Customer reviews from defender-usa.com
Defender - 8-Channel, 4-Camera Wired 1080p 1TB DVR Surveillance System - Black/White
Average customer rating
4.7
(694 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 694 reviews
5 Stars
505
4 Stars
162
3 Stars
13
2 Stars
6
1 Star
8
97%of customers recommend this product.
(
639 out of
659)
Customer Reviews for Defender - 8-Channel, 4-Camera Wired 1080p 1TB DVR Surveillance System - Black/White
Customer Rating
4
Love the picture/video clarity!
on November 19, 2017
Posted by: Wags01OH
from Dayton, OH, United States
Gender:Female
Length of ownership:1 week
Bought this system after having an break in attempt a few days ago!! Price was great!! We just installed this system this morning. Set up was easy & fast! Picture & video
clarity is great & we have them set up inside!! Everything came in the set, nothing additional to buy. Love that I can check the cameras from my phone!! My only issue is I had to download Fire Fox on my Android phone, not compatable with Google. Going to suggest this product to my employer for her small business!!!
clarity is great & we have them set up inside!! Everything came in the set, nothing additional to buy. Love that I can check the cameras from my phone!! My only issue is I had to download Fire Fox on my Android phone, not compatable with Google. Going to suggest this product to my employer for her small business!!!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Great picture quality
on November 19, 2017
Posted by: Cueball63
from Ontario, Canada
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
We bought this system fir our home as we live in the country and the picture quality is great even without light. I have an older Savat system at my business that cost more and is no where near as good as this set up from Defender. Not able to set up the app yet as I didn’t have a cable long enough to reach the box. Hopefully I will have no issue once cable is hooked up.
I bought a second unit to install at my business to replace the older Savat system I currently have as the picture quality is far superior especially the night vision.
Only complaint so far would be no manual comes with the system but reading other reviews apparently you have to download one.
I guess at this price point printing a manual for every system would add to the cost.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
4
Very happy with this purchase
on November 22, 2017
Posted by: K3500
from PA
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
We are a small business with a large amount of thru traffic. The entire system has been a breeze to install and works very well for our application. I would recommend this purchase for anyone looking for a cost effective, simple security solution.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
4
Very good, but would love a little more if...
on November 22, 2017
Posted by: Cam_guy
from California, United States
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
I've used Q-See in the past, but one DVR failed. I tried replacing it with Zosi, but that system had a problem with sending the same repeated emails hundreds of times. So then I tried Defender.
I had trouble with one cam being blurry, but Darrielle quickly responded to my email with multiple troubleshooting suggestions. She even offered to start the returns process if those didn't work out, all before I even tried fixing it. Her first solution (unplug and replug power) worked.
The OS is MUCH easier to use than the Q-see or Zosi systems. The documentation (need to get it online or on disk) is written in good English, though it could still be more descriptive on what some of the options mean. Their customer service is in North America and fully fluent in English, which is a huge help. Zosi's customer service was somewhere in Asia, so they couldn't help in during my daylight hours, and there was a slight language barrier as well. Their OS and documentation could use work too.
The Defender app works fine on an iphone, but it could be improved. It would be nice to be able to able to access other features such as setting the sensitivity or recording areas (for motion) on the app, but it only allows that directly on the DVR. Mine is in a tough spot to get to though, so that's inconvenient.
Another thing in the picture snaps. Q-see has a nice feature that allows up to 3 snaps a few seconds apart when sending an email for a motion alert. Defender only takes 1 snap. It's next snap won't be allowed for at least a minute later, so to see what is/was going on, you'd have to go to the video and replay instead. That's inconvenient.
With multiple snaps, I can tell the direction of motion, and often get a better view or angle. I'm hoping they can add this feature to a software release.
Cam picture and video quality are good. No issues there.
The motion is a bit sensitive, so I had to turn it down. In particular, car headlights are wide enough that every single car going down the street will trigger an alarm. I've tried blacking out more of the motion area and reducing the sensitivity, but that means daylight hours won't pick up what i want it to. Basically, it would be nice if the software could differentiate headlights from other motion.
Installation was standard. i already had wiring, so that wasn't a problem.
Cams have plastic housings, which doesn't feel solid. Should be good enough for home use though.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Picture quality
on November 23, 2017
Posted by: Monk
from Jackson, MS
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
I had an older Defender system that was ok, but when I saw the quality of the HD system I couldn't believe how much better it was. Exactly what I wanted.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
2
Good system, but some serious weak links
on November 23, 2017
Posted by: yeeha68
from Georgia, United States
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 month
The core of the system works really well. Easy to install if you dont mind running cables in the attic. My biggest issue is with the app. It is terrible. I would give the base system a 4.5 star but the app is garbage and drops my overall rating.
I cannot keep my settings for motion areas, and this seems to be directly related to the app. It overwrites the system settings and removes the areas I have taken time to exclude in the menu.
That and the fact that get motion alerts every 10 min. all day long on my phone. Even at the lowest sensitivity. It really defeats the purpose of being away from home on a trip and monitoring someone coming to the house. Its the weakest link. As far as I can tell it is also impossible to transfer saved motion screen shots and video to shareable location. This should be a priority.
There seems to be a way to connect remotely to the system to alter settings via IP address, but I have yet to make this work, and apparently, the web access has been discontinued.
With eight cameras we are well covered, but you wont get more then 2 days recorded at full resolution. It will take some time to find the sweet spot of resolution and bitrate to suite your purposes and give you the length of archive that works for you.
I cannot keep my settings for motion areas, and this seems to be directly related to the app. It overwrites the system settings and removes the areas I have taken time to exclude in the menu.
That and the fact that get motion alerts every 10 min. all day long on my phone. Even at the lowest sensitivity. It really defeats the purpose of being away from home on a trip and monitoring someone coming to the house. Its the weakest link. As far as I can tell it is also impossible to transfer saved motion screen shots and video to shareable location. This should be a priority.
There seems to be a way to connect remotely to the system to alter settings via IP address, but I have yet to make this work, and apparently, the web access has been discontinued.
With eight cameras we are well covered, but you wont get more then 2 days recorded at full resolution. It will take some time to find the sweet spot of resolution and bitrate to suite your purposes and give you the length of archive that works for you.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
5
Easy to Install, Reliable Images
on November 23, 2017
Posted by: DROSE
from San Diego, CA, United States
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:3 months
This is plug and play system. Setting up the menu is easy if you follow the manual and once you've done you'll know how to easily alter settings. If you want images sent to your pone, the only tricky thing is to find out your e-mail provider's internet information but the FAQ or on-line support can get you there. I wired mine though the attic and was really pleased with the length of cable provided. This model does not have a wireless DVR so I has to be hard wired to the router. My router wasn't close but I got around it be buying an inexpensive internet over house power lines device. I've had if for almost 3 months with great images - well worth the price.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com
Customer Rating
4
Great Features
on November 23, 2017
Posted by: wnaqvi
from Toronto, ON, Canada
Gender:Male
Length of ownership:1 week
Great product for our small home. Disappointing that 1080p is only available with 15fps in live view. Have to drop resolution to 720p for any decent Live view. I am sure something as simple as a firmware upgrade can fix this.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting defender-usa.com