Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The 2592x1920p image quality is awesome. The "Web Viewer" interface, which allows you to interact with the security system and view video via a web browser, is comprehensive, intuitive, and easy to navigate. Setting up the system for basic use is simple, or in the words of another reviewer, "plug and play." For example, using the GW Web Viewer via a browser from inside your local area network (LAN) or using the RealViewPro iPhone app from your LAN or the wide area network (WAN) are both easy to set up. However, for configuring advanced features, such as using the Web Viewer from the WAN, or causing the NVR to send you an email message when a camera detects motion, you may need help from the GW Tech Support personnel, who are very helpful. I especially want to thank Allen and José for their help in configuring my system. GW Security offers a variety of pre-configured systems as well as many useful accessories, so I strongly suggest that you contact GW Security in order to become informed so that you can purchase the system that it best suited to your specific requirements. Below are some details that I learned from GW Customer Service and Tech Support. For a systems having 8 or fewer cameras, two models of the NVR system controller and recorder are available: (1) the GW2208EP that includes 8 Power Over Ethernet (POE) ports, and (2) the GW2208E that does not include any POE ports but instead connects to the GWSW0801M 8-port POE switch (contact GW Security to determine the options for more than 8 cameras). Although the pricing of either 8-camera configuration is equivalent, the combination of the GW2208E and GWSW0801M provides more flexibility than does the GW2208EP. For example, with the GW2208E and GWSW0801M combination, you can attach the GW2208E to one point on your LAN and attach the GWSW0801M to another point on your LAN. Also, with the GW2208E and GWSW0801M combination, it is easier to connect a camera anywhere on your LAN instead of only to the GWSW0801M or GW2208EP. When a camera is not attached to the GWSW0801M, POE may be supplied by a POE injector such as the TP-Link Gigabit Ethernet PoE Injector Adapter (TL-PoE150S). To give you some idea of the flexibility of the the GW2208E and GWSW0801M combination, I will describe my LAN, which comprises coaxial cables instead of Cat6 cables. In rooms of my home where ethernet is needed, the coaxial cable is attached to an Actiontec MoCA 1.1 adapter (Actiontec Ethernet over Coax Adapter Kit for Homes without MoCA Routers). The GW2208E, the GWSW1081M, and a GW5071IP and GW5080IP cameras are all attached to different MoCA adapters in different rooms (the GW5071IP is attached to a MoCA adaptor via a NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch with 4-Port PoE (GS308P-100NAS) and the GW5080IP is attached to MoCA adaptor via a NETGEAR 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch, Desktop, 55.5W 4xPoE, Sturdy Metal, Fanless, Plug-and-Play, ProSAFE Lifetime Protection (GS305P); I tried two TP-Link Gigabit Ethernet PoE Injector Adapter (TL-PoE150S) but they failed during the first few months of use). Note that the Actiontec MoCA 1.1 adapter that I use is the ECB2500C that limits performance to 270Mbps, not the newer Actiontec MoCA 2.0 adapter (Actiontec MoCA 2.0 Ethernet to Coax Adapter, 2 Pack (ECB6000K02)) that provides up to 1000Mbps; nevertheless, video streaming performance from the GW2208E NVR is quite acceptable because each GW Security camera uses only about 6Mbps. Two cameras are compatible with either NVR: (1) the GW5071IP "dome" camera, and (2) the GW5080IP "bullet" camera. Either camera may be configured manually through a 2.8mm to 12mm zoom range. The GW5080IP has more infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and hence provides better night vision. Also, the GW5080IP provides for more flexibility of pointing the lens than does the GW5071IP. However, if the camera is mounted within reach from the ground, the GW5071IP is preferred because it is fully enclosed and therefore more difficult to damage or destroy than the GW5080IP. The GW5071IP may be mounted directly to a wall such that the dome points outward from the wall, or mounted such that the dome points downward using the GW5071HB mounting bracket accessory. However, if the GW5071HB bracket is mounted within reach of the ground, it could be torn off the wall, so mounting the GW5071IP camera directly to the wall might be preferred in this case. When the GW5071IP is mounted directly to a wall, and when simultaneously the ethernet cable extends downward from the GW5071IP's base (perhaps a more waterproof configuration than with the cable extending upward), the camera image will be inverted. However, the camera may be reconfigured to flip the image vertically and/or horizontally using the UC 4.9.3.2 tool that can be downloaded from the GW Security web site and run on a PC (but not a Mac). The GW Tech Support personnel can help you to use the UC tool. The GW5080IP and GW5071IP cameras that are compatible with the GW2208EP and GW2208E NVRs conform to the H.264 MPEG-4 compression standard. GW Security offers other cameras that, as of this writing, are not compatible with the GW2208EP or GW2208E. Specifically, the GW5081IP bullet camera, which may be configured manually through the 6mm to 22mm zoom range, conforms to the H.265 MPEG-4 compression standard and is therefore incompatible with the GW2208EP and GW2208E NVRs. Details such as this are not readily apparent from the Amazon website but are available via a phone call to GW Security. Update as of February 14, 2018: one of the GW5080IP cameras failed; the LEDs flashed on and off every 2 seconds during warm weather. GW Security replaced the camera but with a used, demo model instead of a new camera. It's a bit irritating that GW Security didn't provide a new camera.