List Price: $329.99
Sale Price: $276.61
Today's Bonus: 16% Off
After reading some of the less than glowing reviews I was a bit apprehensive about purchasing this system but did anyway knowing I could always return it.
We live in a nice neighborhood that, lately has been attracting opportunist, petty thief's. I just wanted to know what went on while I was sleeping or away.
I am fairly technically inclined so setup worked out without a hitch. I experimented with temporary camera mounting locations outside for about a week to get an idea of the limitations of the system.
The system works well. Daylight video quality is good, night time is ok but you are not going to recognize a face on a moving person even with the adequate IR lighting. Also note that the IR lighting is pretty focused and if there is an object lit up closer than what you are trying to see (say, a shrub) the brightness of the background image will be dark @ night. Regardless, you will at least see what is going on.
Regarding the video quality, this is not the free flowing video you see from a camcorder/Youtube/cell phone video camera. It is much more coarse. 3-10 images a second depending on signal strength. It is adequate for the purpose.
I ended up purchasing 2 systems + an extra camera. 5 cameras total. Note that a camera can only sync to 1 screen.
The internet viewing of live video is ok from my galaxy tablet or work PC. No audio is transmitted thru web access.
I really like the "tablet style" interface. Carry it anywhere within camera range for viewing and makes camera aiming a breeze. Viewing, sorting (by camera) and deleting video recordings is pretty easy.
The motion detection/recording works pretty well. Fast changes in lighting will trigger it as will a bug flying in front within 4' on low setting @ night (snow and rain will trigger it too). Reflections of car headlights on windows or surfaces will trigger it along with moving branches....but so will something like a cat in the dark.
I have had 2 screen lockups that required a 3sec pin hold in the reset button.
Wish list:
Wider range of motion detection, not just hi-lo-off. 5 steps would be nice.
An actual alarm that would sound if motion was detected. The thing has an alarm clock built in but no alarm for motion...silly. Maybe a FW update will fix this in the future. The only really stupid omission...
Would like to see the same camera on 2 screens.
The audio is choppy at best and generally unusable. Oh well, bonus "non-feature".
As the title says, you get what you pay for.
I have about 800 into my system(s) and am happy.
You must recognize the limitations of the wifi-ish transmission method. You need to pay attention to how much structure you are transmitting thru. 3 walls is about the max @ 50', I have ordered a higher gain antenna for 1 camera that is quite obstructed, 2 bars works ok but more gain is needed for a higher frame rate.
This is not a $3000 hardwired system with all the bells and whistles but it might just fit your needs like it has mine if you understand the limitations and work within them.
Aug-2013 update. Still happy with the system. I have 6 cameras now. The phone app was recently updated and is more stable now. Bought bigger memory cards for both bases. The summer bugs continue to be drawn to the IR @ night. Minor annoyance but I rarely watch every recording for a day unless there is good reason.
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