ANNKE 8CH 3K Lite Digital Video Recorder with SSD Internal Solid State Hard Drive 1TB, 8 Channel DVR with AI Human/Vehicle Detection, H.265 Hybrid 5-in-1 Security DVR, Hardware Encryption

My existing DV recorder had used 2 mechanical hard drives and the second one had stopped recording after about 5 years. I looked at replacements and noticed the solid state version and the fact that it is a quarter of the size of the existing machine and has a 1Tb capability, I opted to buy a new machine. After downloading and registering the app to the machine I plugged in my existing cameras and away it went. Lovely job and no moving parts.

I had a CCTV system already installed when I moved into my house but the recording system was old and we had security worries.This was so easy to set up. My cameras connected perfectly and the setup was a breeze. There's an app I downloaded onto my phone and it connected to the unit easily. I've managed to log on remotely a couple of times, and accessing the recordings is also not complicated.I'm really pleased with this as it's saved me money in getting a company out to sort this for me.

I have used and installed a number of CCTV systems from ANNKE in the past and was interested to test out this new SSD model to see how it compares.The Network Video Recorder itself is really compact measuring approximately 17cm x 11cm x 4cm and unlike all of my previous boxes, this one is fitted with a digital 1TB SSD drive instead of using an old mechanical drive – this makes for quieter operation and most importantly it uses a lot less power to run.On the front face are 3 LED indicator lights so that you can see at a glance that it is powered on and recording. You have ventilation holes to the left and right sides with a small cooling fan on the left.Around the back is where all of the connections are made. You have 8 x BNC camera connectors, VGA and HDMI video outputs for connecting to a TV or monitor, a 10/100 RJ45 port for connection to your network, 2 x USB-A ports for attaching a mouse or removable storage device for backup and of course a 12v DC power socket.The NVR has support for 8 x analogue cameras and you can have an additional 2 x IP cameras.***** In The Box *****1 x DT818H NVR1 x Mains Adapter1 x USB Mouse1 x Network Cable1 x HDMI Cable1 x User Guide1 x Window Sticker***** Installation / Usage *****I found the system very easy to get set up and upon plugging it in, you get a simple wizard that guides you through the basic set up. This pretty much involves setting a secure password (very nice to see), setting the time zone and adding any IP cameras.Any analogue cameras that are connected will appear on the screen straight away and will automatically begin recording.You can access the main settings menu which is actually quite comprehensive and allows you to set motion capture zones for each camera, recording schedules, you can set up triggers so that if motion is detected on a specific camera, it will them cause other cameras to record or set off an alarm, etc.You have the option of setting up dynamic DNS from several providers, which is great if you want to access your system away from home and do not have a static IP address and you can specify your own IP address, subnet and gateway for the box (a very useful feature that some boxes i have tried did not allow).For remote access away from home, you can use the ANNKE Vision app on your smartphone, which will allow you to view live and recorded video.***** Conclusion *****On the whole, i’m really quite impressed with the DT818H from ANNKE.I love the compact size of the box and the addition of some simple key hole mounts on the bottom is a great feature, allowing it to be mounted on a wall either horizontally or vertically.The built integrated SSD is nice and fast, which is great when searching through recorded video as playback starts instantly. The only thing I don’t particularly like about it is the fact it is not a regular SSD but an embedded SSD. So although the manufacturer says the service life is around 10 years, if it goes bad you cannot simply swap it out for a regular SSD or HDD and be up and running again in just a few minutes, but require a complete new NVR and of course would need to spend time configuring it.I really like the Net DVR software, it looks and feels much more modern than most of the other boxes that I’ve used in the past and it lets you change pretty much any setting you should need. It also records video in the much more economic H.265 video codec.My only real complaint is that the device only allows connection of 2 x IP cameras, which is what i have been slowly swapping over to.I think the £149.99 asking price is pretty reasonable for what you are getting and if you are looking for a new NVR to connect up your old Analogue cameras, this is definitely a great option and i’d have no problem in recommending it, but if you mainly use IP cameras then you will need to look at a different option.