Kind of a long story. I will try to stick to the high points. I was looking to upgrade to a better camera system. I had originally had some Blink wireless cameras that worked OK, but one of the downsides was always having to replace batteries. I did add solar panels that mitigated that need, but the wireless was OK, but not great. The cameras had motion detection, but frequently they would lag, and you would miss someone's face when they walked up to the house quickly. I did a fair amount of online research, and decided on a POE solution. This is my first install, and I was hoping it to be fairly easy. It was more challenging than I expected, as I will explain. This is no fault of this system, but rather my lack of understanding of what was required. I made this a more labor-intensive install as I didn't want to put an NVR in our office and have even more electronics (and the associated cables) pulled in there. I had a space in my garage and wanted to put in a wireless (mesh) connection to my network. I also installed a waterproof electrical box to put the NVR into. I had originally hoped to use an ethernet cable that had ends already installed. Unfortunately, to keep the outdoor ethernet connections weatherproof, you have to cut the cable and put the weatherproof jacket on, then the RJ45 connector. I did not know this at the time. I watched a bunch of videos on how to do this, and I ordered the necessary crimping tools. It is more difficult than it looks, at least for me. Getting the 8 wires in the right order through those tiny holes is challenging and frustrating. In the end, I found some things that made it work for me. It gets easier with the right tools and practice. 1. Get the two part RJ45 connectors. It is easier to get the wires in the "sled connector" than to feed them all the way through the one piece connector. I found the one piece connectors almost impossible to get right. 2. Get a super sharp side cutter. The 8 wires need to be cut evenly and precisely, and if you have a dull cutter, it won't work. The wires will bend and not go in. 3. Get a pair of surgical hemostats. Yes, you are going to play surgeon. I used these as an extra set of hands to hold the wires flat, in the right order and, close together. I bought a pair on Amazon for around $10. When the connection works, it is a big sigh of relief. The more of them you do, the easier it gets. I also upgraded the hard disk to a 6TB Seagate Skyhawk (Video rated). This was a very easy install and I think worth doing. I also added a front doorbell camera. I am very happy with the system thus far. The video quality is great and I feel it is a better approach than wireless cameras. I think POE is the way to fly, but certainly more work to get it done, mostly due to the connectors on the ethernet. You can do it, but if you are in doubt, I would try your hand at doing the RJ45 connector's first before you invest in this, or any POE system. If you can do that, the rest is easy. Good luck on your project.

Super clear 12MP video, easy setup, and rock-solid performance. The night vision and AI detection are spot-on. Highly recommend for home or business security!

I recently purchased the Reolink security camera kit, and I am extremely satisfied with my purchase. The installation process was straightforward, and the cameras deliver clear, high-definition video both day and night. The motion detection is accurate, and the mobile app makes it easy to monitor everything remotely. The build quality feels durable, and the night vision is impressive. I also appreciate the ability to customize alerts and recording settings. Overall, this system provides great value for the price. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a reliable home security solution!

Click to play video I am a huge fan of Reolink. I already owned 6 Reolink digital cameras prior to getting this system. So I was able to fill the 4 spare channels of this NVR on day 1. This is an extremely easy to setup NVR and camera system. It comes with 4 fixed position, 12 MP 4K cameras and it can handle up to 4 additional Reolink cameras. The NVR is incredibly user-friendly. Having set up numerous NVRs over the years, I find this one to be among the easiest. It comes with a pre-installed 2TB hard drive, so there’s no need to install it yourself—it really is plug-and-play. The menus are straightforward, and it includes a built-in PoE switch/router. The cameras pop up as soon as they are connected to either your internal LAN or the built in Ethernet ports. By connecting cameras through the built-in connectors, you prevent the constant traffic from the 12 Mp 4K cameras from consuming your home or business’s internal LAN bandwidth. Therefore, it's best to use the NVR’s Ethernet ports to power and connect your cameras. However, the NVR is also compatible with Reolink cameras already on your internal LAN, allowing you to mix and match between cameras on the LAN and those directly connected to the NVR. Watch the video I uploaded to get an idea of the menu system and software setup options. The NVR appears to lack support for the timelapse feature within the app. Although my cameras offer timelapse functionality, the icon to create these videos disappears when accessed via the NVR. However, I can still use the timelapse option when viewing the cameras directly through the app. Hopefully, a future firmware or software update will resolve this issue. Cameras: The video quality of the four fixed-position cameras is exceptional. I hope the snapshots included in this review provide a clear example of the sharp image quality, both during the day and at night. Each camera features built-in microphones that capture sound effectively, free from any unnecessary camera noise. Additionally, they have integrated speakers, allowing me to communicate with anyone near the cameras. There are several night vision modes. These modes can be Mixed-and-Matched, or you can lock a camera into a specific night vision mode. The Color night vision mode (my favorite) gives me a good crisp color video with no camera lights on. These cameras have excellent low-light capabilities. The IR night vision mode provides a clear, sharp grayscale video even in complete darkness, without any streetlights or other light sources. In my opinion, this mode is ideal if your camera is installed in an area with no lighting. Impressively, these cameras produce almost no reflection or glare from the IR lights. I’m thoroughly impressed—check out the snapshot I uploaded. The Spotlight night vision mode, which activates a white light when motion is detected, delivers clear and sharp color video even in the absence of external lighting. Like other dome cameras, the white light can cause some reflection or glare on the glass dome, but with these cameras, the glare is minimal. Take a look at the snapshot I uploaded. This mode is ideal for areas where color video is essential, even in complete darkness. It also serves as an attention-grabber, acting as a deterrent to trespassers. Extremely wide field of view: Each of these dome cameras offers a 145-degree field of view, allowing a single camera to cover an area that would typically require several others to monitor. If you want your NVR to alert you when motion is detected, these cameras offer excellent and highly accurate SMART motion detection. You can receive push notifications on your phone or PC, get an email with a snapshot, or even have the alert sent to an FTP server. The smart detection system can distinguish between cars, humans, and pets, with the option to enable or disable each type individually. This allows you to customize alerts for specific types of movement, such as only detecting humans, cars, pets, or any combination. Each detection type also has its own sensitivity adjustment, so you can, for example, set higher sensitivity for pets and lower for cars with ease. Tough construction. The cameras are housed in metal with what appears to me to be real glass. No parts of the external casing are plastic and the cameras have some good weight to them. Installation is straightforward. The cameras come with a drilling template that ensures precise alignment of the screw holes. Each camera includes three screws with anchors for mounting on a flat surface. Both the cameras and the NVR’s Ethernet ports are PoE (Power over Ethernet), so power and communication are handled through a single Ethernet cable for each camera. The system also includes the necessary Ethernet cables. A word of caution: while adjusting the lens for the perfect view, be careful. There's a ribbon cable connecting the lens to the circuit board, and if the lens housing catches it, the cable could disconnect from the board. Reconnecting it can be quite challenging. A couple things to keep in mind: The cameras cannot be individually addressed without the NVR, so you’ll need the NVR to operate them. Additionally, the cameras don’t appear to have an SD slot—none is mentioned in the documentation, and I couldn’t find the SD slot. This means the NVR is the only way to record their videos. However, I can still dual record my OTHER Reolink cameras I have attached to this NVR, saving footage on both this NVR and the cameras SD cards simultaneously. This, in my opinion, is an outstanding NVR and camera system. Well worth the under $730.00 price tag. I am very happy with it. I give it a solid 5 stars!

Love these cameras. 180o view. Sharp pictures. At night, the motion sensor kicks on a bright light which I like. The web site is a bit funky. I’m having an issue with log in but, my husband is fine. Our installer didn’t tell me quick enough that I had to sign in as an administrator so, I put in my email. I need to call the company and have them reset my profile. A pain in the neck but, not the company’s fault.

- Quick shipping - Cameras/nvr package feel of great quality - NVR hooked up the router so easily, cameras plug directly in and had it hooked up to my phone in 30 mins. - Toughest part is running the Ethernet cables through the house to a center location. - Great picture quality, detection of animals from people is awesome. I only get an alert if a body walks onto the property - it won't send alerts for animals or environmental - Tons of customization. UPDATE: Water damage to 1 of 4 cameras after a week. I spoke to Reolink Support and they shipped me out the replacement camera right away. They even gave me a newer model. Thank you so much!

Very good quality, love the wideangle.

i had used Reolink standalone cameras in the past but upgraded to this nvr system. excellent image quality, lots of settings but easy to install and use.

After a lot of research, I chose the Reolink 12MP PoE camera system and couldn't be happier. Picture quality is insanely clear, even at night thanks to the color night vision. Setup was straightforward, especially with everything pre-configured on the NVR. I love being able to talk through the cameras with the two-way audio feature. Smart AI detection is accurate and helps reduce false alarms a lot. It’s a solid system that gives me serious peace of mind for home security.

So first of all, a brief basic assessment: Assembly: Was actually self-explanatory. Went quite quickly. App: Registration was also a breeze and is not rocket science. Live images are displayed immediately. You have to get to grips with the special settings in the app, but everything is actually quite well described. Picture: Very nice picture quality on the High setting (set to Low at the start) But now to the small shortcomings: 1. the NVR (base unit) must be connected directly to the land cable. Could possibly have been described better. We thought it would also work with a WLAN connection despite thorough research in advance. 2. the cameras are too easy to move. When adjusting them, you have to be careful not to turn them out of the holder again as they don't lock into place. They are also so easy to turn that you have to be afraid that they will move in strong winds. On the one hand, I would like to see something in the holder that locks the camera into place, even if only slightly. The camera view should either be a little harder to turn or there should be some kind of locking mechanism so that the camera sits firmly. Otherwise, we have not noticed anything negative so far. Therefore, despite the small shortcomings, a good investment for us.