Swann - Home 8 Channel 8 Cameras Indoor/Outdoor 1080P 1TB DVR Security System with Analytics - Black

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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Overall a nice (expandable) system, but...

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  This is a very nice system for the money for the right setting! …and if you have proper expectations. This isn’t going from the box to fully functional in a matter of minutes. There’s some work and some planning to be done before you even get to the part where you are thinking about plugging it in. The picture and audio are clear and the user interface is VERY easy to use. The app is user friendly and allows you to keep an eye on things while away. There is NO MONTHLY FEE which is why I wanted it. I’m kind of tired of paying $3/mo per camera and then fighting with the software and dealing with its quirky limitations. The Swann swoops in to save the day! No more monthly fees and I have more cameras now! Ok, so first, I'm a contractor, so I got these to keep an eye on my personal property and the equipment I have stored there at the time. This is ever changing and it’s so much nicer knowing I have eyes on my EXPENSIVE Equipment without glitchy software and internet connection stuff to deal with. This system has run smoothly without any major annoyances since I’ve powered it up. This system has so many features and even has heat sensors called “True Detect” that helps to stop annoying stuff from recording like a tarp blowing in the wind or a tree branch triggering motion. It has free AI analytics built in to its configuration and integrates easily with Alexa, haven’t tried it with Google but it says it supports that also. Color night vision is a Really nice feature and it works surprisingly well…but it could be better. Lets be honest, all “color night vision” could be better, I guess. It is a 1080p system and EVERYTHING is wired*. More on that in a minute*. The package comes with a 8 Channel 1TB Hard drive, expandable to 4TB and 4 bullet cameras that also record audio. Yes the system allows you to listen in live just like everything on the market does nowadays BUT the cameras DO NOT HAVE A SPEAKER so you CANNOT TALK BACK and there is NO SIREN! I feel as if this is a HUGE MISS on the manufacturer. Even very basic cameras have the ability to “talk back” in this day in age and while the units do have flashing lights….a siren would be nice to have so you don't feel like you have half of a full working object. You can purchase up to 4 additional cameras for a total of 8 to use with this system. It does have FLASHING LIGHTS that are enough to draw attention from neighbors, highlight your home to law enforcement or the fire department and get bad guys moving away BUT there is no audio deterrent to accompany them! It comes with everything you need for install except patience! The cameras come with screws and anchors and are designed in such a way that, I cannot imagine a mounting scenario where you couldn't actually mount it and get it aimed at what you want. They articulate and aim any which way you want them to and you can lock in your setting with set screws. Everything is LITERALLY “Plug & Play” just keep track of what wire is running to what location and connect it up. If you can screw in a cable to the back of your TV then you have more than enough skill to connect all the connections in this system. BUT Thats only after running the wires through the building! The hard drive is WIRED! There is NOTHING WIRELESS on this system. The hard drive must be connected via an ethernet cable, directly to your router. There is no wireless access for anything between the cameras and the hard drive. I was a little disappointed to find that in this day in age that a system with these specs, of this price and caliber still needed to be hardwired to my router. This made install even more frustrating because I have a “wireless” router (Verizon Cellular 5G Whole Home Internet) that only gets a signal in, literally one spot in my home and that spot is nowhere near where this hard drive needed to be mounted. Ideally I would have loved this hard drive to be wireless so I could have mounted it in a fire rated safe but ideals go out the window when you have a full wired system. Entirely MY FAULT for not reading what I was getting carefully enough….BUT the packaging and the marketing pictures lead you down a road to think that “its 2023 and it looks wireless” ….so some blame on the manufacturer on how it is being presented to customers at a glance. OK so here we go with the worst part and the negatives of this type of system. However, there is a card inside the packaging that offers install services from a contractor….so if you do not want to run the wires yourself you can pay someone else to do it. Call around and get prices locally. Support YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS! I am a contractor so I have plenty of experience and I know how to fish and run wires both residential and commercial. Speaking of wires, LOOK AT MY PICTURES. This is not a ethernet powered camera system! This is the one that is harder to install due to the size of the cable ends and, essentially, 2 cables manufactured together on one run. One for power, one for video/audio traffic. So you will either need to be very creative when you run these wires from inside to outside or your building or your other alternative is a few REALLY BIG HOLES in your house to fit the cable ends through and then spray foam or caulk the holes or those same Really Big Holes and install junction boxes to cover the hole to hide the spray foam/caulking and mount the camera to a cover plate that you will need to customize. I HAVE to be honest here!!! As a contractor, I install all types of things and systems and this cable type has to be the absolute WORST OPTION to put in a box for a customer buying a full wired system in 2023. There are WAY BETTER options out there now that run a smaller/thinner cable and are easily terminated on site (add a cable end to bare wire) with commonly available tooling and cable ends. IMO power over ethernet should be standard in this day in age. Having these huge ends on a fat doubled cable and not being able to easily cut, splice or re-terminate the included wiring is a HUGE MISS in my opinion. Installation of the cabling is the worst part of this type of system. It was tedious, irritating and it required me to put some large holes in my home that I’d rather not have had to do. AND, ultimately camera location is dependent on the cable length…unless you want to order longer additional cables after getting the box home and spend some more money. The included cable left me short and forced me to put cameras where I COULD put them instead of where I WANTED to put them. That is also because I ran my cables where they could not be easily accessed or cut by a bad guy. Can you cut and splice the included cables? Yes, with enough determination and will, you could. Can it be done easily by visiting a big box store for supplies and tooling? No. Do I recommend splicing them? No! A camera wire should be one piece from the camera to the hard drive. Keep in mind, I say this, as a contractor with a TON of tools and experience that the average homeowner does’t have access to. So there are some limitations and hurdles to be overcome with what is included in the box, in regard to install. This type of wire is only ever convenient to install when the system is monitoring only the interior of a space/building. For example, an auto repair shop, a hairstyling salon, a shop, a store, a warehouse etc. After all that, do I think it's a good system? Yes…IF you have the proper expectations, and you know what you are getting into and/or you are installing it on an “interior only” type of set up, then absolutely! If you are monitoring an interior space, this is a GREAT option! If you need or want access to talk back though the cameras or a siren then this is not the system you are looking for. Even though it is updated, this is essentially where security camera systems have started and there really is nothing updated about it except its 1080p, has a 1TB hard drive, flashing lights and internet connectivity to use the app. If these are the basic features that you want then yes, this is a great system and works perfectly with no operational issues and I’d recommend it if you're ok with the install methods. The install is set aside. I do think this is a nice system and if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have canceled my monthly plan and I wouldn’t continue to use it. This system does what I need it to do and the picture is very clear and it's very easy to access and navigate the user interface with the included mouse and HDMI cable or via the app. I am happy with the end product but to the manufacturer….PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CABLE CONNECTIVITY METHODS and phase out this piggy back doubled wire connection cable! It’s cheaper and easier to use Cat5/6 cable nowadays…even if the customer had to go buy a termination tool it would be worth it to be able to run lines incredibly easier with a smaller hole in the building and being able to easily pick up a spool of extra wire locally, even on the weekend, if the installation calls for it. The cables and needing such large holes and in ability to fish this wire through studs and sill plates eaily is the absolute downfall to this system.

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  This review is from Swann - Home 8 Channel 4 Cameras Indoor/Outdoor 1080P 1TB DVR Security System with Analytics - White

  Posted 2 years ago by BernardSC

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Local replay works good, app needs tweaking

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor
  • My Best Buy Premier Silver Review

  Set up is straightforward. The NVR (Network Video Recorder) is compact and aesthetically pleasing. The kit comes boxed with four(4) high definition cameras, cables and the power supply to power them. Mounting the cameras is easy as each has three (3) mounting holes on the base. The cameras are top notch. Each is weatherproof, and have a built in Blue and Red light (LED). These can be activated as a visual deterrent. The cables seal out the elements from the electrical connections on the cameras. The gimble allows for easy positioning and aiming of each camera. I set up the app to quickly enable me to view each as I mounted them. The app provides the standard viewing options you would expect. Streaming may be improved. I am not sure if its on my end or though the internet. Cars driving past the house are recognizable. Two finger zoom activates a window that helps position the zoom on the screen. The ENFORCER has a spotlight which gives a better night view of the scene. The blue and red warning LEDs lets it be known someone is watching. The overall record time depends on the amount of activity each camera records. For me a month of video is more than sufficient.

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  This review is from Swann - Home 8 Channel 4 Cameras Indoor/Outdoor 1080P 1TB DVR Security System with Analytics - White

  Posted 2 years ago by JerryZ

• Rated 3 out of 5 stars

  Could be better

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  I want to like this product, but I think it has a few issues. For a security and technology product being sold in the year 2023, I expected more. Physical installation is quite easy (ignoring logistics of running wires). Each camera has a double wire for power and video signal, though you have to make note of the ends, because one end is for the camera, the other for the DVR. The power end connects to a power brick with an octopus of power connectors for all the cameras. This works fine, except the transformer is of the "wall wort" variety, consuming the space around the outlet, which is not very friendly for power strips. I mention this, because the DVR has a similar power plug, and then you'll need a power plug for your monitor to connect to the DVR, meaning the 3 devices end up consuming a lot of space just for power. But, otherwise, connecting everything is pretty straightforward and self-explanatory. A small, simple USB mouse is included to help with the management of the DVR. This is ok, since all text input will bring up an on-screen keyboard so you can type using just the mouse. There are additional USB ports so you could connect a keyboard if you wanted. Unfortunately, it seems most of the setup has to be done at the device itself, which is inconvenient. it is also not terribly intuitive, and not a lot of help text to describe what each of the menus and options do. Combine this with the fact that most features aren't even enabled by default, The first 24 hours of monitoring didn't ever actually record anything. After fumbling around the interface, I think I have the various monitoring options on. There are a lot of options, both for the DVR, and for each individual camera. You'll probably want to set some time aside for going through all the configs and testing them. One thing that is nice though, is it seems you can setup a schedule, so it's not constantly going off during times when you don't need it to. You can also set it up to just continuously record video instead. Setting up the Swann Security app on android was easy enough, I scanned the barcode on the DVR and it found it right away, and the cameras showed up in the app. Unfortunately, the app offers very little control for the cameras and DVR system. I tried accessing the DVR system through a web interface, which I was only able to discover lived on port 85 by looking through the network configs on the DVR. But, it apparently does not work with modern browsers. As in; requires IE8 or above, Firefox 51 or below, Chrome 44 or below. Those are many years out of date browsers. Swann seems to offer a Windows (and mac) app, however the download link links to a Dropbox download, with no way to verify if what you're downloading is actually from Swann, so I never downloaded it. The cameras themselves have a red and blue flashing LED when it detects and event; but I found the color LEDs were washed out by the white LED and were barely noticeable to me. The white LED is bright enough though, and definitely makes itself known. The cameras night quality is also very good, and has very bright infrared (not visible) LEDs which light up a large area in the cameras view at night, which is another nice plus. Daytime image quality is average to poor. Even though it's 1080p, I found the video to look somewhat muddled. But still good enough to identify people and cars.

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  This review is from Swann - Home 8 Channel 4 Cameras Indoor/Outdoor 1080P 1TB DVR Security System with Analytics - White

  Posted 2 years ago by ILikeVideoGames