Side by Side Comparison of: Funlux vs Zmodo

We've had these cameras for nearly 2 years now and I'm just now writing a review. They have been great for us. We had some trespassing from a road that ran about an acre behind our house and people kept doing it after being asked to stop. Called the police, showed them the videos, they knew the people in the neighborhood, told them to stop, after they didn't and came to the property again, they got a trespassing charge. They aren't really great with night vision unless there is a little light such as a street lamp or something but otherwise great for the money!

The DVR and cameras are of typical quality for home-use products in its price range and the camera/dvr package is a good value. What makes this product stand out are the remote viewing apps: Zsight (mobile) and meshare (web browser) - which are easy to configure, connect and share with friends (I use the unit as a "chicken cam" to check in on the girls while away.)

After 8 months continuous use, the DVR inexplicably died. I contacted zmodo support via online chat and was directed to submit their RMA request form for return and repair. The online form was simple enough to complete and I received email confirmation after I submitted it. A few days later I received my RMA authorization along with directions on where to mail the defective unit. I returned the unit using USPS and received email confirmation when zmodo received the unit for evaluation. Later that same day I received additional status updates confirming the defect and notifying me that a replacement unit was sent. The replacement unit arrived at my door a few days later. I appreciated zmodo's communication and found it to be an overall positive support experience.

I remember reading product reviews before I originally purchased the unit - many of which complained of poor/inaccessible support and broken web links. I can attest that as of mid 2016, those complaints are no longer relevant. Zmodo (the manufacturer behind the Funlux brand) has their customer service / repair act together.

Hope this helps others with their purchase decision.

Received the product so fast and in very good package. Now i have 5 months using the cameras and everything it's working ok.

*Resolution it's decent for the prize, as you can see in attached files you can't read a car plate outside the house but it's ok to distinguish if is someone out there
*Instalation it's so intuitive
*Included cord it's enough for a standard instalation
*For android smartphones i recommend MeShare app (screenchot attached), you can use MeShare website to connect remotely from a PC
*You can connect localy from a PC, but only from internet explorer (not even MS Edge), from here you can see live streaming or playback recorded videos if you installed an HDD.
*Bougth a 1TB HDD and the instalation was very easy and simple.

I needed a little help with setting up the IP address, figure out the ports, and some other technical stuff, but I'm lucky enough to have a close friend who knows his way around that stuff. I got very close, but needed just a little expertise help. Now it works great! From work or my cell phone I watch my kids get home from school, check on the dog, etc. Last night, I sat in my chair and watched as a spider crawled onto one of the cameras. It was amazing! I saw it eat a few things, weave a little web I think, and all this up close and live, like a magnifying glass!
I've seen some negative reviews, but I'd bet most of those were because there is some technical stuff while setting up. It came with 4 cameras, and I'm looking into buying more... hopefully I can find a wireless one that I can move to various locations and not worry about drilling holes in my walls for the wiring.
The night vision works pretty well, not great, but pretty well. I've had to adjust the positioning so the IR doesn't reflect off of up close things like branches or whatever, then it works reasonably.
Realize that you do have to purchase a harddrive if you want to be able to review video, but it does work as a monitoring system as is.
I found a refurbished 1TB harddrive locally for $30, and am now in business for recorded surveillance.

Love the night vision , Smart reviews , don't have to review 24hrs just olny highlighted or any movement , even little tiny fruit fly or dust night vision picks them up so clear. Works great but can be hack n edit by with or without wi-fi by hackers.

Super system for the money. Setup is a snap, and the software is very good.You can expect to be on the phone for a while with the tech support if you want to access the feed from "away", unless you are a real Internet geek. The good news is that the tech support knows their stuff, and once you get through the wait time of 20 - 40 min, they will get you hooked right up. Don't waste your time with the step-by-step instructions. It's way more complicated than that. Bite the the bullet and call the number. You will be glad you did.

I installed the equipment myself and I can tell you it is very easy. While I was installing the cameras I used a staple gun and went thru one of the wires. I am unable to use that wire and will be ordering another while I am on the Internet. I would recommend this product to everyone. Only one week after I installed the camera system at my business, I caught one of the "people" who was stealing from the outside of my business during closed hours. The night vision was just as clear as the day vision.Thank You!!S. McGrawAlabama

It's a good little unit. Second one I've bought similar to this, but first with motion detection.DEFINITELY set the schedule. The family I installed this for wanted cameras around the house where they walk all the time or have ceiling fans running. the hard drive was full in three weeks.The online set-up was a challenge. the zmodo.com/network page was only half-way helpful. After the instructions said to go to the port forwarding page on my router, no amount of clicking "next" would take me to the next set of instructions on their site. I was however able to figure out the ports by googling on my own. I was quite impressed with the DDNS set-up. Easy to use once the router is configured. set up of zviewer on Android was easy as well.I did have a learning curve trying to figure out which input device i wanted to use, mouse or remote. I ended up using a combination of both, but would prefer to use the mouse. The interface was a little hard to navigate until actually in a menu, then the mouse worked fine.I did end up with one glass lens cover cracked out of the box, but Zmodo RMA'd it really fast, and didn't even require a ship-back to them. They have top notch customer service.Will probably buy again.

I have bought DVR camera systems in the past and I have never had come near to the quality of this system, especially for the price. The last one I bought cost me $1,000.00 and this one beats it by far. The cameras are upgraded in this package and the picture is true video, not pictures-per-second where the video is choppy and seems to be taking pictures really fast like my last system, no this one is true real-time camcorder quality footage. And the system is fairly easy to set up, (assuming you are able to access the attic or crawlspace if needed). The only downfall to this unit, and I would have thought they would have added this feature to all systems is WIFI, this system doesn't have it. You have to hard wire it to an ethernet cable, so plan on putting it close to your internet router if you are going to want to view the cameras online. You will also need to purchase a special cord that goes to your television, one that is the same as one that goes from a computer monitor to the computer. (It costs $20.00 at Radio Shack). The night vision is o.k., better than any other system I have had but you can still only make a persons face out at about 6 feet away and see the vague image of someone at about 25 feet.

If you are looking for a basic surveillance system, this one will do just fine. The picture is OK, not crystal clear but good enough. I love the motion detection, night vision, and snap shots via email that you can set to receive in 1-10 min intervals. As to the installation ... If you have no IT background, you can probably still get through the basic installation fine. However, if you are going to try to set up the remote viewing feature, be warned that the instructions are not clear, and the pictures included with the instructions are not readable at all. Yes, you can call the tech support, but prepare for a LONG hold (and only during business hours - no weekends, no evenings). I was on hold for 67 minutes and spent another 1.5 hrs on the phone with the tech who helped me with the remote and iPhone set up. I thought to myself: this is a person who does it for a living, and it took him 1.5 hrs to set it up, how is someone like me without any IT background supposed to do that? The tech I spoke to admitted that the instructions are written very poorly and impossible to understand for a layperson. The set up still has some glitches even after the tech call, so I need to call again and go through another waste of a couple hours, but at least all the basics are installed now. So, if you have IT knowledge (or know someone who does) or a lot of patience and time, you should be ok. Otherwise, this will likely be a very frustrating experience.

This product was easy to get setup, and connect, and it works great. I don't understand the negative reviews about how hard it is to use and setup. The instruction manual is pretty self explanatory. I didn't even use the user manual until I needed to find out the default admin password, then i skimmed over it to make sure I hadn't missed anything.I was very happy with the resolution and the IR (night vision) capability. There have been several people complaining because you can't see something far away in the dark ...well don't put your camera so far away. The camera can only pick up what can be seen by the infrared light and an infrared led can only "shine" so far. Even an expensive camera isn't going to see in the dark with IR light. I'm able to see the distance across my house and that is good enough for me. If you need more light you can buy another IR light for the area.If you are looking for a good surveillance system and a great price then I highly recommend this.

test all cables before installation, came with 1 bad cable, found that out after installation. had to remove & reinstall another set, wasted about 1 hour.

great and good experience. fine. The product arrived on time and was well packaged. My wife has been baking some wonderful loaves of artisan-type rye, white and whole wheat breads. They are very crusty, and we had experienced some difficulty finding a product that could handle the crust. This product worked extremely well, cutting through the crust with ease. We are very pleased with our recent purchase. this price is valuable. SINDY very love it ,

Very clear picture during the day. The night vision works as long as there are objects in front of the camera like a fence, its made for closer up. It doesn't come with the hard drive to record, so if you are buying it wanting to record you need to buy an internal hard drive. It plugs right in under the cover. I haven't hooked it up to my internet yet to get it on my phone. Over all does what I want it to.

Very straightforward installation and operation. I do wish the remote software was better, so one star lost there, but it does the job.
Unfortunately, we got these because of pictures moving on a shelf. I was sure we would catch the ghost. Of course, since we have 4 cameras pointed at them they haven't moved since.
Also, want to point out that this doesn't include a hard drive. I happened to have a spare laying around, but if you don't you'll need to order one.

I can see what's happening around my daughter's house, day or night. It was not easy to install or set up the online monitoring, but it was worth it.

A kid broke into our house and cars, so we wanted an inexpensive deterent. This set up was on sale, so we got it for our home. My brother is savvy and set it all up for us. The installation was fairly simple and we had it up and running in about an hour and a half. The program itself is ok. Could be a bit more user friendly, but I am not complaining. I havent had a hard time navigating the system. The cameras have been set up for nearly a year now and still work fine. They are not great at night, but we have motion activated lights that help too. Whenever we check our backup we have weeks of video to refer to. We have never had any problems with the system and feel we got our moneys worth. The piece of mind is a relief.

I bought this during prime day as a security system I want for my mothers place. I have used and setup several zmodo systems and this took less than 20 minutes to setup. Remote viewing is very easy with their app that can scan the dvr and set it up, which I tried but in the end set it up to be used with my own app and port forwarding through the router.SMTP settings worked right away and as always the menu is straight forward and easy to navigate.The quality is good, even for night vision, however the quality is lowered significantly for remote viewing. It is much better when you review the videos stored on the dvr. Ive tried playing around with the settings but you cant raise the quality too much. You can lower it, but then it would be barely viewable remotely.Its a good system for the price and zmodo systems always work for me.

I just received this and setup it up. You definitely need longer screws to mount these outside. The cameras are small, which I like and surprisingly pictures are very clear. I am very please with them. I do have another set of ZMODO at another location, the cameras there are not so great after less than 9 months of USE. Perhaps ZMODO is getting better at their cameras or maybe they are just new. Let's see if they stay this clear after awhile.

I am a first time user of a security camera system. We've had some questionable activities around our place and decided to put up some cameras. We didn't want to pay a few hundred dollars for a system, but we didn't want cheap either. We found this unit here and after doing some research on it we opted to give it a try. The bonus with this unit is that a hard drive comes pre-installed. So far it's been a great starter unit to the security camera world. The cameras are not high definition by any means...and they do pick up more of the reds so the color in the images tend to have more reds, pinks, and purples. It's not over the top, not enough for me to worry over. The point of all this is to be able to see what's going on outside and we can. The night vision works pretty well also. My only sigh is that the cameras do not have built in audio...hence the 4 out of 5 stars. I've found other cameras on Amazon which will work with this kind of a system which do have audio. I'm thinking of replacing a couple of my cameras with ones that have audio. Another feature which which I love (it was also part of the deciding factor in getting this) is that there is an Android app that can be downloaded so you can check on the cameras using your smartphone. I love being able to be away from home and still be able to pull up the cameras on my phone...and even look back at what's been recorded. My only gripe with the app is I think it could be a bit better...but again I'm not complaining to much as I am able to see our cameras when away from home.At the end of the day though...if you need a decent, reliable, not to expensive security camera system...or your new at it...I'd recommend this.

I have a lot of IT experience and I struggled with this. Overall the system is pretty good for the price. The only issue I have had is with the network setup. I tested port 80 before trying to use it and it was blocked by my ISP. So I opted for port 85. I am able to login remotely using IE. I was not able to get this to work using any other Web Browser. Even then you will need to change ActiveX controls for IE in Windows. If you are using a MAC don't even try. The only thing I am stuck on is remote viewing with a smart phone. I have tried 3 different smart phones. One is an iPhone and the other two are different Androids. I will be calling the company tomorrow to see if they can resolve this. I own an older WILIFE system from Logitech. That still works great! Just no night vision.UPDATE. OK, to get the DVR to talk to a smart phone you need to do an update of the unit. You need to download a particular file and put it on an EMPTY flash drive. Empty is the key word. I powered down the unit and attached the flash drive. Turned the DVR back on and the mouse did not respond. The trick here is to unplug the USB mouse and plug it into another port. I followed the instructions and loaded the file. I then told the unit to NOT reboot. You then set the unit to restore defaults. It rebooted and resolved the issue. You would think they would have had a way to have the unit go to the internet and download the file. So the unit is working as designed. I also liked their CHAT support. The two times I used it the person on the other end was helpful. I changed my rating from 3 to 4 stars. You have to WOW me to get 5 stars. No WOW factor here.

first thing: it does work. doesnt show great at night in darkness but if you have a light it shows better. i have a motion light so if it comes on. i can see you clearly. now if you like to upgrade to newest technology like an all in one computer you wont be able to set it up. you will have to get a different monitor for the set up purposes. i had zmodo tech support set mine up. the netviewer software being put on your desktop is better than the internet web address. so you dont look for tech support number i will give it to you 18665516881 just call and let them do it. its much better that way. if one camera stop showing check the back of dvr camera inputs. unplug and replug. mine lost connection for some reason. i swapped the cables around. but all in all it is a good system and works quite well. this is worth the money b/c i could find just a dvr with hard drive for under the price of this. i paid $199 for it.***update**for some reason 2 of the cameras got water behind the lens. they are not working properly. i will see if i can put a different camera in their place.

Cameras are not very clear after a few months. Alerts do not capture picture as before. It used to work perfect from my cell phone app, now it will not work on my cell phone unless hooked up to WiFi, says timed out.

System works great had no issues setting it up on a 2TB harddrive... Only complaint is the app sucks.. 3/4 of the time it doesn't work, will only bring up half of the cameras and now it wont let me view notifications. Would have given it a 5 star if the app was better.

Honest review:
The good...it is reasonably clear in the daytime. It is standard definition, in an H.264 compressed format, so it could be better, but it will do fine for my purposes during the day. All the cables were good (unusual, considering how cheaply most of them are made), and all the cameras function. Hard drive install was a snap. It came packed well, and seems to be decent quality.

The bad...the night vision is HORRIBLE. I can barely make out my two vehicles at night, all images have a large "ring" around them, that I can only assume is caused by the IR emitters themselves. The only time the night vision functions well is if there is a light on outside, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having night vision, now, doesn't it?

Of course, resolution takes a nose dive in the dark, so unless you have elephants roaming around in your yard, you are unlikely to be able to identify what is caught on camera.

I have installed many, many home surveillance camera systems, and this one is just...O.K. You get what you pay for.

I bought this to keep an eye on my property down in Mexico. The DVR part seems okay. It took me a little bit to figure out how everything worked but I eventually got the hang of it. The images are okay. You're not going to ID the guy but you will know that someone was there.

My hardship came with trying to set up the motion detection. I would change the sensitivity from high to low and after a while it would be back on high again. I never could figure out what caused this to keep resetting. Also even when the sensitivity was on low, it was recording motion when absolutely nothing was changing. I had one camera aimed at a brick wall in the middle of the night. It would email me a snap shot of nothing but a brick wall. If a bug had flown by, low sensitivity should have ignored that. I was getting emails day and night constantly even though sensitivity was on low and I had reduced the area that was detected to one little block out of the ten by ten block that it monitors for each image. I eventually shut off the motion detection and email as that feature seems useless.

If you have it hooked up in your house and can just let it record constantly then it is a good cheap option.

Easy hook up and connect to your network for remote viewing. Qr - code let you download the z - sight app that can only view from phone in the same network. .....no acces from the Internet. To access from the Internet you need other software like meye. Camera's in daylight are pretty sharp. At night the views are blurry and dark. When watching a site that is extra illuminated it will give you better results

It works. I plugged in the cameras and monitor to DVR and boom I could see all 4 cameras. After that things went south...Manual is not great. It explains how to plug in the system but doesn't explain how to work the software. You need to "right click" the mouse to bring up the menu.Software is lacking. Remote viewing only works on IE, for other browsers you will need an IE wrapper extension. So for Mac you're out of luck.They have some port forwarding for you already once you plug in the Ethernet to your router (take a look at UPnP in Network for the ports).The email setup is questionable, mainly because of the lack of feedback, I cannot send Test email using the web version (it's too painful otherwise to enter email, password and stuff using just the mouse and on screen keyboard).I think I'll just pay a little more for something with better software.

I am a senior female, had suspecisions of neighbors messing around my house so didnt want to spend alot but wanted to see what was going on. This set did the trick, I can observe and Ive had it a couple of years now but its a pain to review and havent been able to capture a review.Also you dont have enough wire and had to buy more and I have a really small house. I like it and I guess you can use your phone to record the screen if you need to capture something for court or what ever.I caught the neighbors, teasing my dogs, and walking their dog on my property to poop...and they have a large yard like me. So since the cameras Ive confronted them and they so far havent been caught teasing my dogs or leaving poop in my yard to walk in. Yeah they have a dog so that poor dog must catch alot of hell.

The DVR works ok, it's a bit buggy though and slow at times, but nothing major that prevents it from working. The Zsight software on my iphone 6 seems to work fairly well once you get the ports and such opened in your firewall.The only major gripe I have is the cameras, they claim to be outdoor cameras but if they get rained on they will eventually become contaminated with moisture. 3 of the 4 I have all look terrible now from moisture slowly getting in them. The one that is covered from the elements but still outside seems fine. If they get rained on regularly though don't expect them to hold up.The front cover will unscrew so at least you could dry them out if need be, but I would suggest just letting them be protected from direct rain. The hardware on the mounts tends to rust quite easily as well.To get something better I suspect it would require spending a lot more money, so I think for the money it works fine, just don't place the cameras out in the elements.

For the price, the camera quality is pretty good. Does what i need. However the mounting brackets are crap. 2 broke in my hands, i was able to press one back together (we wil see if it holds up) the other i had to modify and build my own bracket for. The mobile app freezes my phone and sometimes won't connect but other than those issues it performs well. Night vision is good. Obviously this is a lower end system so don't expect the quality of a $1,000 system. This is a view of nightvision via an internet connection 700 miles away from my house. It is brighter than it looks (camera phone darkened it)

Disclaimer: Most of the reviews seem to knock this down in rating based upon the difficulty to access the remote viewing feature and nightmares with network/internet compatibility as well as lack of customer support. While these are all valid factors, they didn't influence my rating and following review since I do not need the remote viewing feature nor will I need to link it to my network/router, etc -This review is for the folks (like me) that just want to be able to monitor/record interior/exterior areas of their house, business, etc with the ability to review the recorded footage at a later time should something get vandalized, stolen, etc. during the night, over the weekend, or for monitoring who's coming and going at the door, porch, mailbox - You get the idea.I'm not an IT person, don't have an extensive background in computers or the surveillance industry - However, like most people I can use a PC, DVR, Smartphone and update my Facebook status without relying on help from a digital/tech savvy 10 year old - so if that's you too, relax. - Anyone that knows the difference between a pair of pliers and a crescent wrench will have no problems setting this up for basic monitoring/recording. It's like hanging up Christmas lights for me by now, as this is system #5 on a new property. After doing a temp set up using previous hardware already in place this is my take on this unit that will hopefully help out some folks and assist them in determining if it's right for their house and needs.This system is easy to set up, it delivers an okay and acceptable image and is ideal for the homeowner or small business owner. (again I'm referring to only the installation of the cameras & hooking up to your TV or computer monitor and recording/reviewing footage with the included DVR - NOT THE REMOTE ACCESS - WIFI - NETWORK/INTERNET Capabilities) -While this system is marketed as a indoor and OUTDOOR system, it's definitely not designed with an emphasis on the outdoors, longevity wise, as the elements of even living in cookie cutter suburbia will reduce the lives of the cameras and wiring substantially from my experience with similar units. I've installed 4 surveillance systems on my home over the past 20 years and I was not that impressed with the quality of the wiring and the fact that the camera and power connectors aren't hardwired into the camera (you connect the camera to it's video and power cable at the mounting spot as opposed to just a single wire that is hardwired right into the camera and then powered by the monitor inside your home) - That is an automatic drawback.BNC and a power cable at the camera location? Exterior? Aside from the highly noticeable red and yellow plastic connectors that scream attention to themselves, this type of setup is a disaster in the elements - Within a few months rest assured that the sun, exposure to wind, rain and just the elements will have these frayed & destroyed - One could build a 'makeshift' box to protect the connectors, but that's more time and aggravation. I learned the hard way with an identical setup and know that this is a recipe for a camera failure a few months down the road - Even if you're mounting under eaves or in a place that isn't directly exposed to sun, wind, etc - You have to deal with securing and concealing the wiring. Depending on your house, it may or may not be that big of an issue - For this house, it is an issue since my eaves are not that high, and if one wanted they could just rip the camera and wiring off quite easily.IMAGE: Not bad. Okay and well within an acceptable quality range for the price. Night vision is fairly good - Remember, these aren't going to be able to read plates in pitch black night from 100 feet away - It does a good enough job at close range, but ambient light from a porch light, street light, etc improves it - In all fairness the image quality is good for what you're paying for. Don't have unrealistic expectations that it's going to capture crystal clear images from great distances - But it will catch a good image of a person in your driveway within 20 feet or so in near dark conditions.IMAGE SIZE - That left me unimpressed - I felt as if the cameras are all zoomed in - The best way to describe it: Imagine a mid 1990's camcorder on max zoom on a person or object from a considerable distance - Basically the aspect ratio is not wide enough for my needs - (older bullet IR cameras I am replacing had 3x the width) These are great for smaller/confined areas (like the porch, a door, gate) but forget a wide area - The image is good but too 'close' -Wiring/cables: Like others, I did find them to be rather thin - Which wouldn't be an issue if I was using them indoors - These wires definitely wouldn't survive one summer without degrading under the hot sun. If you can install them where they won't be exposed to the sun for long periods you should be fine, but for anyone that needs to run them in areas where they will get a lot of exposure - I'd be leery -DVR: It's great and easy to configure - No problems with that - Remote and mouse all work as described - No issues there.PROS: Inexpensive and quick set up - For the money it is a good deal if it fits your needs - Basically something that you can install quickly and have up and running and won't loose sleep over if you can't take it with you if you move.CONS: BNC and Power connectors at the camera; BAD for exterior application - Makes it vulnerable to the elements, calls attention to itself and is one more thing you have to secure and (if needed) conceal.Mounts are standard cheap metal mounts that do the job - Screws are almost a bad joke - Plan on using decent ones if you want it to stay in place - The supplied screws are about as durable as scotch tape on a hot stove -In closing - After testing the cameras, DVR and reviewing footage from day/night recording I'm not all that impressed. I'm not unhappy, but I thought that the camera image quality was identical to something from 15 years ago - Not 2014. They're great for now, don't get me wrong, but I foresee them fizzling/dying out in 6-12 months. Had I made the mistake of permanently mounting them, running the cable through eaves, attics and crawlspaces, well I'd keep it and make the best of them - But I'm relieved I only did a temporary set up for testing and evaluation.I WOULD KEEP THEM and do a full permanent installation if the cameras were hardwired with video/power cable - The deal breaker is the ridiculous BNC and power cable plug at the mounting location that one must plug into the camera. Had these been hardwired, I'd be content to keep them - I can deal with everything else, pro/con but from experience, the BNC and power plug at the camera is a no go for me. Other than that, I see no other negatives worthy of noting - I just feel this is better suited for indoors with the way it's video and power line is set up - Thin wire + Connectors at the camera makes this a dud for my house.Now of course that's just my evaluation based upon the set up at my house - Do your homework and get an idea of where you will mount these and note how much wire will have to be ran and secured - They may be ideal or impractical - It all depends on your needs and where you install them.

I bought this until to keep an eye on our house while on a long trip. I bought this unit specifically for the remote capabilities. The physical set up was easy--put the cameras where you want them, run the cords, plug the unit into your TV, etc. The quality is fine in daylight, worse at night. I honestly could not figure out what I was looking at on one of the cameras focused on my yard when the camera was in night vision.The remote set up was impossible for someone without high-level tech knowledge. I consider myself above-average with my general computer skills and I couldn't figure it out. I was very disappointed I couldn't use the remote capabilities to monitor my house. I didn't try the support line like some other reviewers...I ultimately had a security company come and install a working system.The price of the unit is decent, just don't expect a high-level security camera system.

I cancelled this order

I absolutely loved this entire set up for....about 9 months until it quit recording, most likely because every minute or so it blanks out and resets. So now the whole thing is about useless. The cameras do seem to be decent quality

this product is ok but.....too many cords, I should've gotten the wireless one however the cameras do pick up a lot and the night vision is great. I had the worst trouble linking it to my phone and setting it up to record, infact I never got it connected so Im not really benefitting from it..the DVR doesnt record, its corrupted. Also one of the cameras detached from the base really easily and now loose cord is hanging from it, this is a little frustrating.

Spend the extra money and get a wireless. When it got here and I looked at the amount of work to install this and trying to figure out how to hide the cords in addition to the negative feedback on here I chose to return it for a full refund. With all of that said if you are looking for a low cost solution this might be for. I didn't want to risk all of the work to install it only to have to tear it back out if it failed like other commenters have complained about.

I thought we were getting a good deal and it would be nice to have the extra security. I'm thinking we wasted time and money. When we downloaded the app we quickly realized we can only watch the cameras from our Wi-Fi. I don't see a point in them if I can't use them while we're away. Honestly why would I want to watch the cameras when I'm at home? It would be nice to log on and watch them from another location... Get a better App.

I didn't install it because it said there is no hard drive inside. In fact, there is. I installed the system using only one camera for the last two months, and that camera died a couple days ago. I replaced it with one of the 4 that came with the system. it worked fine until it didn't! UDATE: 8-11-17.... second camera intermittent, mounted in shade.

So, is the affordable price of security worth it?You always hear the term, you get what you pay for. Well, it still applies.Let's break this one down:First, the boring stuff and why I can comment with authority. 18.5 years Law Enforcement, Security specialist in home and corporate defense and offense.8 years federal government with a degree in electronics and analysis.Most import subject matter authority: I purchased the dang thang and I have internets that I can write on. It's true if it's on here.Start with Pros:1.Reasonable prices for the amount of sheer stuff you get.2. Packaged great, looks good3. Not to hard to install and set up compared to other wired systems.4. Compatible with a TV and able to see where you need to place system.5. Has decent infrared lights to see within 15 feet or so.Pros end thereCons:1. This system is severe outdated and is obsolete due to amazing companies with wifi capabilities that far exceeds this one.2. The instructions to put this together SUCKS! Thankfully I've installed many similar ones and it installed the same as Swann or SVAT.3. The online WIFI setup was extremely difficult . I don't know if your time is valuable? But assume my time is worth $200 an hour. This costs me $1800. Worked amazing! I could see it from another location any time of the day . This elation ended 2 weeks later. I never got my high fix again. It was DONE! I called customer service..... well, if I once again was paid by the hour for this fun phone excursion I would be RICH! Because I would have added the "I HATE YOU FEE" to each of the 3 people who had Middle East accents and literally had no command of the English language. Final result: wifi quit working . The entire system quit working about 7 months after that.Final recommendation:Buy them all up, send them to your enemies

We purchased this camera set up in 2015, there was an app you download so you are able to pull up the cameras through your phone and look at all of them. At first it worked pretty good and now we are having nothing but problems with them, when you pull it up on your phone it doesn't save anymore pictures from the activity going on, it constantly says connection has timed out so you can't look at the cameras (and we have very good internet) so it's basically a waste of money having them because we can't see anything anymore! I doesn't catch everything going on because we tried to have my husband stand outside in front of them and do 5 different things and it only showed 1 when I was looking on the computer monitor. We are very upset with this because we purchased it for the safety of our home and they won't work anymore!

I have now had this Zmodo unit for a year and over the year, I have had to replace the hard drive once and all 4 cameras failed under 6 months. I am using the base Zmodo unit still...with a new CCTV compatible hard drive and 4 new cameras from another company. Zmodo means junk to me and not worth the money. Video quality is only fair at best during the daytime and miserable at night indoors, unless you have indoor lighting on, then the video quality is fair....just like during the day. At least it's fairly easy to use, but I cannot adjust the time to correct it.....very user UNFRIENDLY menu and I have tried over & over & over to redo the time/date and the junk won't do it. So, its off by an hour or two. But I do have it working fairly well, even tho the time is off a bit and at least I do have video coverage while I am at home or away from home. Zmodo should be lucky I am giving it a high 2 star rating....only reason it was not rated lower was the video qualities is fair during daylight hours.

One of the four cameras immediately developed an irregular blank white space at the top. Hopefully, a Zmodo employee will read this review and offer to replace the camera before I have to return the product altogether. Other than that, I like the interface and the overall ease of set-up. Annoyingly, I really need the system for night vision more than daytime, and the 11 LEDs are apparently only good enough for about 20 feet outside a regular suburban home at night. I'm purchasing a separate camera to attach to this system to see if more LEDs make the critical difference between seeing a blurry humanoid shape and being able to clearly identify a person.

If youre looking for hi tech crystal clear images and detailed images, move on. If you just want a basic, easy to install CCTV system this is great. Its as easy as mount the cameras with 3 screws, plug the cameras into the cables, run the wires to the unit and plug them in. Its easier than the average surround sound system.the night vision is OK, works well in darkness up to about 10 feet; the images are black & white though. The overall image quality is OK, if someone is within about 15 feet the image is clear enough to recognize a stranger by the photo. Past 30 feet you'd have a hard time distingushing between Jessica Simpson and Hillary Clinton. When you attempt to 'zoom' the image it gets very grainy, so forget that idea. The field of view is fairly narrow, so if you are using it in a small space (10x10 room) the view is limited.Overall, its a breeze to put in and use, just dont expect the best image quality. if youre a small business or a homeowner, its fine though.UPDATE 2/13: here we are less then 18 months later and the system is not working properly. First, one camera developed issues with the image and rolling lines. Then a second camera did the same thing. Now the images freeze on the screen every few minutes for 30-45 seconds and it stops recording while this happens. I tried to contact Zmoto with no luck. For being less then 18 months old and only used inside a climate controlled store, I am disappointed. Pass and pick another better quality setup.

This system worked ok for a couple of months and then totally crapped out on me. It is nice that it contained 4 camreas, and they are small enough to be hidden so you can be stealth like with it. Strangely, sometimes they were overly sensitive and taped the changes in sunlight, and other times they didn't pick up on movement at all and didn't tape it. There were times when I was physically in the area and I should have been filmed, but the cameras didn't pick up on me. It became less imperative for me to perform surveillance about the time that the system crapped out, so I didn't pursue repair. It wasn't that horribly expensive, but I can't necessarily say that it was worth the money either. I would think that if surveillance is really important, you should spend more money and purchase a better system.

I would not recommend this product. On the app I always receive a message that "Internet Speed is Too Slow". I paid to upgrade my wifi speed but still received the same message. On my laptop I received a message " Cameras Offline" although they are not. I am not able to review remotely and I have wasted money on this product.

In reading the description before purchase, this item said it was "Wireless" - I interpreted that to mean it had no wires.
THe set hooks to your computer wirelessly, but NEEDS WIRES between the unit and the cameras.
May work well, but we left it in the box to return it. Company was prompt to send return labels, but we have to pay return shipping.
They need to write a new description that states it requires the wires between the base unit and the cameras.
We were not wanting to drill holes in the walls to reach the porch or see wires inside the house either.
Back to the drawing board.
Company did not recommend a suitable product for exchange, so assuming they do not have one.

Piece of s*** by the time you finish with the installation you'll end spending $250 with hdmi and hard drive and also the app for remote viewing is not working in other words this system is garbage... can't get a good tech support nothing is good about this item do yourself a favor and buy a samsung for $250 and all you have to do is plug and play...

Updated a second time.
The FunLux system died after just 4 months. I was finally able to request an RMA via zmodo.com/rma
I did receive a replacement DVR after returning the defective unit and it is working (fingers crossed).

The support at zmodo.com seems be going downhill however. While I was able to submit an RMA request, the web page to check on an RMA request has been broken for weeks. I did use the Live Chat feature at least one time, but that feature is now broken (error 404).

I tried calling their US toll free number by a recorded message stated that "Zmodo support has moved" and to "go to zmodo.com"

So, the net is - my DVR broke after four weeks. I was able to successfully have it replaced via zmodo.com, but based on the current inability to contact support, I would not purchase another Funlux or zmodo unit.

One of the big problems trying to decide on an inexpensive camera system is trying to decipher the differences between the various systems available. Documentation is weak or non-existent and the manufacturer's web sites are confusing or apply to systems other than the one you bought.

I just found documentation here [...]

This Funlux system is no different. When you open the box there is only a sheet of paper that directs you to zmodo.com for instructions. One of the big problems with zmodo.com is that the site does not refer to specific systems like the Funlux, but instead has generic instructions for systems that are apparently sold under multiple brands. I "think" my unit is similar to a ZMD-DD-SBN8 (but does not have the external controls).

You can wander around there and pick up bits and pieces of information and if you are diligent, you can get it up and running, as I did. Just do not expect a very polished experience.

Now on to the unit itself. I received four cameras and the DVR unit with all power supplies, cables, etc. included. So no issues there.
I first set up the unit with the cameras on a bench to make sure it all worked before I started dragging cables through the attic.
I plugged in the power supplies for the DVR and the cameras, connected the DVR to my home network via an Ethernet cable (no wifi support on this unit), connected the DVR to a VGA monitor and powered it up.

The unit itself has no real controls on it - there are connections for the camera and a USB mouse port but no other controls on the front of the unit (unlike some of the other Zmodo systems that have a remote control and front panel controls. The monitor attached to the DVR only seems to display the cameras views. After I got it all set up I found that there are administrative controls on the screen. You have to double click the mouse to bring up the menu.

Since this unit did not include a hard drive, I installed a 2TB hard drive into it. This was the only function that I used the mouse for - to confirm formatting the hard drive. After the hard drive was formatted. I buttoned up the case with the included screws and rebooted the DVR.

My home network assigned a TCP/IP address to the DVR when it came online. I used the administrative controls on my router to identify the IP address that was assigned to the router. I don't know how you would do this without looking at the router, but maybe there is a screen I missed on the VGA monitor.

I then pointed Internet Explorer at the TCP/IP address of the DVR and logged it with the default user and password (admin/111111).
You must use Internet Explorer to access the DVR. Chrome, FireFox, or Safari do not work. You also have to install some browser code (there is a button labeled "OCX Download" on the DVR login prompt)
If you try to use another type browser or you do not have the OCX code installed, your browser will only display a blank blue screen.

Once I was logged in as admin, my first task was to change the default password. There are tens of thousands of camera systems that anybody can view because nobody changed the passwords of their systems. Do not be one of these people.

Once the DVR and cameras were verified as working, I installed the cameras and DVR in their permanent location. I mounted the DVR in a closet without a display because I intend to use the web browser or iPhone app to access. The picture quality from the cameras is acceptable. The cameras make an audible "click" when switching from color to night vision modes.
Speaking of the app, I installed the zsight app from the app store and was able to connect to the DVR on my local network by specifying the TCP/IP address. Once I set up a user and password on the app to log in, I was able to view the cameras remotely. I did not have to make any changes to my router permissions.
The IPhone app is a little flakey - it occasionally has a "Low memory" error and sometimes says "Internet connection speed too slow". Restarting the app usually address the problem. By the way - I tried installing zsight on my Android tablet, but it got a message that it wasn't compatible with my tablet (no other info). I tried the zviewer app from the Google Play store but I cannot get it to work.

Update - I was able to view the cameras remotely on my desktop with Internet Explorer by forwarding TCP/IP Ports 8000 and 80 - reference this guide (which doesn't provide ports for the Funlux) [...]

Summary
- Inexpensive unit with very little documentation
- The DVR has no real controls other than power switch but does have administrative interface
- Internet Explorer must be used to manage the DVR and view the cameras - sorry Mac users
- Camera and DVR performing adequately
- Successfully installed IPhone app and can view camera remotely
- Iphone app (zsight) is adequate, though flawed

Overall I am happy with the system at this price point.

piece of ****ok maybe a little harsh, but i wanted take this out back and go office space on it.cameras ok quality, no audio, user interface sucks, hard drive issues every couple months had to reformat manually each time even though overwrite was selected. tried another hard drive and same issues so it was the system. finally gave up and now its just off, and i feel better about my life.please don't get only worth like 30 bucks. cause you will need to buy something else soon after

This system and more so Zmodo is absolute crap. First off when it worked properly the night vision was useless. The only advantage to having the cameras up at night was they did have a little light so anyone who was thinking about breaking in would see that and move on to an easier target. Notice I said "when it worked"? Because this system has more problems than Britney Spears during her meltdown years. One camera for just suddenly shows mostly snow, you can sort of make out what it's pointed at but you couldn't identify a person if you had too. My biggest complaint is their mobile app and their website. The mobile app (iphone) just flat out doesn't work most of the time. Says its timed out like it's either my phone to slow or my internet is to slow but both have no problems whatsoever on any other app. When the app does work you can't use it at all to look back at anything. When it gets movement it takes a picture, as soon as it gets movement it takes a picture. When it takes that picture it doesn't record (on the app, the hard drive does record). So you look back at something and see that there was movement in your camera go to that time in the recording and it says "No Video at this time". Every single time. And the stupid system takes a still picture at the first sign of movement which means at best I will see the foot of someone walking by or the unidentifiable bumper of the car that drove by. If you are watching live it freezes ALL THE TIME. You have to switch cameras and come back to get it to work which is USELESS.I have tried to reach out to ZMODO and they are blissfully ignorant to the problem and use the language barrier as an excuse to not do anything. Don't waste your money on this crap. Find something that has HD and isn't a joke of a company.

Do NOT buy this set. Here are three top reasons why:1. Very poor video qualityWe bought the set 1.5 years ago. At first it seemed like a good set for the money. When we installed it, the quality of the video seemed okay, and we thought it would be enough. Then we had a package stolen from our porch. The thief didn't notice the camera and parked in our driveway *right underneath the camera*. It was broad daylight, you couldn't have gotten a better opportunity to get the license plate, yet when we looked at the footage afterwards, you can't even make out the letters. The quality was so poor! We couldn't even tell if the color was black or blue or purple -- video quality was complete garbage... All we had is a proof of the robbery, yet we couldn't give the police any valuable information2. Hard to navigate softwareIt's very hard to navigate the software, and it takes a long time figuring out how to view the past footage. The software is poorly built and hard to navigate3. The system won't last longA few months after we bought the system, one of the cameras stopped working. Now the quality of the video on 3/4 cameras degraded even more. We had troubles with the system recording and saving files. The system is not build to lastBottom line: do not waste your money unless you want cameras as a deterrent, but you will be better off just buying fake cameras because you won't be able to do much with these

DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SYSTEM, Hi, My name is Arron. I purchased this system on September 22, 2014. The bases for the camera where all striped out, being that I am a mechanical engineer, I rather than waste more time by waiting for them to try to fix the problem with shipping me another piece of junk I repaired the striped out camera bases and continued to use the system. I was at the time a caregiver for my wife and her mother, Hence the reason I didn't have the time to wait for them just to ship me another faulty cheaply made system. I just needed the cameras up to help me with taking care of my family. Now the hard drive has failed. I will make sure that no one else makes the same mistake I did. If you are desperate to have a system like I was, then just know that it will happen to you too. The systems are designed to fail shortly after the warranty ends. This whole statement is my view and opinion as a mechanical engineer understanding the way the system works.

The product is good but comes without control remote. Please tell me where can I find the remote.Regards

I Love this set up and it is working great at my home location! I would give 5 stars if the app would work correctly! After initial setupthe app worked great for about a week or more so I know it was setup correctly. Now it wont connect from my iphone 5s or iphone 6. I called the support and she did try everything to no avail! I am very disappointed with this aspect of the product for which was mostly why I purchased the system and now it is disabled! Sucks! Frankie VMoved it down to a 1 because there is no 0! They lasted less than a year and DVR quit and cameras have increasingly poorer quality!!!!