Zmodo KDS8-NARQZ4ZN 8 Channel H.264 Level Surveillance DVR Kit

Pros: Excellent design, small and compact dvr. I unboxed everything, plugged in a sata drive, fired everything up, configured resolution settings, done. All in 15 minutes. I spent more time in the AppStore looking for KMEye than I did setting up the dvr. Yes, this includes security and router settings. Oh, and the CCD cameras are awesome in complete darkness!

Cons: The dvr box, even though it's the smallest I've ever seen, could have been even smaller. In opening the case to install the drive, you can't help but notice how small the circuit board is! It's about 5x5 inches! This isn't really a con, but just in case Kmodo is listening, make them even smaller! They'd be even more awesome!

Other Thoughts: So I did a ton of research on dvr's prior to choosing this one. I can say this is the best of the under $600 class. I installed a 7200 rpm drive so I was a bit worried about the heat inside the case since these faster spinning drives create more heat than the 5400 rpm drives. I noticed the logic board had a fan connector and the case had a fan cutout, so i purchased and installed the ARX FD1240-A2012A. Sure it's louder now that it has two fast moving parts inside, but it's for a vacation home where I only turn on when I'm not there.

Pros: Packed good, attached all the cameras and they all worked.
I am new at this stuff, I bought the 4 camera version and the 2tb drive I formated in it picked right up in this one. I think these caneras are better then the other. I like the software setup and it picked up an ip as soon as I plugged it in. Very easy.

Cons: No cons right now.

Other Thoughts: This is my first setup and it is going relly well, If the caneras hold up for years I will be very pleased.
I think this is a great starter, I'll be able to record all around the house, the record time (with a 2tb drive) said 415 days, that would be way plenty. It has been fun, go for it, it pretty cheap.