Remember that Zmodo 8 camera video surveillance system from Woot?

[Robert M]

Hi everyone

Remember that Zmodo 8 camera video surveilence system offered by Woot a couple of weeks ago for $169? Here is the original link:



I ordered one at the time and my ops guy and I decided to start installing the system today. So far, so good. We connected the DVR itself to an LCD TV via VGA and have two cameras connected to the system so far. Nifty! Much better than I ever expected for the price.

We do not have a hard disk drive installed in the DVR unit itself so I can’t speak for how well the DVR functions. But, it definitely works without a hard disk drive for basic surveillance. We will install a hard disk drive into it in due time. While survelience mode is nifty, I can’t wait to see how the actual DVR system works. Everything else about the system has exceeded my expectations, so I can’t imagine I’ll be disappointed with the DVR functionality.

BTW, if you need longer cable and such for the camera, it’s readily available at. I found cable in various lengths, connectors, etc. But, you may be able to get it locally as well, i.e. Radio Shack.

Robert

[ztirffritz]

cablesys.com is almost always the cheapest vendor for decent quality networking gear and random cable needs in my experience.

[TheTominator]

Is this Zmodo system usable from a Macintosh after you connect it to your LAN?

Also do they have a free iPhone app? Android app?

[Robert M]

zt,

good to know. I usually go to monoprice.com but in this case, I happen to have done business with homesecuritystore.com in the past and they tend to sell good stuff, too.

Tominator,

I believe you need ActiveX for accessing the DVR system via a web browser. So, I'm inclined to say the answer is no. However, I do remember Zmodo saying there is an iphone app for the DVR system. I haven't gotten that far yet so I can confirm. We'll be running a long VGA cable from the DVR to a spare display. It'll be nifty to access the system via my IPhone, though.

The app for the DVR via IPhone is called APlayer. Just found the info on ZModo's web site and then searched in the iphone app store for it. there are a few different flavors of the app. I didn't download any of them yet but I'll post results when I finally have the system 100% moving. Don't have an android phone, so I can't speak for whether or not it's available for android.

Robert

[TheTominator]

Robert M wrote:
I believe you need ActiveX for accessing the DVR system via a web browser. So, I'm inclined to say the answer is no.

That's the tentative conclusion I came to when I researched it when the deal was active. Thank you for confirming this.

It seems that none of the DVR vendors are as yet willing to make their web browser interface HTML5 + H.264 video without the need for downloading and installing a Windows app (ActiveX is simply a way to install a Windows app).

[gabester]

TheTominator wrote:
It seems that none of the DVR vendors are as yet willing to make their web browser interface HTML5 + H.264 video without the need for downloading and installing a Windows app (ActiveX is simply a way to install a Windows app).

I've still got my system in the box... this is a slight bummer but I appreciate Robert's trailblazing and for the price - $180 - it seemed to be a very good deal at the time.

I appreciate the suggestions for places to go if you need longer cable runs - but I thought monoprice.com was the go-to source for all the cabling needs a person could have?
g=

[Robert M]

Gabester,

It's still a great deal. You can use a dirt cheap LCD display with it. That's what we plan to do.

Robert

[Mac-A-Matic]

I got one too, but it's still in the box. I'm planning on adding the HD and of course a monitor.

But I don't know much about ActiveX - what is that all about and why is it not compatible with Mac web browsing? That could be a problem for me - even though I have an iPhone.