Review on REOLINK H.265 4K PoE Security Camera System - Smart 8MP IP Cameras with Person Vehicle Detection, 8CH NVR and 2TB HDD for 24-7 Recording by Alif Eagle

This system is very good for its price range. True 4K cameras lag behind ReoLink's "software" support for their extremely powerful hardware. These cameras were supposed to "originally" support the newer and much more efficient video compression protocol "H.265". 50% better compression rate (read half file size) with the same video content/quality. For some "licensing" or "technical reasons" ReoLink had to drop support for H.265 compression. A very bad move. in my opinion on their part. Additionally, these cameras MUST only be used with the "8-channel” version of the ReoLink RLN8-410 NVR. ReoLink 16ch NVR does not support 16 4K cameras (no doubt Ethernet bandwidth in Mbps at full 4K resolution, frame rate and video bitrate). Also, as mentioned, there is no ONVIF support for these 4K B800 cameras. Now for the cons of ReoLink support for this great video hardware: 1) No H.265 compression algorithms available (H.264 file sizes). Even reduced to 12 fps and max bit rate 1024 fps, you can get about 900MB for 30 minutes with a 4K camera.2) The following features are NO LONGER AVAILABLE in Windows ( v.7.2. ReoLink for Mac for this NVR/Camera Combo: ). b) The stream "Fluent" is no longer available for download (heavily compressed, low frame rate, low image pixels). This is a HUGE issue/oversight with large 4K H.264 file sizes when viewing stored video content from remote locations with limited upstream bandwidth; which is a very common requirement. c) Windows client (v.7.2.33) "freezes" slightly and needs to be restarted. This happens when someone quickly clicks between the software's available functions (e.g., skip new points in the timeline, switch cameras, view, show "too many cameras" on screen at once, etc.). Quitting and restarting the Windows "Client" software always "fixes the problem", so I'm not sure if it is caused by the NVR software/hardware or the Windows "ReoLink Client" software. .The same blocking issue occurs on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of ReoLink client for Windows. d) Most of the time, one or more cameras will not display their "live" video content immediately. Sometimes a certain camera will NEVER show up in the "client" software until the client is restarted again. 3) There is no obvious way to "upgrade" the firmware of these new "B800" true 4K UHD cameras like ALL the others do. ReoLink camera hardware.4) There is NO built-in software "web server” for these new "B800” cameras. This is most likely because they MUST be used with the 8-channel RLN8-410 NVR and cannot be used standalone like other ReoLink cameras. only four 4K cameras connected to the NVR and even at very modest data rates [1024 kbps] and frame rates [10 fps] this would only be enough for 5 calendar days to display historical 24x7 video content. and mainly due to the lack of support for the H.265 compression algorithm. 6) While not ReoLink's fault, even true 4K cameras have a hard time reading (at least foreign) license plates at "normal" distances. A true "4K" picture is truly impressive in every other way. Even the ReoLink "5MP, 4x optical zoom" cameras (or any other brand) struggle with this particular challenge. more and more often you get "with functional programming" for Windows/Mac clients. Achieve the best "remote viewing" (both LIVE and PLAYBACK) simply by using the ReoLink client software running "remotely" and then using the Microsoft Windows 10 "Remote". Desktop Client" to connect to a local Windows PC. As a software/electronic engineer myself, and given that ReoLink engineers own their camcorder's entire technical stack, as well as the NVR and camera firmware, this is not impressive. the current software version v.7.2.2.33 has then been "confirmed" by ReoLink Technical Support using proper "customer support practices" for more than 3 months. 8) There is no way to control the nighttime IR illumination of these B800 cameras (the option is "nowhere” available as it "is” for all other ReoLink cameras) Pros: 1) NVR storage is very easy to expand like any standard SATA drive [internal] , and eSATA (with external 12 VDC power supply) and eSATA data approx. 2) The device is "tiny" (easy to store almost anywhere). 3) Camera PoE is available on all 8 Ethernet ports. 4) The video clip upload function works very well (but again, it no longer supports uploading the much larger "Fluent" compact stream like all other ReoLink cameras.) 5) The cameras are very well built for this price range. 6) The Android and iOS versions of ReoLink client are extremely user-friendly and very functional given the sufficient internet bandwidth. 7) Very impressive value for money. 8) Nighttime "Infrared LEDs" are actually good for illuminating the stage when natural light isn't enough. This is a really great system! even better if they work out some "kinks".