Harbor Freight Cobra surveillance system

[t-bird]

https://www.harborfreight.com/8-Channel-Surveillance-DVR-with-4-HD-Cameras-and-Mobile-Monitoring-Capabilities-63890.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMjI4MjgyNjUiLCJza3UiOiI2Mzg5MCIsImlzIjoiMjI5Ljk5IiwicHJvZHVjdF9p%0D%0AZCI6IjEyMjc3In0%3D%0D%0A&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=4217a&utm_source=1011&cid=mEmail_s1011_c4217a&sfid=dGViaXJkczU1QGFvbC5jb20=

Does anyone have one of these systems? I read where they will be on sale for $179. on black friday. It states it will record and also be able to access through your iphone.
I have a shop that is located 4 miles from my home, I don't have internet there, but would I still be able to access the building on my phone?
Any suggestions for a non internet system?

 

[garagelogician]

That type of system would require internet at your shop, which may be able to be done with a mobile broadband setup through your cell phone provider.

Another option (though not cheap) would be the Arlo Go, which has integrated mobile internet connectivity. https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-go/default.aspx

 

[OldracerJones]

I bought my 8-channel from HF and used it for about two years. I just recently removed the recorder to move some equipment and haven't put it back yet. It works well except the wireless connection, never could get it to work along with the motion detector. I just let it run 24 hours a day and it would record everything for 8 hours then overwrite the old data. Picture was good, IFR was great, recording was thorough but man looking for a car driving down the road or a person walking in 8 hours of tape is murder. The motion detection ON function must work to narrow down searches. This one appears to be an updated version of mine so maybe they have fixed it.

 

[gungatim]

I don't have the HF system, but appears nearlly identical to the Saance systems on Ebay for much less money. I got the 1tb, 8 camera setup for only $179 with great support. buy a spare receiver for $40 and you can have 2 separate 4 camera systems for less money...

 

[Jack Olsen]

I recently installed a Zosi 4-camera hard-wired system with a 1TB HD. It was $149 from Amazon. It being Chinese tech and all (with the expected 'instructions'), I was surprised by how easy it was to set up. I can access the cameras' feeds from a computer or my phone. It connects to my home's wireless network.

Oddly, the HF system seems overpriced.

Here's a link to what I got:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MP57IOY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ishiboo]

Any type of video feed over cellular is going to be pretty pricey, assuming you even get good enough service there for it.

I would recommend you get at least DSL there, and then go with a better product like:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AHXEHSU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

There will be a night and day difference in picture quality between the two.

 

[Tmart86]

Do you have line of site to your shop? If so you could put some ubiquiti point to point wireless links up at the shop and home 4 miles is doable for probably less than $250 in parts.

 

[Eslader]

They're not listing the specs on that thing, which is suspicious. "HD" can mean lots of things. 720 and 1080 lines are both considered HD for marketing purposes. And as long as one component in the system is capable of HD, they can label the whole thing as HD, which means the camera might output HD while the recorder only records in SD, or vice-versa.

I'd definitely want to look very closely at what exactly the hardware in this thing was before I pulled the trigger.

 

[hangfirew8]

Most of those Internet-connected security systems run an old vulnerable Linux or other open source O/S with no facility for updates. Nothing wrong with Linux but plenty wrong with not updating it when new vulnerabilities arrive. So you put connect it to your WiFi or Ethernet and people in Russia are making fun of your video feed and hackers are using it to send spam.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I considered this early on when looking into security but decided on the Arlo Pro. Your biggest issue is no WiFi. You're gonna want that to keep an eye on the shop.

 

[Rickdesonia]

I bought the cobra 1080p (63890) and due to the lack of a comparison for a cobra system I will tell you it is Bunker Hill. They didn’t even bother to change the dvr picture in the manual. It work fine although 1080p is not enough. The manual says it will accept 3MP. That camera will be here whenever amazon brings it. AHD and TVI are both ecceptable formats. Couriously if left in automatic mode Lorex MDX cameras will work (I got a couple 1080p lorex cameras for free).

 

[Rickdesonia]

If the shop has internet then any smartphone would work with most CCTV’s out there.