Zmodo, a well known brand around these parts. Get your tips, tricks, and questions answered… but only if you post some!
Good systems. I really like the dome cameras they have here.
For outdoor use I really prefer having the camera and the light (or infrared) source separated. Visible and IR light attract bugs, and if you have a motion sensing system it will be triggered constantly by the bug critters.
Indoor use though, the domes are nice.
$149.99 a few months ago on woot. Sorry I didn’t see it then. Still not a bad price. $150 a month ago on 1SaleADay also… probably will come up again.
Infrared type? Not listed here or at the Zmodo site, but IR LEDs for these appsmostly come in two wavelength ranges; 840-870nm, and 920-950nm; the former produce a visible dim red glow that can ‘give away’ the camera (or illuminator) in a very dark environment, but are cheaper; the latter are not visible to unaided human eyes, so are more appropriate for security camera applications.
In lieue of provided specs we should probably assume these are the visible IR LEDs but it would be nice to know for certain.
Are there links to past discussions? I’m thinking seriously about buying one, but want to make sure it’s not going to bite me later.
Is the remote access usable and nice? Primarily through iOS, but also curious about web browser compatibility. Does it really only work with ie?
Are the recordings available remotely, or just live surveillance? Can I download sections of the recordings remotely, or is the only method via USB flash drive at the recorder?
When copying video to a USB stick how is the video timestamped?
How well does the machine recover from power outages - are all settings saved, or do you have to set it up again? If you don’t have a hard drive in the machine are the settings still saved? Is the clock set by NTP, or does it have a realtime clock with battery internally, or does it forget the time and, like a VCR, require user intervention after a power outage?
Would the dome surveillance camera work as a video baby monitor, using my iPhone and/or computer as a receiver?
[QUOTE=MissHornsby, post:8, topic:369353]
Would the dome surveillance camera work as a video baby monitor, using my iPhone and/or computer as a receiver?
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Get a wireless IP camera like FOSCAM. It connects to the wireless router and you can see it on your iDevices/Androids/Windows over 3g/Wifi + it has a PTZ, You can move camera also has 2-way audio.
2-cable cameras? No thanks.
PoE, please. Sell me the future, not the past!
here are a few links to previous offers, just to give you fine folks a sense of quality/general sentiment.
keep in mind some of these aren’t exact comps price-wise, since some offers include hard drives and other accoutrement.
8 channel/4 camera-ccd: BRN-KDS8-OARCB22N: here.
4 Channel/4 Camera w/ DVR & Sony CCD: ZMD-KDS4-NARBZ4ZN: here.
8 Channel/ 4 Camera Surveillance System with DVR & Sony CCD: KDJ8-NARBZ4ZN: here.
I bought a zmodo system from woot july of last year(2011). system went out after six months, tried countless times to contact customer service but rang busy and then was put into que for over an hour. got to slot one and noone ever answered. left a message never got a call back, tried emailing etc and no contact. This company does not stand behind its product or their so called one year warranty, hard to get a warranty coverage when all you get is frustration from this company, they are cheap for a reason. DO NOT BUY
[QUOTE=hw21, post:12, topic:369353]
I bought a zmodo system from woot july of last year(2011). system went out after six months, tried countless times to contact customer service but rang busy and then was put into que for over an hour. got to slot one and noone ever answered. left a message never got a call back, tried emailing etc and no contact. This company does not stand behind its product or their so called one year warranty, hard to get a warranty coverage when all you get is frustration from this company, they are cheap for a reason. DO NOT BUY
[/quote]
did you reach out to us when all this was unfolding? keep us in the loop when things like this happen!
Is there a cheaper way to extend the video/power cables? I bought the 8-cam unit a while back but have moved and haven’t hooked it up yet. Mine only came with 60ft cables, I think, definately not 130ft. I needed more than 60ft at the time (and likely will when I move into my permanent place), but didn’t know how to go about making longer cables so I never hooked it up because of that reason.
You try pulling the HD and formatting it? One I got a good while back did that once. Formatting on a PC, reinstalling and letting the Zmodo system run its format resolved the issue.
You don’t have to go to the cheap route when you are shooting with “Canon 7D, 40D - Canon 100-400mm L IS, 1.5x Kenko TC, Canon 500mm f4 L IS, 60mm Macro”
[QUOTE=ba1980, post:14, topic:369353]
Is there a cheaper way to extend the video/power cables? I bought the 8-cam unit a while back but have moved and haven’t hooked it up yet. Mine only came with 60ft cables, I think, definately not 130ft. I needed more than 60ft at the time (and likely will when I move into my permanent place), but didn’t know how to go about making longer cables so I never hooked it up because of that reason.
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I’m a bit confused. The title says there is a 500GB HDD but the description says no drive is included.
Is the drive just thrown into the woot box when shipped or is it included but just has a bad description?
Spent all my money on photography equipment so no money to buy cables with. 
Before you hook this up inside your house and punch a hole through your firewall so you can view your cameras remotely, you might want to check out this disturbing tool that will neatly pluck all the usernames and passwords off a large number of Zmodo devices. The bug may have been fixed in later versions of the software, possibly including the ones sold here today… but how can you tell??
Anyway, look: These are cheap. They work surprisingly well for as cheap as they are. I especially recommend them for interior monitoring. But you’re not going to get the best performance out of these units. If you want better, pay a LOT more, or spend a lot of your time with a Linux box and Zoneminder.
[QUOTE=ba1980, post:14, topic:369353]
Is there a cheaper way to extend the video/power cables?
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It depends on what you mean by ‘cheaper’. Using a device called a ‘balun’ you can send the video over cheap twisted-pair cables and stretch the length out quite a bit. However, most baluns only carry one signal – video. Of course, with a little shopping you can find a device to put the power on the twisted pair, too.
Now, however, you’ve got a messy stack of adapters going on and you’ve spent money on a spool of Cat-5 and a pack of adaptors… Is this actually cheaper?