Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This isn't a product review. This is just an expert in Video Surveillance providing some insights to questions I've seen asked that haven't been answered well: 1) 1 TB on 4 1080p cameras at the max framerate these particular cameras support (15 FPS) with quality turned to maximum - you'll get about 2-3 days if you're full time recording. I see estimates of 6-8 days from other users, but I guarantee you that's with the quality set to "average" or "good" or whatever this company uses for its mid-level quality setting. 2) This DVR provides accepts the video signal back from the camera AND powers the camera through the same BNC cable. So if you're retrofitting an older analog site, the extra cable you used for power won't be needed anymore. You can rip it out or tape it off or just tuck it in a hole, you won't need it anymore. If it's a greenfield (new install) you'll just use the cable they provided or any BNC coax cable you supply. You can find these cables preterminated at Fry's on Amazon, or pretty much anywhere, they're not expensive. Again this kit COMES WITH THEM, but if for any reason those cables aren't good enough, others are easy enough to find. 3) Ignore the "100' Range" listed on the spec. Rule of thumb is that 50% of the listed spec is probably accurate, so don't plan on seeing anything at night beyond 50' with these cameras. You might get a few motion pixels beyond 50', but trust me, this is 15 years of Video Surveillance experience talking, you won't get anywhere near 100'. 4) You get what you pay for. This is a $350 system that includes 4 cameras, a DVR AND a 1TB HDD. It's not going to work as well as a $1,000 system or a commercial/industrial system you get from a Tier A manufacturer. I mention this because on some other review somebody was complaining that to buy 2 more of these cameras they had to pay $180 ($90 a camera) as if that was ridiculously expensive. As comparison Commercial/Industrial HD Analog cameras go for about $200 each, and the equivalent in Network IP cameras go for $300 and up. Long and short of that is, don't complain about $90 cameras as add-ons, you just look foolish. 5) These are not Pan-Tilt-Zoom cameras. Somebody on the question list asked if they have "motion sweep" (never even heard of that term) implying she was asking if the cameras could move. Yes, they can move, but only when you move them with your hand when you're installing them. After that, they face one position and one position ONLY. 6) Don't mount these too close to the object you're surveilling, because the IR LEDs on this will "wash out" anything that's too close. So if you're for example going to mount them near your garage door looking out at your driveway, make sure they're AT LEAST 15-20' from the nearest parked car, or you'll just get this washed out image of a car with no detail. 7) If you set motion recording only, TEST IT. You'll have to play with the sensitivity to get it right. Too sensitive and you'll get a bunch of false motion alarms (particularly at night, or when it's windy and trees are blowing in the scene), not sensitive enough and you'll miss the events you wanted to capture. 8) These systems might last 5 years, or you might lose a camera after six months, and the HDD might fail after a year. Warranty is the other big difference between these types of systems and Commercial/Industrial systems. It's not a Hot Water Heater, it won't last 10 years. Just set your expectations to match the phenomenally low price you're paying for this system. 9) Enjoy it. You can capture a lot of cool stuff. Use the smart phone app frequently, Video Surveillance is a FANTASTIC tool. Use it.