I would like something better than the Swann Security DVR I purchased 4 years ago for around $450 with 4 cameras. I went out of my way to get Swann instead of one of a never ending succession of unknown companies at familiar stores like Smarthome, figuring that Swann would be better. Now I don't know if it is better. The Swann unit physically looks like essentially all the other security camera DVR's. They all look so similar you imagine them all being made by the same Chinese OEM.
Like most computerized devices these days, the User Interface of the Swann system from 4 years ago is deplorable. But how do you know where to get a better interface? All these systems are promoted on the basis of hardware and features, and the low price. Typical 4 camera DVR's sell for $75-$200 now. At that price one can barely expect much refinement. (Horrid user interfaces are the norm with all these kinds of systems in my experience…I haven't had time to write and describe how horrible they all are.)
As just one example of how horrible the User Interface of my system is:
My system was actually an 8 camera system. The problem with that is that it defaults to a display with 8 panels--one for each of the 8 cameras. But if you have only 4 cameras connected, half of the panels will simply show the message "Video Failure". So with only 4 cameras, half of the screen space is wasted and in the other half the pictures from each camera are only half as big as they should be.
You can go into the software--this is sometimes very tricky--and change it to a 4 camera display. But that will only stay that way for a week or so. Because, for reliability reasons, the system reboots itself on programmed intervals from 1 week to 1 month. When it reboots, your display reverts to the 8 camera display again. That means, once again, you have to go to the system and change it again.
You'd have thought that they would have thought about this problem, especially as they are selling the system I bought with only 4 cameras. I emailed Swann and asked if I could make it stay with the 4 camera display after rebooting. I was glad to get a quick email response from Swann, but the answer was no, you have to reset the 4 camera display after every reboot if you have the 8 channel DVR, and they do recommend the periodic rebooting.
One thing for sure, next time I get the 4 camera system if I'm only going to have 4 cameras. Well I thought I might soon have 8 cameras, but this didn't play out as expected. The system with 4 cameras was, I thought then, an incredible bargain for only $450, and I could get more cameras for $100 apiece or less. What I failed to consider was the cost of actually installing the cameras. Given that these are wired cameras, they must have wires running all the way back to the DVR.
If you don't want this to be extremely tacky and/or unreliable, you have to have an electrician install the cameras. They will do it very nicely with a box in the wall where the camera mounts and wires running through your attic. That can run you about $1000 just to install one camera if you are doing one at a time. I've installed 3 cameras in two projects and the cost was about $1000. It was lowest for the first camera because the wire simply goes through the wall and didn't need to get run through the attic, and the other two I did at the same time as other attic electrical work was being done.
I suppose as an alternative you could simply staple the video camera wires to the outside of your house. Now how secure is that going to be?
Anyway, I'm trying to find a nicer 4 channel replacement for my now 8 channel DVR. Here's the nicest looking one in print, for $599. At that price it ought to be better than those which are more typically selling for $100. But you can't really tell from online information. It might be just the $100 unit marked up to a higher price. OK, it does have the nice feature of being able to attach High Definition cameras. But I don't need that feature as none of my cameras are High Definition. And this company doesn't offer any unit without that feature.
Like most computerized devices these days, the User Interface of the Swann system from 4 years ago is deplorable. But how do you know where to get a better interface? All these systems are promoted on the basis of hardware and features, and the low price. Typical 4 camera DVR's sell for $75-$200 now. At that price one can barely expect much refinement. (Horrid user interfaces are the norm with all these kinds of systems in my experience…I haven't had time to write and describe how horrible they all are.)
As just one example of how horrible the User Interface of my system is:
My system was actually an 8 camera system. The problem with that is that it defaults to a display with 8 panels--one for each of the 8 cameras. But if you have only 4 cameras connected, half of the panels will simply show the message "Video Failure". So with only 4 cameras, half of the screen space is wasted and in the other half the pictures from each camera are only half as big as they should be.
You can go into the software--this is sometimes very tricky--and change it to a 4 camera display. But that will only stay that way for a week or so. Because, for reliability reasons, the system reboots itself on programmed intervals from 1 week to 1 month. When it reboots, your display reverts to the 8 camera display again. That means, once again, you have to go to the system and change it again.
You'd have thought that they would have thought about this problem, especially as they are selling the system I bought with only 4 cameras. I emailed Swann and asked if I could make it stay with the 4 camera display after rebooting. I was glad to get a quick email response from Swann, but the answer was no, you have to reset the 4 camera display after every reboot if you have the 8 channel DVR, and they do recommend the periodic rebooting.
One thing for sure, next time I get the 4 camera system if I'm only going to have 4 cameras. Well I thought I might soon have 8 cameras, but this didn't play out as expected. The system with 4 cameras was, I thought then, an incredible bargain for only $450, and I could get more cameras for $100 apiece or less. What I failed to consider was the cost of actually installing the cameras. Given that these are wired cameras, they must have wires running all the way back to the DVR.
If you don't want this to be extremely tacky and/or unreliable, you have to have an electrician install the cameras. They will do it very nicely with a box in the wall where the camera mounts and wires running through your attic. That can run you about $1000 just to install one camera if you are doing one at a time. I've installed 3 cameras in two projects and the cost was about $1000. It was lowest for the first camera because the wire simply goes through the wall and didn't need to get run through the attic, and the other two I did at the same time as other attic electrical work was being done.
I suppose as an alternative you could simply staple the video camera wires to the outside of your house. Now how secure is that going to be?
Anyway, I'm trying to find a nicer 4 channel replacement for my now 8 channel DVR. Here's the nicest looking one in print, for $599. At that price it ought to be better than those which are more typically selling for $100. But you can't really tell from online information. It might be just the $100 unit marked up to a higher price. OK, it does have the nice feature of being able to attach High Definition cameras. But I don't need that feature as none of my cameras are High Definition. And this company doesn't offer any unit without that feature.
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