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Swann Security System
$229.99 + $5 Standard Shipping
Condition: New

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4 Star / 37 Reviews from our favorite site

Edit: Fixed Link

Pretty average reviews (2.7 out of 5.0) over at tigerdirect

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=835577

I wonder how this compares to Nightowl.

What stops thieves from stealing this once they break into your home? I still think the security systems that upload video to the cloud are the best bet.

Does anyone know if u are able to add more camera's to this? All other systems say you can add 2 camera's per channel.

I need at least 6 cameras

ap210 wrote:What stops thieves from stealing this once they break into your home? I still think the security systems that upload video to the cloud are the best bet.

IMHO the best security camera system is the one that shoots tranquilizer darts at the intruders and then calls the police while uploading video footage of the break in to them. I would be able sleep comfortably in that house. Especially with this tranquilizer dart in my neck.

ap210 wrote:What stops thieves from stealing this once they break into your home? I still think the security systems that upload video to the cloud are the best bet.

The bad guys just turn these things away from where they are "working" or they just knock them off the wall with a bat. If you do get pictures of the bad guys, the police will look at them but they won't use the video, they won't even look for the criminals. They are just there to fill out the report so you can start your insurance claim.

I've had this system for more than a year now. The camera's don't work as well in the dark as I had thought they would. The worse part about this unit is the dvr locks up periodically. This forces a format of the harddrive. The h.264 format of the saved video is a pain too.

kmf600 wrote:The bad guys just turn these things away from where they are "working" or they just knock them off the wall with a bat. If you do get pictures of the bad guys, the police will look at them but they won't use the video, they won't even look for the criminals. They are just there to fill out the report so you can start your insurance claim.

But having something that can be used to identify a burglar is better than not. Certainly being able to send the news a video of a burglar or spread through social media has a greater chance of getting a burglar recognized than nothing. I'm not saying it will necessarily stop people or the police will use it to find the person, but it can let you know when something is/has happened and help attach one more charge to a suspect.

Does anyone know if you can hook a wireless camera up to this system? My church is looking to add in a camera system, but running that kind of cable through several brick walls would be a pain.

Trishz69 wrote:Does anyone know if u are able to add more camera's to this? All other systems say you can add 2 camera's per channel.

I need at least 6 cameras

Ive never heard of the '2 cameras per channel' thing. I dont believe thats true. Feel free to correct me. I have the zmodo 4 channel one, (looks the same from the back) and with 4 inputs, i can only have 4 cameras.

After an almost-break-in of my house, I bought a similar set-up and have nothing but positive comments! Setting it up for remote viewing on i-phone and i-pad was NOT easy to set up, but thanks to YouTube videos, I finally got that working. I LOVE being able to glance in on the house. WELL WORTH THE COST!

I am buying a new home and already prewiring with Cat5. I been looking at few camera systems and trying to find a good fit to use the prewiring. I know I have to do some tweaking since the connections might be straight forward. Does this system allows to hook up with Cat5? Any thoughts on hooking up Cat5 with camera's?

Trishz69 wrote:Does anyone know if u are able to add more camera's to this? All other systems say you can add 2 camera's per channel.

I need at least 6 cameras

In the specs it says 4 input and 2 output. If you look at the picture of the back, it shows 6 connectors. So, I am pretty certain it only supports 4 cameras. Most units support either 4, 8 or 16.

I have a Swann system for our small business. I just got it a few months ago to replace a Lorex that went out. The Swann is much better in most areas. I really like their internet viewing app. I can easily watch video from my phone or tablet. Setup of the internet viewing is a bit tricky though. This system is a little on the low end, especially the cameras' resolution. But, in our system, each camera was over $100, so you get what you pay for. This is probably ok for home use or somewhere with good lighting and where you don't need to see a long distance. You could always replace the cameras with better ones if they didn't work well for your environment.

kmf600 wrote:The bad guys just turn these things away from where they are "working" or they just knock them off the wall with a bat. If you do get pictures of the bad guys, the police will look at them but they won't use the video, they won't even look for the criminals. They are just there to fill out the report so you can start your insurance claim.

Your comment about the police is not true for all cities. I know several cities that actually have programs where you can register your security system and they utilize this "network" of cameras to not only help if your house is burglarized, but if something else happens in the neighborhood. My house was broken into and the first thing the police asked me is if I had any security cameras. They utilized nearby cameras and the crooks were arrested the NEXT DAY! I bought the ZMODO set with the 2 dome cameras and I am very pleased with the whole package. 65ft of cable was perfect the perfect length and setup was a breeze. I have not gotten it connected to my network yet, as mentioned in other posts, it isn't exactly an easy process if you don't know what you're doing...which I also count on YouTube videos to help me through the installation of the hard drive and formatting.

What is the operating system? The features say "intuitive operating system" but I do not see what that is. I assume it is not Windows.

Trishz69 wrote:Does anyone know if u are able to add more camera's to this? All other systems say you can add 2 camera's per channel.

I need at least 6 cameras

I think it's only 4 inputs.

From the Specs section:
4 Composite BNC Inputs
2 Composite BNC Outputs

tmvijai wrote:I am buying a new home and already prewiring with Cat5. I been looking at few camera systems and trying to find a good fit to use the prewiring. I know I have to do some tweaking since the connections might be straight forward. Does this system allows to hook up with Cat5? Any thoughts on hooking up Cat5 with camera's?

You can not hook these up with Cat5, you need an IP camera for that. Personally I use Panasonic IP cameras, but there are quite a few nice ones out there.

You may wish to read this article before considering:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/0111238/58000-security-camera-systems-critically-vulnerable-to-attackers

Seems that these systems have their own security issues. https://community.rapid7.com/community/metasploit/blog/2013/01/28/ray-sharp-cctv-dvr-password-retrieval-remote-root
Allows an attacker to control the dvr and monitor you and provides access to your internal network.

littledoomy wrote:You can not hook these up with Cat5, you need an IP camera for that. Personally I use Panasonic IP cameras, but there are quite a few nice ones out there.

I was told you can you Balrun with these camera's to connect to cat5

First thing that popped into my head when I saw this.

Billy Madison "Stop looking at me swan"

Qiset wrote:I've had this system for more than a year now. The camera's don't work as well in the dark as I had thought they would.

Absolutely none of these "night vision" cameras in the consumer range can "see" more than 15-20 feet. Anything claimed more than that is just hype. We've had experience with sets ranging from $400 - $1000 and none have performed as advertised. A motion sensor light or constant flood has been essential to get adequate nighttime images.

kmf600 wrote:The bad guys just turn these things away from where they are "working" or they just knock them off the wall with a bat. If you do get pictures of the bad guys, the police will look at them but they won't use the video, they won't even look for the criminals. They are just there to fill out the report so you can start your insurance claim.

Yupper - I even had the address of the villain who stole paycheck from me and they still just went over said "Hey you do it?" "No" "Okay carry on."

I thought maybe it is just the cops in my town, but the more I hear about this the more I see cops could care less about home burglary. If I didn't know how crappy people feel afterward I would say home invasion is the career to be in since it has very little chance of ever being solved. Hell the police wont even call me back.

ThunderThighs wrote:Just checked. Four cameras max.

4 channels = 4 cameras

The 8 channel system is available at Costco for 299.99. I know cause it is the one I bought the day before my house got burgled... I now have a security system, cameras, and a gun. Pretty sure I am good to go if I am home or away.

hentzau wrote:Does anyone know if you can hook a wireless camera up to this system? My church is looking to add in a camera system, but running that kind of cable through several brick walls would be a pain.

Nope, this is strictly wired RCA jacks connections. But if you thought running wires was a pain, try getting wireless to go any distance through brick and then frame. Now there's a challenge. Plus all cameras need a power source so there is also that issue outside a brick wall.

I bought one of these Swann systems, but the video quality makes it hard to tell faces.

They all just looka like-a man.

tmvijai wrote:I am buying a new home and already prewiring with Cat5. I been looking at few camera systems and trying to find a good fit to use the prewiring. I know I have to do some tweaking since the connections might be straight forward. Does this system allows to hook up with Cat5? Any thoughts on hooking up Cat5 with camera's?

These systems use RG59, typically RG59-Siamese to provide power also. the Terminations are made through BNC connectors. If you are using Cat5 you will need a video Balun on each end of the cable. The video Balun enables you to transmit the video signal over UTP wiring instead of Coax. This is a loss less method and also extends cable lengths to well above 1000ft depending on the Type of Baluns used.

MrWizard1923 wrote:Absolutely none of these "night vision" cameras in the consumer range can "see" more than 15-20 feet. Anything claimed more than that is just hype. We've had experience with sets ranging from $400 - $1000 and none have performed as advertised. A motion sensor light or constant flood has been essential to get adequate nighttime images.

Auxiliary IR Emitters or Illumination is a good, power friendly way to illuminate the area. By adding these you will not need to add flood lights, which actually make it easier on the criminal...

If it says its a 4 camera/channel system, then that is what it takes...no more. I have had a Swann 8 channel system for a couple of years. It works okay, but can be finnicky. Forget emailing Swann for product support. They only answer, maybe 2 weeks later. The only way is to phone them in Australia. The system works good, but there is no Hi-res video. Night illumination is poor, at best.

tmvijai wrote:I am buying a new home and already prewiring with Cat5. I been looking at few camera systems and trying to find a good fit to use the prewiring. I know I have to do some tweaking since the connections might be straight forward. Does this system allows to hook up with Cat5? Any thoughts on hooking up Cat5 with camera's?

You can use these cameras with the Cat-5 if you install some Video Balun to convert the signal for the twisted pair. I'm using some here at my home and have used them many other sites. The Balun are now much less expensive ~$ 13 per pair.

Trishz69 wrote:Does anyone know if u are able to add more camera's to this? All other systems say you can add 2 camera's per channel.

I need at least 6 cameras

This one only hosts 4 cameras. There is a version to host 8 cameras though.

TheTexasTwister wrote:IMHO the best security camera system is the one that shoots tranquilizer darts at the intruders and then calls the police while uploading video footage of the break in to them. I would be able sleep comfortably in that house. Especially with this tranquilizer dart in my neck.

Rough on the dog though!

RoamingDragon wrote:You can use these cameras with the Cat-5 if you install some Video Balun to convert the signal for the twisted pair. I'm using some here at my home and have used them many other sites. The Balun are now much less expensive ~$ 13 per pair.

I got mine at monoprice for $9 a pair for use with the otherbrandwhosenameIcannotrememberrightnow.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=110&cp_id=11011&cs_id=1101101&p_id=6878&seq=1&format=2

tmvijai wrote:I am buying a new home and already prewiring with Cat5. I been looking at few camera systems and trying to find a good fit to use the prewiring. I know I have to do some tweaking since the connections might be straight forward. Does this system allows to hook up with Cat5? Any thoughts on hooking up Cat5 with camera's?

Look for "video baluns " on Ebay, they convert the video signal to something that will run over a single twisted pair. You can also get matching power and audio adapters.

If you're looking to just buy a pre built solution check out On-Q, they make a cat-5 video system.

I've installed both and would do the balun route next time.

I'd also want cameras that are at least 600 TVL at a minimum, not the 400s that are in this package. The 6mm lens that are on these cameras are also a little long and may not have an adequate field of view.