recall seeing that as an option in the documentation, so I'll have to play around with it and maybe call support to find out if it's supposed to work and how. Now the most important stuff, image quality is great at 4K, though it was a bit choppy for cars driving down the street, so I'll have to play around with the frame rate, it's not clear how many frames per second you're supposed to get at 4K or even at 1080p. The built-in police-like flashing lights are pretty cool, I though it was a bit of the gimmick before I received this system, but they may come in handy to deter wild life digging at my lawn at night :-) The police alarm sound is very loud from such a small speaker, but unlikely to be suitable in a busy neighborhood, unless you set the motion zones and sensitivity very close to building. Couldn't tell if that was a feature, but it would be more useful if that speaker could be used to broadcast your voice like a Ring system where you can speak into your phone, or through the Alexa app. The Swann Security app for Android is easy to setup, though I don't necessarily like the fact that I have to register and setup an account for it. Since this is a local DVR system, why do you need a cloud account for, is it storing anything on Swann servers? Why can't the App just talk directly to the DVR system on your home network, like other systems do? Aside from that, the App could use some polishing. I couldn't find a way to change some of the settings such as the default resolution/video quality it starts up, I want it to default to High quality, but it default to Medium. Also changing between the different aspect ratios such as Original, 4:3, 16:9, Stretch, does not work consistently. Pinch to zoom is also not very user friendly. It would be nice if you could double-tap to revert back/zoom-out, but that doesn't seem to be a feature. Also I could not get rid of the 3 rows of icons on the bottom of the screen, as seen in the screen capture from my phone. I was hoping they would just time-out and disappear after a few seconds and re-appear when you touch the screen. All in all, this is a fine security camera system with a lot of potential, great image quality at a reasonable price, especially that it comes with 6 4K cameras. Most other comparable system at this price point only come with 4 cameras. I would have given it 5 stars if it was PoE and the phone App was more mature.