Zmodo Smart PoE Security System - 8 Channel NVR & 8 x 720p IP Cameras and No Hard Drive

I have used Zmodo products for a few years now and used to also recommend them to others. I can no longer recommend any of there products. The old Zsight app, horrible user interface but very stable and provided great functionality was replace by the new Zmodo app which is full of bugs and has compatibility issues between itself, older hardware, new hardware, older firmware, and newer firmware. New firmware for older hardware has caused stability issues of the older cameras. New cameras lost features of the older cameras. A recent firmware upgrade has bricked two of my older cameras. The new cameras arent as good. I will be replacing ALL zmodo equipment (1 PTZ, 6 EZCam, 8 channel NVR with 8 SPoE cameras) with another Hikvision.

This is a great system, easy to set up, easy to install my own hard drive, easy access from iPhone, iPad, and other PCs. I notice another user rated this a 1 star because he didn't read the description of what the kit included...it says "NO HARD DRIVE". Don't let the 1 star review scare you this is a great system. In fact, I purchased a 2TB hard drive from Amazon along with this system and it was cheaper than buying it already installed.

As of this review, I have installed 10 set of Zmodo cameras and did not have any issue except for these set and the 16 channel dvr and cameras that I have installed. This one in particular, after opening the box, I have noticed that it doesn't have the regular RJ-45 fittings on both ends. One end has the RJ-45 fittings and the other has the type C male data connectors. In other words, it has the same connector on one end as the android charger would use. Which means, I can't just run a regular CAT 5 or 6 cable and terminate it, I have to just use the one that came with it. 5 of the cameras work but the other 3 does not. I tried troubleshooting the ones that don't work but to no success. I will be calling Amazon and see if I can get a replacement. It's not good when I have to tell the customer that I need to replace their cameras because the one I got is not working when it's brand new. I will change the rating once I get this issue resolved!

UPDATE 8/18/17 (3 Stars) - I had 2 more cameras start acting up. One had the same IR board burnout (component on circuit board) as I had last year and the other camera was loosing nigh time performance with the IR (very hazy). I sent them both into the RMA service center and just yesterday received 2 new/refurbished cameras back free of charge. I have roughly 1 year left of the warranty and I imagine I will have more failures. At this point, I'm happy with the Zmodo service, they have never given me any hassle when returning cameras. Also, the MeShare app has been bullet proof for quite some time, so hopefully they don't "upgrade" it any more since it's working like it should. Eventually I'll have to spec out a longer lasting camera unless I want to replace these every year at my expense. We'll see, I'll continue to update this review as things change. The app is good, the customer service is great, the NVR is great, the cameras are the weak link and expect them to fail eventually.UPDATE 11/8/16 (3 Stars) - I had another camera stop working after approximately 6 months of use. This time a component on the IR board bubbled and shows clear signs of excessive heat (see the picture). Support again has been helpful, this time they wanted me to return the camera before they sent me a new one. They have received it and now I'm waiting for the new camera. My confidence is dropping in the cameras, this is the 3rd camera that's given me problems in about a years time. For those looking for a video security system, do your homework and make sure you're getting a quality setup. This system had mixed reviews when I bought it and overall has worked for what I wanted it for. This is the 2nd time I've downgraded my rating, and will continue to adjust it as time goes on. The app (Meshare, Zmodo, Zsight, etc...) for this system, and other systems, are terrible. They have stripped so many useful features you can no longer remotely do on a smart device. Before you buy a system, read the reviews and also read the reviews of the apps, the combination of the two will give you an accurate measure of how these setups work for people.ORIGINAL REVIEW - I bought this camera setup late last year and wanted to give it some time to see how things worked out. I currently have 7 cameras installed of the 8. Two of the cameras are on my covered porch, two are mounted to siding blocks mounted to the siding with no overhead cover, two are under the edge of the roof, and 1 is inside the house. The oldest camera I have installed (about 4 months of use) had the IR board burn out, but the camera still worked. I contacted Zmodo and they sent a new one right away. I was able to keep the one, so have a backup camera, just no IR with it. Support was very quick to respond and extremely supportive.Overall, the setup is easy and plug-n- play automatically connects cameras. The "Ethernet" cables supplied are only 4 wire, 2 power and 2 video and are very flimsy. The video quality is very good on my phone in HD mode. The playback quality on the NVR is also very good, I play it through the VGA port, I've never tried the HDMI (many claim it doesn't work). There are a lot of options for camera setup, naming, and recording that can be customized for each camera.Just last night, I installed another camera using the longest cable supplied. I found the IR would function, but I had no video signal. I thought I pinched the cable so I cut 6ft off and replaced the connector. Still didn't work...so I checked the camera with a different cable. It worked, so I checked the original cable again and it looked fine. I checked the cable with a DMM and all 4 wires were good. Thinking maybe there was video signal loss due to the cable length, I cut it to length and it worked just fine after that. Could have been coincidence.The Zsight app was terrible, it never worked well for me on my Android phone last winter so I now use the MeShare app. That has worked very well. I find every once in a great while I loose connection from my phone to NVR (the system is still operating, you just don't get alerts) that requires a power cycle of the NVR. This fixes it every time. I noticed on the oldest camera, in full sunlight all day, the black ring on the camera face has changed color to brass. This hasn't done anything to the camera, only a cosmetic change.Before you do your final install for the cameras and hide the wires, I recommend temporarily setting it up. I had it all planned out in my head where these cameras were going to work. When I mounted them, I had 3 cameras that needed to be changed due to shadows and the snow coverage. The auto white balance was causing everything at the area of interest to be black, making the camera useless. The snow made it the worst, but this was also happening on sunny days when the grass was in full sun.Overall I'm happy with the system, the cables are the worst part of the whole system I feel.

Very good product for the money. I previously had a 4-channel Zmodo 720P PoE system running reliably for 1.5 years, including 3 cameras that are outside in New England weather. I decided to expand to an 8-channel system, which has been working reliably for 2 months. On a few occasions when needed to review the saved video footage, i found the ZModo PC application provides a well organized and responsive way to review the saved video. The Android, Apple, and Web-based mechanisms to monitor the cameras when away from home work well. The printed documentation and ZModo web-site product documentation are lacking, but this is not a major problem because the product is mostly self explanatory. Overall a solid product. Would buy again.

I have bought, and been happy with, several Zmodo PoE Security Systems in the past, but THIS one threw me for a loop. This order I bought two of these systems and have spent the last week wiring up my new facility in anticipation of getting the system working.Once I got all my wires hung all throughout my shop I awaited delivery of the system.IT DOES NOT USE NORMAL ETHERNET CABLES.Be warned : This system uses a proprietary HYBRID cable that has an Ethernet port on one end, and a USB plug on the other.THIS IS USELESS FOR MY NEEDS, because some of my cables have to be buried (Cat 6e+)If I had realized (hint : if it said it anywhere in the description) I wouldn't have bought this kit.

Great camera system if you need a cheap camera system that just works