Review on [Enhanced] ANNKE H800 4K Audio Recording PoE Security Camera System, 8CH H.265+ PoE NVR 🎥 with 4X 8MP PoE IP Bullet Outdoor Cameras, 100ft Night Vision, Intelligent Motion Detection, 2TB Pre-Installed HDD by Jason Peterson

I bought this unit to replace my existing 2 megapixel surveillance system. I think it's safe to say that it's prone to damage in transit. Each camera has been carefully packed along with other components. Installing the Cameras - Installing the cameras was very easy. They come with a drilling template although I didn't need it as I installed the cameras on either the soffit or the side panels so I didn't have to drill anything. All you have to do is connect the connector that comes out of the camera to the ethernet cable that goes to your VCR and you're good to go. I used existing ethernet cables, but you get them with this system as well. Once the system is on, you'll be presented with a wizard to guide you through setup - you set a password, security questions, a time zone and choose an unlock pattern (so you don't have to enter a password instead, you draw a pattern like you do on your mobile phone) , set up a network connection, allow access via a mobile app, etc. The system comes with four 8MP POE cameras, although it supports up to 8. The cameras are slightly larger than 6 inches (with mounting bracket) in horizontal position. With the help of Annke support I was even able to connect my old 2MP cameras to the remaining 4 ports and while the quality isn't that good I don't know. First, you don't have to spend more money to buy additional cameras Mobile App - Annke has her own free mobile app that allows you to connect to the system remotely. It's called Annke Vision. The app has an option to log in with a fingerprint, so it's very convenient - I hate entering passwords. Setting up the app to work with the NVR is very easy - you press the "Add" button in the app, scan the QR code you see on the screen when setting up the system and you're done. The NVR can be accessed directly from the NVR. itself (connected to a TV via HDMI), via the Annke Vision app or simply by looking at the IP address of the NVR if it is connected to the same LAN. If you want to access the NVR via a browser from outside your home network, you can set up DDNS (I set my free hostname to https://my.noip.com). I have poor cell phone reception at work and my employer blocks many ports over Wi-Fi, so it's difficult for me to use the app, so I connect to the NVR through a browser. The browser plugin only works with IE, not with Chrome. Other Features: Motion Detection - You can set up motion detection for each camera, you define the "area" that the camera should monitor and when it detects motion it triggers an alarm (sends you an email). Video Fake - Notifies you if a video has been tampered with for any reason. Video Loss is a pretty useful feature to let you know if a camera has been disabled (on purpose or due to a technical issue). You don't need to regularly check your cameras to make sure everything is working properly. The system notifies you. Failed attempts to login to the NVR - You will receive an email notification when someone tries to login to your NVR with incorrect credentials. DDNS - You can set up DDNS to connect to your system remotely with a friendly name. I use ddns.net, you can get free hostname from them. This display name is then mapped to your home router's public IP address. SMTP (Email) - Once configured, the NVR will send you email notifications. Google has a free SMTP server that you can use. I had to use port 587. Video Playback - Annke provides a player to play the exported files, I also used the VLC player and it worked fine. Link to Annke's player: http://support.annke.com/document/HK/general/player/VSPlayer_V7.2.0.exe Image quality: The image quality during the day is excellent compared to my old cameras. This system features 8MP cameras. After exporting the video, I took a picture of the video and created a 3840x2160 resolution file. You can clearly see everything that is happening around your house. With H265 compression, the video is also much smaller! Image quality at night: Thanks to EXIR (I honestly didn't know what that was until I got these cameras) the image is evenly lit at night - with my old cameras the image is brighter in the center and darker at the edges. Check out the picture attached to this review. The backyard shot was taken without the lights on. What you see on the embossed concrete is the light from the neighbors reflecting off my siding. I'm including a video and some pictures with this review so you can see the quality for yourself. Overall this is a very good system at an affordable price that I would recommend to anyone!