Swann AdvancedX Wired NVR 4K Security Camera System, 8 Channels, 4 PoE Cameras Outdoor, 1TB HDD Storage, Color Night Vision, Smart AI Video Analytics/Alerts, Motion Detection, 24/7 Recording

Best camera system I’ve had
I just installed this yesterday evening and it was so easy to set up. I had previously installed another system from another company and it was a headache. Since I had already pre-wired cat6 100ft cables, hooking up this system was fast and easy. When I turned on the box, set-up instructions were so easy and pictures are so clear. I also installed the app afterwards on my android and my wifes android and we are happy. We also had a wi-fi system but it only worked when theres movement and we would miss events.Now on the other hand, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the spend to work, I turned up volume and still nothing. So im wondering how to get that going.But other that, thats it.I will update soon

Clearer picture than older versions
Much clearer picture than older versions. But if you want to use these as replacements without replacing dvr. They wont record. We had one bad camera that we replaced with one of these cameras. Still using our old dvr box. And that camera will not record. Cant wait to upgrade all our cameras.

Has built in light that’s annoying
Does the job but it achieves “night vision” by having a light. Rather annoying lighting up everytime a car drives by

Great choice for self-installers
There a re several different choices for setting up a home or office camera system. Wired or wireless? What resolution? What brand? Self installed or hire a pro? If you go with self installed, this is a good system to consider.This is a higher end capability system with 8MP resolution but at a middle of the road price point. Professional systems can be three times more costly and will give you 12MP or greater resolution. But for most of us who are simply trying to monitor our homes or businesses, this moderately priced set offers a lot of options and great quality.I have lots of experience with Swann products over the past couple of years and feel comfortable with the company as a responsible player in this field with quality products.For me, the biggest issue is wired versus wireless. Wireless solar powered or battery powered cameras are inexpensive and are super easy to install. But batteries need to be changed, wifi channels can be iffy, spotty or even intentionally blocked by thieves and the resolution on most wireless style cams is sufficient for viewing some things but not for recording license plates or fine details.This wired set includes everything you need (except the actual wire and a monitor) to install the PoE cameras and record them continuously. Swann offers a cloud storage plan if you want it but I have found their NVR to be able to do most of what I need from my system. If you are using the camera system in a critical application where regular backups are needed, that is possible as well– with their subscription plan or on an ad hoc basis.The functionalities of security cameras (this one and other brands) are remarkably similar since most of the features are just software tweaks. Most security cameras will allow you to be notified whether someone is near the door or whether a package has been delivered. Swann offers a neat feature which allows you to draw a virtual line on the screen (for example, a fence or property line) and will alert you when that boundary is crossed. It works pretty reliably once you get the hang of it.Many of the ‘gee whiz’ features–like object and person id using AI or algos is not really quite all that. Yes, you are likely to get a notification that your package has been detected or that a person is nearby. But you are just as likely to get a notification that someone is nearby when it is a squirrel–or nothing. Don’t buy a system like this for the algos–they don’t work reliably enough (at this moment in time) to be depended upon.This system uses PoE which allows the same cat wiring which you need to transmit the video and audio to carry the electrical current to run the camera as well. You don’t need to plug these cameras in to an outlet–the same low voltage CAT wiring carries both data and current.Video is viewable on the Swann app or can be fed from the NVR to a TV screen or monitor for viewing.Because the cameras are line powered, and not battery powered you can use this system as a continuous monitor–live at all times. The NVR is always recording each of the channels (up to 8 on this NVR–one for each camera) in a short loop Should an event happen, the NVR will automatically save the prior ten seconds or so before the event happened. THis is a great feature (although not exclusive) since most cameras take a bit of time to react to some events and this can help capture things that otherwise would have been missed.Swann sells this kit in various configurations sharing the same NVR but with varying types and amounts of cameras. They are all quality kits with the ability to expand as needed.