Hey Guys,

Today we are unboxing, setting up and installing this all-in-one security camera system in a box.  It’s a starter kit and costs about $150US and includes 4 wireless cameras.

This is my second review of an anni product so this name and branding may look familiar.  The box contains 4 X 720p or 1MP, IP66 weatherproof bullet style wireless cameras.  There is also a Network Video Recorder or NVR included in this kit with a 1TB hard drive.  Kits are available without the hard drive, and I would recommend getting the device without the hard drive since the included drive is of very low quality and mine failed within a day and the NVR couldn’t see the drive.  A 1TB hard disk can store one month of data of continuous recording of 4 cameras.  This is a standalone system and no Internet connection is required unless you want remote access.  Also, no PC is necessary as the NVR is your user interface into the device.  You will need a monitor or TV however with an VGA or HDMI port, especially when setting this up first.

【Wireless】Please note the system is NOT battery operated. Both NVR and cameras need to be plugged into nearby power outlets. The NVR will automatically pairs the camera wirelessly. True plug and play setup.This is a robust wireless system,with built-...
SmartSF 8CH 1080P NVR Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System Video Surveillance Recorder WiFi CCTV, 4Pcs 720P 1MP Weatherproof IP Camera,65ft IR Night Version,Remote Access,No Hard Disk #1
SmartSF 8CH 1080P NVR Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System Video Surveillance Recorder WiFi CCTV, 4Pcs 720P 1MP Weatherproof IP Camera,65ft IR Night Version,Remote Access,No Hard Disk #2
SmartSF 8CH 1080P NVR Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System Video Surveillance Recorder WiFi CCTV, 4Pcs 720P 1MP Weatherproof IP Camera,65ft IR Night Version,Remote Access,No Hard Disk #3
SmartSF 8CH 1080P NVR Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System Video Surveillance Recorder WiFi CCTV, 4Pcs 720P 1MP Weatherproof IP Camera,65ft IR Night Version,Remote Access,No Hard Disk #4
SmartSF 8CH 1080P NVR Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System Video Surveillance Recorder WiFi CCTV, 4Pcs 720P 1MP Weatherproof IP Camera,65ft IR Night Version,Remote Access,No Hard Disk #5
SmartSF 8CH 1080P NVR Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System Video Surveillance Recorder WiFi CCTV, 4Pcs 720P 1MP Weatherproof IP Camera,65ft IR Night Version,Remote Access,No Hard Disk
3.9 out of 5 stars(74)
【Wireless】Please note the system is NOT battery operated. Both NVR and cameras need to be plugged into nearby power outlets. The NVR will automatically pairs the camera wirelessly. True plug and play setup.This is a robust wireless system,with built-... read more
(as of May 14, 2024 22:40 GMT -06:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

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Here inside the box, we have:

  1. A user manual. The layout and design are prefect.  The English is a little broken and the screenshots are a little small but they get their point across.  I also found some inconsistencies in what the manual says and what you get.
  2. A match code manual. These are the instructions showing how to add the cameras to the NVR (in more detail than the other instruction sheet).  This one is harder to understand because of the broken English, but the cameras leave the factory configured and should already be linked to the NVR… but just in case they become unlinked, we have this sheet.
  3. We have 4 hard drive screws. The hard drive is included in my kit, so these won’t be required.
  4. Here is the Network Video Recorder or NVR. On the back we have the 2 WiFi antennas.  These are used to connect to the 4 included cameras and not to connect to your Wi-Fi network.  The NVR has its own internal network on a different set of IP addresses where it communicates with the cameras.  Here we have VGA and HDMI ports for attaching a monitor.  A network port for remote access or for adding cameras which may be plugged in to your network.  We’ll get to that shortly. The manual says there are 2 USB ports, but there is just 1.  It can be used for a mouse or for exporting video footage to a flash drive. A USB hub can also be used to support multiple simultaneous devices. Keep the drive to 16gigs otherwise you will get this message saying there isn’t enough space to export. Here we have, a 12v power input.  There is no power button, but the unit powers up when it’s plugged in.
  5. A mouse to control the NVR
  6. A power supply for the NVR with a very short power cord
  7. 4 power supplies for the cameras with very shot cables. Yes, even though the cameras are wireless, they still need power.  These don’t appear to be weatherproof so make sure to use a 12v extension cable like this one for outdoor use.  Also, seal it with electrical tape if you can.
  8. Lastly, we have the 4 cameras. Wow!  They actually feel quite nice.  They have a nice weight and feel very durable.  Not a bad set of cameras for a starter kit.  There is a 12v port for power and an RJ45 port if you have a network connection nearby.  The RJ-45 port has a rubber plug, but it too should be sealer tighter with some electrical tape.  By the way, powering this camera over PoE is not an option.  On the back we have the antenna port.  This port actually accepts an antenna extension wire in case you need to position the antenna in a location for better reception.  I’ll add a link to these and everything seen here today below and on my blog.  On the front there are 3 IR LED light which help the camera see up to 65ft at night in black and white.  There is a photocell here so the camera can switch between day and night modes depending on the environment lighting.  And of course, the lens is here in the center and has a focal length of 3.6mm.
  9. Included with the cameras we have screws, anchors and an Alan key for adjusting its position.
  10. Lastly, the antenna which can be screwed on. The range is about 100m (328ft) line-of-sight or 30m (98ft) through a wall.  We’ll do some range testing in another video.

Let’s get this powered up and tested before doing the physical install.

  1. The machine powered on as soon as it was plugged in and is booting up.
  2. Here are the 4 channels and I like how they take up the whole screen. No wasted space.
  3. Connecting to the wireless cameras.
  4. There is a warning about no network connectivity. Remember this is not plugged into my network to show this works as a stand-alone system.
  5. Ah, great the cameras have all connected.
  6. The username is admin and the password is blank.
  7. You can setup your phone app here by scanning one of the 2 app links then find this machine using the cloud id QR code here on the right. But I will click next.
  8. Select your timezone. I am mountain time, but I’m not sure what that translates to here.  -7 I think, but we’ll leave it and click next.
  9. In this Fast network dialogue, you’ll see the IP address of the NVR if it were connected to my network. Click next.
  10. Again, I’m reminded I’m offline.
  11. Now we are shown the hard drive page. I’m going to format mine.
  12. Now, click done.
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(as of May 14, 2024 22:40 GMT -06:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Like I mentioned, my included first hard drive failed. Luckily, I had another on-hand so I could easily swap out the drive and reformat it.
By default, all of the cameras are recording continuously, so no setup is required there.

Now is a good time to update the password from blank. Right click and go to System setup, System Admin, User. When done, you won’t get a confirmation, only an error if something went wrong.

Now, let’s add the NVR to my network and the Internet and give it an IP address where it can communicate with my other devices.
The NVR’s current IP address is 192.168.1.144. To match my network, I’ll need to change that 1 to a 0. I’ll also update the gateway to be that of my router; 192.168.0.1. You get a couple of warnings when confirming.

What about if the cameras are close to a network drop?
We can connect to cameras on the network if the NVR is on the network as well. I don’t mean connecting a camera directly to the LAN port of the NVR, that doesn’t allow you access to the camera over a wired connection. Let’s connect it the NVR and a camera to the router or a switch which will be connected to a router or modem.
Each camera has 2 ways to connect to a network; wirelessly and through the wired RJ-45 connection and each will have their own IP address. If the camera is plugged in to the network and we navigate to the Video Manager screen, we’ll see this available connection in the first table. The lower table shows you the current connections. Notice the IP addresses of the wireless connections; they use their own internal network to the NVR. The NVR then communicates with your network over the NVR’s external IP address, which I have already updated. You can modify the IP address of the RJ45 camera connections, like I will here. Then in the list below I will add it to the connected devices by telling the NVR to find that camera’s wired IP address and not to use the wireless IP address. Now for a lag test. The camera on the left is transmitting wirelessly to the NVR and the camera on the right is sending data over a hard wired network connection to my network.

Now let’s setup the remote access. That will also make things easier when installing the cameras because we’ll be able to see the placement of the devices on my phone while I’m installing them. The NVR still plugged into an available port on your switch or router with internet access.

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4.4 out of 5 stars(155)
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Connector: SMA Male,SMA Female Bulkhead Mount │Cable: RG174 Coaxial Cable │Length: 2M/6.5Ft │Impendence:50 Ohm Compatible with: RTL-SDR USB Dongle, ADS-B Receiver, Ham Radio, Amateur Radio, GPS Navigation Antenna Extension Cable Compatible with 4G LT... read more
(as of May 14, 2024 22:30 GMT -06:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Let's setup the app for remote access

  1. Go download IP PRO.
  2. You’re faced with a confusing login screen with a +1. I’ll click register.
  3. Again, another +1 and I’m not comfortable giving anyone my phone number. Let’s delete that.  Oh, it looks like you can enter an email address.  Submit for an emailed code.  This is an odd experience.
  4. I got the code, and I guess I’m creating a password for my account, not the NVR’s password.
  5. I’ll hit plus to add a device.
  6. Add NVR.
  7. Now enter my Cloud Id which we saw earlier.
  8. And the password for the NVR goes here.
  9. Looks good. You can scroll through the cameras.    I did run into a few issues where I couldn’t connect to the NVR on my network.  The app got suck and I had to shut down the app to get out.
  10. When you bounce over to the cellular network you are asked if you want to keep playing
  11. And cellular works as expected. Well, kind of…  about half the time, the NVR appeared offline and sometimes it would be online but the cameras would show loading and connecting all while the NVR’s monitor showed I was online on a healthy network.
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(as of May 14, 2024 22:40 GMT -06:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

I did struggle with the app and found it clunky and it crashed quite frequently, like when I was updating my password.
Next, we’ll set up the cameras in a few locations wirelessly and review the footage. If you aren’t sure where to install the cameras, check out my video called “Where to install and point my security cameras”. Before attaching them permanently, test out the location first by either just holding the camera in the proposed location or securing it somehow. Make sure to test both day and night. Place all the cameras in their proposed location and make sure the NVR is receiving a strong enough signal to see the footage. You may need to move the NVR around to find the best place when it’s getting a good feed from all the cameras.

Test Locations

  1. I’ll place the first camera here inside pointing toward my front doorway 12 feet away. This camera may be permanently installed near here in the future or just laid here when I’m away, so I can keep an eye on the place.  The daytime image is ok.  The camera seems to be struggling with the back-light, but I can still easily identify myself here.  At night, the image is a little fuzzy, but this is a 1MP camera.  On the NVR’s playback screen, it allows you to click on moments in the timeline.  It also has a fast forward option.  It isn’t too bad, but I would like to be able to drag the timeline slider so scan the footage.  The app behaves in a similar fashion.
  2. The next one will be here over the front door pointing at the driveway 75 feet from the fence. Again, daytime looks good and the license plate is readable at about 25 feet away.  Here at night, it’s completely dark; no streetlights or moonlight.   The license plate’s reflective surface makes it illegible and my face is not very clear.
  3. This next one is pointing at the garage doors. Same experience here.  Daytime looks good, night is fuzzy.
  4. The last one will be here, looking at my patio door 15 feet away and could be permanently installed on the ceiling in the future. It’s a nice wide angle and a good image during the day and degraded at night.  This morning it’s -30 degrees Celsius outside or -22 Fahrenheit as you can see here with my thermal camera.  The cameras are performing perfectly and I am quite impressed they can stand up to this temperature.

A cool feature I do like is how we can see all 4 cameras on playback.  You can fast forward all the channels simultaneously.

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Item is a Class II laser product, 1mW power output. Minimum focus distance 4 inch. Focus free. Object temperature range: –25 to +380°C (–13 to +716°F). Minimum measurement distance 10 inch 100,000 hours. Operating Temperature Range-(-10°C) to 45°C (1... read more
(as of May 14, 2024 22:30 GMT -06:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Overall, I am impressed with this entry level security camera system, especially at the given price point.  I like how we see the bitrate on the System Setup – Channel Setup – Bitrate screen to give you a good estimate of how long it will take to fill your hard drive.  For me, at 1200MB/H, I will fill a 1TB disk in about 800 hours or 32 days.  I also like the wireless capability allowing you to install the cameras pretty much anywhere, even in temporary locations if you are going out of town for a few days and they can withstand cold Canadian weather.  A good tip is to keep the NVR centrally positioned for best signal. I did struggle at time with the verbiage in the system configuration and the user interface is pretty clunky, like when trying to update the IP addresses.  The numbers did not want to be highlighted and then clicked again to open the number selector.  Also, when trying to playback video, the date selector would not allow me to go back and select today, the 28th.  Exporting video was pretty painful as it took 9 min for a 525-meg file.  The app also needs some work to make it stable and connect consistently.  Lastly, I didn’t need to do any port forwarding or look into my public facing IP address, which helped keep things simple.