I got the Zosi 8-channel 1080p camera system with 2TB DVR. Given the affordable price, I considered this system to be entry level, but likely good enough for surveilling my home. I was right; I’ve had it installed for a few weeks now and I am satisfied with it.
I did not want a wifi camera system so I bought this hard-wired system. Wires are more reliable and I don’t need 8 or 9 more devices on my wifi router. I bench-tested every camera and wire before permanently installing anything. The cameras work well. The resolution is good but since the lens has a very wide angle, the corners of the image are less sharp than the center. But this is acceptable to me because the wide lens covers a lot of area.
The BNC cables work acceptably, but I found that 65 feet was not long enough. To get to the four corners of my home’s exterior (3200 sq ft), I needed to purchase some other-brand 100-ft and 150-ft cables. I found that both the Zosi and the aftermarket cables are susceptible to visible feedback in the images, especially when the wires are bent near the connectors. I got them all to work acceptably, but you get what you pay for.
The DVR I initially received was easy to set up and worked well, except that it would reboot itself every couple of hours. Zosi customer service helped me address it and eventually shipped me a new DVR unit at no cost. This has solved the problem. They are helpful and responsive, but they are located in China so emails generally have a 1-day turnaround time. Reviewing recorded footage works but it is not intuitive. There are a lot of unmarked icons to figure out. But it works.
The app works but it is a little clunky. Each time I open it when away from the home wifi, I have to tell it to connect to the cameras. At first the app couldn’t see the cameras away from home. Zosi had to help me tweak settings on the DVR and my router (like disabling the firewall!) to get it to work. It does work reliably now. Again, you get what you pay for.
There is also a desktop application for viewing the cameras, but you can only load it via the supplied mini-CD (what is this, 1999?) and it only shows the footage in low resolution. But it works.
Overall, for the price I am happy with this system. I can view my house at home live on my TV, away from home on my phone, or later via playback. A high-end professional system would have cost several thousand dollars. This system meets my needs and could be used by any homeowner or small business.
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