Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, I am a professional cameraman, digital video editor for 25 years plus. I also code websites and can generally make tech work. Before keeping this this 4K Color Night Vision Lorex 6-camera Ethernet POE NVR 2TB system (purchased from Costco May 2018) -- I purchased and returned a wireless wifi PIR system (it proved unreliable), and the Lorex 4-camera 4K BNC 1TB DVR system from Amazon (because I got misinformation from Lorex support about how to disable its red infrared LEDs at night and force it to record in color). The 6-camera Lorex security surveillance system I kept came with NVR (model LNR6108-N China), and 6 bullet cameras POE 4k UHD (model LNB8005-C). I am not positive if this is the exact version being sold through Amazon, but it appears similar in any case. THE TECHNOLOGY -- PIR Vs MOTION ACTIVATION: The biggest problem I found with the wireless PIR (passive infra red) system I returned is the cameras were battery powered. That means they don't start recording until AFTER the software detects thermal heat moment and then confirms pixel motion in that thermal alert area -- by the time that happens a lot of events are missed with the subject already out of the frame. Further, the $500 wireless PIR camera system I tried first was highly unreliable at night -- even with night vision infrared on and the scene lit up with B&W infrared, I couldn't get an alert 10 feet away waiving my arms around and walking across the frame. Further, PIR camera technology will not work through glass (the glass blocks the thermal heat from reaching the camera). Infrared so-called "night vision" will also not work behind glass as the IR light will reflect back into the camera. However, I can see how a PIR system could be useful if the monitor area is not more than 10 feet away because it filters out non-thermal heat motion events like moving leaves, insects, spider webs, car lights and such from triggering false alerts. My point regarding technology choices pro and con are: I went with this Lorex system for its hard-wired, powered-ethernet (POE) and pixel-motion alerts for reliability and the ability to start recording a few seconds BEFORE the alert occurred. This Lorex system does NOT use PIR. BNC Vs POE: For me, this Lorex POE (Power Over Ethernet) NVR system wins hands down over the BNC camera connection on my first 4-camera Lorex 4K DVR BNC system (the one I returned). POE means the Ethernet cable supplies power to the camera (you don't need an AC plug near the camera). BNC cameras REQUIRE you to connect a 12volt AC power adapter to the camera -- so BNC limits camera placement to its proximity to a power outlet and an extra wire to power the camera. In other words, you can place (and power) a POE camera anywhere you can string an ethernet cable (up to about 300 feet) because the ethernet cable supplies power to the camera. INITIALLY, I had great confusion trying to figure out Flir-Lorex device software and identifying the correct Lorex-Flir client cloud downloads for my devices, but after several days I figured it out after a couple calls to Lorex support. PHONE SUPPORT (from US): I've called Lorex support 1-888-425-6793 more than a dozen times. All but three times I got through within 1-5 minutes. I think the early morning is the best time to call. Except for one clueless agent, I talked to very knowledgable agents who answered my questions. They generally took control of my laptop and explained the settings to me as they helped me configure parts of my system. I am not sure why or how people say they have trouble talking to a live Lorex tech support rep on the phone as my experience is opposite that. TABLETS MACS PC IPAD IPHONE REMOTE ACCESS: I had A LOT of trouble with Lorex documentation finding the correct software and configuring it ... I have it working now thanks to Lorex support and my iPad and iPhone and Macbook Pro have been very reliable to monitor my system over the internet. CONTINUOUS Vs MOTION: I finally went with Continuous recording mode (24/7) with Motion detection alerts. That way nothing is missed and the yellow motion highlights in the timeline alert me to activity areas. SENSITIVITY ZONES: This is proving virtually bullet proof (after I figured it out). I set 95% zone layer around my car, 60% layer in less critical areas, and 30% layer after that for spots I want covered without birds or cats or clouds reflecting off my windshield, for example, setting off an alert. With this approach, nothing seems to get by my alert zones without triggering a motion alert in the time line. COLOR NIGHT VISION: FORCING the camera to turn off the red IR LEDs and record only in ambient light took me a while to figure out, in fact, that was the original reason I returned the 4-camera system to Amazon (the Lorex agent told me it was not possible even though their website said it was). But in fact it is possible to FORCE the camera into Color Night Vision on the 6-camera NVR system (see photo). This was a huge deal to me because Color Night Vision turns off the camera's telltale red IR LEDs. Some may refer this as "no glow" IR, except the LEDs are literally turned off. Forcing the camera to "Color" night mode also has the great advantage of eliminating all the flying insects attracted to the red IR LEDs and their endless motion alerts (because it turns the camera LED lights off) and insects no longer swarm in front of the camera and cause unwanted motion alerts). I can confirm manually turning on Color Night Vision works on this system (see settings how to do that in my photos) -- you just need some ambient lighting in the frame and possibly increase the brightness a little in the camera setting. NOTE: Lorex Color Night Vision automatically enables in a low-light scene with sufficient ambient light (the camera's red LEDs turn off in low light scenes). IP LOG-IN FROM WEB BROWSER: This proved to be the most useful interface for me for configuring my settings. From your local wifi or ethernet network, you type in the NVR/DVR's IP address into a web browser and log into the Lorex user interface. This gives you access to all settings. TIMELINE: Here is the weakest part of the software, it is clunky and impossible to scrub the playhead across the timeline like you would expect, but I'm getting better at working around its unfortunate limitations... SAVING/ BACKING UP A PLAYBACK CLIP: Setting up start (in) and end (out) points and backing up a clip still seems odd and un-intuitive ... you cannot save a continuous clip if it spans continuous and motion areas in the timeline (very odd). SEVERELY LIMITED MOUNTING OPTIONS: The LNB8005-C camera mounts limit placement. Mounted to a wall, the camera will only point at a right angle to the mounting surface and only swing left-to-right no more than 3 degrees. The camera will swing downward about 45 degrees from horizontal. This means your camera will only point perpendicular (a right angle) to the wall and adjust downwards (OR upwards). Fortunately that worked for me, but I can see how that might be an unpleasant surprise (and a return) to discover that is the only mounting option on these cameras. FPS FRAME RATE EXPLAINED: Some reviewers have complained that the system's 15 Frames Per Second (FPS) was jerky -- it is what it is -- but most pro and consumer digital cam recorders record at smoother 29-30 FPS. By cutting the FPS in half, you automatically cut the data/file size in half (in theory). Lowering FPS is done universally on Internet videos to reduce bandwidth. I don't believe this system will record at 30 FPS, at least I could not find a setting to increase frame rate above 15 FPS while recording in the system's native 4K UHD resolution. One can also reduce file size and maximize storage by recording in a lower resolution from UHD (4K), for example, 1920x1080 (HD), 720p. OVERALL I am very satisfied with the Lorex-Flir security surveillance system and price point and would recommend it to those who have an interest in such things and require a reliable UHD security system. It generally plugs and plays at default (with a bit of help from Lorex tech support if you get stuck like I did) and has the reliability and customizable features of a professional system. Sorry this is so long, I like tech and honest unbiased information.