SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras
by SVAT Electronics
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $495.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras
Customer Review: Good, but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
I am just installing this system. The basic function is pretty easy to set up. I have one camera installed and it works pretty well in bright light, but is a little disappointing in the dark.
The mount for the cameras is a definite drawback to this system. I had to mess around with the mount on the first camera for it to work. Even so, I am not sure the camera will hold position for any length of time. The mount is poorly engineered and machined. I was also disappointed to find no instructions regarding camera mounting. I have no idea of how secure this camera will be in adverse weather. I had considered covering the point where the wire enters the camera with a silicone seal, since it does not look waterproof. At this point, I have just mounted it under my soffitt, hoping it will not be subject to driving rain.
Once I get all the cameras installed,I will work on getting the system hooked up to the internet. At that time, I plan to modify my review.
Customer Review: Worked for 6 mos.
Summary: 2 Stars
Well, it worked fairly well for 6 mos. Then, as others have stated in their reviews, I began getting the "HDD FAIL". The hard drive fails and it doesn't record anymore. The only way to get it to do anything is unplug it and reboot. But, for someone like me that is trying to oversee a business and am not in the office everyday, I lose days of recording before I can get there to reboot it. In the meantime, inventory can disappear and you have no idea when as your DVR didn't record anything. There is no rhyme or reason, it just "fails". Very annoying. Would definately look elsewhere for another brand. Much too expensive only get 6 mos. use out of it. Customer Review: SVAT CV0204DVR Web Ready DVR Security System
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently bought this system it arrived on time and well packed. This being my first system that was not so complicated to set up. I really liked the power supply / cable connection set up SVAT has with this model. I get only B & W picture on my LCD TV not a big issue maybe needs adjustments and color off my computer.Day time camera pictures are very good and clear to 50 ft Night 25 ft and clear maybe more with outside lights. The best thing is to check the operation of the system prior to running the cables.Do a dry run with the cameras and check your angles set up was quick and simple after that.Up and running a week without any issues well worth the price so far. If not this model I recommend a security video system no matter what the perp says the tapes don't lie busted is busted Better security software & Remote would be a nice upgrade all in all I'm pleased Customer Review: night vision camera
Summary: 3 Stars
the camera is easy to set up, pictures is fine,but It has 2 big draw-back:
1)The hard-drive was not too stable, it failed alot(may be twice a week)
when it fail, all function disable, you need to unplug the power then
reconnect to made it work again, you may lost some important time when
you need it.
2)The unit only support single function, if you want to play(watch) the
record in the hard-drive, you must stop the report first, it is not very
good because you miss all the time while you view, you never know what
may happen on those time.
Customer Review: Good product but lacking warranty support
Summary: 3 Stars
The first unit I received failed with a "HDD FAIL" hard drive crash. This happened within hours of being installed and connected. I found SVAT warranty support to be amazingly lacking. Although SVAT claims 1 year warranty, the item must be returned at your own expense, turn around time is slow and SVAT requires you to sign a claim contract stating that SVAT can charge you $50 per hour for basically any reason they deem necessary associated with your return. This was very disappointing, considering I paid full price for an item that was defective right out of the box. Ultimately, I was able to get this exchanged through Amazon, but be aware of these warranty issues with SVAT before you make a purchase. You should also fully test out the HD and cameras before running any wires, in case a return is necessary.
Onto the product:
The cameras are pretty good. They are small, around 2" x 4" and seem to have a usable distance of about 40 ft during the day and 25 ft at night with outside lighting in the area. The range is actually much further, but resolution and clarity is low beyond those distances. Each camera does require its own power (DC adapter) at the end where it connects to the DVR. So you will need the ability to plug in (4) adapters, the DVR, a monitor and any power you need for Internet access there. Also, SVAT suggests you run a UPS Battery backup ($50-$75), so figure this into your budget as well.
Once connected to internet access, the system is simple to view and control from a computer....AS LONG AS THE COMPUTER IS CONNECTED TO THE SAME HOME/OFFICE NETWORK THE DVR IS CONNECTED TO. Once connected, you can view, control the system, and create .AVI file video clips easily from your computer.
Viewing the DVR from outside of the network connected to the DVR requires "port forwarding". This appears to be a fairly complicated process, and may even be impossible depending on your ISP, modem, router, firewall security, etc. This has not been an issue for me as I have little need to view this from a location outside my home. However, this limitation could prevent usability if your need to view the system when out of town.
The DVR has a fairly wide range of settings, including time and motion settings for the cameras, color adjustments and HD settings. 160g HD will allow you to record all 4 cameras individually, at high quality 24 hours a day for about 4 days, before it is full. Then you will be overwriting old video, but this time frame can be greatly extended by adjusting motion recording, times, quality, etc. Also, the HD does not appear to be expandable / upgradeable, as with more expensive systems.
PROS: low price, easy to connect, decent cameras, easy online control
CONS: no remote for DVR, cannot upgrade HD, poor warranty support, difficult to view from outside local network
Bottom line, I probably would not buy this system again, instead I would spend a couple hundred more on higher quality system with upgradeable HD and better warranty support.