My Impression of Q-See QR-414 DVR

[Kablooie 0]

I have a client who purchased one of the Q-See QR-414 models for $99 (no hard drive) and asked me to install it. This was 3 months ago and since then he purchased 3 more, which I also installed. So, he's had 4 of them running over the last 2-3 months. I've been using them and thought I would share my impression of this particular model.

 

Pros:

1 - Very easy to setup. The DVR has 2 USB ports, one for external backup and one for a mouse. With the mouse it's very easy to navigate the setup menu and configure the DVR. Using the buttons or remote can be cumbersome, but I have that same opinion with other systems.

 

2 - Very easy to use. The DVR can be accessed remotely via Internet Explorer or the D9 Viewer, included on a CD or available for download from the Q-See website. Video can also be played back from the DVR itself.

 

3 - USB port for external backup. I had to download several hours of video one day. I used a flash drive and backed up the files in minutes.

 

4 - Record Quality. Has Resolution settings of D1, HD1 and CIF. Quality Settings of Best, Fine and Normal. With settings at D1/Normal it produces decent recorded video at 704x480 7fps. 15 minutes of recorded video (1 channel) is approx. 50MB in size (more or less depending on environmental conditions).

 

5 - Smartphone access. Works for both live and playback.

 

6 - Supports up to 1TB SATA hard drive. On average, with 4 color cameras recording 24/7 at D1/Normal and a 1TB hard drive the DVR retains from 6-8 weeks of video.

 

7 - The playback software allows you to view multiple channels simultaneously (local content). I think this software feature is great. Too bad it doesn't work with remote viewing though.

 

8 - There's a separate AVI Generator program that works very fast. The D9 and Web viewers also have built-in 264-to-AVI conversion functions.

 

9 - Ability to password protect remote viewing access.

 

10 - Has an Internet Bandwidth setting, so you can set a limit on how much bandwidth is used when viewing live. It goes from 128K to 1024K. I have them set on 256K and remote live viewing is fine.

 

Cons:

1 - Although very easy to setup, there aren't many options and not everything can be configured remotely. Date, time, smartphone username/password, recording interval cannot be configured remotely. To set these you need physical access to the DVR.

 

2 - Although very easy to use, it's functionality is very limited. Cannot view more than one location at a time from the same window. Cannot remotely playback more than one channel at a time (although all channels can be viewed simultaneously via live viewing).

 

3 - The unit can be set to record in 15min, 30min, 45min or 60min intervals. I set it for 15min intervals to get smaller files sizes (for downloading via Internet). If I want to view something that happened at 12:12:25PM I need to start watching (or downloading) from 12:00PM and wait. If more than one channel is desired I basically need to download each channel individually, then play back locally. If the location has fast upload speed the files can be downloaded (or FF) quickly, however if you have slow upload speed, downloading one 15min video segment (1 channel) can take from 10min-15min. You want 2 channels - try 20-30 minutes. Can be frustrating and a huge waste of time when just a couple of minutes need to be played back remotely. I'd rather go on-site and view the video via the local network.

 

4 - The time runs fast. All units have gained 6-8 minutes within 3 months and (as already mentioned) the time cannot be changed remotely.

 

5 - Recording is VBR. No way to change this. Great if that's what you want, not so great if you prefer CBR. I like to play around with these settings to see which is better for the environment. With this unit there is no choice.

 

6 - Cannot change location, size or color of date & timestamp. I feel the date & timestamp are in a bad location and a couple of font sizes too large. Also, the location changes slightly when viewing live via Internet vs. recorded video vs. live on a monitor connected to the DVR. It can be very frustrating when you think you've got the perfect camera angle, but then the date & time cover someone's face.

 

7 - The case does not have an internal fan and there isn't room to install one. A small hard drive cooling fan fits though. I made sure the units are in well ventilated areas, but only time will tell how long before heat takes it's toll.

 

8 - Cannot set Resolution & Quality on a per channel basis. It's global, so you can't have D1/Normal on CH1 and CIF/Normal on CH2. Choose a setting and it's for all channels.

 

9 - There are just two user accounts for remote viewing: User and Admin. You cannot create different usernames with different access rights, although the User account can just view live and playback, it cannot configure. The User and Admin passwords can be changed remotely, but smartphone username/password has to be changed by having physical access to the unit. Oh, and there's just one username/password for smartphone viewing.

 

There are other features that I can't comment on because they're not used. The features include:

- Audio: 1 channel

- Record Mode: can be set to a schedule or always. I have it on always - don't know how well scheduled recording works.

- PTZ

- Motion Detection

- DDNS service

There may be some other features I'm leaving out.

 

Bottom line: for $99-$129 (plus cost of hard drive) I didn't expect bells and whistles. I think it's good for what it is though. The main thing I'm very satisfied with is the quality of recorded video. This certainly isn't a professional system, but I don't think it's a kids toy either. Functionality leaves alot to be desired though. However, if you're looking for something very basic & inexpensive to just record and playback video this may be a solution. Just be aware of it's shortcomings.

[rory 0]

Thanks for the great review.

Next, some screen shots and image samples?

[Kablooie 0]

I'll see if I can get client's permission.

[SEANHAWG 1]

Sounds like a bargain. I'd be interested in seeing some screenshots too.

[Kablooie 0]

Here's a screenshot of a rear entrance with a car passing by. You can see what I mean about the date & time getting in the way sometimes. I can edit and change the position of the channel number, but the date & time is fixed where it is.