Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
- Archerfish Quattro Device: four inputs for cameras (NTSC or PAL) / compatibility with external sensors / ethernet connection / 2.0″ (h) x 7.25″ (w) x 7.5″ (d) enclosure, 2.5 lbs with power supply / plug-in external USB drive (not included)
- Archerfish SmartPortal: Management of account, users, system preferences, live and event video through secure, personal web portal. Free Basic Subscription includes online live video/DVR viewing. Premium Subscription required for full system operation.
- Customized Notifications: Instant notifications to mobile phone or email (one or more users). Multiple notification options include text plus video / text plus URL to video / text plus still image / text only.
- Cameras: 3.6mm / 0.8′ (h) x 3.0″ (w) x 0.8″ (d) / effective visual range 10-60 feet / low light capability visible to 0.1 lux / weatherproof with IP67 rating / mount on ceiling/wall/shelf
- System Requirements: Broadband Internet Service / Network Router with available port / Archerfish SmartPortal Subscription / External USB Drive for recording
Archerfish Quattro is a complete, all-in-one video monitoring and recording system for home or business. The professional-grade, 4-camera system includes video monitoring, recording and storage capabilities and can expand to support dozens of cameras across multiple locations. Only Archerfish gives you powerful Homeland Security technology smart enough to filter meaningful events from video triggered by random motion. You tell it what to look for – expected activity, unanticipated intrusions, or just the odd things that happen when you’re not around – and Archerfish notifies you when they happen. Advanced Video Technology More Effective than Motion Detection: Protects people and places that matter most. Complete System Out of the Box: No dedicated PC/software needed. Intelligent Video Filter: Automatically filters out video that doesn’t interest you. Mobile Notifications: Sends video notifications to keep you tuned in on the go. Flexible Video Recording: Automatically records and s
Rating: 
(out of 6 reviews)
List Price: $ 1,399.00
Price: $ 999.99
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Review by Paul for Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
Rating:
I spent the better part of a day installing, setting up, and experimenting with the Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring system. My conclusion is that the hardware seems to be solid and reliable but that without a service subscription of $8/mo the product has limited use and appeal. The only features available without a service subscription are viewing recorded video (DVR) and live video. The event detection features that make the Archerfish different are not available. The box itself is pretty locked down and is not accessible in ANY WAY AT ALL from your local lan.
Combined with an extremely high up-front cost (approx $1,000 – $1,200) it’s difficult to recommend it. What follow are some of my more detailed notes:
Packaging Contents
*Everything needed is included in the box: AC Adapters, cables, ethernet cable
*No printed instructions in the box but everything is easily available on line
Physical Setup
*Easy to setup/connect cables
*Camera mount needs wrench since they can’t be threaded by hand
*Cameras have big bulky heavy adapters instead of lighter ones.
*No easy way to mount cameras level. No visual indicators on camera and video delays makes it tougher
*5 separate AC adaptors! Instead of powering cameras from receiver they need to be powered individually with their own AC Adapter
Registration
*Must provide credit card even for the basic subscription or the free 3 month subscription
Software Setup
*Can’t setup a static ip for the device.
*It does not seem to be possible to access the device directly via your local LAN.
*All access must be through the Archerfish website
*Even with UPNP turned off it’s very easy to configure your firewall and only one NAT rule is needed to be able to what video remotely
Use
*Only one camera available for live video at a time. It really would have been nice to see all cameras at once.
*There are long delays for live video 5-6 sec from local 8+ seconds from internet
*No way to just use this on local network to view the cameras. Everything needs to be done from the Archerfish website.
*Only records to external USB. No hard drive. limited online storage
*The external USB device is formatted with an ext3 file system. It’s a pain for windows users because they can’t read this format by default.
Event Configuration
*Up to 3 zones per camera can be established.
*Events are only on a per day range (intra is possible) and cannot overlap. You need to add multiple zones for the same range.
*No notifications or search or motion etc. w/o premium subscription
Pricing
*Amazon $1200
*If purchased independently from Amazon the four cameras would cost $260 – $330 (including all accessories)
*$870 ($1200 – $330) is a lot to pay for a device that has no hard drive, cannot be accessed from your network, and requires a paid subscription to make use of all of its
features and reliance on a the vendor to use at all. Imagine buying a computer and only being able to use it as long as the company was in business and offered a service.
Quality
*Video quality is Ok. Nothing great. Some of the other cameras I have used from Axis offer much, much better video quality
*No audio. This might be fine for surveillance but home users may be interested in Audio since this can be useful as a baby monitor or a monitor inside the home.
Security and Privacy
*All of the video that is recorded by the Quattro (except for the DVR function where it just records all the cams all the time) is stored on the Archerfish website.
*Archerfish does not provide any information about how they safeguard the data. All they say is that their portal is secure and their servers are hosted.
*There is no mention of encryption
Review by Live2Cruise for Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
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Components: The set comes with four cameras, mounting hardware, four 50-foot cables for video and power, monitoring box, and an Ethernet cable. A computer with access to the internet is needed to set up the system, as the monitoring box will need to be connected to a home network. Neither the camera nor the recording box are wireless, so everything needs to be wired.
Installation: Installation was fairly simple. Due to issues with the software (discussed further below), you may want to install cameras roughly where you want them and run the wires temporarily, to make sure the device meets your needs before permanently installing them. Once the hardware is installed, you’ll need to set up the device on the company website.
Functionality: Each camera has its own power source, rather than having each powered by the recording box. So, while long cables are provided making it unnecessary to have an outlet near the camera, you’ll still need a total of 5 outlets in the same spot wherever you put the recording box, which is cumbersome. We had to use a surge protector in order to have enough outlets to plug everything in. It would be better if all the cameras were powered by the box. The picture quality from the cameras is comparable to any other security camera: low resolution and grainy, but more than sufficient for its purpose.
The hardware components are excellent. There’s a lot of interesting potential here. The device can be linked to external triggers, such as an alarm system, motion sensor, or a switch attached to an entryway door. These external sensors can be used to trigger recording.
Where the system really falls apart is the software. First, despite both the Amazon product page and the packaged documentation, there is no free subscription available. The monitoring service costs $7.99 per month, and there are no discounts for pre-payment. The first problem that we encountered with setting the software up is that it’s all done online, and the web address provided in the package documentation was not correct. I had to download an updated manual from the website in order to find the web page to set up the device. The website used for configuring the cameras is very difficult to use. It routinely lost contact with the cameras during configuration, making setup cumbersome. Oddly, when viewing video from the cameras outside the setup, we didn’t encounter the same difficulty.
The largest limitation with the software is the inability to set up the cameras to record continuously, as one would expect with most security cameras. The system only works by recording based on events and all recordings are stored on a website. Through the website you create your own events, such as a person entering the room or a door opening; only when these set events occur does the camera record, rather than being able to record and store continuous video.
Pros: High quality cameras, ability to connect to external triggers.
Cons: No free subscription service, horrible website, no ability to continuously record (only can record based on pre-programmed events).
We gave this three stars after much deliberation. For us personally, it would be two stars due to its limitations. For those that don’t mind the limitations, it could be a four star product.
Review by Demand Curve for Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
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This system is not your typical video monitoring system. What really stands our for the Archerfish system is the ability of the hardware/software to work together and communicate with you based on specific events. Most all of the other video technology / monitoring systems are “passive” in the sense that they either have to be monitored full time by a “live” person or they simply record what is going on.
This is the fact that makes this system really rock. If you are looking for a monitoring system for your home or business then this system will do what other systems can only dream of.
For example, I set this system up at my home to alert me when someone leaves or enters my front doorway. What really is exciting here is that the system lets me know when my wife leaves with the kids to go to preschool and also lets me know when FedEx drops an Amazon package at my door.
No DVR based passive system can recognize a person coming and going and then send a picture to my iPhone.
Cool and very neat system. The future of monitoring.
if you have a small business or have a remote office that you need to monitor when employees are coming and going – then this system is for you.
if you want to know when the family takes off and comes home – then this system is for you.
In the aesthetic sense – the cameras are very small and the main unit that you hook the cameras up to is about the same size as my lynksys router that I hooked it into. Would be better if the system came with wireless cameras – but that may be asking too much ….
Review by lil for Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
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This system does seem like it would be better for a business when used daily
but for us it is working ok for the times we are away from home and do not have someone to keep an eye on the house.
It is a bit frustrating when it says a free subscription is an option but it really is not so maybe it was at one point
but now their lowest one is $8 a month.
We have had no issues canceling and just will renew once we are gone again.
The hardware was really easy to set up we only needed one camera on the back door and one at the front.
The cameras seem pretty high quality but i have no others to compare them to this is the first system like this
we have ever used at the house.
I am impressed with the actual product but just wish the website was better.
Do agree would be nice if could do constant record and not just based on what you tell which events you pick.
But so far we have had enough events and have not needed the constant recording thankfully our area is quiet.
Having the extra piece of mind when we are away from home for long periods of time it has been nice.
The price seems a bit much for home use so might be better for a small business.
Review by Lance M. Foster for Archerfish Quattro Interactive Video Monitoring and Recording System with 4 Weatherproof Mini Cameras (Black)
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I am not much of a technophile like some of the other reviewers. I’m just a low income guy who wanted a simple set-up to watch some trouble spots (vandalism, gas-stealing, drunken fights, etc. in the alley and near the bar back of where I live. This product is really best for a business rather than a home, because to work right you need to figure on a monthly paid service. They also need to tell you that you require a router and some kind of recording device which are not included in this package. To use the full set of attributes, you need to upgrade to the premium package which requires a monthly bill/service. Like millions of others, I can’t afford extras these days, since rent and food are even a challenge currently for many folks.