Wow do I hate researching security systems...

[kmarnes 0]

Okay so I've had a bit of a bad run. I got my feet wet a few years ago with a really crappy Lorex wireless system with standalone screen. Thing barely worked a year before it broke down, and got absolutely no help from Lorex, they didn't even respond to my submitted ticket. Then I kind of forgot about it and inquired again and then they just offered me a 10% discount on a new purchase.

 

Long story short, I could be interested in this system: https://www.lorextechnology.com/black-friday-specials/8-channel-security-camera-system-with-6-hd-surveillance-cameras/LN10804-86W-1-p

 

Seems like a nice balance -- six 4MP cameras, box with 3TB drive, PoE setup for $750 on Black Friday special.

 

But I'm very wary to buy anything from Lorex again. Unfortunately it seems most brands are also quite bad as well.. lots of cheap Chinese clone companies simply rebranding other brands, and proper 3rd party neutral review sites seem limited. There's just something particularly weird about this industry, and I'm a tech guy.

 

Anyone have recommendations for a good reliable brand with good customer service, and possibly something I can really just hook up to a computer rather than having a standalone box? I feel the standalone box is old school.

 

Thanks!

Edited November 27, 2016 by Guest

[tomcctv 190]

Hi. Since your last lorex system they have been taken over by flir systems. And now are dahua partners.

 

That is a good price for what you have listed.

[CYANiDE 0]

I agree - great price for what you get there. I'm honestly not a fan of those Lorex/Q-See/Swann systems but they do have their market share.

[kmarnes 0]

I agree - great price for what you get there. I'm honestly not a fan of those Lorex/Q-See/Swann systems but they do have their market share.

That's just it, I'm not either. Do you have a recommendation for something better?

[tomcctv 190]

I agree - great price for what you get there. I'm honestly not a fan of those Lorex/Q-See/Swann systems but they do have their market share.

That's just it, I'm not either. Do you have a recommendation for something better?

 

 

Lorex q-see ... Dahua ....

 

Swann.... Hik

 

You can go with avigilon ... Avermedia .... It depends on your budget.

[Securame 0]

Seems like a nice balance -- six 4K cameras, box with 3TB drive, PoE setup for $750 on Black Friday special.

 

Those are 4MP cameras, and not 4K cameras. Still a good price.

[kmarnes 0]

Seems like a nice balance -- six 4K cameras, box with 3TB drive, PoE setup for $750 on Black Friday special.

 

Those are 4MP cameras, and not 4K cameras. Still a good price.

Thanks, just fixed that. Anyways, my plan is to call them tomorrow and see if they will do something for me (extending warranty, couple freebies, like 100ft cat-5 cables.) Don't really see anything else this good at this price range.

[h20wakebum 0]

I just bought this exact same system!!!

 

I'd originally purchased a Flir Lorex $399 kit from Costco (8 cameras) but found that the quality was poo poo.

 

Are the cameras in the 4mp setup metal? They appear to be but I've not received my kit yet.

 

Have you set this up/been running it for a while now? any feedback?

 

I'm setting this up for my home and like that the NVR can support 4k cameras if I ever wanted to upgrade, and the 4mp cameras should be great for the time being.

 

Do you know if you can get full control of the NVR over internet/web app vs. having to connect a monitor to the NVR and configure?

 

Thanks,

RR

[kmarnes 0]

I just bought this exact same system!!!

 

I'd originally purchased a Flir Lorex $399 kit from Costco (8 cameras) but found that the quality was poo poo.

 

Are the cameras in the 4mp setup metal? They appear to be but I've not received my kit yet.

 

Have you set this up/been running it for a while now? any feedback?

 

I'm setting this up for my home and like that the NVR can support 4k cameras if I ever wanted to upgrade, and the 4mp cameras should be great for the time being.

 

Do you know if you can get full control of the NVR over internet/web app vs. having to connect a monitor to the NVR and configure?

 

Thanks,

RR

Yeah, I've got it setup to the internet, but I haven't actually fully installed it yet. I'm able to view feeds live on my cell phone which works well enough and the video quality of the cameras are good. Enclosure is full metal with a rubber padding on the mounting side. Lots of things to configure such as video recording settings (resolution, fps, motion alerts) etc.

 

But when I bought it, I also got a 4 port extension router -- but they never shipped together so I canceled the second part and then they shipped it weeks after I canceled it and still fighting for refund. Customer service is the worst I've seen. I'm going to call my credit card company to dispute the charge. I've done more than enough to get them to fix it.

[h20wakebum 0]

I just bought this exact same system!!!

 

I'd originally purchased a Flir Lorex $399 kit from Costco (8 cameras) but found that the quality was poo poo.

 

Are the cameras in the 4mp setup metal? They appear to be but I've not received my kit yet.

 

Have you set this up/been running it for a while now? any feedback?

 

I'm setting this up for my home and like that the NVR can support 4k cameras if I ever wanted to upgrade, and the 4mp cameras should be great for the time being.

 

Do you know if you can get full control of the NVR over internet/web app vs. having to connect a monitor to the NVR and configure?

 

Thanks,

RR

Yeah, I've got it setup to the internet, but I haven't actually fully installed it yet. I'm able to view feeds live on my cell phone which works well enough and the video quality of the cameras are good. Enclosure is full metal with a rubber padding on the mounting side. Lots of things to configure such as video recording settings (resolution, fps, motion alerts) etc.

 

But when I bought it, I also got a 4 port extension router -- but they never shipped together so I canceled the second part and then they shipped it weeks after I canceled it and still fighting for refund. Customer service is the worst I've seen. I'm going to call my credit card company to dispute the charge. I've done more than enough to get them to fix it.

 

Can you explain the purpose of the extension router?

 

Is this so that you can simply plug cameras into the router (by the cameras) and NOT HAVE TO RUN WIRES ALL AROUND THE HOUSE?

 

That sounds cool if so...

 

As far as quality goes, do you find the video quality to be very crisp (when viewed on iphone or computer)?

 

Does the night vision work well (could you share a sample)?

 

RR

[kmarnes 0]

Yeah the extension router was going to save wires. But after doing some measurements, I just picked up two 100' cables from Home Depot and that'll give me the reach I need for my most far reaching cameras. Also this way, I only need to drill one hole through my house instead of two, the way I was going to do it.

 

Quality on computer is crisp -- 4K and can see a lot enough detail to identify people and license plates, but as a bit of a camera guy, their camera sensors are average at best -- at 4K, pixels are larger blobs rather than individual pixels. Much like you would expect from a small 12MP camera with a small lense on it. Night vision is more of a software gimmick in my opinion (software futzing of color/brightness), but I haven't played with that much yet. I literally just have one camera connected looking outside my patio from inside the house. I need to find a weekend without rain to install it

 

On a cell phone, it was surprisingly real time but the quality is much lower, even when zoomed in. It's good enough to get an idea of what's going on and enough detail to recognize people. It'll push alerts to my phone when say the power goes out and the unit gets disconnected, or motion alerts on particular cameras. When I first turned on motion alerts with camera pointing to the front street, I woke up the next morning to find over 600 push alerts on my phone. So definitely need to spend time to set things up correctly.

 

Despite the crappy service, the system does seem like the best value for what you get. I paid $750 USD for it during Cyber Monday. Definitely not worth $2500 USD at it's regular price.