Night Owl Security 8 Channel 1080p HD Video Security DVR with 1 TB HDD and 8 x 1080p Wired Infrared Cameras

I had a first gen Night Owl system that quit working after 5 years so I decided to upgrade to a HD system. I have to say I am impressed with the system in whole. It was easy to set up and the streaming to smartphone worked easily and extremely well once port forwarding was set up. The app is very intuitive allowing for capture of snapshot or video file. The cameras are awesome and correlate movement with IR and display events as a yellow block on a timeline for easy review. the video quality is really sharp and the night vision mode really reaches out so much better than the older 720p cameras I had. The documentation is spotty at best and It took awhile to learn how to search and find events, but once figured it out it's really cool and easy to find things that set the system to record or send an alarm. I am very happy with the system, will see how it holds up.

This camera security system is amazing and the video is so clear and the clarity is beyond amazing. The HD quality of the pictures that you get from the cameras are unbelievable you can pick up somebody's license plates and their faces. The lens surface may look small but the amount of space in panoramic view you get is large. To hook it up to your smartphone is super easy. The only problem I have encountered is trying to hook it up to my computer. Night Owl has been great with trying to help me work on this. Other than that this camera system is beyond amazing and the clarity of the pictures and quality of the video you will get is astonishing. The audio is amazing on the two audio cameras that you get with the set you can clearly hear if someone makes a comment or say something. If you're looking to update your security camera system I would definitely recommend you buy this camera security system.

I've looked though all the cheaper 5mp cameras, they have pros and cons.I'm happy with I got for the price.ProsCamera are higher quality plastic camera, should not break while mounting them, or weather over time.Motion Alert is much better knows when it's a person, and create your capture points.Picture is a true 5mp picture unlike some false advertising camera system who send you non 5mp cameras, but give you a 5mp DVR.Picture does have a nice wide angle view without distort the image.Cons.Camera color white balance, colors show up differently on each camera in the same light settingsNo IR remote with the DVR, only a mouse. I ended up buying a wireless track pad to control it in the living room.Can't schedule when to send out Events Alert Triggers it's always 24/7.Night Owl OS UI still dated compared to other systems but it works, still hard to do playback on the DVR.Night Owl mobile apps HD streaming is only 720, no option to have 5mp playback even when you have the connection speed for it, so zooming in is too pixel, so you have to revert back to the DVR, or PC, but the PC still does not have a true 5MP playback. Only at the DVR.Capturing a License plate really does not work if the car is in motion, not enough frame rate.Suggestions:Give the DVR a fresh UI update and easier to functions.Add a time frame when to send alerts.Update the Mobile apps for levels of video quality up to 5mp.Nice to have the mobile app set option when I'm home or not, or a alarm mode. (to send me alerts when I want them)Night owl Catch up with other DVRs to work with Google or Amazon devices, not a must have but nice to have.

I had this camera system professional installed, all around, and inside of my home. I use 2 cams indoor, and 6 outdoor. The outdoor cameras are very durable (I live in Michigan where the weather varies from very hot, to extremely cold; plus severe storms are the norm)! I haven't had any trouble seeing what's going on outdoors, or inside, when I'm home watching on the big monitor (not included), or away on my tablet of cellphones (I use both iPhone and Galaxy S android phones). I really don't have any complaints, and have been very happy with the equipment. The management interface is a little dated, but it's just a camera system, so it's very functional and easy to use. The on-device playback system has improved over the past year, with firmware updates, and is straightforward to use! The mobile app playback is still a little clunky, but I'm hopeful it will improve once they update the apps. Anyway, I highly recommend this camera system, and will buy it again, whenever I move!

Great system. But each camera needs WiFi. So with 10 cameras 4 smart TVs 5cable boxes 2 smart phones fire stick and an I pad all on one WiFi with upgraded 150 speed it’s picture is delayed or pauses a bit. But not it’s replay mode.Still recommend it but remember how much WiFi it takes. Buyer be ware.

The picture quality is great. The sound isn't the best but from a small microphone it picks up nice sound! It was easy to setup and I've had no issues so far. I would recommend for someone in the market looking for something like this! The build quality is nice and looks like it will last a long time.

System works great but heaven forbid if you call tech support. Had system up and running great for two days then a “system firmware update” notice popped up. After the update my password was no longer recognized and I was locked out of the system. Called multiple times and was placed on hold where each time it coincidently told me I was the 16th caller in the que. I emailed tech support and got a response 2 days later that didn’t work and was no help at all. After multiple more emails with no response I finally got an apology and a reply with a code that got me into the system......approximately 30 days later.