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Current Experiences with Amcrest?

4K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Godspeed 
#1 ·
I've been looking into Amcrest for some time and still, aside from really high-end gear from Avigilon (for example), they seem to offer the most complete systems (NVR POE switches with internal HDD available) and highest MP consumer grade cameras (up to 8MP)

I'm pre-wired and ready to go for 6, POE cameras. 4 outdoor and 2 indoor.

Are there any current experiences, good and/or bad you can share?

I'm hesitant because there seems to be just something a bit odd about this company. Most of the sales/support is in India rather than from their Huston TX headquarters and the information on the .ca site vs. .com site is vastly different and very difficult to decipher. Further confusing the matter, they're currently saying "the Canadian warehouse is closed" which seems very odd.

When you do talk to them, you get bounced around in circles which concerns me if I ever did have a product issue or need support.
 
#3 ·
Fair enough.

Still looking for any current experiences with Amcrest products?

Their "best" 8ch POE NVR, the 4108E-HS, has brutal reviews on Amazon. Makes me nervous but I don't know of a better product solution that offers essentially the same thing(s) at a similar cost.
 
#4 ·
I have 4 Amcrest IP Cameras and the non POE DVR Amcrest NV1104 with a seperatly bought Western Digital 2TB purple drive.

Of the 4 cameras I own, I am really happy with the IP3M-943W. Its resolution at night is vastly superior to my 2 older IP2M-842W-CA.

You can't make out the face at night of an intruder with the IP2M-842W-CA, but you can clearly see the person's face with the IP3M-943W.

I also us GE Lightstick lightbulbs on my garage fixtures to light up my driveway and front entry.

I have those 3 are hard wired back to the house network as wired is always better than wifi.

I have a 4th indoor wifi camera- IP3M-HX2B that points outs the window toward the front entry. I turn off the night vision and the GE bulbs make it work perfectly.

I have a timer for my outdoor lights that turn the lights on at sunset and off at sunrise.


-

If I was to buy it today,
I would go with IP3M-943W for my outdoor cameras and upgrade to the NV4108-HS for the DVR.

-
With my current setup, I currently record all 4 cameras to the DVR at Max resolution.

They record fine, but live playback (ON MY PHONE APP) due to processing power is limited to the indoor cam and 1 of the IP2Ms.
-
If I want to look at the other 2 cams, I just have to go to previous recordings and set the time to 2 minutes ago.
-


If you don't have faith in the Amcrest POE NVR, you could buy the NV1408-HS and add separate power injectors.
 
#6 ·
No that's a fine response. Do you offer something comparable to this?:

https://amcrest.com/8ch-4k-security...rveillance-black-nv4108e-hs-ip8m-2496eb4.html

or even this: (same NVR but with 2TB HDD included and 4MP cameras instead of 8MP)

https://amcrest.ca/amcrest-4-megapi...ion-pre-installed-2tb-hdd-and-more-black.html

I also want to add these two cameras (1 each) for indoors:

https://amcrest.com/amcrest-1080p-poe-video-security-ip-camera-pt-744.html

https://amcrest.com/amcrest-prohd-o...ndal-proof-4mp-2688-tvl-ip4m-1028e-white.html

I would be more than happy to deal with a Canadian company. Thanks
 
#7 ·
Hello,

Thanks for the reply. We offer cameras & kits from Hikvision, Uniview, DH OEM and most other brand names at various price ranges and we tend to offer custom solutions rather than stock kits.

Do the outdoor cameras need to be black?
You prefer bullet cameras or domes?
I would venture to say that 4MP is probably the sweet spot right now for price, picture quality and low light performance especially.
We can even offer cameras that will offer full colour in only partial moonlight.

Ideally a call might be easier if you'd like to PM me or reach out to us via our site and mention this thread. I'd be happy to help.
 
#9 ·
- Black would be preferable outside. I suppose not mandatory, but I prefer the look.

- White indoors for sure

- I could stand to be educated on the advantages/disadvantages of bullet vs. dome, but it seems to me that bullets offer some range advantages for what they might give up to domes in field of view (mind you, the bullets I was looking at offer 112 degrees).
 
#8 ·
Amcrest has absolutely brutal reviews on Amazon, Yelp and BBB. Very sketchy sounding company. Furthermore, which doesn't bode well for Foscam either:

"Important Message from Foscam Digital Technologies Regarding US Sales & Service
We, Foscam.US (aka Foscam Digital Technologies and now Amcrest Technologies), are an independent United States based distributor of "Foscam" branded products. We have been offering telephone support, US local warranty and building the Foscam brand in the US for the past 7 years. However, we are deeply saddened to report that, even after all of this, our overseas suppliers have decided to undercut us and supply to our major customers directly. For this reason, we have no choice but to suspend telephone support for all Foscam branded products. If you have purchased a Foscam camera directly from us or from one of our authorized retailers, technical support is still available via email at support@foscam.us.
For customers who have not purchased from us directly, we advise you to please contact Foscam Shenzhen or the distributor which you have purchased from. In the meantime, we have launched our own new brand of IP cameras called Amcrest, which has superior quality products and full telephone technical support 7 days per week. We hope you can support us in our new venture. For more information, please visit www.Amcrest.com."
 
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