DIGITAL WATCHDOG DW-VF-4500G DVR VMAX FLEX 4CH 500G

This is a good unit, functional and easy to use. The bad news is no one selling this unit on Amazon is an authorized dealer. That means your warranty is worthless. I had a problem with mine right out of the box (bad hard drive). After talking to DW customer service I found out that they do not honor the warranty on any units sold through non-authorized outlets such as Amazon and Ebay. I lucked out and the DW rep was really, really kind in accepting mine for repair which they didn't have to do so thanks DW!. You may not be so fortunate. Check the DW web site for authorized dealers if you want this unit.

Good

i got one of these with a sec-cam install for outside around my home. cams are Northern dtw212hir960. decent cams. i'm just not too sure about this VMAx unit. backing up a portion of video via date & time frame has proved difficult and hit or miss. i can view that portion for playback, but the image isn't near as sharp as real time play. i then go to backup that portion, and it doesn't work well for me. on icon is to "calculate" the file size for that portion of video. but it never calculates. you can manually inter the file size. how am i supposed to know that? it doesn't auto pickup that you've inserted a USB stick. you have to click, "scan". then i put in the date/time of video i want to backup to usb stick, remember i'm able to view the date/time section from another dialog, but the backup dialog gets done searching returning, "error data not found" or something like that.i don't think the video is that clear either but this unit is under 300.00. the BNC connections in the back are really close and difficult to lock/unlock the BNC connector.it was installed by professionals.anyone recommend a bit better unit than this?

I recently purchased this DVR and the jury is still out on my opinion. The product is full of neat features like the higher end recorders but I am not having much success in obtaining clear images. I have four outdoor cameras and three of them are different brand names. The VGA monitor I am using is a good monitor but all of the images are weak and fuzzy. I have tried two monitors and two TVs but with the same result. The tech at Watchdog said it was probably my cameras but I am not sold on that. I will continue to tweak the camera settings in attempts to get satisfactory pictures. Before buying this DVR you may want to read more reviews, if you can find them. Update - After much research I have discovered that the less than clear images being produced from this DVR is common with most DVRs. The only other issue I have have with this DVR is the sensitivity control. I have my recordings set to "motion." The DVR's sensitivity control will record bugs, light changes, etc. no matter what sensitivity level you set it at. The most positive aspect of this DVR is the 5 year warranty. That is worth buying this DVR by it self.

I am in the surveillance business and this is what I use. They have great tech support and a great warranty. This dvr is very user friendly I would highly recommend this product !!!!!