XMARTO 10CH 2K HD Wireless Security Camera System with 12" LCD Monitor - 4 Cameras (2 Indoor PTZ & 2 Outdoor) Plug-in Power, 1TB HDD - Ideal for Home Security, Baby Monitoring & Business Surveillance

There are a great many articles and videos to be found on how to set up this system. My first suggestion to anyone who purchases this article is to throw away the included user's manual and download the latest manual from the xmarto.com website. Follow the instructions that have you use a network cable (Cat 5 or 6) to directly connect the camera(s) to the router during the initial setup process. This speeds up the 'matching" process and allows the NVR system and camera(s) to be matched within seconds rather than minutes once the camera is mounted and attached to the power supply. Please note that this is NOT a wireless system in that the camera must be plugged into a nearby outlet (or powered via POE (Power Over Ethernet). POE can mean wires running thru the attic, thru walls, added expenses, etc. You have been warned! I mounted three cameras on the exterior of my residence, each within a couple feet of existing outlets. Everything is working smoothly for the most part. >>> I have been stymied by the way the system will stop recording, and the camera images disappear from the monitor. A quick check of the network and camera status indicates a loss of signal from the camera, yet the network status is 'healthy'. This happens quite regularly. It may have to due with the unreliable Florida power grid... even though there is no apparent interruption of service, it could be due to a lightning strike far from my residence.?! Who knows? I have yet to speak with customer service about this issue but have found that a quick reboot of the system will return everything to normal. >>> In addition to the four included cameras in the system, I also added a DPM2024 PTZ camera. Again, even though the description calls it a wireless camera, it still needs power. There are NO batteries in this camera nor in any of the four camera included in this system. The PTZ feature on the DPM2024 is a little sketchy. When panning to the right, it requires one to use a series of clicks on the 'right' arrow until the desired is attained, whereas on the pan left function, one push of the 'left' button moves the camera all of the way to the left limit. I have not yet set up the 'patrol' function. More on this after I have gotten more familiar with the entire system. >>> The NVR system works on Linux. The learning curve is very short! Almost everything you need to access is done via a right-click of the mouse. e.g. to reboot the system after, say, a brief power glitch, right click the mouse; a menu appears; select 'Exit System'; another menu appears; from this one, you can shut the system down, turn off the display, or reboot. Rebooting takes less than a minute and the camera images re-appear as they are recognized by the NVR (Network Video Recorder). Eezy Peezy. Everything is laid out is easy to understand instructions in the downloaded user manual. Get it. It will make your life easier. >>> Note that if you want create a video record of what has transpired while you weren't watching the monitor, you will need to purchase a separate hard drive, one that is specifically designed for Network Video Recording, or Network Area Storage. As a retired IT professional, I would urge you to not cheap out on this purchase!Works well but often it loses connection with its own HDD.*** Update, I got frustrated by having to power the unit off and back on to get it to access the hard drive multiple times a day, so I opened it up to replace the hard drive. And my suspicion was right. A Seagate hard drive. As an IT manager for a major company for 28 years, I learned never to use Seagate drives. They always had problems. I replaced it with a Western Digital drive I had on hand and tested the old Seagate. Yep, it had 98 bad sectors on it. It was crashing.Overall good clarity, video and audio. absolutely loved the ptz cameras. The Bullet cameras were of good quality. The only thing I wished that could be done differently is putting a screw mount on the bullet cameras for mounting on a tripod. I'm the system for ghost hunting.I like that it's a stand alone system so no complicated connecting to the internet. I put in a 64 GB SD card and it gives my tons of recording time when set on motion detection. I got video the first night with some homeless pass by, The video is clear with great sound. The monitor settings are fairly easy to navigate through and set up. I highly recommend this system for anyone looking for a stand alone system. Defender is really good about answering any questions you have. They are a great company with quality products.I am still very happy with this system. I was able to catch people in the act and tell them to leave. I have video proof in case anyone tries to say otherwise. I like how clear the video and sound recordings are. It will give me the evidence I need. I would LOVE to show it to all their parents so they can see how they lack in the parenting department.The monitor connection to the cameras which 2 are outside and 2 inside. The intercom makes it nice as long as I am near the monitor. I can talk to whoever is with in ear shot of the camera. Gives me piece of mind that if something were to happen I will have video and sound footage. I use a 64g sd card and I can get well over a weeks worth of footage with the motion detection set. The camera in my house picks up a lot of movement but the card holds plenty of memory. I have it set to override once full. I don't bother to check it unless we notice something unusual has happens. Then I just pop the card into my laptop and save the video.This is far most the best setup yet. I am really impressed with it. One thing I really like is that you don't have to have the cloud to record or save. No subscriptions required at all. I'm still learning it as I only had it up and running for 2 days.I didn’t like that the monitor was not portable or that the way you view each camera on the display absolutely sucks.I really want to praise it. Its no dead angle rotation function meets my needs very much, and you can remotely view your home and conversation through your mobile phone. Its host and extension can also be connected without WiFi, unless you need to use your mobile phone to view, it needs the networkThe giidgetty gadgettyy components are cool, but it was far to difficult to install. We had to go and buy extra parts. It's not entirely wireless and all cameras have to be plugged into a power source to work.