I received a camera kit from Amcrest to install and evaluate, with no requirement to post a review.
Amcrest NV4108E-IP5M-T1179EW4-2TB four camera NVR kit. Cost on Amazon: $429.99.
I was interested to try out this camera system, though it is on the lower end of Amcrests line. I’m a fan of kits, because everything is already tested to work together, and you have all the parts you need to get a system going in a day. Many people prefer software NVRs, but my opinion is if you want something to setup and not touch, the hardware NVRs are much better suited to the task.
The NVR comes with an external power brick and a mouse if you have no others. I tend to either only use the mouse for setup or get a wireless mouse so the unit can be moved away from the desk/monitor. I really wish the firmware could work with a touch screen. It would not take much to support USB touch and the GUI itself would not need to change.
The back of the NVR is pretty standard, but it seems about time to drop the VGA port in favor of a Display Port:
I connected the unit to the 4k monitor, but it defaults to SD until you change it in the settings.
A bit of a surprise to see the region is Uzbekistan, but that does not matter as it turns out.
With the 4.0 line of firmware, stronger passwords are required. This is a shame in my opinion, and should maybe only be required to enable P2P or use the internet connected features. It’s also a bit annoying that you can’t plug a standard keyboard into the USB port for typing the password. Or even use a touch screen (see above!) Using the mouse is not a friendly way to create a strong password, especially the tiny mouse the unit comes with.
My usual strategy is to go through the bare basics of the install using a monitor and then do the rest through the web gui. This way I can use a keyboard to enter things like camera names.
The kit came with four IP5M-T1179EW-28MM cameras, which appear to be the same hardware as the Dahua T2431T, though the Amcrest firmware lacks the IVS capabilities.
This camera standalone is $54 on Amazon, and really performs well for it’s cost. The night time performance of this 5MP 1/2.7” is better than my Lorex 1/1.8” 8MP, but neither as well as the Dahua 5442 series of cameras. For the lower price you get a plastic housing without any theft deterrence. I would not place these cameras anywhere you are worried someone might walk off with them, as they can be removed without even needing a screwdriver.
Unlike most turrets, it cannot rotate around the mounting ring, so you must choose carefully the direction you mount the ring. The included screws worked just fine for mounting to my wood siding, but failed when I tried to use the included mollies on drywall. The force required to start the screw stripped the drywall and left me with a spinning molly in two out of three attempts.
I installed the first camera inside my garage:
Night time:
The picture quality was great. They include a hefty bug on the image, which my older Amcrest cameras do not. You cannot remove this from the NVR, but instead you must through the camera interface directly.
NVR camera settings:
Camera settings:
I installed two, under the eves of each garage door.
Here’s two deliveries, one day time and one night:
I have the BLC mode set to HLC in the night profile. If this van had a front plate, it would be readable.
The password requirements are annoying, as both the NVR and cameras want “strong” passwords. I had to reset my camera password once as I couldn’t remember it. Fortunately, you can do that if you have physical access to the camera (How To Perform a Factory Reset (IP5M-T1179E)).
The cameras came with out of date firmware, but the NVR was up to date:
Shipped:
Updated:
Cost
The NV4108E comes with a 2TB hard drive, which seems rather small these days. However, the unit by itself costs $259.99 + 4 * 54.99 = $479.95, compared to the kit which is $429.99, so you save $49.96 and get four runs of 50’ Cat6 cable.
Summary of suggestions for Amcrest:
The cameras are not nearly as good as the Amcrest IP4M-1048EW, however, they are ¼ the price. I think this kit is well suited for a small business, where you may only need cameras in one room. The NVR can handle up to four additional cameras, but with only 2TB of hard drive, any additional cameras will reduce the recording time significantly. However, two smaller DVRs are often better than one larger one, as most of the lower end DVRs are capped at 80MBps anyway.
Amcrest NV4108E-IP5M-T1179EW4-2TB four camera NVR kit. Cost on Amazon: $429.99.
I was interested to try out this camera system, though it is on the lower end of Amcrests line. I’m a fan of kits, because everything is already tested to work together, and you have all the parts you need to get a system going in a day. Many people prefer software NVRs, but my opinion is if you want something to setup and not touch, the hardware NVRs are much better suited to the task.
The NVR comes with an external power brick and a mouse if you have no others. I tend to either only use the mouse for setup or get a wireless mouse so the unit can be moved away from the desk/monitor. I really wish the firmware could work with a touch screen. It would not take much to support USB touch and the GUI itself would not need to change.
The back of the NVR is pretty standard, but it seems about time to drop the VGA port in favor of a Display Port:
I connected the unit to the 4k monitor, but it defaults to SD until you change it in the settings.
A bit of a surprise to see the region is Uzbekistan, but that does not matter as it turns out.
With the 4.0 line of firmware, stronger passwords are required. This is a shame in my opinion, and should maybe only be required to enable P2P or use the internet connected features. It’s also a bit annoying that you can’t plug a standard keyboard into the USB port for typing the password. Or even use a touch screen (see above!) Using the mouse is not a friendly way to create a strong password, especially the tiny mouse the unit comes with.
My usual strategy is to go through the bare basics of the install using a monitor and then do the rest through the web gui. This way I can use a keyboard to enter things like camera names.
The kit came with four IP5M-T1179EW-28MM cameras, which appear to be the same hardware as the Dahua T2431T, though the Amcrest firmware lacks the IVS capabilities.
This camera standalone is $54 on Amazon, and really performs well for it’s cost. The night time performance of this 5MP 1/2.7” is better than my Lorex 1/1.8” 8MP, but neither as well as the Dahua 5442 series of cameras. For the lower price you get a plastic housing without any theft deterrence. I would not place these cameras anywhere you are worried someone might walk off with them, as they can be removed without even needing a screwdriver.
Unlike most turrets, it cannot rotate around the mounting ring, so you must choose carefully the direction you mount the ring. The included screws worked just fine for mounting to my wood siding, but failed when I tried to use the included mollies on drywall. The force required to start the screw stripped the drywall and left me with a spinning molly in two out of three attempts.
I installed the first camera inside my garage:
Night time:
The picture quality was great. They include a hefty bug on the image, which my older Amcrest cameras do not. You cannot remove this from the NVR, but instead you must through the camera interface directly.
NVR camera settings:
Camera settings:
I installed two, under the eves of each garage door.
Here’s two deliveries, one day time and one night:
I have the BLC mode set to HLC in the night profile. If this van had a front plate, it would be readable.
The password requirements are annoying, as both the NVR and cameras want “strong” passwords. I had to reset my camera password once as I couldn’t remember it. Fortunately, you can do that if you have physical access to the camera (How To Perform a Factory Reset (IP5M-T1179E)).
The cameras came with out of date firmware, but the NVR was up to date:
Shipped:
Updated:
Cost
The NV4108E comes with a 2TB hard drive, which seems rather small these days. However, the unit by itself costs $259.99 + 4 * 54.99 = $479.95, compared to the kit which is $429.99, so you save $49.96 and get four runs of 50’ Cat6 cable.
Summary of suggestions for Amcrest:
- Remove strong password check if P2P is disabled
- Larger molly’s
- Allow removing of logo from NVR config
- Add basic person/vehicle IVS detection
- Remove VGA connector from NVR (goodbye 1990’s)
The cameras are not nearly as good as the Amcrest IP4M-1048EW, however, they are ¼ the price. I think this kit is well suited for a small business, where you may only need cameras in one room. The NVR can handle up to four additional cameras, but with only 2TB of hard drive, any additional cameras will reduce the recording time significantly. However, two smaller DVRs are often better than one larger one, as most of the lower end DVRs are capped at 80MBps anyway.
