Rosewill RSVA-11001 8 channel + 4 Sony 1/4" CCD 21 IR LED Bullet Cameras, H.264 High performance DVR, Remote Monitoring/Real time record DVR Kit (HD Sold Separately) Rosewill RSVA-11001 8 channel + 4 Sony 1/4" CCD 21 IR LED Bullet Cameras, H.264 High performance DVR, Remote Monitoring/Real time record DVR Kit (HD Sold Separately)

Pros: Price, 8 channels, Sony Cameras, remote viewing, motion sensor alert, long cables

Cons: 1 USB port, can't remove/resize timestamp, performance at night is acceptable but don't expect to make out a face or license plate. Support and documentation is lacking, software interface takes some getting used to.

Other Thoughts: I recently discovered that you can setup a motion detection area and have the unit beep for a set amount of time, it will also zoom in to the triggered object if you want it to. Very nice if someone is snooping around your driveway in the early morning hours.

Pros: Inexpensive, 8 camera capability, small DVR box, long cables.

Cons: ...none yet

Other Thoughts: Rotate hardrive 90*, they all fit!

Pros: Great System - Great packaging - Cameras are first class.
Easy hookup - Works perfect out of the box.

Cons: The Hard Drive mounting inside was a problem.
The holes provided did not match any Hard Drive.
No hard drive mount included. Finally Duct Taped
the Hard Drive down - it worked perfect.

Other Thoughts: This is a great unit I am well Pleased.
Everything is good quality. The DVR
unit works and responds great so far.

Pros: Long decent cables, sturdy cameras, view of cameras is good, good shipping, good packaging, slim DVR.

Cons: The GUI for the DVR, and the remote, are tedious. That is the worst thing about this setup. I can deal with it, because I'm used to technology that s not so user friendly. The remote is a 5 out of 10, as you need to hit the buttons several times for it to execute. (can be frustrating)
Cameras could have had a little bit wider viewing area, that is what I would have liked. I think you need at least 20 feet out to get a good wide angle on these.

Other Thoughts: Not a bad set up, for what I paid... it was a great deal. Hopefully they last a long time.

Pros: This thing works pretty well. I installed a 2TB SATA hard drive inside it and haven't had any problems yet. The cameras are nice quality and pretty good at night. The cables were VERY long which was VERY nice!

Cons: I was sore (as someone else previously reviewed) for two days after crawling around in my attic. I actually only mounted two of the four cameras last weekend. I have to do the other two now. These are the hard ones. Ugh..

Other Thoughts: Love the system. Manual is pretty bad. Interface is pretty bad. I like the fact that I can get to the DVR from the app. Cam Viewer also works although you have to set it up as a different model. Instructions here-->

http://hit-mob.com/ip-cam-viewer-android/device-support-list/

Pros: Camera's have a wider angle than another brand that claimed to have a wide angle and cost 3 times as much. Very easy to view a large room with one camera. Simple to view remotely on a PC, iPhone, or Android.

Cons: Resolution can be set to 1440 x 900, however the mouse moved very slow when set that high. I moved back down to 1024 x 768. Not quite as sharp of a picture, but much more responive.

Pros: I am very impressed with the system, night vision looks very good. One thing to remember is that the IR lights for the night vision are visible, each LED lights up a very dim red. (so the camera is not invisible at night).
Happy with this purchase for sure

Cons: documentation sucks, rosewill could do better at naming the support documents on their website.

as mentioned by another review, i wish the thing supported keyboard input (not that i actually tried, im assuming due to the fact that it isn't mentioned anywhere)

web interface is sh*t, i suspect it might work better in a very old version of IE. see other thoughts.

The worst part of this was crawling through my attic trying to run the cables (which are plenty long, glad i got this kit because of it). I am still sore two days later from crawling on my belly and breathing insulation and dust.

Other Thoughts: I have worked with several enterprise grade camera systems through my work, and while this obviously is not a $10k system, it is definitely satisfactory for home use.

The default IP address of the dvr is 192.168.0.100 (not mentioned in documentation) once you get it on your network, the easiest way to configure it is to go to the web interface and click the link for if your browser doesnt support activeX. This downloads a rar file (really? who uses rar?) with a desktop client that works much better, and is easy to configure all aspects of the dvr.

for the dude that was asking about viewing on their cell phone, for the iPhone you download the "castillo player" from the app store. you have to make sure your router forwards the correct port to the dvr, and set up a dynamic DNS account (i used no-ip.com and got a free account). (also i have the dyndns setup on my router, and didn't worry about putting it in the dvr settings)

Pros: Like how far the night vision looks.

Cons: None so far

Other Thoughts: Can someone tell me how to setup the 3G part to be able to access it from my phone. I really would like to setup this feature.. That's one of the main reasons I got it so I could monitor the house when I'm not home.

Thanks.

Pros: -Excellent cameras with a large viewing angle.
-System holds a 2TB drive, which records for over a month.
-Can backup and/or record to a PC via the web interface. This allows remote recording, which comes in handy if someone takes the DVR or it gets destroyed in a fire. I recorded this way until I got a 2TB hard drive.
-Able to view via a smartphone and PC with IE installed.
-Low cost system.
-Can record via the web even with no hard drive.
-Can take snapshots and video clips on your PC after backing up the file or files to your PC.
-Comes with a video viewing application on the included disk.

Cons: Would be nice if there was keyboard support at the DVR because typing in a complex user ID and password is slow with the mouse. It's not a big deal, because I mostly access the unit with a PC via the web. The only time I really need to access the DVR directly is to change the IP address or to reboot the system.

Other Thoughts: I have had two of these systems running for a few months with no problems. Getting all the settings just right took a few hours, but for the money I saved, it was worth it. I have had to review sections of the video a few times and found it is a lot easier if you backup the files to a PC first before reviewing. This allows you to see more of the frames when you fast forward at 32x.
I record at the highest resolution which gives me 7 frames a second, and that is more than enough to see what is going on.

Pros: It works and is stable w/2TB drive. Included cams are good.

Cons: Dosen't flag recordings when motion zone has been violated, which defeats the ultimate purpose of buying system. You have no idea if anything is going on without reviewing hours of footage. The unit is SUPPOSED to have an "alarm" function which tags events in red, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK. I've tried many settings, upgraded firmware and even contacted Rosewill for help, all efforts were fruitless. I'd have purchased a different unit if I knew that at the time.

Other Thoughts: Instruction manual stinks. It lists the functions without describing them, so you have no idea what some of the settings mean.
I'm ready to sell the DVR or try and flash LINUX on it for better functionality.