Swann Home Security Cameras with 2TB HDD, 4K Ultra HD NVR Security Camera System, 6 Cam 8 Channel, Wired Surveillance Security Camera Outdoor Indoor, PoE, Color Night Vision, Heat Motion Detection

I’ve just finished installing all the cameras. This system replaces one I’d been using for 8 years. I thought I was happy with my old system, but this new Swann system has raised the bar on what qualifies for happiness! I’m using the default settings until I have time to digest the massive, well-written manual. The lightweight plastic camera housing let me dangle the cameras from the Cat5 connector without creating strain on that connector. A camera needs to swing freely while I attach its base to the soffit. Coincidentally, the three(3) screw holes in the base lined up perfectly with those in the old system, so I did not need to drill new holes.I needed to loosen all the camera housing screws to enable all degrees of freedom. For my installation, all the cameras are shipped “upside down”. There might be a software setting to rotate the image, but, as I said, I’ve not read the entire manual yet. I found it easiest to screw the base into place, stuff excess cable up into the soffit hole, fit the camera onto the base, fine tune alignment with those previously loosened housing screws.During installation, I used an iOS tablet running the Swann app to verify the cameras are oriented properly, then I tightened all the screws. It’s good to check with the app to see if the camera is actually connected and functioning before mounting it and tightening the screws.Using Cat5e cables already in place from the old system, I attached all cameras to the soffit sheltered by the roof eaves.I’m happy enough with this system to give it 5 stars, but I think a 5-star system should be able to sense a power outage, send an alert, shut down the hard drive, wait for restoration of power, reboot, then resume normal functions. Such a system would, indeed, be a security system. My old system couldn’t do that either, so I have to hope a UPS keeps the NVR alive and that I’m home to deal with manual shutdown, reboot, etc. I did ask about this before purchasing. The Swann rep said to use surge protection. (You can find that advice in the Q&A section of this product’s reviews.)If I remember, I’ll revisit this in a few months. I still need to test remote access from outside our home network, try the warning light and sound, set masks on image areas where PIR motion will trigger alerts.But right now, out of the box with default settings, I’m quite pleased with this system. I can sense a lot of work went into it.

I really don't understand why anyone has issues with this system. From reading the reviews, I was a little scared to spend this kind of money on a new system. The only reason I did, is that I had an older swann system that worked well, so I gave this one a shot.It is incredible. It is much more receptive to low light/color video than my older system. With all lights off, the black and white video is still crisp and clear. With a small amount of light present, it shows in full color.I wasn't expecting audio, so that was a nice inclusion to be able to hear what was being said (1-way audio only/you cannot talk back).As with other POE systems, the install was a breeze. Just run a supplied ethernet cable to where the camera is going, and you are done. All cables supplied are 60 foot long. If you have a longer run, you can get an ethernet couple and use another smaller cable, or just order a longer cable for very little from Amazon. Just remember to make sure that you are staying within 330 feet for operation.Also, in order to hear audio, you need to change some settings. By default, everything is set at 15 frames per second. If you change this to 20 or higher, you use more bandwidth, but get a better image and audio.I highly recommend this system.

A wired camera system is better than wireless. I installed a similar 8-channel Swan system at my parents last year, so finally got around to installing one at my home. Cameras are crystal clear, install was not very difficult (except the crawling through the attic part), and the 2TB drive is storing over 2 weeks now without issue. My only issue may be that the system has too many options that I still need to learn about, so I downloaded the specs and manual (which were not included in the box) and need to start reading. So far two systems installed and happy with the quality and ease of simple use - just need to see how far into the weeds I can get ;) Hopefully it's a system I will not have to actually use/rely on, and my neighborhood stays safe; however, fun project to implement and great sense of safety and security.

I waited a year before I decided to review this. System is working great and I have had no issues. Super clear cameras and the app works nice. I just do not receive notifications but I have battery operated camera system to alert me if I need to review my Swann's.

It took me less than a day to set it and get it all working. But android application is very buggy, it rarely works, especially when there is an alert. Half the time it even crashes before showing anything and remaining of the time it takes several minutes to connect to cameras and by that time whatever trigger the alert is gone and I had to look at the preview, which also crashes the app, so most of the time I have no idea what is going on around my property even though I paid $500+ for this setup. Desktop application is more stable but I have to be home to use it. And then using the desktop application is also very hard, especially checking older videos, for example it can't switch to another day or show other captures when playing one, I have to stop that video to start a new one. When zooming in to click on an alert in the timeline, it always zooms to the beginning of the day so I have to scroll back to the time I was trying to see the capture for. It is extremely frustrating to use both applications. And it has beenAnd the worst is it has been a year and there is zero improvement in both the desktop application and the mobile application, they both suck as bad as they did at day one.Having this kind of experience with Swann applications, I will never buy anything from them, and I won't recommend this system to anyone, maybe other than the people I hate.

Working just fine so far 💪🏾🙏🏾