Customer reviews from defender-usa.com
Defender - Sentinel Pro 8-Channel, 4-Camera Indoor/Outdoor DVR Surveillance System - Black
Average customer rating
4.7
(462 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 462 reviews
5 Stars
340
4 Stars
102
3 Stars
12
2 Stars
4
1 Star
4
98%of customers recommend this product.
(
436 out of
447)
Customer Reviews for Defender - Sentinel Pro 8-Channel, 4-Camera Indoor/Outdoor DVR Surveillance System - Black
Customer Rating
5
Great System for the money!
on April 8, 2016
Posted by: AndyT
from Dallas, TX, United States
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
I bought this a few weeks ago. The equipment is very high quality and I was able to install the system myself. I have even added cameras from other brands that work seamlessly. Using Defender 1 Step I was able to network my DVR internally and view my cameras from any device connected to my local area network. Setting up port forwarding so that I could view my cameras remotely was not straight forward and required a lot of research online and several chat sessions with my ISP. 99% of networking issues have nothing to do with the DVR or Defender's software, you just need to do your homework and be generally familiar with networking. This is a great system and I would recommend anyone to buy it for their home security needs!
Pro tips based on my experience:
1. Your ethernet cable that connects your DVR to your modem can be more than 15ft, my is 55ft and works flawlessly.
2. Your password for your DVR must be 6 digits and NUMBERS ONLY! I used letters in my initial password and was unable to use the Defender mobile app until I made my password all numbers.
3. Your ISP is your best resource for port forwarding your router so that you can access your DVR remotely. If you are having networking problems you will be able to solve them yourself without needing to contact Defender Customer Support, you just need to take ownership and be willing to work to solve the problem.
4. I was going insane trying to access my DVR remotely until I stumbled upon a post in a gaming forum that I needed to set my external IP in my Motorola Surfboard to 0.0.0.0 in the port forwarding rule. I had been using the actual external IP and for some reason that triggered a feedback loop that prevented me from accessing the network remotely. By setting it to 0.0.0.0 ALL MY PROBLEMS WERE SOLVED!
5. The app works but is hindered by whatever network you are using. Some wifi networks and cell phone networks do not provide bandwidth necessary for a smooth viewing experience. It is also buggy but I trust they are constantly working to improve it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Great cameras and good customer service!
on April 8, 2016
Posted by: scotto
from South Bend, IN, United States
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
I jabe owned this product for a month now. It is a very good system. Of course lots of work setting it up. But thats typical of all systems. Once completed I can now view my house from anywhere! Its great! Thanks Defender!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Great System
on April 8, 2016
Posted by: Craig G
from Mississippi, United States
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
This is my second one, first was a four camera system. Easy to set up at home, and on cell phone !!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Impressed with this system!
on April 11, 2016
Posted by: Impressed
from New Hampshire, United States
Gender:Female
Length of ownership:1 week
I purchased this system via phone call on a Monday afternoon, and it was on my doorstep when I returned home from work on Wednesday afternoon - can't beat their fast service! There were a few phone calls involved - questions before my order, my actual order, and a refund in place of a coupon discount (long story), all of which were handled professionally and with courtesy by Sarah and Whitney.
Upon receipt of my system, I set up a couple inside the house just to play until I had the time and necessary tools (electrical conduit, etc) to install the cameras in their permanent locations. The system literally worked, right out of the box. It was easy peasy to plug in the DVR, set a camera somewhere, plug in the cables from camera to DVR, and instantly, I had clear images, recording to the DVR.
I have not even looked at the operators manual for the DVR yet, because everything is relatively simple, and menu driven. There are a ton of options though, and it will take some time to play around with it to chose what is best for each camera, once they are permanently installed.
Over the weekend, I did manage to install one camera in it's permanent location, and then I began the process of setting up the system so I could view a live feed from the camera, from my desktop computer at home, desktop computer at work, from my cell phone, from my tablet.
First, a note if you will be installing cameras anywhere away from the building in which the DVR is located, and you are going to run electrical conduit. The connectors for the camera cables WILL NOT FIT through a 90 degree elbow for 1/2" plastic electrical conduit. They WILL fit through the 45 degree angle though. I think the turn radius of the 90 degree elbow is just a tad too small for the length of the cable connectors.
Setting up the network - I first tried to set up the network using the PDF manual provided on the CD that came with my system. I found that to be fairly useless, or not very intuitive, or unclear - something - but I was getting nowhere fast with the directions. So, I went to the Defender website, and the instructions there are much more clear, easy to understand and follow. When setting up the ports, I will say that a few of my ports failed to be open, and I had no idea how to fix it - but everything worked anyway.
After getting the ports open as required, it was a simple matter of downloading their program to view the live feed on desktop, or the app to use on my phone/tablet. Both were easy to download, easy to install.
Both the ClearVu app for my phone & tablet are working perfectly, and I can view the camera feed live, or go back and review recorded footage from the DVR. I can also choose to record to my phone while I am watching the live feed, or do a screen shot of the live feed or while viewing recorded footage.
The app for desktops - Netviewer - seems relatively easy to use as well, although I haven't really used it yet. But it loaded fine, and it was easy to point it to my DVR to watch live feed.
The resolution of the live feed from my mobile devices is not as clear as it is while watching the live feed on my monitor at home. But it is clear enough, and of course if anything were to happen, my DVR is busy recording the clear, crisp picture of the actual cameras.
Overall, I am very impressed with the system - the quality of the picture (the night images are amazingly bright!), the ease of setup, and the ability to customize each camera's recording parameters (quality of image, time lapse photos, begin record, end record, etc) is amazing for the relatively low cost of this system.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
4
Customer service is out of this world
on April 11, 2016
Posted by: Rayan
from Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:6 months
Bought the system for a new construction... Did a test run before installing the system and everything worked perfectly as advertised. Once installed... about 3 months down the road, one camera and the recorder hard drive both failed. Call Defender customer service and after performing a few test they arrange for the recorder and camera to be sent back to them for evaluation. Got everything back so quickly I was baffled. Monitoring the cameras locally was simple but for remote access via I-Phone or work PC... not easy, got a security system guy to set the links up and all was good.
Vanessa at customer service is simply awesome, the only fact I didn't give 5 stars is because I had issues with the product... cause the personnel behind this company is worth 10 stars easy.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
8 camera system model #21150 pro sentinel
on April 11, 2016
Posted by: samd100
from harrison tn 37341
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
I bought this system two weeks ago and I am so glad I did.it replaces a three
black and white system that was not doing the job I am happy! happy
black and white system that was not doing the job I am happy! happy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Excellent Product
on April 12, 2016
Posted by: MilFriend
from Houston, TX, United States
Gender:Female
Length of ownership:1 month
I brought the 2000 era version of Defender and was very pleased with it. When I decided to add more cameras and replace some, I looked for the latest in Defender. I am very please with the product clarity and instructions provided. I will continue to be a Defender fan.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
4
Good price for the quality.
on April 12, 2016
Posted by: Dink
from Woodsfield, OH, United States
Gender:Female
Length of ownership:1 week
Night vision quality is a little low. But compares with other ones.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com