For the money, it's fantastic! I used to have Xfinity home monitoring but the value was horrible. So I cancelled it and for a few months, I almost felt 'naked' not being able to see what was going on at my home. I run a home business and & am close to a major US city with a huge crime rate. So I finally decided to make this purchase. I chose to purchase the PoE so my system could remain recording even if my router was to restart. My internet company (Xfinity) updates my router in the middle of the night, but that's when I use my laser cutter because electricity is so much cheaper at night. I ran 8 ethernet wires around my home (I plan to purchase more cameras as I go) and mounted my cameras. The hardest part of the install is running the wires and getting the wires all to a central place, but as far as I'm concerned, it's been completely worth the effort. The NVR interface is somewhat intimidating the first time you go into it if it's your first like me but once you get the hang of it & can understand the principles behind network video recording (NVR, as compared to digital video recording or DVR), it becomes pretty straightforward.What I like so far:-Pan/Tilt functions are smooth, quiet, and almost unnoticeable when you're standing close to them.-For the money, the IP cameras are good. Note, please, that these are definitely NOT going to be CSI-level cameras. No matter how you Photoshop the image, you're never going to see the fleas on your neighbor's dog with these cams. But, you'd be hard-pressed to find PTZ cameras of this resolution anywhere else cheaper.-Reliability: I've only had my system up & running for about 10 days now, but so far it has been pretty fantastic. I plan to set up the FTP functions in the near future so I can have each day's recordings saved to my NAS automatically.What I DON'T like so far:-The Zoom function (PTZ) is not optical. It's digital. Again, for the price point, not completely unexpected but digital zoom is basically just enlarging the feed. That means when you 'zoom,' you're just making the pixelation worse. Again, not completely unexpected and barely a CON.Meh...-General statement about IP cams: As with ALL IP cameras, you need to know they can be incredibly dangerous. Many of them offer a 'plug-and-play' feature (these cams included). While following the instructions in setting up the system, they do mention that you need to set up a new password for each camera but in my opinion, the booklet should stress that THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Not setting up your system correctly can open you up to an incredibly creepy invasion of privacy. As soon as you have your cams hooked up & streaming to the NVR, you need to go in and change the plug-and-play to whatever setting you have set up. Set up a strong password! trust me, it's a necessity!!!
