Swann 8 Channel 960H Security System with 1TB HDD and 4 700TVL Cameras

What customers say about Swann 8 Channel 960H Security System with 1TB HDD and 4 700TVL Cameras?

1. 21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

   
   Paid itself off within the first year., May 28, 2014

   By 

   Amazon Living –

   This review is from: Swann 8 Channel 960H Security System with 1TB HDD and 4 700TVL Cameras (Electronics)

   The system itself was very simple to install. You will need a drill to drill through whatever area you plot on mounting the cameras, as well as a safe place to store your blackbox. (You want to hide it, if a thief were to steal the box they would steal the evidence.)

   System has a nice online feature, so you can record everything to the internet if you connect it to your internet. Does not support Wi-Fi as far as I know.

   My only complaint is that the paint faded within about 6 months from a matte black to a rusted coppery color. (Doesn’t seem like the cameras are rusting though.)

   This system paid for itself today, which is why I’m here writing the review. A neighbor plowed into my parked car and left a huge dent. The camera that caught it on film was about 50 feet away, but still caught the action clearly. You can even see the body of my car rock as they run into it. This will be solid evidence in case the neighbor decides to be uncooperative. (Keep in mind this was during broad daylight) I do recommend you spring for the higher end version, as the IR night quality is considerably better than the cheaper version. I own both versions and will not be purchasing the cheaper version again.

   Thanks Swann, you’ve really done your job.

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2. 28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

   
   Swann 8 Channel 960H Security System with 1TB HDD and 4 700TVL Cameras, January 23, 2014

   By 

   Hannibal (Northwest) –

   This review is from: Swann 8 Channel 960H Security System with 1TB HDD and 4 700TVL Cameras (Electronics)

   System & cameras are still going strong. Fantastic products from Swann. They should be proud. I hope the company stays this way. one gripe is that if you open up ports to view online you open up your entire network (people can browse your hard drives) which is a huge problem for me. There is presently no way to close this gaping security hole. But, people would have to not only have the url you make for it, they’d have to know the password.
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   Update: Sept-23-14 Found more cameras!

   I’ve been keeping my eye on the swann store for refurbished camera’s and other stores online to fill out my last four slots for the last few months. Turns out Walmart had a killer deal on some of their older camera’s this month. I just installed them as they came way early. I guess Walmart doesnt mess around as they were due in 8 more days. I chose the free shipping. Glad I did that… cause I was shocked when they showed up yesterday morning (2 day delivery).

   Swann SW-PROCAM2 Procam Security Camera, 700 tvl, with 60ft wires x2 (2 pack of cameras!!!)

   2 camera’s in the pack for $60.00, including extended golden ticket 18 months warranty, cables, screws, stickers and video BNC RCA adapter x2 (connect directly to your smart tv PiP? Or do you still need a DVR? I don’t know didnt try it). They are black so they won’t match my white ones.. meh, so what. For that price they could be hot pink ;)

   In reviews I read online about these cameras people complained about the ancient twist adjustment for moving the camera, well these both had the new hex wrench adjustment! Just like the new white ones. A bit more compact though. They are 700TVL which is the same resolution as the new white ones. Field of view and Night vision are both just as excellent too. I feel so lucky right now. This is an unbeatable deal to fill your slots.

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   Update: May-22-14 Web access for guests not secure!
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   First off, for the $400 it cost for this system it’s the best you can buy, but there are some things I’ve found out along the way buyers should be aware of.

   If you make your camera’s available via the web domain people you gave access to it can browse the files on your computer! Even if you only gave them “guest” permission to see one camera (as I did).

   I haven’t called Swann support yet to figure out WTF this is all about but I added a camera to the side of our house with a neighbor and found that they could browse any files on any of my hard drives by using the “Browse” button under “configuration”. Although they need a password to access the camera, they can still access config menu using the “guest” set up I gave them. Very odd they would still be able to get into the config menu. Might be a bug in the software or maybe I can do something to block that. I’ll update if there is an answer.

   It would be fantastic to hand out limited access to guests for say one camera, unfortunately I see nothing that stops them from accessing my local hard drives.
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   update: 9-23-14
   I just called Swann support to try to find a fix for this gaping security whole with the browse button. Support went to India, and after a long wait I spent 45 minutes on the phone with a complete moron who had me repeating this issue over a dozen times. He never could grasp what I was telling him and could not or would not escalate. This tells me they are either outsourcing (now have terrible support) or have too many overflow calls today. Either way, don’t reckon you can give people guest access unless you want them to have remote access to your local drives.

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   Update: Night vision pro’s and con’s.
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   The night vision when it is really dark out is not that fantastic on a large screen. I called support and they recommended plugging directly into the wall (not a power strip) and that helped a small. The resolution just pixelates way too much the larger you go. I’ve been viewing these mostly on a small monitor so I didnt notice this before. You can still make out what you are looking at, but to serve as evidence to get someone’s face not gonna happen. Some of this is relative to the distance the camera’s point of view. I have them covering my whole backyard, side of the house and front yard. If it was a smaller area the night vision would work better. But even in a large dark room you still get the same problem.

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   Wireless access through your smartphone
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   I have a 3g android and it’s not enough network bandwidth to run the camera’s on the swann plus app. If I have it connected to a wifi source (namely my…

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3. 23 of 28 people found the following review helpful

   
   MacBook Pro, June 9, 2014

   By 

   Lj Haithcock –

   Verified Buy(What’s this?)

   This review is from: Swann 8 Channel 960H Security System with 1TB HDD and 4 700TVL Cameras (Electronics)

   The initial confusion about support is not Swanns fault but it set the stage for a stressful weekend. I still cannot monitor the cameras from my iPhone which was my primary reason for buying the system.

   5/30/2014
   Bought the system from Amazon. When it arrived it appeared to be drop shipped from Costco. The tech support information included referred me to Costco. When I called Costco the tech could not help because I had bought the system from Amazon. I was provided with Swann’s tech support number. When I called it was an internal number to Apple. They had no thought what I was talking about!

   When I finally got in touch with Swann it was hard for me to know the tech. I tried to clarify I had a MacBook Pro and the included instructions were useless to me. The included CD would not open and although I had the cameras working on a TV using the included HDMI cable I was unable to monitor the system on either my laptop or iPhone. Before I placed the call I booted an ancient PC and tried to install the software. The call was very frustrating and finished when the connection was lost. Later I received a VM from Swann trying to reestablish the dropped call.

   6/7/2014
   I called tech support a second time. I clarified to the second tech what happened during the initial call and questioned if MAC was supported. He said yes. This surprised me because the first tech either did not want to try to help with my MAC or didn’t know it was supported. Utilizing Logmein123.com the second tech was able to download the MAC software, but was unable to install it because of my security settings. After several minutes I suggested that I might me able to end the install and questioned for a case number. We agreed if I could get the software installed and had future problems I would call back. I was able to install the software but unable to monitor the cameras from my MacBook Pro or iPhone.

   6/8/2014
   Called tech support for the third time. Provided the case number (TC623217) and spent an hour with the third tech who finally suggested I return the unit because he said the USB ports were not working. This would not allow me to connect the included mouse to set up the system. The cameras had been connected for at least 24 hours and were working fine. I was still unable to monitor from the MAC or iPhone. We concluded the call and I contacted Amazon. I requested a RA and was emailed a return mark. I started disassembling the system for packaging and, as an after thought, rebooted the DVR. I booted fine and the mouse worked. If the tech had suggested a reboot it would have saved a lot of time! I am not computer savvy but I have found rebooting occasionally works. Now I have straighten out the RA I have because of the tech’s suggestion.

   I called tech support for the fourth time, provided the case number and spent more time that I thought necessary explaining I didn’t return the unit and the mouse was working. I suggested Logmein123.com and after the new tech took over the system he was able to get my MAC to monitor the cameras. I questioned what the problem had been and was told when I changed the password (per the instructions) it “didn’t take”.
   At this point I am very uncomfortable with the operation of the system and have no thought that it will prove satisfactory. I am still unable to monitor on my iPhone, so I guess I’ll have to call tech support again..
   Knowing what I now know I WOULD NOT have bought this system. It certainly is not intuitive.

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