Zmodo HD Simplified PoE Security Camera System - 4 Channel HDMI Intelligent Video Recorder 4 Outdoor and Indoor IP Cameras with Motion Detection, Night Vision, No Hard Drive

First, all the one star reviews that just say "Garbage" or "Crap" .... ignore those. if you can't say why it is bad, don't review. That being said, here is my review.I had worked in the security industry for almost 15 years, and after a rash of eggings and vandalism in my area I looked at this for a quick solution. For $200 this system has more potential than systems I have installed that cost more than most cars.PROS:Includes a 1 TB hard drive... most at this price have no HDD!Small footprint (about the size of 2 vhs tapes... if you remember those)If standalone, this system is basically plug and play.When networked, I can not only see live video from my android phone, but also review past video. (have not tried apple, yet, will follow up)Cameras are small and pretty solid for the price, IR illumination works as it should, but plan on about 35' ~ 50' of good IR illumination in pure dark. Nice wide angle view, I had no issues with blurry/blank/black/curved/etc//... images..HDMI and VGA output. HDMI is very clear. I use VGA currently because the unit is in our basement, but I wish I had a spare HDMI monitor...Menu is a little off, and no real instructions are provided... but it is not hard to figure out.System runs almost silent, so if you have it in your living room you probably won't hear it at all.All mounting brackets, screws, cables, are included! all you need is a USB mouse, VGA monitor or HDMI TV/monitor and I would suggest a USB thumb drive if you plan to export video.For $200, the video quality, both day and night surpassed my expectations. The camera image is basically like a higher end 720p webcam. yes, there is blooming from street-lamps, there is a bit of lag on playback over networks, but we are talking $200!!! for this price I am shocked!Single wire install for cameras! no need for power and video cables, ... one cable does both... but see below.15+ frames per second! (depending on your settings)CONS:(a lot of these are petty complaints)Cameras have a micro USB connector on them, not an RJ45, ... so if you plan on wiring long distance not using the factory cable, keep this in mind. The cable is RJ45 to Micro USB, only 4 wires used which makes me believe it is not TRUE POE... but I have not tried or tested that. It was not necessary for me to extend any of the cables on my first install, so I can not provide info as to how far the cables can be extended. with a quick visual inspection I can confirm that the RJ45 is crimped as "B"When connecting cameras, the image may appear pink at first... this is due to the IR cut filter not resetting. reboot the camera and it will work fine.Two of my cables were not the 50' as advertised, ... more like under 40'... guess I got the end of the spool. didn't affect my install, so not an issue for me.The lack of good instructions was frustrating, and the app is a bit awkward at first... there is a learning curve, but it is not impossible to deal with.If you are expecting 1080p for this price... sorry. not gonna happen. 720p is the limit at about 20FPSPower adapter! 110VAC to 19v. I suspect this will be the weak point.Have not tried to upgrade the HDD... unsure if it is possible.... BUT External USB storage is an option.Did not pair with a Vera Plus system at the time of this review.Some IT experience may be required. If your Router/Firewall blocks port 8000 and port 9000 by default, it may need to be reprogrammed to allow remote access.AS OF INSTALL:I bought 2 of these thinking "well, if 8 cameras out of 16 work, I'll be happy" All 8 cameras on the first unit came up instantly (see note above re: IR filter) The system has been recording 5 cameras for 4 days at a reasonable frame rate and the hard drive is not even close to being taxed. I have already ordered more of these to install for family and friends and have recommended it to co-workers.* I am not currently a security system installer, not affiliated with any security company, not being endorsed or obtaining a discount by the manufacturer of this product for this review.

Update 2/16/19. Zmodo / Funlux support excellent. The NVR started to go blank say 15 minutes after powered on. The system uploads video so app on phone works fine, but monitor screen does not get input signal (both HDMI and VGA) and disk does not spin nor record. Since you don't have a user interface with the NVR, you have turn it off, wait several minutes and turn it on again. From the phone Funlux app I chated a while with support. In the end he gave instructions to get a Return Material Authorization (RMA). Within a few hours I received an RMA number and shipping instructions. The failed NVR is on its way for a warranty replacement. To Zmodo, not to Funlux.Original posting January 2018: The reason for a rating of 3 and not 4 or 5 stars is the lack of support.The system works when offline, but it records no motion alarms. When online the motion detection works and the alarms are both visible on you phone or tablet app, but the cameras very frequently disconnect, and reconnect about 30 seconds later. Your router is slowed down and disconnects your other nodes in your Private Network (computers, tablets, phones, amazon fire, etc).Funlux did not reply to my emails.After weeks of searching via Google, and because I know a bit about networks, and after a few attempts to find a solution, with a bit of luck I guessed right the cause of the problem. If the Network Video Recorder (NVR) is assigning Internet Protocol (IP) numbers dynamically, using its own Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), it seems that it competes with your router DHCP which is assigning IP numbers in your Private Network. A Zmodo forum support chat suggested logging on each camera using a browser, and assigning a static IP addresses to that camera through a convoluted and long process.I think I found a better way, but it will depend on your router.1) All the cameras cables should have a label with a friendly name, such as Driveway, Main, etc. near the NVR Local Area Network (LAN) connector.2) On the NVR user interface disable the DHCP (Main Menu > Network > Basic Settings). You will be prompted to enter information such as the NVR static IP address, for which I used a high number such as 192.168.1.200; the gateway (your router) IP address which is normally 192.168.1.254; the mask which you should leave as 255.155.255.0 and other data such as Domain Name System (DNS) servers which you can leave unchanged.2) On your NVR user interface delete all the cameras (Main Menu > Device Management > Add Device)4) Power off the NVR, disconnect all the cameras and wait a minute or so. Plug in to turn on the NVR.3) With the cameras still disconnected, log on to your router and find them using their their Media Access Control (MAC) address. The router should remember the previously assigned IP and show them as "disconnected". How to do this will depend on your router. Fortunately Funlux / Zmodo used the MAC address as part of the name your router see on each camera as a node. For example your router will point to a list of "unknown<MACaddress>" nodes. Select one camera (be careful not to select your NVR) and assign a static IP address to it, starting sequentially after the NVR. In my example this would be 192.168.1.201. Note: Since my cameras were already installed, I went outside and took photos of their labels that show the MAC address, and saved the image files with the camera friendly name I had assigned: Driveway, Main, etc. I made a list of these names and the MAC addresses.4) On the NVR connect the camera that you have just assigned a static IP address to. Wait a few seconds, and on the Add Device screen select a camera number for example 01 on the list (that now should be empty) and click on the Search Devices button. A superimposed screen will show the connected camera with the static IP address 192.168.1.201. Select it and click the Add button below. After a few seconds you will see it on your Add Device screen. It will take a while until the camera shows "online" on that list. Note: It may be possible to do this with all the cameras at once, but I chose to go one by one.5) Repeat steps 3) and 4) until you see all cameras. Note: By doing it one by one you are defining the order in which the video screens of each camera shows on the 8 (or 4) camera screen. For example clockwise around your house.My next step will be to limit the range of the pool my router is assigning IP addresses from, so as not to create a conflict with the static IP addresses starting at 192.168.1.200In my case now the system is online, it detects motion and the cameras do not disconnect anymore. My router is happy because it does not compete with a second DHCP server. The NVR DHCP function has been disabled.