Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)

5 Responses to “Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)”

1. J. R. Barrett says:

   August 9, 2010 at 4:40 am

   Review by J. R. Barrett for Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)
   Rating:
   I replaced my 15 year old VCR based Black and White security system with the Defender SN-300 color Security system with 4 Nightvision cameras for my small retail business. In the past, it was difficult to see a small 9″ quad screen in B/W. Now I have a 19″ color monitor hooked to the Defender DVR and the difference is huge. I really like the ability to switch from quad view to one camera for monitoring and playback then back to quad again. The picture is not HD quality, but is VERY, VERY good and clear. The DVR in highest quality will record 7-10 days of monitoring only. I haven’t tried the low quality setting, but I am sure the DVR would record much, much more with the 500GB drive in the low quality setting! The nightvision cameras are a must and light my office well for recording. That was a huge bonus. The setup is easy and the menus also are easy to use. The networking is a little more of a challenge, but am working through this for watching the store from home. All in all, you can’t beat the system for the money.
2. B. Kirby says:

   August 9, 2010 at 4:48 am

   Review by B. Kirby for Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)
   Rating:
   I purchased an all-in-one (monitor/DVR) wih four cameras. The installation was a cinch (except for the internet viewing access). About two weeks after having three of the cameras on the roof looking at three sides of the property, two of the cameras began getting condensation inside the lenses. Support told me to send them back or remove the lense covers and wipe the glass. I wiped and they worked fine for a couple of days. I’m in Florida and if high (not that bad) humidity in November is a problem-imagine what will happen in July and August when the rains start. I plan to return them and see if the new ones leak.

   I am still working with Defender to see what they are willing to do. The support (telephone) department seems to be handled by one very busy, polite young lady. We’ll le tyou know how it turns out. My warranty is ticking.

   Good Luck with your search.
3. James Smith says:

   August 9, 2010 at 5:13 am

   Review by James Smith for Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)
   Rating:
   I recently purchased this system directly from the vendor. Overall I feel that their customer service was just awesome. They were very knowledgeable about all systems and help me find the one that fits my needs. When I did purchase this unit, I was missing a power cable and they sent me one in 36 hours. I understand these things happen but they made good on their service.

   Very easy system to install. No problems doing so. I am able to view my house from work and find that very comforting. So far I would reccomend this product or any other product from Defender (SVAT).
4. William W. Davis says:

   August 9, 2010 at 5:34 am

   Review by William W. Davis for Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)
   Rating:
   QUICK SUMMARY: I setup this surveillance system (not really a security system) with minimal trouble. It’s doing what it’s supposed to do WITHOUT having to call Tech Support, without reading the owner’s manual, and without scouring the Internet for solutions to problems — I didn’t encounter any serious issues, and the few minor installation bumps I encountered were easily remedied. Don’t expect much from the “color” cameras – the default colors from them are abysmal (but for an inexpensive surveillance system, I’m willing to put up with lousy color). I’ll wait a month before deciding whether or not recommend this system, but overall, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen so far.

   What I LIKE:

   - Well packaged and complete. It comes with a Quick Start guide and an owner’s manual which is only slightly more informative. You can do the installation just from the Quick Start guide, and refer to the owner’s manual only if you need to.
   
   - It worked! It does what it says it will do — without having to call Tech Support for assistance. Yea!!
   
   - The color “high-res” cameras (which are NOT “high definition”) are really quite small and unobstrusive.
   
   - The cameras can be installed indoors or outdoors (but if outdoors, they must not be directly exposed to the elements, so says the owner’s manual).
   
   - Lots of configuration settings let you decide which cameras to turn on/off, how many frames-per-second they’ll record (from 1 fps to 30 fps), resolution quality, when to record, and more. I haven’t tried many of the features yet, like connecting to my home network, or recording only when the camera’s sensor indicates something is moving within its narrow field-of-vision.
   
   - If I really want to have this system professionally installed in my home, there’s an option the manufacture provides to do just that. But I don’t know what the cost of that would be.
   
   - The “night vision” feature (for darkly lit rooms or outside at night within ~15 feet of the camera) works pretty good! I’ve never used “night vision” electronics before, and it’s startling how clear someone’s face can be seen using this feature.
   
   - At night using available streetlight, you won’t be able to read a license plate from the video that’s recorded, but you will be able to see the model of a vehicle driving by.

   What I Did **NOT** Like:

   - The default colors from these “color” cameras are awful. The color green — leaves on trees and the color of grass — show up grayish-brownish-purpleish, NOT green, on both the live video feed and the corresponding recorded video. Strangely, the only time grass and leaves show up green is during a torrential downpour of rain. White and black show up well, orange shows up okay, but most other colors seem way, way off. You can improve the colors by manually adjusting the hue setting for each camera.
   
   - Using the remote, sometimes pressing the “Menu” button (which should exit a screen and return to the main menu) instead caused the toggling of the configuration setting which was highlighted on the screen.
   
   - The 1st camera I connected to the DVR did not work until I connected the 2nd camera, and then both cameras worked. I swapped the camera inputs on the DVR and still had an issue with one of the cameras. I suspect a suprisingly loose connection between the video cable and the DVR to be at fault. I stopped debugging the problem, though, once both cameras began working.
   
   - There is no chart that explains what types of settings will lead to what kind of disk usage within the DVR. The retail box says it can record up to 2 years of video, but the fine print explains that is at the lowest frames-per-second (that is, 1 fps) and at the lowest video resolution possible. In other words, you’re not going to get 2 years of recorded video from this unit! After a few days living with this system, I found that I could record a total of 20fps (among all 3 cameras combined, where all cameras are set to the highest quality resolution), and that uses about 7%/day of the hard disk space. So, in my installation, I’ll get about two weeks’ worth of recorded images before I begin overlaying the oldest images with newer images.

   What Could Be BETTER:

   - The camera’s field-of-vision is very narrow, and there’s no adjusting that. On the camera I installed outdoors, the field-of-vision 30 feet away is about the width of my double-wide driveway plus the mailbox.
   
   - The zinc-plated hardware (wood screws) used to install the cameras will rust quickly outside, even if they’re not directly exposed to the elements.
   
   - There is no glitz when it comes to the menu user interface. It’s like something out of 1980. Just white, block text…no icons, no graphics, no media bling at all.
   
   - The tightening screw on the installed cameras (that applies pressure to the ball-and-joint of the stand) tends to keep the cameras from moving vertically out of place, but it still seems too easy to move the camera horizontally with a very light touch. I need to investigate this some more to ensure it’s not “user error” though. The cameras themselves aren’t moving out of place, but with a strong wind outside, I’ll bet they would.

   BACKGROUND: I already have a home monitoring system — that is a much better deterrant than a 4-camera surveillance system. If all you’re relying on is this system to protect your home or business, a burglar can easily haul off the Defender’s DVR unit, leaving you empty-handed and without any video proof of the crime! But a surveillance system has many other uses and benefits. It’s a great compliment to the measures you’re already taking to secure your property. For instance, what ARE my kids doing while I’m not at home and they’re home alone?!

   INSTALLATION: As I said already, it really was easy. I mistakenly assumed I could connect the DVR to my computer and use my computer to do the setups. Afterall, the DVR has an Ethernet jack and it comes with an Ethernet cable. But you can’t configure this DVR using your computer — you *must* use either a TV or a monitor with an RCA-type video input. So, I moved the DVR from my computer desk over to the home theater armoire in the family room, and quickly connected it to my Samsung LCD TV. Right now, I’ve connected one camera atop my armoire, and another two outside my home overlooking my driveway, street, and walkway up to our front door.

   Note for Northerners: The operating range for these cameras is 14°F ~ 140°F, so if you live in a part of the country that gets very cold in the wintertime (I don’t!), this may be of concern to you if you plan on installing any of these cameras outdoors.

   CONFIGURATION: Simple to do. Hit “Menu” on the remote control, and walk through each menu choice to make your selections. Hit “Menu” again after you make a configuration setting change, and “Menu” once more to update the settings on the DVR.

   VIDEO QUALITY: Okay, don’t expect to see anything approaching HD videos here! The live video feed is probably like TV’s standard definition. The cameras struggle with most colors, like green, navy or dark blue. Other colors, like honey oak on our table, look good. Indoor lighting can get screwy if you’re using a combination of different lighting equipment within the same camera’s field-of-vision (for instance, my kitchen with fluorescent lighting in the foreground looks okay, but the background incandescent lighting in the dining room causes the walls to look faintly purple). By default, outside colors are awful. Tree leaves and the grass outside look gray-brown-purpleish using the camera’s default settings. If you change the “hue” setting for cameras placed outdoors from the factory default 64% setting down to 40-50%, tree leaves and grass obtain an acceptable green color. Most everything tends to look washed out, but the objects you’ll see in this video — people or pets, for instance — are easily recognizable. In other words, it’s “good enough” to be useful, as you won’t be using these video cameras to record baby’s first steps! Recording at the “Highest” resolution setting won’t be quite as good as the live video streaming. Lower resolution settings just make the recorded video look that much worse. My suggestion is to take some short video samples and see which resolution you can live with. Note: There is no audio feed coming from these cameras — you only get video.

   CONCLUSION: I’ve only had this system for less than a week, but I like it. It can help identify the goings-on around and inside my home. I’ll continue to update this review until I decide whether I’ll recommend it or not.

   *** APRIL 27, 2010 UPDATE

   Here’s how this system helped solve a mystery for me. Yesterday, I left for work in a downpour. While backing out of my driveway, I ran over our garbage can which had been emptied by the city workers just a few minutes before! Why did I run over my garbage can? Did I not look behind me, before backing up? Did the city workers place the emptied trash can directly behind my vehicle? Later in the day, I watched the video and saw that the city workers had placed the emptied can at the corner of my driveway, but yesterday’s storm blew over the can and pushed it directly behind my vehicle! There was no one to blame; it was a freak incident. The video explained exactly what happened. Pretty cool!
5. Gary Ruo says:

   August 9, 2010 at 6:04 am

   Review by Gary Ruo for Defender SN300-4CH-001 User-Friendly Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night-Vision Surveillance Cameras (Black)
   Rating:
   I have purchased this unit directly from Defender and it arrived within a week. Installation was a breeze and it was easy to hide the wires as there is only one small wire for each camera going from the cameras connector to the connection on the DVR. I did put the cameras under the sill of my home protecting them from direct rain and snow and so far I have had no issues with them. I did have one camera mount that did not work properly when I received the system so I contacted Defenders customer support and I had a replacement mount in two days. I must say so far I am quite happy with my purchase and also with Defenders customer service.
   
   Having been the victims of theft prior to installing this system, my wife and I feel better knowing that our home is being watched even while we are not there. This time if the theives return I will have video evidence for the police. Night vision works great, even better if you have a little extra ambiant light such as a low wattage porch light to help illuminate the area.