Review on 📸 Swann 16 Channel 8 Camera DVR Security System with Wired Surveillance, 4K HD DVR-5580, 2TB HDD, Audio Capture, Color Night Vision, Heat and Motion Sensing Warning Light, Compatibility with Alexa and Google, SWDVK-1655808WL by Bradley Wacks

This rating is for the DVR-5580 16CH 4K 2TB surveillance system with eight wired 4K bullet cameras. Video Surveillance Night Vision Motion Sensor Lighting Alexa + Google 2TB HDD SWDVK-855808 is very similar. This can also be useful for other Swann products. Also, I hope Swann support is listening as they never replied to the email I sent with a pre-purchase technical question. These are my thoughts on this particular Swann video surveillance system. model no. SWDVK-1655808WLQualifying Info: I am an Electrical Engineer with extensive experience in Electronics, Computer Networks and Engineering. First unboxing impression. Plastic ratchets are used to move and hold the cameras. My old QSEE camera system used a much better and easier way to position the cameras. Cables for connecting cameras have thin wiring. No shielding on cables. (I would substitute and use thicker wire for long distances... shielded, if you can find one. ) The 16-channel DVR DVR-5580 looked solid. This DVR also had two side fans to dissipate heat. It was a very nice feature. I'm not sure if the 8-channel DVR-5580 has fans. Also, the 8-channel DVR-5580 physically looks different. connection and testing. I always recommend hooking up and testing a new security system before installing and wiring it up. First, test all phone applications, computer software, and the HDMI or VGA output on a monitor or TV. This will help you become familiar with all hardware, PC software, mobile phone applications and general system setup and operation. to start the DVR main unit. However, the HomeSafe View app for the Swann security phone kept disconnecting from the DVR at various times. When disabled, the Swann Security HomeSafe View app sometimes couldn't find my dashcam and I had to clear the app's cache to get it working again. It was completely unsatisfactory and unforgivable for 2020. Swann's PC software called Swannview Link for Windows never worked. I couldn't get the program to find the DVR-5580 on my home system. I've tried many ways but to no avail. And yes... I know all about port forwarding, firewalls, etc. However, it shouldn't have been necessary. Using the DVR-5580's unique ID was supposed to get my system working on my PC, but it didn't work. This too was totally unacceptable. I must say, that my old QSEE security system worked right after installation. There are no issues with the QSEE PC software and the QSEE phone app has been working without interruption for years, period. The Swann security system instructions will not help if you encounter any problems or problems. Good luck with customer service. The camera's video quality wasn't very good for a supposedly 4K camera. Enlarging a close-up image resulted in grainy images. Motion in Live View connected directly from the DVR to my 4K TV was blurry. There was also a slight lag between the real-time traffic and what you see on TV. Result. I packed everything up and sent back the Swann DVR-5580 16-Channel 4K 2TB Surveillance System with Eight 4K Wired Bullet Cameras. The SWDVK-1655808WL model was frustrating and somewhat frustrating trying to get the PC software to work. The 4K cameras don't seem any better than my old 700 TVL (television lines) security cameras. I'm constantly on the lookout for a new security camera system that will live up to the industry hype.