Wired CCTV Security Camera System Outdoor with Audio, 8 Channel 5MP DVR with 4x Audio Camera, Color Night Vision, 1TB Hard Drive for 24/7 Recording Home Security Systems, Human/Vehicle Detection

This ANNKE CCTV system with DVR has four included cameras. Overall I’m very impressed. Starting with installation, the cameras come with drill templates, wall plugs, and screws suitable for solid external walls. Each camera is clearly marked with an “UP” indicator, which makes orientation obvious when fitting. One of the best improvements over older camera designs is the mounting system. You don’t have to loosen and tighten lots of small screws to adjust the angle. Instead, the camera rotates within its housing, so you can fully position it after the bracket is fixed to the wall. No tools needed for fine adjustment, which makes installation much quicker and easier. The system comes with four cameras that support audio. Each camera has a built-in microphone, and the supplied cables carry both video and audio over the main camera connection, with a separate power lead. At first, this is slightly confusing because the DVR only has one dedicated audio input, but in practice the camera audio works over the video connection and the extra audio port appears to be for an older type camera. Initial setup was mostly straightforward, although I did hit a small issue during activation. When setting the password on first boot, the on-screen keyboard didn’t appear at first. Once the DVR was connected to the network with an Ethernet cable, the keyboard worked normally and setup continued without problems. Registering the device in the ANNKE Vision app was simple and remote access worked as expected. The cameras support multiple video modes (TVI, AHD, CVI, CVBS), selectable using the button on the camera cable. This is mainly for compatibility with older DVRs. On this system, TVI gives the best image quality, (according to the Internet) while the other modes are useful if you’re reusing older equipment. Night performance is very good. Each camera has both IR LEDs and a white LED for colour night recording. You can choose IR only, colour night with the white light, or turn both off depending on the location. The colour night image is clear. There doesn’t appear to be Alexa integration, but the mobile app works well and push notifications for motion and smart detection are reliable. Playback is easy to navigate and motion events are clearly marked. Overall, this is a very solid CCTV system. You get four good cameras, a capable DVR, long cables, power supplies, drill templates, and a reliable mobile app. I’ve used ANNKE systems before and they’ve been consistently good, and this one is no exception. A worthwhile upgrade to get LED white light camers with audio and a DVR that supports them with smart motion sensing that identifys people or cars from other things pretty accurately.

Well, I did write a fairly detailed review but either Amazon or Chrome threw a "wobbly" just as I posted it and it was all gone! So here is a brief review. My main requirement was to have PIR motion detection and 1080p - this kit seemed to be the most reasonably priced and, as it turns out, very good quality. That's not to say you won't get any spurious false alerts, you still do, BUT over the course of 24 hrs this might average out at about 10 instead of the hundreds I could get on my old system with conventional motion detection. Of course even the PIR false alerts MIGHT me something the heat detector has seen which is actually outside of the cameras view as it is a separate sensor and not looking through the lens. In any event it generally works very well and if, like me, you like to review some of the alerts regularly then it generally means that most clips have some useful content rather than just some rustling leaves! I just wish that the manufacturers (most of them not just Annke) would devise suitable firmware/OS/web server for their devices that allowed you to view video in any of the common modern browsers as this currently requires a "plug in" which will not run due to security considerations. Yes, I have read all the help files and tried ALL the "fixes" and browsers. You can download a program called "Guarding Vision" from Annke which WILL run on the PC AND allow you to do most of the settings and view the video etc. remotely on your PC. The downside is it seems to run in some sort of "virtual box" and therefore is very slow to load and exit. It is also a totally different GUI to the devices web server or direct on monitor layout so it is yet another fairly steep learning curve. As my DVR is in an outbuilding I decided it was easier to just purchase a dedicated monitor (HP 21.5") to connect directly to the DVR to allow direct access to any of the settings or tweaks necessary from time to time and I use the Annke Vision app on my phone and tablet for live view or to review any alerts etc. which works well. The build quality is very good, especially the cameras which are easy to adjust. Installation was straight forward as the cables for the cameras are a single 5mm diameter approx run which splits into two, power and video, just at each end. Maybe the DVR case is a little on the flimsy side. I did have a problem with 2 of the cameras (at separate times) and Customer Support/Technical Support has been excellent with both problems resolved promptly. It would be nice if it had Google integration (or even IFTTT) so I could view a camera live on the domestic TV by voice command but even much more expensive systems that do seem to be unreliable using this function. As it is I have a 4 camera system, with PIR detection, 1Tb hard disk, 1080p recordings view-able from anywhere and even with the addition of a nice dedicated monitor the cost was less that £260. Even better it all works without the need to subscribe to any "cloud" storage or repeated prompts to do so! Recommended - and I certainly would never go back to a normal motion detect system.

Like: kit comes with everything you need to set up a CCTV surveillance system with HDD recording and motion capture. Very sensitive motion detection and alarm. Automatically switches from daylight to infra-red light source at night - gives quite good pictures under either condition. It will send you notifications by email with attached picture of any motion detection. Can also be set to give audible alarm from DVR when motion detected - useful warning of activity, such as approaching visitor. When installing cables they plug together easily and you get a good length supplied, but you can buy further extension cables. Dislike: too much 'jargon' in the instruction manual with numerous acronyms assuming installer has a level of understanding of video cameras, internet connections /networks etc. some images in the guide book are poor quality and you have to reply on descriptive guidance only. Guide is a little complex in some places but perseverance and common sense will usually prevail, plus searching the Annke website FAQs. Getting email alerts requires connecting the DVR to your internet router via a home network - a power-line adapter seems to work well. The plugs on the ends of the cables require around a 16 to 19 mm hole in the wall/ceiling. Overall: a little disappointed with image quality (don't expect to read the headlines of a newspaper in the image) but it gives reassuringly clear images day and night which would enable identification of any intruders or visitors. Good also for internal monitoring of your home and the ability to live stream on your smartphone if away from home.