How many watts does this use?

sdc100 wrote:According to the description, this can record at 120fps (at 352x240). It also plays at 704x480 with 120fps. Since it's not capable of recording at that high a resolution with 120fps, where would one get such a video to play?

What resolution do you think it would play back a 2x2 grid of 352x240 @ 120fps windows simultaneously on 1 screen ... oh yeah, 704x480!

michaelahess wrote:All of these cheap dvr's are junk for pulling files off of. I've got an LTS that works (mostly) with IE9, but it freezes regularly (IE9 activex plugin, not dvr) making it a pain to pull files from.

They are great for live viewing though, I use my phone to watch the house all the time. Plus I added some better camera's to two of the three I use, DVR has no trouble with them. They aren't exactly hi-res, but plenty good to watch someone walk off with your TV.

What cameras did you go with? I had been considering that as well. Purchased a few of these over time 8 & 16 channel. Video is *alright, but it could be better with non-stock cameras I'm sure.

Cornelius wrote:What resolution do you think it would play back a 2x2 grid of 352x240 @ 120fps windows simultaneously on 1 screen ... oh yeah, 704x480!

The fps are cumulative from what I understand. So 120fps on a 4 channel unit will yield 30fps per camera.

The is my guess as to why they sell the 16's with 8 cameras all the time... 480fps / 16 = 30fps per active camera....add more cameras and start dropping frame rate.

I see that the DVR has audio inputs, but do the cameras have mics?

azrescue wrote:I see that the DVR has audio inputs, but do the cameras have mics?

Audio cables would have to be run separately. Audio recording in many locations is illegal - thus video-only. Even video surveillance has to be readily visible or notification posted of its use.

Had to get in on this.

Now, where is everyone sourcing the hard drive from? Let's see some deals on HDD's.

I would really like a hard drive with this.. can it be hooked up with a GO drive or external hard drive? I've been wanting a surveillance camera for a while-- to make sure the neighbor isn't putting something in my yard for the dogs to eat. they seem to be getting sick a lot!!!

also... how far apart can you place the cameras? I'd like to put two on each side of the house (if possible);

also... how do you watch on your iphone?

The cameras are good cameras but conspicuous. I am buying this the second time around. We setup the first set smoothly. (Don't forget a hard drive).

zmodorep wrote:I am a Zmodo representative. Thank you for your help.

Yes, this DVR is the first ever Zmodo DVR to support Macintosh. We have listened to our customers and made some major improvements to the DVR software. The new software supports MAC and has improved User Interface (UI)

I bought one of these several months ago on Woot. After I finally got around to setting it up, I discovered that network viewing required a microsoftcentric thing called "activex". In my communication with Zmodo, I asked repeated where I might find their source code, the public access of which is a requirement for using Linux. Never got a response.

I found a $100 2tb "refurbished" Seagate via pricewatch. The installation went smoothly.

It's cool that the Zmodo representative is here to answer questions, and I was glad to read that no subscription is necessary. Where is everyone sourcing the hard drive from? Good question.

calebmitchell wrote:I'm tempted to buy these for my mother so that she can see when her ice cream "mysteriously disappears" (see - "gets eaten by brother") again that I had nothing to do with it. Eat the woman's Moose Tracks ice cream one time, and five years later, she still can't let it go...

Great post,still laughing! Yes I have brothers.

I bought the system a few months back and two of the cameras work sometimes depending on the light conditions (time of day). The system is great but how can I replace the two cameras with something better.......are there any wireless camera options with this system? A great basic system (if my two cameras would stabilize!)

Does this allow for email picture alerts on movement? I know the gray zmodo DVR does but I don't see anything on this one in the description on email.

masher wrote:Does this allow for email picture alerts on movement? I know the gray zmodo DVR does but I don't see anything on this one in the description on email.

I doubt it but see above for that feature.

bmacfarlane wrote:Anyone know if this has some sort of notification when motion occurs?
Email, text, etc?

I bought one of these units last year. yes, it can use SMTP to notify you of an 'alarm'. The 'alarm' is a parameter you set, for example, motion within a certain area of the camera's scope of vision.

I use the 'alarm' function to help me search for activity on specific cameras.

I have 1 (internally) for the garage, and 1 externally for the driveway. The other 2 (not installed yet) will be pointed to the backyard and the side of the house.

rrdenn wrote: We setup the first set smoothly. (Don't forget a hard drive).

and an unmovable safe for your hard drive or your cameras and evidence will be gone.

Krumlov wrote:If I bought this, could I add more camera's to the system?

You could replace the 4 with better cameras, but this dvr is a 4 camera dvr. Less, yes. More,no.

smoritz wrote:Audio cables would have to be run separately. Audio recording in many locations is illegal - thus video-only. Even video surveillance has to be readily visible or notification posted of its use.

Not sure which state you're in, but unless you're invading someones expectation of privacy, no notification is necessary in the state I live in. Public stores, your property, etc. Are all fine for installing cameras.

If this thing turns out according to spec's then this is gonna be a great little unit.

Most entry level DVR's systems produce CIF 320x240 recordings, but the spec's show D1 at 120fps 704 x 480. Even if the cameras are low end with a 1/4" CMOS and 30 ft night range sensor they will do good for entry points around the house. Depending on the camera's design, I'll likely purchase 4x 4mm lens from some vendor @ $5 ea, to replace the narrower Field of View 6mm lens. With the understanding I void any camera warranty in doing so.

I bought two of these and found that the picture is fuzzy and blurry. The night vision is only good for about 15 feet away at best. There is no hard drive in the unit so you will need to purchase one if you want to play recordings. However, you can record to a remote desktop without having the internal hard drive. I’m selling my second unit for its that much of a disappointment. I must say the limit video clarity is somewhat usable if the lighting is extremely bright. Most of the time your color images are black and white/ grey. The sms email notification has never worked and there is no audio. Email me if you want to see the images of the video.
There is something that I do like about the system though, I can be at work and pull up its internal webpage. Make changes and view live video that not limited to just a web browser. I can use my smart phone or my iPad to see the live videos. There is a 15 to 30 second lag on video streaming on my 3g ipad or cell phone. It’s choppy and clarity it terrible to say the least but its better than nothing.

ckatbamna wrote:I have never owned a surveillance system and want to get one for simple home use - I have a few questions:

How many hours of recording can I store if I have a 2 TB HDD and all 4 cameras running?

Also, what happens if I keep recording and the HDD gets full? I would assume that it deletes the oldest video and keeps recording.

Can I mark some specific time frame to save and not delete/overwrite?

Here is my experience:

I have 2 cameras recording all the time on the highest quality (which admittedly is not that great: Quality-best, Resolution-CIF) and a 1.5 TB hard drive (1430 gb after format.) I am down to 7 GB (I just checked remotely) from the time of install (approx Jun 21 2011) and have yet to overwrite. This includes continuous record and alarm for the 2 cameras. [So 2 cameras 6 months, 4 cameras 3 months before it starts to overwrite with a 1.5 TB hard drive.]

Overwrite capability can be disabled (so you have to manually do it yourself) or it can be set manually for every 1 hour, 3 hrs, 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, or out to every 90 days.

I bought two of these and found the picture are fuzzy and blurry. The night vision is only good for about 15 feet away at best. There is not hard drive in the unit so you will need to purchase a hard drive if you want to play recordings. However, you can record to a remote desktop without having the internal hard drive. Im selling my second unit for its that much of a disappointment. I must say the limit video clarity is somewhat usable if the lighting is extremely bright, then you can see color instead of black and white images. The sms email notification has never worked and there is no audio. Email me if you want to see the images of the video.
There is something that I so like about the system though, I can be at work and pull up its internal webpage. Make changes and view live video that not limited to just a web browser. I can use my smart phone or my iPad to see the live videos. There is a 15 to 30 second lag on video streaming on my 3g ipad or cell phone. It’s choppy and clarity it terrible to say the least but its better than nothing.

ckatbamna wrote:I have never owned a surveillance system and want to get one for simple home use - I have a few questions:

How many hours of recording can I store if I have a 2 TB HDD and all 4 cameras running?

Also, what happens if I keep recording and the HDD gets full? I would assume that it deletes the oldest video and keeps recording.

Can I mark some specific time frame to save and not delete/overwrite?

If recording 24/7 at 30 frames per second with all 4 cameras a 2 TB HDD will last about 45 days. If the cameras are set for motion detection and they watch an area that isn't prone to through traffic a 500 GB HDD could last 3-4 months.

There should be a way to archive video segments. It would be good practice anyway to have redundant storage so you should be saving clips of interest to a flash drive before the HDD gets full.

Cons to this system:

The cameras. 1/4 cmos cameras are as cheap as they get. Resolution will be low, colors will be 'off' just a bit. Night vision, center of viewing area, barely.

Pros: For 99 bucks for a DVR (sans harddrive) you can't go wrong. This will get you up and running fast, cameras can be upgraded later as you wish. Cables will work with new cameras, so again you're ahead.

With a 60' power/video cable, I'm thinking I'll need to have all the cameras relatively close to the power source and DVR. Running lines through attics and such can make 60' seem way too short. I don't need more than four cameras, but I need two at one end of the house an two at the other end. Even locating the power and DVR in the middle of the house would not allow me to use the four cameras with the same DVR.

Many of you post that the cameras are junk and then someone posted that the DVR was worth the money, but then buy better cameras elsewhere. We are allowed to post negative comments about this unit, but what about links to other camera options, etc.?

I can't spend a lot and my expectation is that for $100, I would not be receiving a professional system. However, I don't want to throw money away and waste more time and energy installing junk. Will be watching for more comments.

I've said this before and I'm not a shill for any company. I've tried the Zmodo systems, Harbor Freight Trash and a few others. All had problems and their cameras field of view were about or equal to 42 degrees and colors were horrible. Absolutely junk and fried countless HD's.

I took one more last ditch plunge on the SWANN 8 camera system and although it was a couple hundred more, camera field of view is 60 degrees, colors perfect, cables run through the base so when you mount the cameras they are hidden and protected, To top it off the UI is awesome and I use their SWANN VIEW app on my PC, iPhone, I pad, Toshiba Thrive and Xooms without ever a single glitch. My system has been running for 8 months now and sends me alarms when I set it to, is whisper quiet and I can search events extremely easy. I even had their tech support, which is awesome, on the phone a couple times due to my port forwarding challenges and not only did they work with me but they emailed me a personal setup sheet for each of my families devices ( with my personal parameters)

Since woot 1.0 postinng pics is a pain. Go to Amazon and check them out as a comparison

svchips wrote:I would really like a hard drive with this.. can it be hooked up with a GO drive or external hard drive? I've been wanting a surveillance camera for a while-- to make sure the neighbor isn't putting something in my yard for the dogs to eat. they seem to be getting sick a lot!!!

also... how far apart can you place the cameras? I'd like to put two on each side of the house (if possible);

also... how do you watch on your iphone?

You can utilize the ethernet port and 3rd party software like (BlueIris, Luxuriot, etc) to save the stream path to a HDD, attached external HDD, network storage, or to cloud storage. If you have an extra external HDD you could just take it out of the enclosure and drop it in the DVR.

Distance between cameras is dependent on wire length. You can make your own wires with some wire nuts and a BNC crimper. IIRC over ~200 feet and you'll have voltage drop issues. They make baluns to allow you to run longer wires for less money. You send power and video over a Cat6 network cable.

Mobile streaming requires a network connection. You have to do some port forwarding at your router, and it's best to setup an account with a dynamic DNS site. You can then DL an app, enter your IP info and forwarded port, then password and you're set.

autoharp1264 wrote:With a 60' power/video cable, I'm thinking I'll need to have all the cameras relatively close to the power source and DVR. Running lines through attics and such can make 60' seem way too short. I don't need more than four cameras, but I need two at one end of the house an two at the other end. Even locating the power and DVR in the middle of the house would not allow me to use the four cameras with the same DVR.

Many of you post that the cameras are junk and then someone posted that the DVR was worth the money, but then buy better cameras elsewhere. We are allowed to post negative comments about this unit, but what about links to other camera options, etc.?

I can't spend a lot and my expectation is that for $100, I would not be receiving a professional system. However, I don't want to throw money away and waste more time and energy installing junk. Will be watching for more comments.

60' goes farther than you would think, this has no HD so double the price to start, you will be wasting you money. I have $1,800 in other junk systems to prove it. Reminder to all these as most cameras do not have audio. You have to buy a mic and an additional RCA cable to make that happen. Go to one of the last offerings of this by woot and look for my review. I have links to Amazon and additional thoughts for people getting into doing this. Be aware that having audio recording is illegal unless you post a sign. I do, now that the cops enlightened me in Ohio. (All 4 mics are outside under the house eaves)

The Zmodo store has this unit for $129.99 with free shipping. Not much of a great deal here on woot.

I've been piecing together a system for about a month now so I've done a little research on the topic. I was originally going to go with a low end system like this but after looking at specs, reading on forums and viewing videos on youtube, i decided to go piece by piece to fit my needs.

You get what you pay for. You're going to get a low grade camera system for $99. But it's $99 (or $104 after shipping). You can't do better for four cameras, wiring, power and a DVR of any quality.

All security cameras are going to go black and white in IR mode.

The lens is 6mm which means you will get about a 43-degree angle of view. Here's a site with field of view examples for different lens sizes: http://www.cctvcamerapros.com/Security-Camera-Lens-Comparison-s/90.htm

The image sensor is 1/4, and you want to look for at least a 1/3, preferably made by Sony.

Check out http://www.cctvforum.com/ for your CCTV research needs.

autoharp1264 wrote:With a 60' power/video cable, I'm thinking I'll need to have all the cameras relatively close to the power source and DVR. Running lines through attics and such can make 60' seem way too short. I don't need more than four cameras, but I need two at one end of the house an two at the other end. Even locating the power and DVR in the middle of the house would not allow me to use the four cameras with the same DVR.

Many of you post that the cameras are junk and then someone posted that the DVR was worth the money, but then buy better cameras elsewhere. We are allowed to post negative comments about this unit, but what about links to other camera options, etc.?

I can't spend a lot and my expectation is that for $100, I would not be receiving a professional system. However, I don't want to throw money away and waste more time and energy installing junk. Will be watching for more comments.

Use RG59 siamese cable and make the wire lengths you want/need. The DVR should be pretty much hidden once it's installed. My DVR is stored in the garage rafters. I had to do some electrical work to be able to power my UPS that the DVR is connected to first so plan ahead. If someone breaks in they'll have to spend some time finding the DVR which just takes time away from being able to leave with my stuff.

The cameras are junk. There are plenty of other cameras out there. Spend at least $75/camera and you'll be able to tell the difference in quality. I use Hikvision ds2cc192nir3 cameras with my system and I'm happy. My cameras have been down to 10 degrees F outside and perform just fine. The Zmodo cameras will quit working around the freezing point.

In relation to other DVRs the $100 point for the DVR is OK, in terms of actual cost the $100 is high. Of course, all DVRs are priced high for what they are.

A DVR is just a box with some boards and firmware. You can buy DVD players for $30 that are more complicated internally than DVRs.

For $100 with the cameras it's a basic system to allow one to figure stuff out and provide a higher level of deterrence. You could use higher quality cameras at the more critical points and use the Zmodo cameras at the less critical points. Then when the Zmodo camera dies you just bring out the next one.

gixxersixxer wrote:
Distance between cameras is dependent on wire length. You can make your own wires with some wire nuts and a BNC crimper. IIRC over ~200 feet and you'll have voltage drop issues. They make baluns to allow you to run longer wires for less money. You send power and video over a Cat6 network cable.

This is correct, and they're actually simple cables to make. BUT, you can also get pre-made cables at this etailer:
http://www.showmecables.com/Search.aspx?q=bncdc

They have three common lengths, and should work with this system. Being an analog signal, depending on the quality of the signal itself (I'm not familiar with this exact system) you can usually go 100-200 feet while still getting a good image.

Some systems actually let you go further by doing things like shrinking the image or turning from color down to black and white; but many security cameras can handle even the longest run for any non-mansion sized home.

Or, you can get something called "RG59 with Power" or "RG59 Siamese" cable (available at that same site) and then get bulk BNC and DC plug ends. They crimp onto place, and usually take about 20 minutes per cable.

JDM001

Karzon wrote:How many watts does this use?

The parts list and pictures indicate 2 wall warts (power bricks) both 12v. The camera power supply is 12v 3A = 36 watts. I would expect the whole system uses no more then 100 watts and that is being generous.

I bought the 8 channel system that was sold here earlier in the month and must say that it's a great system for the price.

Installation was very easy and the provided cables were plenty long enough to reach everywhere I wanted to place the cameras. The camera's picture is very crisp in daylight and really not too shabby in infrared mode. The infrared light in the camera will only illuminate a small area of the viewing area, especially if the camera is at a distance, which can result in a darker picture on some cameras at night. I found tweaking the DVR's brightness and contrast controls could take care of this issue for my purposes. Some of the colors were a little off, but again, the DVR has a tint adjustment that allows you to tune in the colors to more accurately represent their true shades.

I was able to easily integrate the system with my existing home network for viewing the cameras from any computer in the house. I haven't set up remote viewing yet but there are instruction included with the DVR.

Overall I'm really happy with the system and this in combination with a few "Warning Video Surveillance" signs I feel safe and secure whether I'm in or out of the house.

* Bought one last year. Working well with no problems to speak of so far.*

michaelahess wrote:Use IP Cam Viewer on Android Market to view these on a mobile device.

I could never get IP Cam Viewer to work consistently with this model. What are your settings or suggestions?
I am using Naway instead.

ok if I don't care about recording (anything). I simply just want to be able to turn a chanel on my TV to see who is knocking on my front door. Can i do that with this system? and is this even worth it for my minimal aspirations of a security system?

$30 is not a good savings? you must have money to burn then.

Just think, once you get this installed you can watch your "smart post" delivery person, fling your future Woot! packages toward your front door.