REOLINK 16CH 5MP Home Security Camera System, 8pcs Wired Outdoor PoE IP Cameras with Person/Vehicle/Pet Detection, 8MP 16CH NVR with 4TB HDD for 24-7 Recording, RLK16-410B8-5MP

Ive purchased and installed camera systems in the past few years, for family, at business, etc. So I wasn't looking forward to replacing our aging system at our home farm. Bad memories of Open Ports, DDNS setup, flaky phone apps, cameras intermittently working, and pulling BNC type wire to a bunch of new camera's filled my mind. After serious research, I finally decided on the Reolink POE system. After setup, I have to admit Im very impressed. First pleasant surprise was the ease of connection setup. Simply scan the QR code on front of the unit, and suddenly we were communicating with all the cameras. Next pleasant surprise was the iPhone app. Again, we just scan the QR code with the iphone camera and instantly we were seeing all of our cameras. No port forward setup, no DDNS configurations, etc. It was great. And now for my favorite surprise - wiring. I discovered that if I installed an inexpensive POE Switch at a remote location, I could then run cameras from this POE Switch, rather than pulling new wire all the way back to the Camera NVR unit. Great! I installed a 5 port POE Switch in our barn (about 250ft away from the NVR unit that is in basement of the house) and connected it to our router. Now, using CAT6 wiring, I can add up to 4 cameras in and around the barn, without requiring individual runs all the way back to the NVR. Extended my distance away from the NVR too! Simply fantastic. We currently have 11 cameras online, including 1 to watch the nearby field and treeline for wildlife. The grandson loves to watch this camera at dark, looking at the deer, and zooming in with touch of a finger. We are still setting up the motion sensitivity (a little too sensitive at factory settings) and push notifications, but it should be a valuable addition to our farm when finished. Not disappointed in this purchase, would certainly buy again.

This is the third CCTV system I have installed on our home. This one is, by far, the best one and the easiest one to set up. I have 10 channels running.Power Over Ethernet (POE) seems to me (for now, anyway) the way to go with a wired setup. The single, standard cable and connector is solid and easy to use. The cameras are excellent quality. The video is the best we've had. The cameras are easy to adjust with a single 3mm hex-key to lock and unlock adjustment. The night vision is very good and the infrared emitters on the cameras have a surprisingly long range.I first installed the cameras. I then ran the cables to unit and tested the output. I then secured the cables to the building as needed and stowed the extra cable (above the suspended ceiling in our basement). Once I had the cables secured, I was able to look at the camera output on the application on my smart phone and adjust the camera angle and levelness with live feedback on the smart phone (up on my ladder). Really nice.I did buy several 100-foot cables prior to installing the system and I did need that extra length (beyond the 60-foot cables supplied with the kit) for several of the camera locations.As others have noted, the documentation accompanying the system is pretty minimal. Luckily, the system sets up so easily, I hardly needed the labeling,The application was super easy to install and use. I really love the smartphone application. It is, if anything,m even easier to use than the main system itself. The ability to see what's going on live, remotely, is great.One of the things I like about the system is that it's easy to play back. This has been a major frustration on *previous* systems (which shall remain unnamed): Horrible (horrible) user interface for playback (on those *other* systems).

As of right now I have installed 3 of the 8 cameras in the back of my house and garage so far. Running the wire is a task but for the speed and reliability of having the cameras on Ethernet and the ability to access the camera multiple ways instantly is absolutely worth the hassle of running the wires from the cameras to your NVR.I decided I wanted to run my own cat6 Ethernet cable rather than using the cabling provided so that I could cable manage and be a little more accurate with the cable length than the cables that were provided. I also chose to buy a 10U server rack to mount in my basement to hold my NVR and a patch panel to run the cat6 to. I also decided to buy an UPS because in the case of a power outage I still want my security cameras to run. I then got myself 8 security camera junction boxes(on Amazon), some 1/2 in conduit and connectors and a main junction box to run all the conduit to. I then drilled an 1 inch hole in the back of the junction box picked where I wanted all the wires to go into my basement and drilled about a 1 inch hole from the outside of my house to inside my basement.It’s taking me about an hour and a half to about two hours per camera after I got the main junction box, server rack and NVR all set up. That means installing the camera junction boxes where I want the camera, running the cat6 through the conduit, tipping the cat6 cable to connect to the camera through the junction boxes and to the patch panel on my sever rack, hanging the conduit and running it to the main junction box and finally installing the cameras onto the little junction boxes. It is a chore but again for the ability to access the cameras through multiple means instantly is worth it.The quality of the cameras is great especially during the day and the night vision works well in dark areas at night. If any areas are lite at night or cars drive by, I recommend turning the IR lights off but keeping it on auto day and night. That will eliminate the night vision but will record in black and white, which if there is a street light for example on, then the quality will be fine. Otherwise you might get some unwanted glare during night time in those areas.You have the ability to connect the NVR via HDMI to a monitor or computer and can access the cameras and setting right there. You can also get access to the stream anywhere with the app. You will need to creat a log in on the NVR first or use the Admin login information to be able to initially view your cameras but after the first time you won’t need to log in again. And finally you can also access your cameras anywhere on your local network by just web browsing the IP address of the NVR. All of these means of viewing the video stream are instantaneous and light years more reliable then any wireless camera on the market.Even if you don’t want to install the cameras yourself, you can hire a company to run the wires for you. Just tell them you already bought the security system. You’ll probably spend close to 1,000$ I’m sure. Especially if you have 8 cameras to run wires for bit your already about to drop 800$ on the security system itself, just saying.Overall great product so far. Absolutely recommend, especially if you have some sort of general understanding of running Ethernet or wiring in general. And some patience when running the wire if you chose to do it yourself.