GW Security GW2208E 8 Channel 1920P NVR Security Camera System with 6-Piece 5 MP Weatherproof 2.8-12mm Varifocal Cameras and PoE Switch

I ordered an 8-channel system from GW Security with 6 cameras and I bought the last 2 cameras separately. It's good to have a 6-camera kit, because you have flexibility to buy a different type such as a dome camera, or a special pan-and-zoom camera.This kit is a solid choice. I started with an old 2TB hard-drive I had left over my my last computer upgrade. Installing the drive was simple. Getting everything working was easy, except for one problem: the monitor. It has only a 15-pin VGA connector, and if your display doesn't support native 1920x1080, then you might have issues. I had one old monitor which was 1600x1200, and this system wouldn't recognize it. I found another 1920x1200 display, and that one worked fine.The system has been running 24x7 for the last 3 years now, and i have had no issues. We did have a couple of incidents, and we used the video footage to show the police. Since the the quality is very good, the video footage was enough to identify the culprit and make an arrest. Seriously awesome.It's important to have high-resolution imaging, which is why I bought this IP camera system. Standard cameras that use old-style video cable are severely limited in their resolution, and if you want high-resolution analog video, you need special high-frequency cables. The great thing about IP cameras, is that they run off plain CAT-5 cable, which is relatively cheap, and supports very high bandwidth over twisted-pair, allowing higher video resolution than even the highest-quality analog cables. The main reason why cat-5 (digital) video is able to do so much better is because the video is compressed on-the-fly. There is no reason to have analog video any more, except for legacy systems.What I really liked about this kit:1. comes with 6 cameras, so you can customize the last 2 cameras2. bring your own hard-drive, which is great because they are usually easy to find in the parts bin3. comes with a POE switch, which you will definitely need. Don't bother running individual power lines to your cameras, just use cat-5 cable.4. decent build quality.5. flexibility in setup, so you can make the most of your storage, and get a full month or more of video records.6. fairly easy to pull video if you need to get evidence for the police.Finally, support. I had the issue with display monitor support, and they helped me figure out why I had no display image. I had another issue, which was that some cameras failed, because water got into the connectors. I didn't realize you are supposed to seal the connectors with butyl tape and electrical tape. GW Security helped me out by sending some new cables, and i repaired the cameras myself.Overall, i solidly recommend GW Security products. They have been around for a few years, and they were there to help me, 3 years after installing my system, to help me out. Thanks guys!1. Very wide angle. When monitoring indoors, you need a wide angle in close quarters to fit everything into the picture. This one has a great wide field of view2. Rugged. The camera is all metal, and very rugged, which is important if installed outdoors, or in this case, subject to vandalism. Very solid.3. Resolution. Old video cameras had 192 lines, and newer ones have 480 lines, if you had the upgraded cables, but this is still not enough to resolve details in your videos. Cheaper video systems have poor video resolution, which tends to negate the reason for having security in the first place. In the end, you'll have to agree that you need decent resolution, like 1000+ lines, and this camera has it.A solid performer, that will perform well for years to come.

Cameras fail, Software is by far the worst software I have ever used. IOS software barely connects (1 out of three tries) and windows remote software simply does not work.When the cameras work they are pretty sharp. The overall solution is poor. There are better options out there. After rewiring for POE I am going to throw this mess out and start over.

If you can read this just run from GW Security and save yourself the headaches (and money).Nothing but issues with this system..I have 8 camera version. 1/8 broken after 3 months of use during summer time in Illinois.The broken one has a bad seal inside and allowed water moisture to get in.Picture looks blurry now and I have proof, see included pictures.Also the DVR is a pile of trashy software. It is fairly easy for IT or techy guys to setup, but do not rely on instructions as they are trash.Instructions look like they were translated from Chinese using Google translate equivalent because of so many gramar and spelling mistakes which make instructions seem more complicated than the actual setup is.DVR IS SUPER BAD NEWS.If you use the motion sensor features YOU WILL HAVE A BAD TIME. Mainly because the setting are erased or changed after automatic reboot feature/ manual restart/ or power outage.So if I want to rob you and you own this security system I just have to cut off the electricity for 1 second and I will be invisible to most of the motion actiavated cameras. Awesome.Also another broken feature is that settings for contrast/color/brightness do absolutely ZERO. The sliders move but they make no difference.DVR has many random camera feed failures throughout the day that resolves in its own.I would not buy this system even if 90% discount, my ancient cheap system is more reliable.That being said, you can set up to record 24/7 if you don't care that you will run out of space VERY fast. That feature seems to work OK since it's so basic.Anyways see attached pictures of broken camera I mentioned earlier.

I have owned this system for about a year now and have not had any problems with cameras or NVR. Looking at different products by different manufactures a lot of them use the same Linux software in their NVR's. The cameras have been very dependable as the NVR has been. I was able to catch a builder that cut some sprinkler system water lines on my property as he was building a new house next door which he denied doing. With the video proof and help from our terrific local police he had to replace a large section of my system along with replacing sod to meet my expectations. This has been a great product that has already paid for itself with this one incident.

BUYERS BEWARE!! We purchased this DVR /w multiple cameras (spent $2500) and plan to throw this system in the trash in the new few weeks. We were broken into and needed to provide the police our security video but due to a firmware "glitch," our recordings could not be accessed. To our disappointment, all of our recordings were lost due to this issue so we could not release the video to the police. GW Security had to send us a new DVR (of which we had to pay for before they would send) under warranty.The worst part is the company, employees, management, and ownership could care less about our loss of video as well as our total dissatisfaction with the product. The CSR hung up on us multiple times during customer service calls - unbelievable horrible service. They claim the DVR is made in China and use it as an excuse as to why the system sucks. We plan to move to a new Q-SEE system and unfortunately will take a $2500 loss on this. SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF HEADACHE AND LOST INVESTMENT AND BUY ANOTHER PRODUCT.