SANSCOHD CCTV Security Camera System, 8 Channel 5MP DVR with (4) 5MP In/Outdoor Dome Surveillance Cameras, 1TB Hard Drive (Vandal-Proof, Continuous/Motion Recording, Rapid USB Backup, Remote Access)

I purchased this 4-camera system to improve my home security by covering the front, rear and sides of my property. I have never installed a CCTV system before and I was very pleased at how easy the whole process was. I purchased Sansco's 4-camera CCTV system with dome cameras based on reviews I had read and I have not been disappointed with my purchase, which I think is great value for money, and it is a really sophisticated piece of kit with lots of features.I intentionally avoided purchasing a wireless based system as I wanted a solution that would not be susceptible to signal reception issues. The 4 CCTV video/power cables provided with the kit were plenty long enough to cover a large 4-bedroom detached property with cameras covering all external sides of the property. I ran the cables up through the eaves and across the loft and into an upstairs cupboard where I have the DVR located.The dome cameras do require a bit of patience to position them but you have an almost unlimited possibilities of angles to choose from. When doing high-ladder work, it does help if you have already setup the DVR recorder, connected it to the Internet, and installed the XMEye phone app on your phone (I was using the Android version on a Samsung S8 phone) as you can tinker with the camera position before tightening up the fixings.I mounted each camera on a Diall Grey 57A Junction box 100mm which I purchased from B&Q. The beauty of doing this is that I could hide the short cable that comes out from the back of the camera, which has a BNC connector and round power connector at the end of that cable which needs to be connected to the long cable that you need to run back to the DVR. I drilled a hole through the cover of the Diall junction box, poked the camera cable through it, and then mounted the dome base to the cover. Doing it like this simplified the mounting process for the camera and should I need to replace a camera in the future, it makes it very simple to remove the camera.Setting up the DVR was very simple. I do work in IT and as such, I did not need to read the manual to configure and install the system. The interface is pretty intuitive and I really like that you can download a desktop client software (CMS) to your computer and configure and manage the DVR from there if you don't want to do it directly from the DVR. I didn't know CMS was available so I fully configured the system directly on the DVR but I have subsequently tinkered with my settings using the CMS software.A few of the best features of the DVR are:1. You can add up to 4 black rectangles (any size) per camera if you need to blackout or redact areas that you do not want to capture on camera (e.g. if you are camera is picking up your neighbours garden).2. NTP - you can configure a public network time server so that your recordings will always have an accurate time stamp which is really important if you do need to refer back to the cameras3. You can add a label and time stamp on each camera and you have the flexibility to position this to any location that you wish per camera, which is extremely flexible4. XMEye phone app is really good and gives me a lot of comfort that I can take a quick peek if we are out for the day or away for the weekend that all is well at home5. CMS application is also extremely useful as you can use that to playback footage, download video, and fully configure the system. This means that you don't need a separate LCD monitor or worry about locating the DVR in a location where you can easily get to it. You do need to do the initial configuration on the DVR but once it is connected to your home network, you don't really need to touch the DVR. Please note that the DVR doesn't support wireless and does need to be connected via an ethernet cable. This wasn't an issue for me.6. Night vision is pretty damn good - our road is pretty dark at night and yet you still get a pretty decent picture in black & white. It still is never going to be as good as the footage you get during the day time when the picture is in full colour but nonetheless, for the money and size of the camera, it is pretty impressive!7. I did need to reach out to Sansco support and found them to be excellent and responsive. Support was done via Facebook messenger via a link on their website and I got timely responses back.Word of caution. The system does have motion detection but if you are placing the cameras externally, don't have too higher expectation on the motion detection. Yes it works, but it will also provide a lot of false positives. You can alter the sensitivity but ultimately, this is using digital motion detection which is not the same as an IR detector like you get on a security garage light.In summary, I can't believe how good value for money this kit is considering you are getting a full home security kit. Hopefully, it will act as a good deterrent too and will mean I have a bit more peace of mind when my property is not occupied.

Summary:I've not had it long, but it seems a really good product. It came well packaged and protected. The summary instructions are fine and I haven't had to use the CD. The software menu isn't intuitive, but it's not too complicated to navigate. I clicked on most things and there are some things I have no idea what they do, so have just ignored them. Picture quality is very good both during daylight and at night. Cameras are robust and have a pretty good angle of view. Installation isn't difficult, but you might need to buy a big drill bit if you are planning on drilling through walls, to accommodate the plugs on the cables. The app is OK but could be a bit slicker. Settings of the alerts/alarms from the cameras takes a bit of trial and error to get right. Support from the supplier has been great.Overall:Product arrived on time and neatly packaged. All the cameras are individually boxed with all screws etc. Cables are neatly wound and secured. Following the advice of another reviewer I plugged the cables and connected the DVR in my living room to check they worked. This gives you an idea of how to navigate the menu, before you finally position the cameras. I recommend you do this. And load & configure the app.The DVR comes with a mini-mouse, but I found this inconvenient to use when I was testing, so plugged my own wireless mouse in which works fine and means you don't have to have the DVR on your lap whilst testing.The menu is fairly easy to use, but it's not completely intuitive. I haven't had to use the CD that came with the product and have clicked around and managed to get it working and set up, so it can't be too difficult.I found one of the cameras was a bit grainy when testing, but the picture quality is great on the others - both during the day and a night using IR. (I'll come back to the grainy camera).I left a couple of cameras connected with cables & cameras draped out of windows for a day or so. Mostly so I could see how the cameras worked, see what the angle of view is like and have a play with the settings of the alarms/notifications etc. This gave some ideas as where to place them around the house.Installation:I'm fairly competent at DIY and found the installation easy. But you do need to consider how & where you are going to place the cameras as all the cables must connect back to the DVR, which has to be near power and a TV with an HDMI/VGA connection. I didn't want cables draped or pinned across my house, so after a bit of thinking moved the DVR from the lounge to my study TV and decided that all cables would come though the garage into the study and connect to the DVR.Here is where you need a large drill bit! Each camera has a video connector that is about 1cm diameter; there is also a power connector and a plastic block on the cable. All this must go through a hole in your wall to connect back to the DVR. And if, like me, you have 4 cameras, then that hole must be large enough to take all the above, 4 times over. I ended up buying 25mm drill bit. You could obviously drill 4 smaller holes (1 for each cable), but I didn’t want to do that. When you are drilling the hole for an individual camera, you can get away with a smaller drill bit as there is only 1 cable, connector, power & black block thingy! But it still needs to be big enough to pass all that through. Once all the cables are through the hole, then the actual cable doesn’t take up much space, but feeding the connectors through is the tricky piece.Having drilled a few holes, you can position the cameras where you want. I pulled the cables through from the DVR and put the camera where I thought would be best. But I chose not to screw them to the wall at this point. Instead, I ‘duck taped’ them in place. This was just as well, because once you have seen the images you get, then you might choose to move them. This occurred with a camera I had at the front of the house. My initial position it covered all I wanted it to, but car movement on the main road and their headlights at night caused some problems (too many alarms). So, I moved the camera to another spot (again taping it temporarily), with the same coverage, but managing to block the road and it’s much better. You can change the alarm settings and the sensitivity, but I still got too many. A bit of thinking before you screw them to the wall is advisable.I also configured the app on my ‘phone and found that really useful to have next to you as you position the cameras, as you can’t judge the orientation of the image by looking at the camera. Being able to see the view you’ll get whilst you are up the ladder was imperative.Support:I couldn’t find out how to set up e-mail, so contacted the supplier and they quickly came back with instructions and a link to a YouTube video which was really helpful. I couldn’t get it working with a Microsoft address, despite having all the parameters correct, so switched to a G-mail account and it works fine.I mentioned earlier that I had a grainy camera on initial testing. When it came to put the cameras in place, I found that I couldn't get an image at all on it. A bit of swapping about of cameras, cables and ports on the DVR, I isolated it to be the cable at fault. I contacted the supplier asking what I should do and they were great and said they’d send me a replacement cable. It arrived within 2 days of my query which was fantastic service.I can’t fault their service based on the interactions I’ve had.All in all, really pleased I bought the system. Gives great peace of mind at a reasonable cost.

I wanted a simple DIY security camera system, and based on the description and reviews this seemed to tick all the boxes. One of the cameras didn't work properly and this was promptly replaced by customer support. It was easy to set up, picture quality is very good, and the app that needs to be downloaded onto your phone works fine but isn't perfect - there's an advert that you need to click past to get access to your cameras, very occasionally it refuses to connect to the system, and it's disappointing that the English translation hasn't been sorted out ("buffering, please later"), which makes it look a bit amateurish. The main problem I've had with the system, though, is the motion detection: you can set the camera to "Alarm Record", which highlights the recording in red when motion is detected, but even on it's lowest sensitivity setting it's ridiculously sensitive - the playback is full of red, and I can't see what's set it off! Perhaps it's me, but it seems rubbish. So I don't rely on this feature but simply use it to view remotely what's going on, and have the HD recording as a back-up. Customer service is great. Overall then, a good buy for the money.Update: the app has been updated so that the aforementioned language issues have been sorted (maybe somebody from the company actually reads these reviews?!). After noticing for a while that the time on the live stream/recording was slightly off and thinking that I hadn't set it correctly, I also now have realised that it's the harddrive system itself that is at fault - after a few weeks it's running about 25 minutes fast. So be aware if you actually need to use the time to locate a particular bit of footage.