SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras

Reviews of SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras

1.) Excellent Value for the Price
Reviewed by: lieutenantdave Hampton Roads
Rating:
I recently bought this system and spent yesterday installing and tinkering with it. I am quite happy with it! Here are my thoughts: Everything that came in the box was as expected, save that the DVR didn't have an S-video output as I had seen it with before (I believe I bought an "upgraded" one which didn't have the output). I was initially disappointed, but later found that the regular video-only composite output worked fine for me. That was my only disappointment with the system, and it has turned out to be a non-issue. One of the big things I was looking for was ensuring that each camera didn't require a local power source, as I didn't relish the idea of running receptacles to each camera location. This one has a single cable with an S-video connector that runs to each camera and carries both power AND video signal, so that worked out great. Installation was a breeze (despite spending a day in my attic) and the components worked together the first time I put the system together. Bringing the picture up through the web was also a snap as well - the instructions in the user guide are quite good for what you need to do. One of the biggest complaints about this system (and really all others in the sub-$1000 price range) that I had read before buying it is the lack of night vision clarity. I don't know what people are talking about with this particular system because I was impressed with the picture I got from the night vision from the cameras - out to about 20 feet away from the camera in a completely dark inside room and with some lights (like indirect lighting through windows) my outdoor cameras were able to have a complete field of view. As far as installation, I am not a techie, but installing it was very straightforward and made sense. It went together quickly and though it took me a day to install, the majority of that time was spent running cables through walls and through ceilings to have all of the cables hidden from view. Data recording is a snap, and changing menu items is easy as well. The only thing I wish I had known before I installed the cameras is their field of view, which I had expected to be zoomed out a bit more than they actually are. Had I known what I was going to see, I would have probably mounted the cameras back a little further from the areas they are recording in order to get a better overall view. My suggestion would be to lay the system out BEFORE installing it to ensure that you are happy with the view that you have before you start drilling holes and running cable. Overall, I am very happy with the system and I have already recommended this system to a family member who is planning on buying it as well. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

2.) Exceeded my expectations
Reviewed by: Uwood2
Rating:
We recently purchased and installed the SVAT web ready DVR system at our place of business after being hit by thieves and vandals. The night vision cameras were unbelievably bright in a dimly lit area. Some of the features I like about this unit is of course the night vision cameras, the ability to view the cameras over the internet, the ability to record continuously or as motion sensors.
This unit was well worth the money. We have not been burglarized or vandalized since installing these. The presence is an excellent deterent. HOWEVER, If they come back -- We are ready!


3.) Web Ready Security Camera System and DVR
Reviewed by: D. Schaefer
Rating:
SVAT CV0204DVR Web Ready DVR Security System w/4 High Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras I recently purchased this item after going through the past couple of years with some moderate vandilism and criminal mischief around our house (ie. taking our decorative hay bails and lining them up across the road, stealing our decorative garden light, and breaking into our backyard to let our dogs out ultimately with one getting struck by a vehicle.) Anyway, these events led me on the hunt for a way to secure the place my family lives. I researched many types of camera systems and even consulted some experts and with my security background I came to the conclusion I need something simple and easy to install. When I came across this product, I knew I found what I was looking for. Well priced, good coverage, connects to the tv in the living room or any tv in the house for that matter, and I can see it from anywhere in the world! One point here, if you work for the government or somewhere with major firewalls, don't plan on being able to access this system from their network, I already tried and it doesn't work. Anyway, the installation was easy, I did spend most of the day in the attic running cables, but it was worth it. As far as the night vision goes, it works fine for me, although it's so windy here I do have to keep the lenses clean of the dust that blows around. The pictures day and night are perfect for my needs and it's in full color during the day. I did have some trouble with my internet service provider at first when I was attempting to access the system over the internet. But, a couple of phone calls to the SVAT support desk and I was up and running without any problems except the whole government computer issue. I now have full coverage around the house and my worries are minimized.

4.) Five stars... BUT, read ALL the reviews
Reviewed by: Kemo Sabe Bellaire, Texas United States
Rating:
I'll give this five stars because it's an ambitious effort for under $600.00

However, read all the reviews carefully for the cons; there are many and none noted seem unfair. Just take them into account before jumping into anything.

If you do not have prior networking experience, and/or hard wire experience, do NOT buy this as it can eat you up. In my area, installation was offered for $250.00. If you can get that deal, go for it. Otherwise, be prepared to work, perhaps hard, to get this to do what you want it to do.

If you do have prior networking and hardwire experience, keep in mind that this system, used fully, opens up your PC to all sorts of evils in order for it to work remotely. You may want to set up different profiles/users to get around some of this. And, if you have done lots of hardwiring, this system has you making some pretty big holes in things and leaves you wondering what to do with the excess cable, wondering how well the soft cable will hold up under stress and time, and so forth. My use for this system is short-term and I have a spare laptop to dedicate to this, so I'm OK with lots of the downsides just mentioned.

Out of the box, this deal is simple enough. I was disappointed, to the point I quit asking, with tech support. I had no problems (after reading and heeding all the reviews) installing the system. But, fine-tuning it and getting more out of it without their input was just wishful thinking. It worked well enough for what I wanted to do, but it is by no means a "heavy duty" system or a "one size fits all" solution.

First off, you have an effective range of 15 to 20 feet. It's handy for seeing that "something" is going on. But, it's not really a good ID system to prove "who" was doing something.

Second, four cameras is probably not enough for any real security. Again, handy for some things - like, "Is somebody in the driveway?". But, once you start thinking about it, there are many areas around home or work that you might want to keep an eye on. And, anyone who wants to sneak up on you can check out the camera layout easy enough and find a way to get to you without being seen.

Third, reviewing and off-loading video is slow, clumsy, and, akin to video editing. It has fast-forward features, etc. But, rewind is slow and viewing/copying is in real time. In fact, for practical purpose, everything happens in real time. Unless you know when something happened, you'll be at this a long time. And, if you have it on FF3, you may miss the tiny bit of activity that happened entirely.

Fourth, it would be nice if it could be set to record ONLY motion. From what I can figure, when it detects motion it records at the frame rate you set... Meaning, in real time it can do x frames per second, but when motion is detected it begins recording at x times 4 frames per second so you can see more detail. If your actor is moving quickly, you may get nothing at all, or, nothing at all useful.

I'll stop there. It's a good "nanny cam," and it can be handy for watching day-to-day real time comings and goings. Do not, however, bet the farm on this thing. It's just not solid enough to count on it for a lot.

Still, for under $600.00 AND providing some remote access ability, you can't knock it on the very basics that it CAN deliver.

5.) I install lots of these
Reviewed by: L. Haycock
Rating:
I install video surveillance systems and a few years back I started seeing SVAT units. Since then I have installed many of them with no problems. They are not high end units but are perfect for home and small business. The DVR does generate ALOT of heat so needs good air circulation. The night vision is ok, 10 foot max without some other sort of ambient lighting but the cameras are good in low light so just a regular porchlight is plenty to light most of a yard and keep the camera from going to B/W mode. Need install in Kern County CA area by licensed contractor? contact me: LONNYISHERE(at)GMAIL(dot)COM

6.) Very Satisfied
Reviewed by: gregw9 Sunrise, FL USA
Rating:
I purchased the system thru Amazon in December and installed it in a vacation rental home we own. It has worked flawlessly for almost 2 months now. It was relatively easy to install, with the cables being the most time consuming issue. I did have a little trouble setting it up on the network and getting it web ready, but SVAT customer service is excellent and that was easily fixed. This system was $100's less than some comparables, mostly because of the monitor that come with the others. You can monitor the cameras over any TV by running a standard video cable, or thru the internet from (almost)anywhere, so I figured why spend extra money for a monitor you don't need? Anyhow, I highly recommend this system. It works as advertised and the customer service is great.

7.) Great product for the money!
Reviewed by: Joe york, pa
Rating:
I bought this product about 3 weeks ago, I set the whole system up and had everything up and running in about two hours (includes hanging cameras and running wires). I really like the webserver part of this product so that I can watch while I am away. The only the problem I had was the night vision was not working in one of the cameras. So I called SVAT and asked them about replacing the camera, they had no problem doing that but suggested we test the camera firt and make sure it was not the cable. Long story short it was the cable and they sent a new cable to me only thing I had to show them was proof of reciept. Very good customer service.

If you want decent quality cameras with web ready service and don't want to spend much, Buy these!

8.) SVAT Security all the way!
Reviewed by: jamie Seattle, WA
Rating:
i've got to say that it beat my expectations in full! it was super easy to set up and it records more video than i expected. The quality at night was also a lot higher than i expected. all-in-all, a great deal. highly recommended!

9.) Excellent Equipment
Reviewed by: Warlock Venezuela
Rating:
I bought this equipment for the surveillance of my home. I am evry pleased with this. Everything is in the box, I just needed one extension cable (the cable that came in the box is long but I needed one extra cable). The video quality is very good and the night vision is excellent. It is very easy to install and connect to internet, every step is detailed in the user manual. The only hard think was decided where to install the cameras, the rest was very easy and fast, it took me like 2 hours the complete installation (I am not a person who ussualy do works like this). The only thing missing in the equipment is a way to back up the video.

10.) Great Eyes
Reviewed by: David
Rating:
Very easy to install. Good Price (except [...] just lowered the Lorex 8 camera system - not sure about all features).
Easy set up and on screen selections. Viewing over Internet not as clear as viewing on local monitor.
Good color and if I needed to, I would buy it again.

11.) Excellent Value! Good Cam/DVR System for DIY'ers
Reviewed by: Michael Royce United States
Rating:
If you are the type of person who likes to save money by doing things yourself (instead of spending big bucks on pro installation), this cam system is for you. It's easy to install and setup. The only hard part for us was configuring the router to forward to the cam system. Fortunately, they have excellent tech support. Their tech guy walked us through and made sure we were all setup properly. The quality of the cams is good, not great, but it gives us what we need to view (over the Internet) what's going on at our place of business. We're glad we purchased this system. You get a lot of bang for your buck.


12.) Payed for itself the first day!
Reviewed by: M. Jones Long Beach, CA
Rating:
I am not sure exactly what others are going to be using this system for but for my small business it saved us literally the next day after setting the cameras/dvr up.

I own a business near my house and use the four cameras to monitor the store via the internet when I am at home. I installed the system on Friday and on Saturday morning I noticed an employee sitting in the backroom talking on the phone. After that I noticed a line of customers growing at the door and not coming in. I figured out using this camera my employee literally locked the door and was using the phone in the back while customers waited outside. I raced to my business immediately and was able to let the same customers I saw on the camera in the store and SAVE THE SALE. I also had proof to fire the employee thereafter.

For basic remote monitoring of a location this camera is a lifesaver. You may have to tweak a few security settings in Internet Explorer in order to use their Active X based software but the product definitely works and for the price is almost unbeatable. The system also works with very little light because the store is still visible after the lights go out when we are closed.

13.) simple plug and play setup
Reviewed by: a69gt500 Girard, OH United States
Rating:
This system was very easy to setup and start working for you. Cameras could be focused a bit sharper but a great buy for the money. When I was shopping around I couldn't find anything near this for less than $1200.00 so it is a great deal. I am just now in the process of getting the web access feature set up which shouldn't be too big of a deal seeing the way the system was put together.

14.) SVAT CV0204DVR Web Ready DVR Security System
Reviewed by: Mim0sitas
Rating:
I recently bought this system it arrived on time and well packed. This being my first system that was not so complicated to set up. I really liked the power supply / cable connection set up SVAT has with this model. I get only B & W picture on my LCD TV not a big issue maybe needs adjustments and color off my computer.Day time camera pictures are very good and clear to 50 ft Night 25 ft and clear maybe more with outside lights. The best thing is to check the operation of the system prior to running the cables.Do a dry run with the cameras and check your angles set up was quick and simple after that.Up and running a week without any issues well worth the price so far. If not this model I recommend a security video system no matter what the perp says the tapes don't lie busted is busted Better security software & Remote would be a nice upgrade all in all I'm pleased

15.) Probably best for money
Reviewed by: dcsmith40D
Rating:
I like the product pretty well. The biggest problem I encountered was trying to get support from SVAT. I couldn't get anyone to answer the phone. Note, I would only hold for about 40 minutes due to cell phone charges. My efforts to reach support was in their business hours of either 8-5 or 9-5 eastern. I left a message please call me back while I am trying to set this thing up. I was off that Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I emailed them please contact me while I am trying to set this thing up. Bottom line someone called me Monday while I was at work. I had gone four days needing input from the support people and couldn't get it.

My installation was non typical in that I choose to install the dvr in a hidden place in my workshop. I don't see the value in storing the dvr next to items like the TV and computer that are likely to be stolen during a break in. Due to that chosen location, it was necessary to run approximately 100' of Ethernet cabling to my router. I already had conduit from the shop to the house so that wasn't too bad. My shop is in the back yard detached. To get cameras where I thought they should be to cover both the house and the workshop, I opted to bury conduit out to my garden area. I put two cameras in bird houses, one I had, the other I had to build. You would have to be looking for the cameras to see them.

That leads to why I wanted to speak to someone. The length of conduit required that a extension cable be necessary. That's not an issue in itself. But the length of conduit was going to require that the coupling would be underground. I worried that water/condensation would affect the connection. I wanted some guidance as to if a longer than 60' extension cable was available or if there was a way to make one. I never did get good information from the support people. I came up with it myself. The extension cable is nothing but a long s-video cable (4 pin). I found some on the Sam's Club website (Clovers or Glovers) that I think would work. The extension cables at Radio Shack are 6-pin. I made my extensions with cat-5 wire and s-video connectors. I had to have a patch cord to change one female to male.

The unit works most of the time. However, I have had to reboot the dvr on a few occasions due to it being frozen up. Also, the remote location of my dvr requires viewing via internet only (unless I carry a TV out to the shop). The viewing on my laptop works well however. You can control most functions from inside the house. You can't access the setup menu to set the date and time.

I still have not completely broken the code on world wide access to my dvr. The issue lies in the fact that I have a dynamic IP address i.e. it changes regularly. In order to access your dvr, you have to know the ip address. The SVAT people have not been overly helpful in that area. There is a "free" web service you can sign up for that is suppose to be the key. However, SVAT people don't support it because it's not theirs and the other people don't offer support unless you upgrade to the paid version. I may just be missing something.

Update: I sent the dvr back to Amazon and got a replacement one. It has worked flawlessly for I guess a couple weeks, however long its been. I had arranged to send it back to the SVAT folks; however, they wanted me to send the unit to them and wait for them to send it back. I choose to send it back to Amazon. Amazon sent out the replacement unit right away and paid for the return of the faulty one.

Update: Working good for a couple more months. You need some light at night. They would probably work ok in close quarters with no added light.

16.) Very Pleased with this product
Reviewed by: NF NY
Rating:
This system works surprisingly well. Installation is a breeze and the DVR is intuitive enough that you barely need to look in the manual to figure it out. Each camera wire houses the power and video so you can have all your plugs in one location near the DVR. The daytime resolution and detail is very good up to around 15'-20'. ie You can get a good detail of a person up to that distance. The night vision works just as well up to around 10', maybe less, which was a very pleasant surprise. Even in total darkness you can see very clear. At night, the camera emits a cool red half circle near the lens indicating the night vision is active. The cameras have metal covers/hoods which can be removed or adjusted for more protective shade from the sun and rain. The camera also has two holes in the back to allow for installation from the ceiling down, ie vertical install., or wall mount intallation.

Negatives. Playback breaks the recordings into long timewise sections. Fast forwarding through those events could be faster. Playback speed is a bit fast making the video like an old black and white silent film, only this system is in color.

The only problem I had was 2 cameras were very grainy when set up. I thought there was something wrong with the camera or wire then realized that a metal awning was interfering with the camera. If the camera was attached to the awning, there was little or no video. It was even a problem if it was too close, ie within an inch of the awning. Relocating the camera solved the problem.

Only time will tell how well they hold up under the summer heat and the freezing winters. I will reevaluate during the summer and winter months to see how it holds up. So far, very easy to install, good quality, a very good complete surveillance system.



17.) Works great but needs some tweaks
Reviewed by: sysop Daytona Beach, FL.
Rating:
Well, I spent yesterday installing the system. It works as advertised. One camera has a line (bad LED), we'll see if they replace it. The web interface right click doesn't rotate or flip as suggested (no big deal), My only issue is watching the recorded video. Especially if you want to burn it to a DVD and hand to the police! Any ideas anyone? Looks to me like you have to bring up the web interface, bring up the event on the box, go back to the web interface, then start it and save it to a file? I haven't read or seen anything on this yet. Is it possible? That will be the deal breaker for my. Maybe I'm missing something. Other than that. For it's $$$, It's a great deal.

01-06-2010 After some time, I wish this would work on other browsers than JUST internet exploder. I have a linksys camera I can watch on my IPhone and would love to see these too. But, you can't. You also can't use Firefox. So beware. Other than that, it works fine. It's a pain going thru a tape of something. You have to Fast Forward to see the spot instead if picking a time if you know when it happened. But I do like the system. 900' from the Ocean spray and still working outside.

18.) Nice system, but could use some improvements
Reviewed by: Doug WV
Rating:
SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras


I've been using this item for approx one month now and although I think some changes need made I do not regret the purchase.

Pros:
Easy installation, good picture, night vision does a good job, being able to view online from any pc is an excellent feature

Cons:
The adjustment on the camera mounts are my main complaint. They are not made so one can easily be precise with the aiming of the cameras. After fooling with them for a while you can get them aimed exactly where you want them, but it is aggrevating. I would never have put these cameras on the market with these kind of mounts.
Depending on the locations of the dvr and monitor a remote control would be a nice addition.
Online viewing is good for the current action, but if you need to back up and check an earlier event it is really slow getting it to the time you want to view

For the money this is a good system. I have recommended this item to others.



19.) svat dvr
Reviewed by: Kenneth Robertson
Rating:
I bought their B/W cameras 2 yrs ago liked those had to buy new DVR so i bought this system .Only thing is the color cameras can not use the B/W camera wiring had to run all new wires and to use computer i did not know i needed a router to connect to just to veiw on my monitor at home
other than that system seems to be working just fine i have no coplaints

20.) Good Value but Fair Image Quality
Reviewed by: W. Tseng
Rating:
I purchased this product to monitor activities at my restaurant. Set up was fairly easy. However, the image quality could be better. For its price, I can't complain too much. Still waiting for response from customer support on how to set up Internet access.

21.) Very happy with our video survelliance...
Reviewed by: M. Tomerlin West Coast, USA
Rating:
So far the system works great. It did take a while to figure out why I could not see it on the IP address. The network cable connection is very badly built. Customer service was efficient and very attentive trying to help me figure out what was happening. I have had the system about a month and I am very happy

22.) The price is right
Reviewed by: Chubbs Dolittle Seattle, WA
Rating:
I chose this system for the price and internet monitoring capability. I installed it in a day. The installation is simple. Everything worked as expected the first time I turned it on. Instructions for configuring your particular router to connect the system to the internet are available in video form at [...]. These are not high resolution cameras but images are clear enough for home use purposes at close range. The night vision works fine in the area illuminated by my outdoor lighting. During the day I can see all the way to my driveway entrance 200 ft. from the camera. Make sure to place the DVR on a surface that allows air to get under it to avoid overheating, which is the number one cause of electronic device failures.

23.) Good for the price
Reviewed by: jake789
Rating:
My company bought this system to monitor an industrial robot. They work great and the picture quality is decent. It interfaced with our network easy enough. It is a great resource to be able to review the video history and even save screenshots and .avi videos to our pc's.

Only cons that kept this from getting 5 stars:
1. The camera mounts are terrible. They are poorly designed and have to be readjusted often. We fixed this by globbing silicone caulk around the base so they wouldn't move.

2. There is a well known hdd problem with these units. Apparently if you are recording and lose power, the hdd can get corrupted. This happened to us a few months after installing it. Luckily, all I had to do was use the reformat option in the menu and the hdd worked again even though we lost the data.

3. If you lose power you can lose all of your settings (camera setups and IP addresses) It can be a pain to fix but not that big of a deal.

4. When reviewing video history, the dvr makes chapters every 45-60mins. You pick one of these chapters and then have to ffw to the part you want to see. The ffw can be pretty slow and it takes awhile to get towards the end of the chapter.

Other than listed above we have been very happy with this system. At six hundred bucks you just can't beat it. We just ordered another and I'm sure it won't be the last.

24.) night vision camera
Reviewed by: DV Philadelphia, PA United States
Rating:
the camera is easy to set up, pictures is fine,but It has 2 big draw-back:
1)The hard-drive was not too stable, it failed alot(may be twice a week)
when it fail, all function disable, you need to unplug the power then
reconnect to made it work again, you may lost some important time when
you need it.
2)The unit only support single function, if you want to play(watch) the
record in the hard-drive, you must stop the report first, it is not very
good because you miss all the time while you view, you never know what
may happen on those time.

25.) Alright for the price I suppose
Reviewed by: Erick Perez Miami, Fl
Rating:
The web interface is pretty mediocre and limited. Looks like it was put together by a high school student. You can't just pick a recording of an event and download them onto your computer - you have to watch recordings as if you're sitting at a TV and controlling the unit via the front panel. Also, it doesn't seem like you can turn off or change the password for the administrator account. Awesome.

The cameras show blues in weird shades (yes I tried the [limited] adjustments) and the image quality isn't great. I have yet to mount the cameras outside, so I can't comment on their long range performance. Short range (~10 ft) zero-light performance is good.

All in all, the price is pretty good for what it is. However, I wish I would have pieced together my own system with a better DVR and better cameras.

EDIT: Nevermind, this thing sucks. 2 of the inputs stopped working. The cameras are fine, the actual unit has internal issues. I wish I could downgrade it to 1 star. Waste of money.

26.) It works
Reviewed by: Juan M. Lince Hacienda Hts, CA USA
Rating:
It has good video quality. You can set it up to see it from your computer using the internet. It has the option of recording when there is motion or always.
I did not like that is hard to review what it records. I would like to be able to record on my computer too.

27.) Good, but not great
Reviewed by: Sasquatch Leavenworth, ks United States
Rating:
I am just installing this system. The basic function is pretty easy to set up. I have one camera installed and it works pretty well in bright light, but is a little disappointing in the dark.

The mount for the cameras is a definite drawback to this system. I had to mess around with the mount on the first camera for it to work. Even so, I am not sure the camera will hold position for any length of time. The mount is poorly engineered and machined. I was also disappointed to find no instructions regarding camera mounting. I have no idea of how secure this camera will be in adverse weather. I had considered covering the point where the wire enters the camera with a silicone seal, since it does not look waterproof. At this point, I have just mounted it under my soffitt, hoping it will not be subject to driving rain.

Once I get all the cameras installed,I will work on getting the system hooked up to the internet. At that time, I plan to modify my review.

28.) Very unhappy
Reviewed by: H. Samidi Los Angeles, Ca
Rating:
This system broke down after three weeks of usage (HDD failure). I got another one which was defective upon arrival. The third one was again defective and had the same "HDD failure" problem. Very unhappy with SVAT. I finally purchased a different brand and it's been working for over a year with no problems. I don't recommend this product at all.

29.) Expensive Junk
Reviewed by: NFH Omaha, NE
Rating:
In the 14 months I have owned this system, I have had to have all 4 cameras replaced. For some reason they all quit working 1 by 1 in a single day. They had power, and the microphones worked, just no video. SVAT replaced them under warranty without a problem, but when I asked what would cause the cameras to fail, they didn't have an answer. My suspicion was a problem with the DVR. Well, 2 months out of warranty, the DVR would no longer send a video signal to either a TV or a computer through the network jack. It showed it was recording, and the computer screen controls would display, just no video. Now mind you, this DVR was on a dresser in my bedroom, and all the cameras and DVR were plugged into a surge protector. Not an environmentally hostile environment. SVAT basically told me I was SOL. So now I'm off to buy a new DVR, and you can bet it won't be SVAT!!

30.) crapped out after 90 days
Reviewed by: spetruchio Plantation, Fl United States
Rating:
Hard drive stopped working after 3 months. Camera connections are sloppy and as a result the unit often loses the video signal. Likewise the ac input is sloppy and if bumped the unit loses power. The cameras work fine but the DVR function is apparently very cheaply made with an inferior hard drive. I do not advise buying and I would not buy again.

31.) broke after 3 weeks
Reviewed by: S. Fee
Rating:
I will try to be fair and hit the highs and the lows of this product. Firstly, I already had a (4) camera system from Dedicated Micros (high end system) which has worked perfectly for (5) years, but I was looking for something cheap to fill in the gaps in my camera system. I did my research but went more on price than features, which in hindsight was probably a mistake. The system arrived and I had it up and running pretty quickly, the instructions were very good and installation is easy.
Highs
1. Easy installation, easy instructions.
2. Pretty good video but needs some light to see in the dark, overall pleased with it.
3. DVR runs very quiet
4. Price..I actually paid $[...] and Amazon dropped it $[...] bucks..oh well.

After 3 weeks, the DVR would not record. I then found out the hard disk got corrupted. I had a power strip and was not turning it on and off, hence this was a surprise. I reformatted the drive, tried every trick in the book and it simply gave out. As several other reviewers have noted, this apparently is an issue and is not as rare as I thought. Customer service via their email was quick and authorized a return. I had to pay shipping ($43 bucks Fedex) and now I am waiting for it to come back. I will try to update this review when/if I get the unit returned.
Lows
1. no external disk for storing videos, must have it connected to network.
2. another reviewer noted the slow FF. I must agree, takes quite a bit of time to fast forward through saved videos. I'm guessing takes 15-20 minutes to look at 5 hours of video.
3. Cheaply made DVR unit. Obviously something that breaks after 3 weeks is cheap and the quality is subpar. My other system has run 24/7 for 5 years with no problems.

If the the Hard Disk did not get corrupted, I would have given it 4/5 stars.

32.) Good item but useless if a burglar enters your home and deletes the recordings
Reviewed by: boxerchick Houston, tX
Rating:
I thought this would be a wonderful system until my home was burglarized and they deleted the recordings off my system. It was my fault that i did not change the default password but the system is so sluggish and hard to use that it's difficult to do so. There is no backup of your recordings and the cameras are easily pulled off the wall by criminals. Look for a better system if you're hoping for safety and security after a robbery!

Features of SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras

The CV0204DVR is one of SVAT's feature packed digital video recorders. This complete system comes with four outdoor CCD cameras and can display all four (quad view) at the same time. Customize the recording and set a 24-hour recording schedule based on your preferences. You can choose to have the DVR record continuously during the day, then record only when motion is detected at night. And since each camera is equipped with night vision, you can view and record in total darkness! This DVR can record four different camera views (quad view) simultaneously and play it back at a smooth 30 frames per second. During playback you can even display each camera in full screen or view all four without losing quality. Finding your recorded footage is a breeze. Just search for the time and date it was recorded and the file will be displayed. Everything is stored on the DVR's internal 160GB hard drive allowing you weeks of recording. The DVR can be set to overwrite old footage when the drive does run out of space, allowing you continuous recording, year after year. The CV0204DVR also has a built-in internet server for remote viewing. Just plug the DVR into your internet connection and set it up with the included software. Then simply type in your IP address to monitor your home or business remotely, from any internet-enabled computer in the world! You can even play back recorded footage, save picture or movie files to your computer, and more, all through a web browser. This versatile surveillance system is an ideal solution for anyone who wants to monitor their property whether they're at home or away.

1.) Easy setup and installation;
2.) Live monitoring through the internet from anywhere in the world;
3.) Includes 160GB hard drive;
4.) Includes 4 color night vision CCD cameras;
5.) Has built-in motion detection;

Package Height x Length x Width: 19 in. x 19 in. x 13.5 in.
Package Weight: 20 lbs.

Accessories for SVAT CV0204DVR Web-Ready DVR Security System with 4 High-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Surveillance Cameras