Customer Ratings & Reviews

This security system is the best wired system I've tried so far and it is all to do with POE or power over ethernet. With that possible, security systems really shouldn't use anything else at this point in my mind unless you are stepping up into an extremely professional system that uses fiber. I don't understand why the cameras have a separate power port but they do if you would like to buy the power adapter separately I guess. For me they are just an annoyance and an extra step to cap off and stow. With the prices of 4k monitors it is definetly worth the time to get a monitor or TV that has the allows you to take advantage of the camera quality. For the quality was excellent day or night it was easy enough to mount, besides it being a wired system which is always harder to mount as you have to run wires around to where you want the camera, but once you run the wire you never have to worry about the camera batteries dying ever again. Talking about wires, I am not thrilled with the category cable that was sent with it for each camera, they get the job done but they aren't the highest quality. I used shielded category 6 cable (probably overkill except the shielded part) but I know I wont have issues in the future especially as the cable had kinks out of the box, with these cameras power requirements it didn't seem to be a problem with when I tested the cameras with the cables the came in the box but I'd rather install better infrastructure that doesn't need to be replaced for a very long time and is resistent to interference being shielded as a I live near power lines. Once you get the box set up the app is extremely easy to set up and then you have access no matter where you go. If you aren't tech savvy with getting access to your security system remotely but want it the app is awesome, and doesn't cost anything extra. I love that the storage is mine and local and I'm not asked to pay for cloud storage every time I open the app. Another feature I really like is the privacy filter. You can black out areas, I live really close to my neighbor and I don't want the camera to activate every time he walks out his front door. I was able to create a privacy spot (you can have a couple different ones on each camera) and resize it to an elengated rectangle that covered his front porch enabling him to have his privacy and me to have my security. Overall, I am happy with how easy the setup was and how well it works. For me four cameras is more than enough to cover everything I need but there is room for 8 cameras if you need to expand the system. If you do have patch panel system as long as the backbone isn't cat 3 or makes the run more than 300ish feet you shouldn't have an issue passing your camera through those, I tested it with my patch panel and it worked great. Pros: local non cloud storage owned by you Power over Ethernet (PoE) 4k App for remote viewing Customizable Privacy filters on each camera Cons: Included ethernet cables aren't high quality useless power port on each camera

First of all, I have to say that if this is your first indoor/outdoor wired local storage network setup that you have looked at, you have come to the right place. As you do your research, you are going to find that what Swann is offering here with this Master Series Security system is practically all inclusive and that these cameras are some of the lowest profile yet highest image quality examples currently on the market. As a matter of fact, these might be one of the first ones that I would highly recommend for the inside or outside of a retail or small business environment! The reason behind this is yes, you are reading it here, NO SUBSCRIPTION FEES required! The way a lot of the competitors on the market get you is that even when they have a local recording storage solution available, that still want to pester and nag you about signing up for their cloud storage solutions or try to get you to upgrade to higher-end security plans; playing on your fear and feelings of insecurity to try to make a buck. That is not what you will find here. With the pre-installed 2TB hard disk drive for storage, you can select 24/7 continuous recording or go with Swann’s True Detect heat/motion triggered recordings. They advertise up to 180 days and beyond of recording storage and truly I can believe it! They also offer a 1-year limited warranty so that if you get a lemon and you are beyond they typical Best Buy 14-45 day return window, you don’t have to have anxiety about being stuck with a defective item; Swann backs this up and will replace it within one year of purchase if you have problems. As a family man who has finite resources and discretionary funds to spend on a security system, that is precisely the assurance I need to make sure I feel good about this purchase. If you are looking for cloud style recordings storage, they do offer a subscription plan and/or allow you to connect your DropBox cloud storage account with this security system! That is some excellent flexibility in my book! The 4K footage looks amazing on my 4K TV I have the network video recorder (NVR) hooked up too. I also love that I can monitor my camera system with my smart phone since I don’t always want to have to belly up to the TV and use the NVR system to look through footage. I also appreciate that this has a method for saving video clips with your Alexa or Google Assistant set up! One of the crucial things that must be mentioned is that, yes, this is a hard-wired set up, but the only cable you will be running to each camera back to the NVR is an ethernet cable! These cameras have PoE otherwise known as Power of Ethernet! That is so fantastic as opposed to some of the setups that require you to run video cable back to the NVR AND figure out an AC plug in power source for each individual camera! For ease of setup for a hard-wired camera, this is about as good as it gets as it goes for ease of set up and reliability. Part of this is that it is relatively easy to run ethernet cable through attics, walls, etc. with simple installation tools. You can look this up on YouTube or find a local security installer to walk you through this if need be. Just note that this has a temperature lower limit of -22F for reliable functioning, so you might want to skip this if you live in those colder climates. The cameras are good up to 131 degrees F, so if you are in a hotter climate just try to keep your mounting positions out of the way of direct sunlight for those scorchers of days: your recorded video quality will thank you too! Overall, this is truly an amazing deal for a local data NVR style hardwired security system. Hope this review has helped bring forward some good thoughts and aided your purchasing decision!

I wish I could give this 5 stars. For the price it's not terrible either, making it about $150 per camera and that doesn't include the 2TB of storage interlinked to them all. But really, in my opinion, nothing master about this set. I've reviewed and tested quite a few Swann models now, and for this price point, I think they can do better. On sale this would be more than worth the value. I personally like the dome cameras--they have a nice aesthetic to them that don't look cheap and fake. They have a nice build quality and heft to them. Setting them up is pretty straight forward as well, where based on how they're shaped, it's easy to see how they should be set up. Camera quality is where I think Swann needs to work on things. Yes it's 4K wired, but 8MP, so only 8 mega pixels but 4K quality, meaning it's likely upscaling to reach 4K and isn't as clear as if it was 16MP for example. 2TB is more than sufficient storage, and it is a nice convenience not having to pay a monthly fee for storage. This is truly really easy to install yourself with proper planning. Overall, it works and does what it should do, but it's not the greatest, and definitely not worthy of being called master series.

The Swann Master Series 8 Channel system with 4 cameras has been an excellent addition to our home security toolbox. The POE setup is very easy, and is probably my favorite part. Having only one cable going to each camera really does simplify install and maintenance. The 2TB NVR is HUGE and can store all the video we will ever need and them some. We do not have the full time recording turned on, just the detection. With this configuration we will have video for months if we ever need to refer back to it for any reason at all. I have had cameras in the past that did not work very well at night but that is not the case with these. The night vision is excellent, even in my super dark back yard. This is a big deal for us as that is the area that we most wanted to secure, so this definitely nailed it in that area. The overall install only took me a couple hours, mainly running the wires but it was totally worth it in the end. The Swann Security app is also very easy to use! We love being able to access our cameras, no matter our physical location. Great for peace of mind! Overall this was a great value for what I feel is a very affordable price tag, and checks every box we wanted.

There's lots of security cam options out there that are app-based that are really easy to setup and start using, and I've used several different kinds. They all seem to have similar features -- the mounts are easy to install but not incredibly strong, alerts are somewhat programmable to suit the situation, they have cloud-based storage so you have to pay a subscription to unlock all the features, they don't usually have local storage so you have a very limited history of recordings and it's hard to save stuff, and remote viewing is sketchy. This system is very different from that. The setup takes some work and patience and configuring the app is confusing. You do have to create a local account on the recorder at home, and you need a different account to log in to the app. If you're serious about having a high-end security camera system, it's worth it. You get some really useful features, like you can set up a recording and sleep schedule for each camera, you can select which parts of the image to detect motion, and the recordings are time-stamped and saved. There's 2gb of storage which can hold a whole lot of video, but you can offload and store important stuff as long as you want. The image quality is fantastic. It has high enough resolution to get recognizable images of people and I can zoom in to read text like license plates. Of course, the higher resolution the more storage it takes. Finally, these mounts are bullet-proof. Well, probably not literally, but they are very strong and tamper-resistant. Once you get them mounted and tightened, a stranger would have a real hard time trying to figure out how to remove it. So, this is a professional system, quite a bit more work to set up, but worth it.