I need your thoughts about the Swann 8 ch Costco system.

[thmaxxer 0]

Ok, I need opinions on the Swann 8 ch. system. After having terrible luck with Lorex, 2 systems back to Costco, I am deciding to go with the Swann system. But I want to hear comments, feedback good and bad please as I really don't want to make a mistake again. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[zikronix 0]

I love it it may not be the best but its a solid product and I've had no issues with support in fact I am returning my port because I bought the 16 port

[buellwinkle 0]

I have a different take on it. The cameras are good and cheap, no doubt about it. But the NVR is limiting in many ways, at least to me it is. I run these cameras with NVR software on a PC. The reasoning is that with good NVR software, I have way more flexibility in camera choice and number of channels and the smartphone apps tend to be more sophisticated. For example, wasn't that long ago that everyone thought Dahua was the answer, now it's switched attention to Hikvision, next month it may be someone else. Or maybe you decide to go upscale on a camera for special location. So I like the flexibility of a generic recording solution.

[thmaxxer 0]

Honestly, I would love to get the 16, but unfortunately my budget doesn't allow for it. So, the next best thing is the 8. Just wish it would go on sale again... Thank you for the feedback.

[shockwave199 0]

The biggest problem with dahua and resellers is that they all but skipped over the 8 channel offerings. They went from 4, to 16, to 32 channel nvr's and left 8 channels in the dust. They're out there, but not from anyone I'd care to buy from. And since pricing is actually not bad for a 32 channel dahua with 8 poe built in, I'd grab that anyway. That's a very sweet nvr. Only the hikvision cameras have impressed me over dahua, by a small margin. The cameras are important of course, but it's not everything. There's the whole chain to consider. If you favor an nvr box, there's that side to consider as well.

[zikronix 0]

I have a different take on it. The cameras are good and cheap, no doubt about it. But the NVR is limiting in many ways, at least to me it is. I run these cameras with NVR software on a PC. The reasoning is that with good NVR software, I have way more flexibility in camera choice and number of channels and the smartphone apps tend to be more sophisticated. For example, wasn't that long ago that everyone thought Dahua was the answer, now it's switched attention to Hikvision, next month it may be someone else. Or maybe you decide to go upscale on a camera for special location. So I like the flexibility of a generic recording solution.

 

I agree with this statement, but for what I needed when I needed for a consumer based product I think the bang for the buck and ease of implimentation it works out. Sure It may not be the best, but knowing if I have an issue, i have some support behind it, plus it makes the wife happy and happy wife happy life!

[thmaxxer 0]

I agree with bang for the buck. Sure I would love to go with a Hikvision 32 ch with 5 mp bullets, but I don't have 10 large laying around. My needs are really for 6 locations outside, and maybe throw a dome or 2 inside, but nothing complex. With my budget of around 1500 and the customer service of Swann and Costco backing me, I feel like this may be the best choice for me, but as previously mentioned, I appreciate all the good feedback.

[shockwave199 0]

Well a 32 channel dahua nvr will set you back about 1k with a hard drive in there- not 10k. LOL. If you get the one without built in poe, it's about 600 bucks minus the hard drive. But then there's cameras to consider as well so yeah, a dahua system will cost you more. There are no bundle packages like swann offers. The only other thing I have is just opinion. Swann and Lorex equaled cheap crap in the analog world. Everyone is giving them a pass now with their HD offerings, but for me- not so fast. Will a 200 dollar IP camera still be working when it's out of warranty, or will it be a flooded fogged up piece of crap? It's not how great it all is when it's new, it's how well it does over the long haul- something that hasn't been proven out yet. If history is any guide, it's not great. Customer support is wonderful but at a certain point all they do is say sorry, and you'll have to buy new, or 'we don't cover damages from a fully weather exposed camera.' I wouldn't write off qsee either. At least that's based on the dahua platform, which I think is a much better fleshed out system. But anyway, best of luck with your choice.

[zikronix 0]

Well a 32 channel dahua nvr will set you back about 1k with a hard drive in there- not 10k. LOL. If you get the one without built in poe, it's about 600 bucks minus the hard drive. But then there's cameras to consider as well so yeah, a dahua system will cost you more. There are no bundle packages like swann offers. The only other thing I have is just opinion. Swann and Lorex equaled cheap crap in the analog world. Everyone is giving them a pass now with their HD offerings, but for me- not so fast. Will a 200 dollar IP camera still be working when it's out of warranty, or will it be a flooded fogged up piece of crap? It's not how great it all is when it's new, it's how well it does over the long haul- something that hasn't been proven out yet. If history is any guide, it's not great. Customer support is wonderful but at a certain point all they do is say sorry, and you'll have to buy new, or 'we don't cover damages from a fully weather exposed camera.' I wouldn't write off qsee either. At least that's based on the dahua platform, which I think is a much better fleshed out system. But anyway, best of luck with your choice.

 

 

Im in arizona and the heat kills things here. Ii have a direct sun exposed camera. in my opinion I think any camera, is going to suffer the same issues in extreme enviroments, its just a matterr of is it sooner vs latter?