I have been using this system now for over 6 months. It has never crashed, and has actually saved me in a legal matter. A major delivery company delivered 3 laptops to my home, leaving them on my porch except they really only delivered 2! Caught on tape! BAM, no problem getting that claim paid extremely quickly.
The set up of the dvr is not entirely intuitive. It does include a helpful CD/DVD installation media; which includes a full manual, and software for most every platform for controlling and viewing the cameras. The best resource is the company's website. They have a very robust website, with video links to every imaginable question answered and demonstrated on film.
You could just stick up the cameras, plug them in, and everything would work. No doubt, most will want to delve in a bit to customize some of the settings.
I will break this into 2 sections. The DVR itself including software, and the cameras.
The DVR:
It is black in color, light weight, and housed in a metal case. The are multiple ports on the back for up to 16 bnc connectors, Video out: vga (dsub) and BNC (includes adapter BNC to RCA plug), usb mouse, ethernet, pan tilt and zoom, and DC power supply input.
You should know that if you are putting this near your entertainment stack, there is an annoying red light that will incessantly blink when motion is detected and the unit is recording. You can obviously fix this with a bit of tape.
The interface is a bit quirky, but you can figure it out fairly quickly. Mostly, left click selects, and right click takes you back. Somehow the network autoconfigure, automatically opened all of the necessary ports on my Verizon FIOS router. I am capable of accomplishing this task, but it was nice not to have to worry about it. The main port that need to be opened is 9000 (media) and port 80 (web) on your network. You will also need your IP address. (this is the ip for your router, not your computer) visit ipchicken . com to find it quickly.
!!!!!> !!!!!
I do not recall seeing it anywhere in the manual but you MUST set a user name AND password for any of the network stuff to work.
You will need to adjust the color for your cameras. None of my cameras had good color by default. I was able to achieve pretty good results by fooling around with the color options in the camera control submenu.
Other than setting the motion areas (accomplished by clicking and dragging) and color recording time slots, if you choose that -there is not much else use for the dvr's menus. Most everything else you will do through the web interface.
I did not use the DNS web address that is offered. I used the nightowl dvr software (NETVIEWER) that is available from the website or off of the cd. It is very robust, and allows for a multitude of options. From the nightowl dvr software menu you can designate cameras to send you digital snaps when motion is detected (you need a gmail address). To use NETVIEWER you need to have port 9000 open on your router. Then input your ip address (ip chicken remember) the user name (you pick) and password (no restrictions here).
From netviewer you can play back captured footage. Simply select a date, and a channel (camera), you will then be presented with a time-stamped list of all the recordings for that date. As you play back these files, they are automatically saved to your computer. The default path is under "Local Settings". Once these files have been downloaded, you can really easily convert them to standard *.avi file using the converter that is on the included dvd (or download from website). it takes mere seconds and I used it to give to the police, and the delivery company.
There are Pan/Tilt/Zoom features available in the Netviewer console as well, however none of the included cameras have this feature.
You can also playback LIVE video only, using an iPad or iPhone. The Nightowl app is available in the app store. It is a drag that you can only view live video, but their support team has assured me that you will have that ability in an upcoming release.
One GREAT use for this is checking to see if your amazon delivery has been left on your porch yet or not!
Overall the DVR does exactly what it claims. I have a 500gb drive, and I still don't think I have begun to overwrite yet (another feature you can set from the DVR interface). The playback is clear, and reliable. The motion capture record works very well. You can have it capture june bugs flying around, up to squirrels, or only catch the delivery driver stealing your laptops.
THE CAMERAS:
They are a step up from total crap. They do not fogup, so far none have failed, and if they do get a little rain on them, it tends to roll off quickly. I did treat mine with rain-x so they work even better now, but it was never a problem before through rain, sleet, AND snow.
You get 8 with the STA186. They are all the same. A hooded full metal body, and painted metal base. The cameras are connected to the dvr via the included BNC+DC combo cables that are included. I think they are all 60ft long. I needed 2 cables of 100ft, which I found here on amazon for a very reasonable price. The power is provided by 2 included DC power supplies (some people call them transformers). Each power supply powers 4 cameras (there is a sort of Hydra connector that turns the single plug into 4). Be sure to note the 'sex' of your cables before you run them. It matters which way the power plug goes! I was in some pretty inhospitable spots with my install and would never want to have to go back. I used a 5/8" speed bore for my cable runs to get through. This is a fairly tight squeeze that requires you to first push through the BNC connector, then power connector. A little expanding foam or caulk will fix the hole.
The camera mount is secured by 3 screws. The included screws are total crap you will likely want to use your own. You will want to the have the cameras removed from the base while mounting the bases. The camera is easily removed from the base by unscrewing the set screw that allows the camera to rotate around a recessed collar. The further adjustment of the camera is accomplished by a ball-socket connection that can be secured using the finger adjustment nuts.
A helpful hint I used was to have the iPad on the ladder with me as I adjusted the cameras.
One issue with the cameras is the night-vision feature sometimes creates some distortion in medium-low light. When the camera is getting confused as to whether to run in night mode or full color. Speaking of Night mode they shine here. The night vision feature is excellent, and in some ways more clear than the full color.
My overall impression is very good on the system as a whole. The biggest complaint is the camera quality. The DVR interface is a little less than intuitive but the NetViewer software is excellent. iOS APP works great on the iPhone and the iPad.
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