Why a home monitoring system?

I’d like to think I would only need to find a security camera to check out the wildlife hanging around outside the house, or just to look like I am the up-to-date techie in the neighborhood with the newest gadget for my home.

Although with the increase of break-ins and burglaries, even small town homes are no longer safe from the threats of local thieves. Any home or business can feel the threats from scumbags looking for free stuff to quickly and easily walk away with, without any threat of being caught.

This brings this home owner to the conclusion it is time to get some cool new contraption, and figure out how the hell to set it up to keep a constant sharp eye on my property.

Keeping a sharp watchful eye took my search to some sharp owl eyes, specifically the Night Owl System. The product NVR10-441, a 4 channel full 1080p with a pre-installed 1 TB hard drive looks like the perfect place to start.

Ok, that’s great, but who the heck is Night Owl, and what does all that crap mean?

Who is Night Owl Security?

night owl nvr10-441 systemFirst off, we should look at what is Night Owl Security, and why would I want a Night Owl camera for my home? The company was founded in 2009 and has their headquarters in Boynton Beach, Florida. This rapidly growing security manufacturing company prides itself on engineering and designing uncomplicated products that are cost effective for not only businesses, but also for the home owner.

They offer 24 hour technical support in both English and Spanish to help with any solutions you may need. They also have many detailed videos from their team to quickly and easily help you with your product information and how- to guides ranging from registration to installation making the entire process from start to finish glide by with ease.

Night Owl’s support system continues with several options through their customer service and support center. After creating an account and registering your product, you are then able to find all the help you may need.

Other than the useful how-to videos, you may also contact them directly for assistance. They have a dedicated technical team that is ready to help with any issue big or small ranging from general issues such as password resets, repair and service, or even if you are on the fence about which system to buy, they will help guide you in deciding on the perfect system for your needs.

Technical support is always there for you to help in any configurations or troubleshooting that may arise. Night Owl also boasts about their unique EZ return process without hidden fees or shipping costs for all their security products that are covered under warranty.

Along with all the support, Night Owl’s products come with all the cables and accessories you will need to do it yourself, or if you prefer they also offer installation services in the continental U.S.

What about the NVR10-441?

I’d like to think with all the help from the excellent service provided by this company, we can figure all this crap out and be that “do it yourself guy”, so let’s get back to the NVR10-441 and figure out how does Night Owl security work?

We should first learn what the product is and if it is the right product for our needs.

This is a 4 channel full 1080p NVR with pre- installed 1 TB hard drive. Let’s break this down a bit to see what we are actually getting.

• 1080p is basically a high definition indoor and outdoor day or night vision IP or internet protocol camera.

• The NVR is a network video recorder which is a software program that records video in a digital format that is stored on the 1 TB hard drive in this device.

• 1 TB, or terabyte, means the space is equal to 1024 GB, which in other terms is a ton of space to use and plenty for a kick ass home security system.

• This has PoE technology, or Power over Ethernet, which is a way to run power and video over the same line.

This technology uses cat5e or cat6 cables and is for wired Ethernet Local area networks (LANS). Offering wide viewing angle cameras with night vision of up to 120ft with view and playback footage that can be accessed from a smart device with the Night Owl app.

The DVR connects to the TV with an HDMI cable or Night Owl provides a CD-ROM to easily install on the computer to monitor or effortlessly configure each camera for your specific needs.

Although microphones are sold separately we can also hook up Night Owl security with audio for extra convenience and extra data in our security footage.

Extra security is also found using a smart device such as a phone or tablet to view live feeds or re-play video or even take snapshots.

This feature is used with both mac and windows.

What’s Included?

We already talked about the 4 channel NVR with 1 TB Hard drive. You also get the 4 indoor/outdoor cameras, with the 4-60ft bundles of needed camera cable, a 6 ft. HDMI Cable, and an RJ-45 Ethernet cable.

A wireless mouse and remote with batteries, a DC 15V/4A NVR power adapter and mounting hardware and screws, along with Software CD, a quick setup guide and 3 Night Owl security stickers.

Are Night Owl Security Systems Any Good?

Are they worth the time and effort? Let’s take a look at the night owl security reviews and the beneficial and unsatisfactory aspects of this product.

We’ve already looked at all the great qualities of the company, so now, the product itself and what it offers.

Customers like that it can play on a computer or use the app for their phone. Whether we are away at work or on vacation, or even just out to dinner, nothing can make us feel more secure than to sneak a peek at our home and belongings on our phone and have that piece of mind that all is well.

You can view these live feeds and also take snapshots.

The feed can also be recorded and played later from the computer or the DVR system. The NVR10-441 can be used without an internet connection, you just won’t be able to view live or play it remotely.

This system has good cameras and has excellent daytime viewing and decent night vision. Another positive was the different configuring abilities for each camera making personalization of security easier.

The complaints are mostly about technical issues, such as using the mouse in the configuring. Many people  have had issues with the mouse needing to be closer to the unit to work.

This is easily remedied, however, by setting the program on the computer and doing the configuring from there instead of the TV.

Several comments were made as far as viewing at night. Most said it was a good picture at night, however there were some complaints that the picture was good, just not as good as daytime viewing. In my mind I’m thinking “duh, of course it’s not as good as daytime viewing.  Have these people ever seen nighttime footage????”.  But maybe that’s just me.  If you’re looking for a comparison system, you might try the Defender system.

Although this system has the capability for audio, the microphones are sold separately.

A Few Tips

To go along with the pros and cons of this system, I think it’s always good to look at the tips and helpful hints to make our experience with the Night Owl system even better.

Many have helped in weatherproofing their product by mounting the cameras under the eaves and hiding the connections behind or under the camera.

Another tip is to rename each of your cameras for easier retrieval of footage on that particular camera, instead of camera 1, you can name it, “Toy Cave” which is obviously the garage. “Playground”, aka back yard, you get the idea.

Set this system up on your computer, whether Mac or Windows, it’s just easier than the television. Don’t try to be a hero and end up spending 3 times as long as you need to. Make the set up less difficult for yourself and use the set up wizard, enough said.

Viewing is always better and more fun on your phone, so you will definitely want to download the free app. Also make sure you have all the latest downloads/patches/upgrades for your product.

Final words about Night Owls NVR10-441

This system is in our mid-range price point for security systems ($400- $1000 bucks).  Specifically it is listed at $429.99 MSRP as of this writing.  I have found it for less on amazon.com, so it’s worth checking there.

At this price point, it makes the NVR10-441 a cost effective choice in a new home security system. Not only is it a convenient system, it seems to have a fairly easy setup, offering smartphone access which is really a must for any busy guy or just someone who likes to keep track of his stuff.

Over all, tech savvy or not, this system has all that anyone could need in looking and feeling more secure with a constant watchful eye over home and belongings bringing consistent security and peace of mind.