So, since there are four cameras, would that make this a Quad-z-modo?

*capers off, chanting "Molten metal, molten metal...:*

nicklcarey wrote:LINUX USERS BEWARE!!!

My Zmodo only works with internet explorer. Does NOT work in mozilla or chrome. I have some windows PC so it wasn't a huge deal but it really did (and still does) bum me out I couldn't pull up the cams on my Linux machine.

I can only get mine to work with chrome or FF but not IE

Folks... for the fools that don't get it.. a hard drive is NOT REQUIRED!!! That ..would make this a DVR, not a basic survelliance system....

Now.. in all fairness.. most people would want a DVR..but at a price of $99.00 .. get over it!

Oh great another camera surveillance system. I can't even contain my excitement.

Motion detection light solves the night vision issue. I find the nightvision on the cameras are good for playing indoors more so than outdoors, but it does seem to work decent.

I live in Philadelphia and we have had a group of people slashing tires of entire blocks on a daily basis. Its been all over the news and they've hit at least 20 cars a day for the last few weeks. I'm hoping to catch the little procreateers enough to give a description for more public awareness.

Honestly I'm hoping these tadpoles get themselves shot.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20120327_Arrest_in_Philadelphia_tire_slashings.html?cmpid=124488459

I ordered this the last time it came up on Woot, and with the addition of a hard drive it's been working swimmingly. I haven't yet had the opportunity to hook up any of the four included cameras, but instead have used the ones that came with my house. So, it's nice to have backup. :D

I've also set up the DVR for viewing the cameras from my Android phone using the free IP Cam Viewer Basic app. You can't view any recorded events, but you can view the live video stream. So far, it's been instrumental in letting me know when my latest Woot! shipments have arrived, as well as the lounging and exploration patters of the cat that makes its home in our garage. I consider this as preparation for the inevitable robot or zombie apocalypses.

I have the 8 camera system. It's a decent system with good image quality. The PC software that runs it (the DVR client) pretty much sucks. It's a full screen app only. It can't be moved to another monitor or resized.

After trying to contact support for a couple of weeks, I finally got a call. The guy was very confused about my question. I wanted the WINDOWS app that is in their documentation. After giving him remote control and showing him this client, he told me that the Woot systems are pretty much obsolete and this is the only software by anyone that will address the cameras.

Oddly, I got MEye (an Android app) to work fine from my phone.

Great price for a basic system. Just don't expect much on monitoring unless you have a dedicated computer to do the work.

fh2level wrote:I can only get mine to work with chrome or FF but not IE

I was gonna say, I could get it to work with Chrome, as well. For Windows only computing, I have a VM running windows, which solves that particular problem. Might also work via other emulation means.

I purchased a four camera Zmodo system with a 1GB HDD from Woot last summer.

The only complaint that I had with the system is the quality of the cameras. Two of the camera refused to work as soon as the temperature dropped into the low +40s. To Zmodo's credit, new cameras were quickly sent to me via Fedex. I did not even have to return the defective cameras.

I might add that the Zmodo tech that I spoke with stated the cameras should work down to -40 F. I can confirm that they did work this past winter at temperatures of around -10 F.

Like most inexpensive cameras, the daytime color rendition is highly dependent on the amount of IR energy. Green plants will actually look white, as do some black colored items.

The software takes some getting used to and is NOT intuitive. It does have a number of very handy features that are not common on cheap DVRs.

One feature that I like is the "PreRecord" option. This will save a few seconds of the video before the alarm is tripped, pretty much eliminating missed action on the recordings.

I also liked the ability to limit the motion detection to any section of the image within a user-selected 150 square area. This works very well if you have a tree or bush that trips the alarm when the wind blows.

Overall I am pleased with my Zmodo. It is not the best on the market, but it works pretty well for price.

I need 2 to watch my kittehs play while I'm at work! Hi Machu, hi Picchu!

I bought one last time they had this for sale. For the money, it is unbeatable. I actually bought another 8-channel Zmodo to add to the 4 for a total of 12 cameras. The cameras this one comes with are fine for internal use. I put them covering my garage doors, front entrance, and rear entrance. Bought upgraded cameras (4 for 90 off Newegg) for the exterior. The Mobile phone monitoring option on this cannot be beat at any price. You need to be a little geeky to get your home network set up and configured, but once you get it all figured out, it works flawlessly. The live images are really pretty good. Recorded images are OK. Not good for identification, but OK for recognition. Actually, the recording (compression) of this 4 channel model is way better than the 8 channel I bought. I would probably prefer two of these over the "newer" Zmodo 8 channel.

fh2level wrote:I can only get mine to work with chrome or FF but not IE

I highly recommend installing the application that comes on the mini-CD with the unit for remote viewing. Way better interface than a web browser. If you need location independent remote viewing, go with the Android/Blackberry 4G/3G app. I would stay away from the browser based viewing. The native apps are superior.

flemtone wrote:So, since there are four cameras, would that make this a Quad-z-modo?

*capers off, chanting "Molten metal, molten metal...:*

LOL

On Android, (maybe Apple too)..look for the ASEE app by MEYETECH. Best app out there for remote viewing a ZMODO. Once the android device is tilted sideways, this app will stretch the picture to fit your device with minimal advertisements to block your view.

I want to output this to a TV and see all 4 cameras at the same time in a 4 square. Will this model do this?

I had an eight channel system and just upgraded to 16 channels. This Zmodo system works as described. Quality is great, web access both local and remote work and you can have multiple simultaneous users both local and remote each looking at different or same cameras. System is very solid. I also have iphone and ipad connection using Asee app (audio is not supported on iphone or ipad.) I bought my own cameras and hard drive as the cameras that come with have poor reviews and the hard drive 7200rpm 2TB SATA was not included in the model I bought. I also purchased the Zmodo systems from another vendor, the 16 channel system was about $165 w/out drive and cameras and the 8 channel was about 20 dollars less. I would recommend buying a system larger than 4 channels as the real cost is not much higher to get more inputs. Google to find best price. But if you are looking for a basic system this is a good choice. Also Zmodo support is very helpful and willing to spend time if you have setup problems. Be aware that there are different passwords for PC and mobile. Also video outs are composite and vga. One output is controlled by a remote the other is fixed output of all cameras. These outputs do not affect the web streams.

rahima53 wrote:I want to output this to a TV and see all 4 cameras at the same time in a 4 square. Will this model do this?

yes

One owner stated that they could not get the Zmodo software to run in anything but Internet Explorer. I use Chrome and mine works perfectly. Could be an older version or didn't install the proper plugin. I have NO issues.

Each camera comes with 60ft of cable? That seems a bit short if you have a large area. Even placing the DVR in a central location of my property, I don't think 60ft would be enough. How easy (and inexpensive) is it to add more length to that? Does it degrade the image quality?

Search Lorex at BestBuy.com

[Mod: This post would be more awesome with links.]

ghamphy wrote:All 4 cameras powered by a single power adapter. That means that these four cameras cannot be far apart. can they ?

The video cable is also the power cable.

jseureau wrote:This is a great deal! I would buy it but I have nothing worth stealing!

Buy it so you HAVE something worth stealing!

jseureau wrote:This is a great deal! I would buy it but I have nothing worth stealing!

They could steal your new surveillance system!!

Although the price is good, isn't this system a bit archaic at this point? I have seen wireless systems go for under $200, with storage in the cloud.

Sure you have the expense of the cloud storage if you want to record, but for this system you need to a by a hard drive as well. The range on the wireless cameras is very good and it sounds like the quality is just as good. Plus you can move them to anywhere you want, provided you have a power source to plug them into, and there is no drilling and snaking of cables.

I have setup one of these systems already at a small business office. It works exactly as described and is pretty simple to get running. Camera quality is very good - just note that you only get video, no sound. Video footage will roll-off the oldest as the hard drive fills up so you don't need to monitor/regulate that by hand.

The 'single adapter' power supply is a big wall-wart that plugs in wherever you've got the base-system, and the cable from each camera splits into two connectors at the base-station end. So one end goes into the recorder and the other goes into the power supply.

Setup is dead simple and I'd say worth the money for the security conscious people who want an economic solution.

mnunez611 wrote:Plus you can move them to anywhere you want, provided you have a power source to plug them into, and there is no drilling and snaking of cables.

This is the downfall of a wireless system. Only the data transmission is wireless - you still have to power it. Which either leaves the system vulnerable to being unplugged to circumvent it, or you have to run cable through a protected setting (like the attic or some other wall) to keep it safe - just like a normal camera. Not much benefit unless the camera you want to place is hundreds of feet away from the base station.

onsale at newegg for $89.99 fs



[Moderator: Need a link to prove it.]

I had a 50% hit rate with these. one of the two units was awesome, the other doa.

rsilver wrote:onsale at newegg for $89.99 fs

Link. I can't find it on newegg

Everyone just remember to install and use these systems in accordance with local laws and regulations.

I had some video footage (caught someone breaking into a neighbors house) thrown out of court because it had audio with it. There are apparently different laws and regulations about audio vs. video surveillance.

I was also told by a lawyer friend that it's a good idea to post some sort of sign notifying people that the premises are under surveillance if you intend to use any footage as evidence.

Again, laws and regulations vary from state to state, so you may want to check yours.

ghamphy wrote:All 4 cameras powered by a single power adapter. That means that these four cameras cannot be far apart. can they ?

If it's like the 8-camera system they had a while ago, the adapter is centralized near the dvr and each camera can be 50ft from there. Power and video are transmitted through the same cable. Actually, you can buy even longer cables if you want. I'm sure there's a limit on cable length due to signal strength, resistance, etc... but you can theoretically go as far as you want.

Has someone tried to put a better camera aside from what was included?

The feature set is quite attractive. I am about to plunge in.

DO NOTE, these are 6mm lenses cameras.. which means very narrow point of view.. with the such a poor picture quality, these will be nearly useless, I bought them 6 months ago from Woot here, and picture at night is pitch black, unless you have a source of bright light, then you can tell if its a person or a vehicle, but other details, forget about it.. i still don't think these are worth $100,

adelacuesta wrote:Has someone tried to put a better camera aside from what was included?

The feature set is quite attractive. I am about to plunge in.

i have bought 2 cameras with 3.2mm lens, because these are 6mm, which means very narrow field of view, so if you want these above your front door, you won't be able to see a whole person, just an arm.. just giving you a perspective what these are like.

If it came with a DVR for $99 I wouldn't buy it. MY question is, can these cameras be adapted to existing CCTV cables.

Be aware this thing does not come with hard drive, be prepare to spend 100 more.

are extension cables offered?

I don't understand these systems for a house without suspended ceilings. How would you actually set up FOUR cameras? You'd have to fish all the cable because nothing is wireless in this kit. You'd have to buy extension cable for almost any modern house. You'd have to snake it all around and through walls and drill and plaster everywhere. You have to buy the hard drive. I'd rather spend a few more hundred and have a wireless. They had a wireless deal I snagged with one camera on 1saleaday a week or two ago for 30$.

With 60' cables, you could theoretically have any two cameras 120' apart. After compensating for running the cables up the walls and through floor joists, etc, it's likely to be less than that but, for a home installation and most small business installations (is a large business really looking on woot for a $100 security system?) the distance is fine.