SD DVR w/Outdoor Night Vis Cam

by SVAT

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 3.4 x 17.2 inches ; 4.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• ASIN: B000V8J7IC
• Item model number: CV1010DVR
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 18, 2007

Product Description

SD DVR with Outdoor Night Vision Camera and 512MB SD Card - compatible with CVW62 accessories ISC100A ISC200 ISC302 SGN100 SGN101. The CV1010 DVR consists of a compact 2-channel digital video recorder and a night vision camera. The DVR records directly onto the included SD card which makes it easy to transfer video clips to a computer for later viewing. You can instantly view your recorded clips on the DVR or play them back on your computer. The videos will play on Windows Media Player with no software to install! Plus since your clips are stored on an SD card you can easily pass them on to another person to view. This DVR supports 2 total cameras and has a variety of features. You can set it to record only when motion is detected or take instant snapshots and AVI video clips. Switch between cameras in full screen mode or view both cameras in picture-in-picture mode. The camera has 11 infrared LEDs that automatically activate when it gets dark (CDS sensor) allowing you to monitor and record both day and night. This system is easy to install and is ideal for everyone with security concerns at their home or business.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good video system for a low price!!, March 10, 2008

By 

An Intelligent Buyer in Maryland (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SD DVR w/Outdoor Night Vis Cam (Electronics)

I was very pleased with the overall quality and usefulness of this system. It's easy to set it up & use quickly (1/2 hour). It comes with a long enough cord to remote the camera to another room. Directions are brief & well written, in English. The motion detection kicks in fast. It also turns off fast so you will get multiple video clips if the subject holds still for a bit, but it also doesn't waste space. The resolution and color are true. The user interface uses icons so it's easy to figure out what to select and you don't have to keep referring to the manual. Playback setup is simple - plug the base unit into a TV. It's SO nice not to have to buy a monitor($$)! We experimented in daylight and darkness. Of course the image in daylight is best, and in the dark the image is grainy, but that is to be expected. It comes with a memory card that has enough space for a few days, depending on how much activity is being recorded. If you want to leave the system for a longer period of time, you can upgrade to a 2 GB card easily & cheaply ($7.50@Amazon). The software includes a quick erase feature so after reviewing the pictures&videos, you can easily erase the card, or pop the card into your PC to email a single picture or video. File storage is logical - files are stored by day in separate directories so it's easy to go back to a certain day. It also has a quick review feature that plays back all the files from one day starting with the first, and you can skip fwd to the next video by pressing the buttons on the base unit, saving time. They should have combined the power cords for the base unit and the included camera - you need 2 outlets near the base unit (no big deal). If you mount the camera upside down, the picture is upside down also, unless you take apart the camera and reverse the lens, which can be done. I researched alternatives online and saw systems for more money that did less. I didn't need expensive online reviewing features or audio. This system gave me the video I wanted without the high price tag. Good product for the cost!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent starter DVR security system, May 22, 2009

By 

R. Ashby (Western NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SD DVR w/Outdoor Night Vis Cam (Electronics)

I got mine used from a seller here on Amazon but I would purchase another at full price.

Pros-
1. Very easy to setup, less than 10 minutes and you're recording
2. Takes good enough stills and video for most needs
3. Good menu, easy to navigate, good features built in
4. Two RCA wired inputs with PIP feature, SD card storage
5. Date, timestamp on screen while monitoring/reviewing
Cons-
1. Low framerate while recording video
2. Can't record 2 input sources at the same time

I like this unit and it does what I want it to do. I prefer something like this rather than leaving a computer running 24/7 but this unit does have it's limits.

A dedicated computer with a good DVR card and software will allow you more flexibility,features and cameras.

So you have to decide what your needs are and how much you want to spend.

If you want a simple to use monitoring system with the ability to take stills and 10 second video clips as well as instant snapshots this will do the job.

If you want to record more than one camera at a time, have some programming options and better framerates look into getting a dedicated computer with a good DVR card and software and about 5 times the money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good complete security system but has its limitations, February 22, 2009

By 

Gatsby (Beltway traffic) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SD DVR w/Outdoor Night Vis Cam (Electronics)

This is a good, relatively inexpensive security system. It does have its limitations though. The picture quality is okay, not great. The image looks like typical grainy, choppy security camera footage (camera resolution is 330 TV lines; recorder video resolution is 320 x 240 (5 frames per second), and still picture resolution is 640 x 480). I find that the colors are not always accurate, for example, the green grass looks yellow and some dark colors like black or navy blue look pink or light grey. The night vision is limited, as expected, but it works and it switches to black and white when in use. I'm thinking of upgrading the camera to a better one. The movement captured in the videos is choppy (5 frames per second), not smooth like you'd see with an actual camcorder. But the recorder is easy to use and saves quick 10-second .AVI files (or .JPG snapshots) to a SD memory card, which is convenient to pop out and review on your computer in Windows Media Player or other video player (no need to install any kind of software). I found that the motion detection feature is too responsive, but better that it's too responsive rather than not responsive enough. For example, it records the sun rising in the morning because it detects the changing light. The instructions say the motion detection is self learning, which I think is true because the first few days I used it, it recorded tons of videos where nothing was happening, but now the number of those useless videos has decreased slightly. One issue is that the camera mount does not allow for much angle adjustment (just up and down; it does not let you swivel the camera left or right, so it has to be pointing in the exact direction you want to monitor). You can attach a second camera (the instructions say you can do picture-in-picture monitoring but I haven't found that feature), but the recorder only records from one camera. The wires are RCA inputs. Overall, this is a really simple to set up and use security system that comes with all the things I was looking for in one package: an outdoor camera, DVR recorder, night vision, and motion detection. It's a good system but the image quality is fairly grainy and choppy so I'm thinking of upgrading the camera.

UPDATE: Even after adding another high-quality camera, the lower resolution and choppiness is still there because of the DVR. I thought that adding a high-resolution camera would fix the poor image quality, but I guess the resolution is limited to the DVR's capabilities (320 x 240, and 5 frames per second). Overall, I'd probably change my rating to 3 stars. It's easy to use and inexpensive, but the grainy and choppy image quality limits this system.