ANNKE 8 Channel 3K Lite Security Digital Video Recorder with 1TB Hard Drive, H.265+ Hybrid 5-in-1 Surveillance DVR, Human & Vehicle Detection, Supports 8CH Analog and 2 IP Cameras for 24/7 Home CCTV

This DVR replaced a different brand older DVR and was very easy to set up. The User Manual is step by step and the software is intuitive. No complaints about the video or equipment quality. There have been 7 cameras recording constantly for five days that have used 240 GB of the 960GB available, which should give just about three weeks of recording. I was most interested in being able to save playback video on a USB drive. Files exported directly to a USB drive in accordance with the Manual’s Backup instructions would not play back on any video player software. I contacted customer support and spoke to Alejandro. He was very helpful and spent 45 minutes taking me through configuration of the computer, and he explained how to backup files using the Client. This Client option offers the most backup parameters, such as backup start and stop time selection. Good product with excellent customer support.

The system works good. Trying to adjust the time is complicated and still working in it but everything else was easy to set up.

So far so good. Easily replaced my older, larger, high end camera controller. With this one there is no loud hard drive or cooling fan noise.

My 2020 Annke dvr stopped working and I needed a new one fast. This unit was delivered by Amazon overnight, which was great. The unit is the smallest, in terms of footprint, I have ever used. The hookup is identical to the 2020 unit. My only gripe with the physical design is the location of the two usb ports, used for mouse and thumb drive export, which are both on the back and is inconvenient. The software has been upgraded considerably and I don't get events from flying bugs and pollen flying around at night as much. The manual that came with the unit is woefully short on information. I emailed a question about renaming the cameras, and was referred to Chat Support. Chat support is useless. I was 8 in line when I logged in and got down to three in a half hour, then was disconnected. I went back and I was 8 again. The phone number is equally useless. I called and was hung up while on hold. I eventually figured out what should have been in the manual on my own. If you are not technically challenged with a bit of poking around with the software you can figure most things out. The price was good on this unit.

UPDATE: Lowered from 2 Stars to 1. I bought the 8mp annke system after this one didn't work as advertised. That one was even worse. Writing a review for that one next. Stay far away from Annke brand. You'll get one response from customer service per day in broken english. They'll give you pictures of where to click and on what menus - but they do not match the system. For instance: they say "Click the 'page' icon and then go to blah blah blah" But there IS NO page icon. The user interface they're trying to coach me on is different than what I have. Different firmware or something. I don't know. UPDATE END. ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW. There is more bad with this setup than good. My main concern is that I can't backup video files in an easily viewable format. I've been fiddling with this for days now downloading all different players and converters and I've yet to play a video on my PC. How are the police supposed to examine the footage??? They're just coming to hang out in my living room to watch the monitor here? And what if I find the criminal and take him to court? How do they view the footage? This is a very simple feature that should take priority. Contemplating returning it since a LOT of the features just flat out don't work: CONS - There is no USB slot in the front of the system. Making it a pain to plug in a thumb drive to backup files. Something this dvr REALLY doesn't want you to do apparently... - The DVR records in weird 15-30 second chunks. I need to backup hours at a time. Impossible when every clips is 15 seconds... (see image) - It SAYS you can backup files as AVI. But you really can't. Broken feature. See images. - The H265+ might be incredible. I have no idea. I can't view it on my PC. Even after trying to download several players and converters as recommended by their customer service. I can only view video ON the DVR itself. - It's VERY difficult to search for a specific time. It just doesn't work. It shows a list of literally one thousand 15-30 second clips. All jumbled and out of order. How am I supposed to find a specific hour? I can't. - I can't export AVI clips. I understand the quality might not be as great. But if you CAN'T VIEW the H265+ mp4 files then who cares how clear it is? My home/cars gets vandalized way too often. I upgraded to this 5mp clearer set up to hopefully help police identify them. The police in my area are just bad. Lazy. I can barely get them to view my shoddy AVI files from my previous system. I will NEVER get them to download a specific player and install it in their computers there in order to just view MY security camera footage. Even if they were technically capable of it, which they're not, they're just too lazy to go through all that. They'll just say "The files wouldn't open". So, again, what good is this system if you can't show people the videos? Just so I can see with crystal clarity the guy who destroys my property and be upset about it? - Smart view: supposedly shows you a timeline of your recording. Regular is blue. Motion detected in red. So you can save time by skipping to areas where motion is detected. Very cool feature.... if it worked. It doesn't. There was no red on my timeline (there were a lot of cars going by). It works the same as regular playback. - Timeline displays time in 24hr format even though I set it to a 12hr format. - The instructions given to me by customer service don't apply to my dvr. They're telling me to click options that just aren't there. PROS - The rewind is very smooth. I'm really frustrated with this system. Custom service was no help with my issues. So much of this just doesn't make any sense. Why can't I output in AVI even though it says it's an option? Why can't I backup more than 2 cameras at a time? Why can't I backup hour long blocks? It feels so broken...

I’m going to give this 5 stars. First unit lasted a week and then it started beeping and the screen was gone. Information I could find said hard drive failure. Got the new one today and it’s flawless again, hopefully it lasts. Super easy setup app and I have a tv to monitor. Extremely clear. If this one dies I will update.

Good product at a reasonable price. I had been a Swann customer, there is no comparison with respect to customer support. Excellent customer support Alejandro Vasquez He was very helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable in helping me with several problems I had with the new DVR. This has left me with a very positive impression of the company, as a result of that excellent customer service I had decided to make my next 2 camera purchases through this company

hola mi nombre es julio estoy agradecido con Dios primeramente por la vida de geraldine que fue quien me ayudó a resolver problemas con mi DVR Annke ya que tenía varios problemas con el mismo pero gracias con su ayuda fue solucionado todo gracias

Works well! I was nervous to buy this as read that changing from my Swann camera HD recorder can be complicated. Works a treat and was pretty much plug n play. Just a few little setting changes to view remotely, but very happy.

Perfect for what I needed as some cameras where already set up at our rental. Everything plugged straight in, created a account and off it went recording. Setting up the app on phone for remote viewing was quiet simple too using the QR code.

Chose Annke to replace a Swann box that died after 10 years of trouble-free service. The Swann cameras were all OK, and I enquired about a refurb Swann, but a bit too expensive for what I wanted. With the help of the Annke support guys I chose Annke model DW81KD. Mostly because the Swann cameras would work with this model. Great price too, and a solid box with a similar footprint to the Swann. There were a few teething problems, however Annke support helped out, and the system is up and running. If you are going to integrate a new box into your system, take some advice pre-sales before you do, as the support team are very helpful. This model is very sensitive and captures people and cars quite effectively. What is a bit of a hassle is the ability to stop the motion detection of trees. On the Annke box you have to draw the area you want captured, ignoring plants, trees etc. It's a bit cumbersome but I got there. The zoom is great, and I was surprised it worked with the Swann cameras. The playback menu is quite useful, as you can choose to look at 'just' people or vehicles - saves wading through frame after frame. If you are new to surveillance, it takes a while to get used to digging around in the menu. So, I'm happy I have great solution.

Not the best wouldn't buy it again, only recorded for 4 weeks then stopped. Can't get it working g again

infra red stopped working in 1 month