Zmodo Replay 720p 4CH NVR 2 Indoor Wireless Two-Way Audio Camera Home Security System Remote Playback 500GB Hard Drive

We are really enjoying our Zmodo surveillance system. My husband & son set it up in less than an hour. The peace of mind it is providing is worthy of 4 stars. The picture quality is great! It is so awesome to be at work & to use my IPhone to see what is going on at my house. I am not a surveillance system expert & I see other reviewers saying there are better system. This system was simple to install & it works for our needs. I am very satisfied with this system.

The replay system is supposed to be an easy to use system, and it is once you get everything in a good state, though that part was very frustrating. Here is a tip, for people that have issues like I did. I opened the app and added using the "Smart Device" feature. The app found my replay NVR and both of my cameras. The app then prompted me to update the firmware on both of my cameras (which is where the trouble began). After the cameras updated, I could no longer view the video through the NVR. I deleted all the devices and started over, this time the two cameras weren't found when adding the smart device. I looked at the NVR in the app and it did not show an update for the firmware (thinking that may have been the issue). I could add the cameras separately, but they did not appear to be linked to the NVR. I talked to a few people at support and it was hit or miss on getting someone that seemed to have good technical knowledge of the devices and mostly referred me to the pdf docs that I had already read. I finally got someone that suggested plugging the NVR in to HDMI. The NVR has it's own little computer system in it and after navigating to device settings using a usb mouse plugged in the back, I was able to update the firmware on the NVR (even though the app didn't seem to know it needed it). Turns out the newer version of the firmware uses encryption for the video, so by updating the cameras, they were no longer able to talk to each other. Once I updated through the NVR's menus, all my cameras connected automatically including my zmodo 720p pan and tilt camera. Mine does not seem to record audio however, so I will be contacting again to get that resolved. Also, the two way audio on the cameras is really really quiet, to the point that I'm not sure that it's really useful. (Update Jan 5 2018) - System is still running great, the nvr is a must have and marks all moments of interest on the timeline for playback. The motion alerts are great and the system has run perfectly since getting it going. Also, the two way audio was quiet while testing, but I think it's because the microphone was in the same room. I've used this remotely and the person at the other end said the audio was loud enough and clear enough to hear me fine.)

Was looking for a simple inexpensive outdoor camera system. I liked the PoE connections because I figured if I had to run power to the cameras I might as well have a hard wired system and not worry about wireless connectivity/bandwidth issues. Unboxed the system for a bench test to make sure everything was working. Very easy to connect and power up. This is where it gets interesting. The quick start guide really doesn't explain how to totally set up the unit. After digging around the Zmodo website I came across the full user manual which had much more information on how to use the built in user interface and how to install a hard drive. I was totally in the dark until I found this information. I was able to install the hard drive and the system has been running for two weeks without a glitch. Now comes the other discovery. I assumed that the built in user interface was fully functional. It is not. The email notifications do not work. Nowhere in the documentation does it mention this. I struggled for a few days trying to get motion notifications through email with no luck. I downloaded the zview software from the website and it worked as far as being able to send email notifications, but it would not recognize the new hard drive I installed into the control unit and in fact started using the hard drive in my computer to store images. Totally defeats the purpose of having a stand alone hard drive. Frustrated I did a factory reset to the unit and began to start over. This is where the light bulb in my head went off. I first downloaded the zsight app and connected the cameras using the scanning feature in the app. I now was able to remotely connect and seemed to work ok. It has an old looking interface but I was able to get notifications and see the cameras. I was happy it was working, but I felt it was lacking. I figured for what I paid for the system I could live with it. After looking at the Amazon description again I noticed the app shown was much more modern looking and sleek compared to the Zsight app I was using. I went to the google play store and searched for Zmodo and lo and behold the new app was available! I deleted the Zsight app and installed the Zmodo app and the difference is night and day. The app works very well. It takes still snapshots of motion events and quickly alerts you via the app (not email). The real time video also works very well. Had I known that the Zmodo app was all I needed to get the system working it would have saved me a week of experimentation. In a nutshell, the Zmodo app works fine and is fully functional. Once the cloud storage is available it will be a great system if you choose to not install a hard drive. As a side note, If you install a hard drive to record video, the only way to view it is through the built in user interface of the control unit. It has some nice features and you can quickly search through the recordings by motion events. Overall I am very happy with the system even though it took some head scratching to figure it out.

Hi human,Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly!Good: Inexpensive, 720p quality is more than enough for basic home-surveillance. Everything in my kit worked. All screws were included- even for the HDD. The streams produced by the system look great- even at night. I am pretty impressed overall with how well the system displays. The NVR OS isn't too bad and is easy to configure and review footage with. It supports web-browser view if you connect it to your network which is optional.It only takes a minute or two to boot up, and is mostly fool-proof.The bad: Having to install your own HDD might be confusing for some people. It's important to pick a good surveillance-capable HDD like a WD Purple, and most people will probably make a mistake there. The IR night-vision takes a little while to adjust. When I first finished installing the system it worked poorly at night, then adjusted itself automatically and now produces a good picture 24/7. It was a bit concerning at first. The included CAT cable is prettttyyyyy cheapo. It worked fine, even though I kink'd it up.The ugly: Nothing- don't kid yourself. If you're looking to spend small on a great surveillance system and you can handle a HDD swap, buy this!