Zmodo PKD-DK4216-500GB 4 Channel H.264 DVR w/ 500GB HDD + 4 CMOS 480TVL Outdoor 3G Mobile Access Surveillance Kit Zmodo PKD-DK4216-500GB 4 Channel H.264 DVR w/ 500GB HDD + 4 CMOS 480TVL Outdoor 3G Mobile Access Surveillance Kit

Pros: Low price and the hardware is easy to set up.

Cons: The system worked for last than a year before the DVR died suddenly without any reason. I have always used surge protector and there was nothing unusual the days around it died. I tried tech support but it's no help at all. If you buy one, don't expect it to last forever or a year.

Other Thoughts: I finally bought a cheap USB video hookup and connect the cameras to an extra laptop.

Pros: DDNS capable and 3G mobile access.
Picture quality is much better than I expected.
Motion activated recording does exactly that, with added sensitivity settings for individual cameras; works great with pets.
Global settings can be adjusted easily with built-in mouse or remotely through browser session.
Settings menus, saves, and reboots are snappy and responsive for what I expected to be an inferior system.

Cons: Night vision viewing is effective for my purposes, but only slightly better than a baby monitor.
Do not like drilling 1/2" to 5/8" holes for the BNC connectors to fit through going through the attic/walls; size increases to 7/8" or 1" for the aggregate holes leading to the dvr unit if you are hiding it.

Other Thoughts: Hidden in my home for motion activated recording (break-ins, perps, etc.)
Make sure you allow activeX controls for dvr through IE.
If using 3G access, make sure you follow online instructional videos to setup port forwarding or free ddns services online; being a network engineer helps as these are very similar to setting up PoE cameras.
Make sure you know how to change out a hard drive, because these things do not last forever: 3-6 yrs max.

Pros: Price. Video quality is good. I have nothing to compare it to since this is my first kit.

Cons: Didn't know you had to push "0" (zero) on the remote control to "unlock" the dvr's functionality. Didn't see it anywhere in the manual which is an english translation from chinese it seems.

Other Thoughts: Didn't know you had to push "0" (zero) on the remote control to "unlock" the dvr's functionality.

So I recant my previous review of this camera system

Pros: Price. Video works. Easy to setup.

Cons: DVR doesnt work. Remote doesnt work. No response from pushing buttons on the DVR.

Other Thoughts: Email zmodo customer service about the non-responsiveness of DVR unit at 6pm-ish on 3-23-2012 and no response. I'm about to start the RMA process and soon as I submit this review.

Pros: Easy setup and networking capabilities are nice

Cons: Viewing angle is very wide and the directions are pretty bad

Other Thoughts: Using for office to keep track of who is coming and going, so viewing angle isnt huge problem and works well for what I need. You arent puchasing a casino grade system, so dont expect one.

Pros: Lots of features for the price! (didn't get it on sale but still very happy!!)
Includes drive and all hardware to start recording immediately.
Good daytime image quality.
Quick export to USB drive (tested thumb and hard drive).
Small form factor (easy to hide)
Privacy views (blur out specific sections of picture for each camera)
Remote phone viewing (tested on android phone using IP Cam basic and lite)
Remote admin features (playback, record, scan, upload, and system controls.)
Remote viewing through browser (DVR settings and control are available when viewing through browser and you can upload to remote computer)
Multi user setup with passwords
Audible for motion alerts (set it to buzz when motion is detected in specified section of view)
Easy to install
Adjustable record segments (Recorded files can be adjusted to 5,10,15,30,60 minute size/interval)
Audio input connections.
Easy export to USB device
Quick format of USB drive or new hard drive
PTZ options for dome cam

Cons: IR light affects colors - As other posters have said, some colors are not accurate. After doing some research I've found that this is related to the IR LED's in the camera itself.
Narrow view - The view is much more narrow than I expected (~ 40 - 45 degree viewing range)
Manual could have been written better.
Navigation could be better (As JM stated there is no reverse but this is not a deal breaker)
Night vision could be better (bought IR flood light which helped)

Other Thoughts: Very pleased with this package even though I didn't get it on sale! Has almost all of the features that you would get from the more expensive units/packages and includes a good size drive. Recording at the default settings yields about 6 months worth of recording. Setting things up for remote viewing was straight forward and there were several resources online to walk you through the process. Pay special attention to the port forwarding instructions as it will be tricky for those who are not tech savvy.
IP Cam on the Android market works great and had the actual hardware name as a selection for configuration. Test the cameras and plan out the location of the cameras and preview before installing the camera base since the viewing angle may be more narrow than you would expect. Solved the internet explorer limitation using remote desktop to computer within my home network. Buy the 8 camera kit if you have extra money! Search YouTube for Zmodo videos for installation help ;-)

Pros: great value 180 bucks, simple install and user freindly

Cons: for the money- none

Pros: Price and features!
Overall product is great. Viewing from 24 inch monitor is very good with 4 channels. Larger monitor may get greater Video Noise and washed out colors. This is 3rd system I have installed. I compared video signals from other systems costing $500 or more is not much better! Remember this is security camera and not a movie camera! The key is to maintain 30 feet or less to position camera field of view. Also, recommend to install motion detection lights near the camera field of view and it will assist better video capturing at nights. Do trials before final hard mounting and wiring, it will save time! On past Thanksgiving day this system received many compliments from friends and family members. Most thought it was a pretty darn good system for less than $200!

Cons: Wished they had 8 channel system on sale!

Other Thoughts: Newegg rocks!

Pros: Price, Simplicity.

Cons: Zmodo 4 Channel models do not always include an input for triggering recording from a separate alarm system - the 8 channel and 16 channel Zmodos typically do have an alarm input to trigger recording. Check for existence of the alarm input capability if you plan to trigger recording when your security alarm system is going off, or you may only be able to do scheduled or motion control recording.

Other Thoughts: On my Zmodo unit, moving through menu selections from the remote does not include last selection "wrap around", so when you have moved all the way to the last selection, you have to reverse your way backwards to get back to the first (minor inconvenience, but confusing until you figure out that the remote is not causing the problem).

Pros: Great price when on sale for <170.
Very easy to install and set up; only wireless cameras could be easier, and they might be less reliable.
Very thin (approx 1/8" diameter) 60' cables carry both power and video.
DVR records any or all channels w/time/date in image.
Fairly good black&white night image.
Fairly good UI on unit, from PC on network w/included SW, and web interface (although only IE is supported, not Firefox).
Pre-installed 500BG HDD holds many days worth of recording and is easy to offload via the network connection or an external USB drive (but the drive must be LINUX-compatible).
Playback: step forward by frame or 1/16x, 1/8x, 1/4x, 1/2x, 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, but NO reverse at any speed.

Cons: ATROCIOUS color in daytime images from all cameras. Whites and blues are green, greens are gray, and only reds are anywhere close to what they should be. Brightness and contrast can be adjusted, but not color or tint. Even adjusting the monitor can't make natural looking colors. Since it's exactly the same in all four cameras, it must just be crummy camera design.
Even highest resolution is no good for details farther than about 30'. You'd be able to see a person, but not identify him.

Other Thoughts: The terrible color fidelity may not matter too much for security use (although you might not be able to tell what color a car really is, for example), but I'm more interested in observing the wildlife that come around my house, and it's terrible for that.
At night, the IR illumination is concentrated in the center of the frame but gives excellent illumination as far as claimed (30') in that central spot. There is adequate illumination to the edges of the frame as far as 30' away, and low resolution makes anything much farther than that unusable anyway. The 11 LEDS are visible (dim red) but only if you look straight at them; they don't visibly light up the area they shine on.