Swann DVR4-1250 4 Channel DVR with 4 Cameras: $299 @ BCC Computers

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  Hengis on 18/07/2013 - 17:15

  looking to purchase a product like this..
  can anyone with experience comment on speed, reliability, visibility etc of this particular unit? any pros or cons would be good to know

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    greenie4242 on 18/07/2013 - 17:31

    +1

    I'd look at some online reviews before purchasing anything, searching for specific model numbers. Google and Amazon are a good start. I used to sell Swann stuff between 1996-2001 and it was very good quality for a small premium price, but from what I've been reading recently, the quality has dropped significantly. It could be only some of their cheaper products though, so I don't want to tarnish anybody's brand when I don't have any current first-hand experience.

    You need to work out exactly what you want the cameras/recordings for. If you want to see faces, you have to spend BIG $$$ on HD equipment, and even then it might not work well depending on your situation. If you just want to see if somebody is walking through your house/garage/shop you don't need high resolution. If you want to use it for 'security' purposes, is it to sort out what staff member is stealing from the till? Is it to dissuade thieves by showing the area on a TV screen? Is it to use as evidence if somebody steals something? Do you need to record weeks worth of footage, or do you just want to see what happened last night and over the weekend? Do you want the ability to stream the video over the internet so you can monitor it from another location? Do you need wireless or wired cameras? Do you need good colour, or is a better B/W picture more useful? Do you want it to work night and day, with infra-red LEDs for night use?

    There are so many factors. I probably complicated things more by mentioning all those things! But if I didn't, you could easily buy the wrong thing, which will be completely and utterly useless for your purpose.

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      greenie4242 on 18/07/2013 - 17:40

      +1

      I just checked the Swann website, RRP is $899.95. Doubt it would ever have been worth that! Maybe it's OK for $299, but as I said, check out some reviews first. I found some YouTube footage for you:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Bfy49t6r4

      Plenty of set-up information for this specific model here:
      www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Swann+DVR4-1200

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      Hengis on 18/07/2013 - 23:02

      thanks for replies guys
      I only wanted for general security use, but it seems the quality isn't very good judging by youtube clips, and night time vision is terrible

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        greenie4242 on 18/07/2013 - 23:27

        I find it quite amusing that people refer to these as 'security' cameras. Not sure how exactly they are supposed to provide security. If you have big cameras easily visible pointing at your property they might provide some sort of deterrent against crime, but they provide no security whatsoever. Crooks also know that it's difficult to identify a face on camera, so they don't even care anymore. They might work as an early-warning system for another means of prevention if you watch them constantly, but if nobody's watching them, you'll only find out what's been stolen or destroyed after the fact.

        London has over 12,000 'security' cameras viewing most of the city but according to statistics, they haven't prevented a single crime. They have helped solve only a handful of crimes.

        Cameras are useful as shop monitors, door monitors, or for tracking theft, but I wouldn't call them 'security' anything. Covert cameras can certainly help track down who's been stealing supplies from an office etc, but they won't actually stop anything from being stolen.

        A very broad definition of the word 'security' includes 'freedom from care, anxiety, or doubt' so I guess having a camera pointed at something might remove your doubt and prove that an employee is short-changing your customers or stealing from your company, or show that it was the dog next door stealing food from your warehouse and not the employee you were wrongly suspecting. It could also prove that those weird noises you hear in the back yard at night are just falling leaves, and not intruders casing the joint. That would remove anxiety.

        Maybe I'm just being pedantic. I just think lots of people spend thousands of dollars on these things but don't even know why they need them.

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  zonbie on 18/07/2013 - 17:31

  OP, I just went to their site, though it is showing as $599.

  (I too am looking for something like this)

  Is there a code or something? How do I get my cart to show $299.00 ?

  any advice appreciated.

  • 

    Store RepBCC @ BCC Computers on 18/07/2013 - 17:49

    Hi
    Product is available in store today,and will be online tomorrow

    Cheers

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  spacejase on 18/07/2013 - 17:41

  also how much is postage to South Australia