Uniden UDR444 Guardian 4.3-Inch Video Surveillance System with 2 Cameras (UDR444)

I purchased this set 4-5 months ago to be able to observe my car in the parking lot which was constantly getting dinged by the cars that park next to mine. However, immediately upon receipt I realized that this item is not the perfect one for outdoor use of any sort (details to follow) and I did not install it even. A few months later I needed a surveillance system for my kids' room since they were waking up often during the night and crying a long time until I hear them from upstairs. This originally disappointing set came as a savior for that purpose and since then it has been up and running for at least two months and I am happy for most of the parts.Pros:1- The device offers an excellent and uninterrupted reception: We have a three story house where the kids room is on the ground floor while ours is on the top. There is quite a bit distance and walls, stair cases and rooms in between. Yet there is no interruption in connection no matter where we keep the monitor.2-The modem free design: Most similar products require a connection through a router or a modem which is good for those who want surveillance and may be recording through internet remotely. However, it also puts a big burden for the router to constantly keep transmitting data and may lead a slower connection eventually. Therefore, if you don't need remote surveillance (like seeing your home from your office etc.) this modem free kit is great.3- Very easy set up: I did not even bother reading the manuals. All you need is to plug in all parts and pair the cameras through a simple menu. The interface is also pretty simple. You can adjust the volume, switch between cameras or keep it in constantly switching mode (it switches the other camera in every 4-5 seconds) and adjust the motion detector sensitivity (which is not very sensitive anyways)4- Cameras have excellent clarity in viewing and recording both day and night: When I say excellent I mean compared to other CCTV camera recordings I have seen so far. Of course there is some time lapse and bit of background noise but the vision is very clear and details are easy to distinguish. Night camera operates through a led lighting system. Basically when in dark it switches on the leds which are barely visible for naked eye and does not introduce light to a completely dark room. What it does is to act as a torch in a spectrum that can not be sensed by human eye. So while we see the room in complete dark, it is actually all lighted up through the camera. I can not comment on the range since I use it in a moderate size bedroom, not outside, but for this purpose both the range and the view angle are perfectly adequate. Two cameras located smartly can cover the entire room without blind spots and that is all I need.5-The voice transmission is great as well. I can hear my kids breathing despite they are at least 10 feet away from the camera and the speech is clearly understood as well.6- You can talk back: This is a feature that is good enough to communicate and it really helps when we need to tell the kids that we are on the way to their room so that they stop crying (but sometimes they cry even more since the metallic sound in the dark is a little scary too :)) However there are some flaws associated which I will mention in cons section.7- Comes with a microSD card and recording ability: The recording is linked to motion sensor but you can also tell it to record continuously or scheduled as well. I don't use that feature often but I did for fun for a few times and I liked the small but clear video files it creates. The complimentary 4gb micro SD card is a nice gesture yet you can buy it separately for not much as well.8-Monitor is easy to carry around with its stand and the battery allows you at least 4-5 hours if not connected to the charger (I wish it was longer though.)Cons:1- The adapters: It comes with three adapters (2 for cameras and one for monitor) and they all look same from outside. However two of the adapters are 9V and the other is 5V. The only discrimination is the small paper sticker they stick on the cord saying (for camera) or (for monitor). I first used the wrong one for camera (5V is enough to operate it but did not turn on the night view and that is how I figured out that those power adapters are not the same) I am lucky not to have burnt the monitor using the 9V one. That similarity is a real design flaw.2-It does not look as a hardy item for outdoor use. I use it inside so have no problem but I can understand the frustration of those who wanted to place it outside as well. I don't think it is weather proof enough and the power adapter says for indoor use only which means you need to plug it inside the house anyways. The cord is long enough for that purpose, however it comes with a connector cable which has metal parts exposed so not suited for outside as well. The connection needs to be inside as well which means you loose half the cord length.3- The adjusting bits to keep the camera in place at a set angle towards your point of interest are not very strong and in time they loosen which causes the camera to obey the rules of gravity and lose position. Every once in a few days (depends how you positioned the camera though) we need to screw those bits and re-adjust the position. It is no big deal for us since ours at an easily accessible indoor location. However if you mounted it to a point where you need a ladder to reach, it may be headache for you.4- The talk back feature is not reliable to sustain a conversation. just like in walkie talkies you need to keep pressing a button on the monitor to transmit your voice to the camera and during that time you can not hear anything from the opposing site. It is acceptable up to this level, yet there is an annoying 1-2 second time delay after you release the button and until you can hear what the opposite site says and that makes it difficult to keep communicating for long time. Just say what you have to say in brief and move on..5- The motion sensor is not very sensitive. My kids change place in their beds, move from one side to the other or even wake up but even the highest sensitivity setting of the motion sensor misses them all. That requires a person to walk continuously infront of the camera to trigger the signal. But thanks to the highly sensitive voice detector, we don't need the motion sensor to figure out the kids are not happy. Additionally, the software does not allow you to choose an area of the screen that is sensitive to motion while ignoring the rest. That feature would be useful again for outdoor use to block the sensor from detecting the cars in the street but trigger when someone approaches to your doorway.6-Does not have on/off switch on the cameras. To switch of a camera you need to unplug it. I would rather be able to switch it off on it when I don't need it (e.g. when I am not at home) But due to the lack of this simple switch I can't bother unplugging it and plugging it back all the time, so it stays onIn conclusion, for my purpose which is to see my kids' room, that does the job great and deserves a 5 star, however if you are after using it for outdoor, you may rightfully not agree with my rating...

This is exactly what I really wanted. For the price this little guy can do the job. I ordered 2 additional cameras with this and have a 4 camera setup. Pairing the added cameras with channel 3 and 4 was EASY!. I had all four on the screen at once. I set the resolution to the max of 640 X 480 on each camera. For me it is just fine! If you want an HD Camera then pay the price. Otherwise this is a simple but very useful system.I first began by installing one camera on the garage ceiling and plugged it in to an AC outlet. Then installed one in my Sunroom in the back (Backdoor) and plugged it in.The other 2 our in the front entry and kitchen (For grins).The Motion Detection is fine if you want to use it but it is limited on distance. I am talking 30 feet before you really have to start dancing to make it record. I do use the motion detection.NOTE: I purchased a 32 GB Micro SD card instead of using the 4GB card that comes with it. If you want to record continuously at the highest resolution expect about 29 hours of record time with a 32GB Micro SD card before it either stops recording or starts to overwrite the oldest files (Settable). But for motion detection, which seemed to work great you will get more time away from it. It does display in real time but if you are set for motion detection it only records if it sees motion. So far so good. I will let you know how the cameras do as far as longevity. Worth the money for me and the display is well made!

It's not perfect but it works okay. I've had it now for about 3 months and have had a chance to monitor it under several conditions.First, it's very easy to set up. The instructions are clear and setup just takes a few minutes. Just make sure the monitor has some charge and take camera to desired location, plug it in to 110v outlet/extension cord ,push the "pair" button on camera and finally adjust camera using the monitor.I haven't set up the skype system so I can't comment on that.PROS AND CONSAs noted a ove the setup is easy. I live in a rural area and wanted it to monitor my driveway which can't be seen from the house. The range is pretty limited. It's located about 150 feet from my house in pretty much line of site with a couple of trees and some shrubs in between. I have in my window facing in the direction of the camera. If I try to move within the room the signal will fade in and out. I think the 500 fT mention in ad is unrealistic, even in open area.* My biggest complaint is the sensitivity of the motion detector. Even set at the lowest sensitivity (there are 3 settings - low,medium and high) it will activate the recorder with movement of sun and shadows on the driveway when it's windy or if the sun moves to a certain spot. It takes very little to set it off and as a result I end up with a lot of false recordings at the end of the day. At other times it won't activate and record when a car passes by, although this is rare. One other issue. A few days ago the infrared lights stopped working and I had no night vision. I called customet service (nice people and helpful) and they suggested I send unit in to their repair facility. Before doing that I unplugged the camera, waited 30 sec and plugged it back in. After that the infrared lights/night vision worked normally.Overall, I think this is a good system for the money if limited distance and senitivity issues are not a major problem for you. (Note that even with more expensive systems there may be these same issues). Yes, I would recommend the Uniden UDR444.UPDATE 4-23-2015I finally got around to setting up second camera. With monitor set on quad view mode it seems like the cameras don't record as many false movements (shadows,wind blow shrubs, etc). The real negative part is that on one camera the infrared lights stopped working and on the other one they only partially work. I was advised by customer support to return them to their repair facility but instead I went another route and bought a supplemental infrared light source which seems to be working good so far. I bought the Illuminator Light 48 LED Cctv Ir light with ac adapter from Amazon for $12.98. I figured it saved me the postage on sending back the cameras and even then without perhaps resolving the issues. I still think the the camera system is an okay buy for the $157 it cost me, even with the $13 additional investment in the lights.

Excellent product. So many handy features, especially the portable monitor that I used while installing the cameras to get the best view before attaching. Love the night vision and 2 way sound. I bought an extra 32GB mini memory card. I only wish the cameras had an off switch (if they do, I haven't found it yet) as I do not like the night vision lights on when I'm not using it, so I unplug the cameras for now. I'm not sure if the cameras eventually shut off while the monitor is off. It would also be better if you could get a larger picture of only the 2 cameras while in multiple camera view if only have 2 cameras instead of 4, but then you an also switch to just the one camera view and also use computer or TV monitor.

Great surveillance system.. Easy to install and set up.. Good picture and great motion detection!..But Uniden technical and repair support is terrible..

What a great little device! It was easy to set up and functions perfectly.

I wanted extra cameras for the same system I already own. They were really expensive alone so got whole system. Works great for what I use it for.

Needed this to replace the monitor that quit working when I dropped it. I figured I buy this and get 2 extra cameras.Works fine for what I need.