Personal Security Equipment and Products

Review by Ronald Restivo:

I got this system from Costco for 9.99. Works great right out of the box. Good range on the cameras. Mine are 60 feet or so apart on opposite sides of the house and I get good reception anywhere inside on the receiver. Night vision range is better then expected. I’m not using the audio feature, so I can’t comment on it. I want to add two more cameras, but there 0 each from Lorex, so it’s cheaper to buy a second system from Costco and keep the second receiver as a backup. Upgrade to a 16 GB card ( on Amazon) and get 24 hours of video recording.

Review by W. D. Jack Moran:

I am a retired Techno-Geek, a geezer-geek if you will. I have purchased and installed many systems in my time, but from a very good performance vs. very easy installation vs. good value basis, this is one excellent little system. A lot of good thought has gone into designing it, and it worked perfectly upon installation. Someone in one review complained of the blurry camera – but the cams come with a protective plastic film over the lense

This little rig has a nifty little remote that will allow you to select motion record or continious record, and all of the functions – this is very cool. The system took me about 15 minutes to get turned on to check the functions of everything, and another 2 or 3 hours to select the position of the cameras at the back and front of the house. Once positioned, all I had to do was to plug them in and turn them on.

The only complaint I MIGHT have is, I would like to see the camera power cables a foot or two longer to help with camera placement. I will be extending one cable my self. Perhaps Lorex could sell or include one EXTENTION power cable of about two feet in length. T

he audio speaker is not very loud, nor is the alarm. It won’t wake you up from a sound sleep, but if you are in your office working, it will let you know that the UPS person is at the door. A main key to this system is “how very, very simple it is to set up and install to get good results.”

Camera to screen (I love the little screen on my night table) range is about 50 to 75 feet. Yeah, we would all love to have a cam to screen range of 300 to 1,000 ft, but that is beyond the ability of most technology right not. This is a good little home/light commercial system. I plan to get another one for my wife’s business.

I hope this helps.

Review by K.H.:

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R39DOMPNW07CGJ This is a video review of SN500-4CH-002 which is Defender’s feature-rich 4 Channel H.264 DVR Security System with Smart Phone Access and 4 Indoor/Outdoor Hi-Res CCD Night Vision Surveillance Cameras.

This all-in-one system contains everything you need to setup and record a 4 camera surveillance system in your home or business.

For my installation, I did not need to buy anything extra or subscribe to any monthly service to use the system. I can now access the system through any computer in the world as long as it has internet access. I can also access footage by using my smart-phone when I am on the go.

I really do recommend the Defender SN500-4CH-002 system for anyone looking for an affordable 4ch DVR security system with web and smartphone access.

Review by BK:

After 3 years of researching for a system to place in my home and with my needs of Web/Smartphone ability this company is highly recommended. My line of work allows me to see alot of professional DVR security systems in Corp. and private retail industry. I truely believe in camera security over just an audile alarm for homes. More crimes are solved with a picture over an audible alarm which is monitored. I bought the system due to the cost and features. Once received it was out of the box and running in 10 minutes (No camera’s mounted or internet connection at this time). Internet connection took me about 45 minutes (Now I could do it in 5 minutes if I did it over). When it comes to setting up the router read carefully I have Linksey G wireless and everything works using DHCP IP address mode. I also use a first generation iPhone which does allow me to see the cameras in real time. This unit has capabilities to record on different days, hours and or an area of motion can be set within the cameras view to activate. The system does have a notification setup for emails which sends a still photograph if the camera is activated (Would be nice if updated software was to add notifications to phone numbers). Added features in the back of the DVR allow setup of an audile alarm. For around 0 one time fee with no monthly service to monitor or cost to maintain, who can beat this product. Four cameras with IR are very well made with metal bodies and 60ft of cable. Video quality is great, clean and crisp.

Review by Look no further:

A video reveiw would really stink on this if I used the video this junk camera shows me at a distance of about thirty feet.

I waited too long to get a refund on this camera while I was waiting to find some decent software to use with it.

Still havent found anything good to record with,this is a serveillance camera,right? more like a baby cam , U can use a web cam for that.

Review by -a|ex:

I added this portable camera to my wired Lorex system. For those that complain about the picture quality, it is because of the wireless interference. It didn’t take me long to reposition the receiver to get a better signal (I used a longer video cable to mount the receiver higher). The quality matches it’s price. It is used to monitor my teenage kid’s parties. It’s not good at detail, so I don’t recommend it for front door or reading license plates. The night vision is also adequate for the price. It has enough IR for a 20×20 room. Remember, more IR’s require more power which produces more heat.

If you use the 2 camera system, it will switch between the two. It doesn’t simultaneously view both cameras. I forget what frequency it uses, but the receiver is around 5 ft from my linksys wireless G router. I also have a wireless phone system (10 handsets) using dect 6 which doesn’t cause any interference. When I mounted the receiver too low (4 ft) I notice video interference whenever someone walked by the receiver. Mounting it closer to the ceiling cleared up all interference.

-a|ex

Review by Elkin Del Rio:

I recently bought this system . I am quite happy with it! Here are my thoughts: Everything that came in the box was as expected.

con : each camera require running cable until a local power source shared (4 cam)

I was looking for was ensuring that each camera didn’t require a local power source, as I didn’t relish the idea of running receptacles to each camera location.

I will like single cable with an video connector that runs to each camera and carries both power AND video signal .

Plus : very cheap, nice picture.

I was impressed with the picture I got from the night vision from the cameras.

Easy install software and run.

recommended this system

Some of the features I like about this unit is of course the night vision cameras, the ability to view the cameras over the internet, the ability to record continuously or as motion sensors.

Review by Diana E. Carroll:

There are three sets that are nearly identical, and differ only in the type of camera: this one (hidden camera), the outdoor starter kit, and the indoor starter kid. for more comprehensive reviews, look at those other kits as well.

As for my opinion, this set does what it says it does in a pretty seamless fashion: you install the software, plug the camera into the wall, plug a USB adapter into the wall and your computer, make some minor configuration changes and you are all set. I have no doubt we could have gotten a better system cheaper but not one as seamlessly integrated.

We looked at many different systems and bought this one instead because:

- most spy cams broadcast for TV…you then need a TV/VCR to record, or a separately purchased adapter to make it work with your computer, and we weren’t technically confident enough to want to buy different pieces and figure out how to get them working together

- some spy cams are self-recording (they contain memory internally) but these tend to be pricey AND they limit how much you can record; they will fill up if you don’t clear them out regularly, and for our purposes that wasn’t practical

- most “wireless” spy cams work on a WiFi wireless network, which is great if you have one, but we wanted this for use in a place we didn’t have wifi; this one works by transmitting over your home or office electrical system.

- the cost of the system includes a website you can set up to view your camera remotely (although if you have a firewall you’ll only be able to watch 3 minute pieces; if the system can connect directly, which might require configuring your router which some people will find daunting, you can watch constantly).

So, that said, here are some cons:

- only works on PCs, not macs

- 95% of the configuration is a piece of cake, but some aspects are confusing, like how to schedule alerts, and setting up for emailing alerts

- the program has many features that are in the program but you can’t click on them — they are there as advertisements for a “platinum” version of the software that costs a year. It’s annoying to have a screen full of buttons you aren’t able to click, and to have advertising be such a prevalent portion of the interface

- this one is kind of petty, but it would be nice of the clock that hides the camera had an alarm, since we had to remove a “real” clock in place of this one

- the camera is fine for security, but the image is kind of strange – it appears to be infrared? Which means the colors are bizarre. Reds turn yellow, greens and blues turn white. Which is probably fine for security purposes, but don’t be expecting to get a high quality video out of it

Review by Frederic Woodbridge:

Logitech makes some cool things and the Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security Hidden Master System Camera is one of those very cool things.

According to the documentation and marketing, it takes only 15 minutes to set one of these up. That’s not exactly true however–if you count how long it took to unpack the system, set up the software then the hardware in a suitable location, be prepared to spend at least an hour.

That said, the entire process is simple and should not present much difficulty beyond thinking about where to place and focus the camera. The package I got came with a camera, two transmitter/receivers: one connects via USB to the computer and the other via Ethernet to the camera, a CD of drivers and software and an assortment of bits of hardware chiefly for mounting the camera.

Installation of the software was straightforward and easy. Setting up the hardware was also straightforward; the included Quick Start guides and other pieces of documentation was clear and easy to follow, complete with color illustrations. I was soon up and functional. The bad news soon followed.

I have a wish list for Logitech: Would that there was a way for the camera to be completely wireless. Even with the 8-feet-long Ethernet cable, the camera requires a power outlet and is thus limited to being within 8-feet or so of said outlet. The best place I could think of putting a camera (the package came with only one; more can be obtained for an average cost of 0) was near the top of my living room which, of course, doesn’t have any outlets close-by. With several different ways of mounting (on the wall using an included apparatus with wall screws and such, on a pane of glass with suckers, or on a desk with a stand), I guess there are several options, but it seems there was none I was satisfied with.

The other thing I wish for is that the features that a prospective user would find most useful (such as remotely controlling pan and zoom; setting an automatic schedule for recording, etc.) are only available by subscribing to an a year subscription to something called WiLife Platinum. All of these `non-features’ contribute to my thinking of this product simply as `neat’ but not very practical. I guess if I really needed such a camera system, perhaps I’d spring for it, but it is a downside.

The camera itself, without the Premium subscription, requires a manual focusing. Which is just great because two people are required for such a procedure: one looking at the WiLife command console and shouting to the person who most likely is precariously perched on a rickety ladder tweaking the lens. I can tell you that the picture quality is pretty good and the ability to record several levels of quality is also quite nice. I could, for example, choose to record at 15 frames per second or less; I could record at VGA or QVGA (640×480 with VGA or 320×240 for QVGA); I could define `zones’ which means I could focus recording only on a specific, defined region. It is also possible to have the system contact the user via email and mobile (PDA, etc.) alerts.

To top it off, all of this is viewable online using the WiLife site. However, as I stated earlier, in order to get the more juicy (and, in my opinion, more practical) features, the user will need to subscribe to WiLife Platinum. The maddening thing about it is that WiLife command console is filled with references to Platinum-only features. The front of the WiLife command console has a `zoom and pan’ feature that figuratively screams “buy Platinum, dude!” every time the program opens up, which is on logon if you choose the default settings.

There are definitely some very cool uses for such a package but for the “average” user, I don’t see this product fitting the bill unless as one of those “cool” things to have although it could still have some very useful security applications.

4 stars out of 5.

Review by David Schwind:

I recently bought this system and spent yesterday installing and tinkering with it. I am quite happy with it! Here are my thoughts: Everything that came in the box was as expected, save that the DVR didn’t have an S-video output as I had seen it with before (I believe I bought an “upgraded” one which didn’t have the output). I was initially disappointed, but later found that the regular video-only composite output worked fine for me. That was my only disappointment with the system, and it has turned out to be a non-issue. One of the big things I was looking for was ensuring that each camera didn’t require a local power source, as I didn’t relish the idea of running receptacles to each camera location. This one has a single cable with an S-video connector that runs to each camera and carries both power AND video signal, so that worked out great. Installation was a breeze (despite spending a day in my attic) and the components worked together the first time I put the system together. Bringing the picture up through the web was also a snap as well – the instructions in the user guide are quite good for what you need to do. One of the biggest complaints about this system (and really all others in the sub-00 price range) that I had read before buying it is the lack of night vision clarity. I don’t know what people are talking about with this particular system because I was impressed with the picture I got from the night vision from the cameras – out to about 20 feet away from the camera in a completely dark inside room and with some lights (like indirect lighting through windows) my outdoor cameras were able to have a complete field of view. As far as installation, I am not a techie, but installing it was very straightforward and made sense. It went together quickly and though it took me a day to install, the majority of that time was spent running cables through walls and through ceilings to have all of the cables hidden from view. Data recording is a snap, and changing menu items is easy as well. The only thing I wish I had known before I installed the cameras is their field of view, which I had expected to be zoomed out a bit more than they actually are. Had I known what I was going to see, I would have probably mounted the cameras back a little further from the areas they are recording in order to get a better overall view. My suggestion would be to lay the system out BEFORE installing it to ensure that you are happy with the view that you have before you start drilling holes and running cable. Overall, I am very happy with the system and I have already recommended this system to a family member who is planning on buying it as well. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

Review by jake789:

My company bought this system to monitor an industrial robot. They work great and the picture quality is decent. It interfaced with our network easy enough. It is a great resource to be able to review the video history and even save screenshots and .avi videos to our pc’s.

Only cons that kept this from getting 5 stars:

1. The camera mounts are terrible. They are poorly designed and have to be readjusted often. We fixed this by globbing silicone caulk around the base so they wouldn’t move.

2. There is a well known hdd problem with these units. Apparently if you are recording and lose power, the hdd can get corrupted. This happened to us a few months after installing it. Luckily, all I had to do was use the reformat option in the menu and the hdd worked again even though we lost the data.

3. If you lose power you can lose all of your settings (camera setups and IP addresses) It can be a pain to fix but not that big of a deal.

4. When reviewing video history, the dvr makes chapters every 45-60mins. You pick one of these chapters and then have to ffw to the part you want to see. The ffw can be pretty slow and it takes awhile to get towards the end of the chapter.

Other than listed above we have been very happy with this system. At six hundred bucks you just can’t beat it. We just ordered another and I’m sure it won’t be the last.