After doing a ton of research for a basic home security cam, I decided that POE (power over ethernet) security was the best for my use case for a few reasons.
My pros for using POE
1. Wanted an always-record security system without relying on pulling out the sd-card
2. Home does not have adequate wireless coverage to ensure the best video quality at all times
3. Did not want to excessively modify my home by drilling into the walls for power
My cons of using POE
1. Need a POE network switch
2. More complicated to setup than a wireless camera
Now that I was determined to get a POE camera security system, I narrowed down my research to POE only and I ended up going with REOLink NVR system because, it met all my pros of using POE, and it got rid of all my cons of using POE.
Setup and Install:
I setup two cameras in the front, one covering the driveway/garage and the other covering the front entrance/front door. The other two camera are covering the backyard. The included 4 cameras are enough to record about 90 percent around the house, with some dead spots where I purposely avoided recording any of my neighbors. The included kit was great and all the pieces are there. I did purchase my own ethernet cables because I wanted longer cables that were easily hidden. I went with 100 feet flat cabling. Each camera ethernet cable goes up to my roof and into an attic vent then down to a hallway, into the NVR controller. This way, I only drilled a single hole from the attic to the hallway right along the wall so almost nothing is visible.
I initially used a monitor hooked up to the NVR to set it up but once the initial settings were configured, I disconnected everything except the power and ethernet and control the NVR completely from my PC. Once I figured that out, I moved the entire NVR box into the attic and only have the ethernet from the NVR come through the hole and into my router.
I would say the most difficult part of the install was going up to the roof of the house and routing all the ethernet cables, clip them in place, and hide them by snaking them along my roof tiles. That part took a few hours. Once all the ethernet wiring was done, the camera install was easy, taking only 5 to 10 minutes per camera.
Video Quality:
The 2k video quality was the best compromise for the price and picture quality. I wanted to make sure I can clearly see faces at least up to 20 feet away. The included RLC-520 does an outstanding job in the day and ok job during the night. The day quality is great, I can see faces much further than 20 feet and recorded video is clear enough to zoom pretty far. The night quality is ok, it's about what I expected for the price. It still shows good detail just not clearly able to distinguish faces at 20 feet. I have my settings at 2560x1920@30fps with 8192 bitrate, sound on, no motion detection. With 4 cameras, I fill the 2TB hard drive in about a week and then it overwrites the oldest video, like how a dash cam works. In the future, I might try to upgrade the capacity.
Reolink App:
I use the windows client on my home PC and it's very easy and intuitive to use. Every aspect of the system can be controlled and monitored with the client and I like how easy it is to organize all the video, taking a pic, video clipping, zooming, all very easy and intuitive. Not sure what video settings to use so I just maxed them all out. I also use the android client when not home and it works just as well and has all the configuration options like the windows client. Overall I would say the client exceeded my expectations for the price.
Reolink Support:
Amazing support! I had an issue with one camera reverting to default settings and I contacted support. They asked me a few questions and then immediately sent a replacement camera. Unfortunately, the camera was delayed because it was out of stock but I didn't mind, the camera was still recording fine, just not at the maxed-out settings I always set it to. Reolink support was responsive and communicative and I have faith they will take care of me in the future.
Conclusion:
For the price I paid, I love this kit. It perfectly ticked off every checkmark I had as a requirement. Now I have peace of mind, I didn't drill all over my house, the camera always records so I can playback, the video quality is good, and the interface is so easy to use, my kids even use it on their phone.
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We found 6 bundles with this item:
REOLINK Smart 5MP 8CH Home Security Camera System, 4pcs Wired 5MP PoE IP Cameras Outdoor with Person Vehicle Detection, 4K 8CH NVR with 2TB HDD for 24-7 Recording, RLK8-520D4-5MP
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Reolink 5MP PoE Security Camera System Bundle, 4PCS 5MP IP Cameras for 24/7 Recording, a 8CH NVR Pre-Installed with 2TB HDD, RLK8-520D4-5MP Bundle with IP Video Doorbell Camera$407.99 $419.98This bundle contains 2 items
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This Item  REOLINK Smart 5MP 8CH Home Security Camera System, 4pcs Wired 5MP PoE IP Cameras Outdoor with Person Vehicle Detection, 4K 8CH NVR with 2TB HDD for 24-7 Recording, RLK8-520D4-5MP |  |  |  | |
| Price | -24% $319.99 List: $419.99 | $419.99 | -7% $559.99 List: $599.99 | $699.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||
| Night vision | ||||
| Motion detection | ||||
| Tech Support | ||||
| Picture quality | ||||
| Easy to install | ||||
| Sold By | ReolinkDirect | ZosiDirect | ReolinkDirect | ReolinkDirect |
| number of channels | 8 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| connectivity tech | Wired | Wired | Plug-in WiFi | Wired |
| video resolution | 1920p, 5MP | 4K | 4K | 12MP |
| number of usb ports | 2 | — | 2 | — |
| viewing angle | 80 degrees | — | — | 118 degrees |
| memory capacity | 2 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB |
Product Description
RLK8-520D4
Ceaseless Protection in 5MP Super HD
8-channel PoE Wired Security Camera Kit with Smart Motion Detection and 24/7 Recording
Scalable Kit, Always Ready for Upgrade
This system has a 2TB HDD pre-installed and is scalable up to 12TB. Besides the 5MP cameras included, up to 12MP Reolink PoE and Wired/Plug-in WiFi cameras can be added. The NVR with the latest hardware can totally handle it.
Smart Motion Detection
Person/Vehicle Detection
Cute pets but often trigger false alarms? New person/vehicle detection technology identifies true threats for you, much more accurately than general motion detection. Make security more light-hearted.
Customize Motion Zone
Broad view but lack of focus? You can now decide your truly-needed monitoring area. Just erase the place by which you don’t want to get distracted. Get alerted about the zone you really care.
Smooth Live View at 25fps
Enjoy silky smooth and crystal clear live streaming and playback in 5MP at 25fps. Never miss a detail.
Be Real-Linked
With intuitive Reolink software, you can access your system on your smart devices at hand. Management is easier than ever.
Working Environment
Reolink PoE cameras stand still from 14°F to 131°F(-10℃ to +55℃). IP67 waterproof makes it flexible indoors or outdoors, rain or shine.
Multiple Ways of Alert
Once motion is detected, you will be alerted by the NVR buzzer, an email, or a push alarm. Video uploading to the FTP server is also underway.
Reolink PoE Security Camera System
 RLK8-520D4 |  RLK8-800D4 |  RLK16-800D8 |  RLK8-800B4 |  RLK16-1200B8-A |  Reolink Duo 2 PoE |  Video Doorbell PoE | |
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Customer Reviews
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2,201
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837
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900
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1,978
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85
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842
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495
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Price
| $319.99 | $519.99 | $959.99 | $415.99 | $1,299.99 | $139.99 | $99.99 |
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Resolution
| 5MP | 8MP | 8MP | 8MP | 12MP | 8MP | 5MP |
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Channel
| 8 Channel | 8 Channel | 16 Channel | 8 Channel | 16 Channel | / | / |
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HDD Pre-installed
| 2TB | 2TB | 4TB | 2TB | 4TB | / | / |
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HDD Capacity
| 6TB max Each, 12TB Total | 6TB max Each, 12TB Total | 6TB max Each, 12TB Total | 6TB max Each, 12TB Total | 6TB max Each, 12TB Total | / | / |
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Smart Detection
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
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Remote Access
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
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Cameras Supported
| PoE & Plug-in WIFI Camera | PoE & Plug-in WIFI Camera | PoE & Plug-in WIFI Camera | PoE & Plug-in WIFI Camera | PoE & Plug-in WIFI Camera | / | / |
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Color Night Vision
| ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
From the brand
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Reolink established in 2009 is a cutting-edge global innovator in smart home security and camera solutions. Over the years, we've been devoted to creating the finest security products for home & business owners.
Until now, we've offered a full range of reliable and affordable smart home products and helped millions of people from all around the world, gaining the trust of our customers in a professional way.
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Customer Review: Super clear images, really well priced
ryan
Reviews with images
UPDATED REVIEW! An EXCELLENT system for home video surveillance.
UPDATED REVIEW (3/9/19):After several e-mails to the company, Reolink has updated the firmware for the NVR and it now supports showing motion events only on the timeline with a check box. It is EXACTLY what this app needed and makes it absolutely perfect. Now it is a cinch to find the exact section of video where there was motion. They also added the ability to draw custom motion zones directly on the iPhone app. There is still no fast forward option however that does not affect the app too much. I am beyond happy with the customer service from the company and support staff. Every one of my e-mails was answered and they were true to their estimated timeline for implementing the update. I recommend this system to everyone!ORIGINAL REVIEW:I purchased this Reolink system to replace the Ring Video Doorbell Pro and Ring Floodlight Cam that I had installed at my home. I wanted the Reolink because unlike the Ring and its Wi-Fi competitors, the Reolink records 24/7 and offers a lot more flexibility and user customization. Before I get into the full review I would like to say that I am extremely satisfied with this unit. Unlike other reviewers, my NVR is whisper quiet and makes no sound other than the sound of the hard disk drive writing its data. I have yet to hear a fan noise of any kind.Planning:The most time consuming process of this system (or any wired home video system) is mapping out and installing the wires. I opted not to use the included Ethernet cables which are around 60 feet each. I purchased a spool of Cat5E from the local hardware store for around 60.00 and this proved to be more than what I needed for my installation. After my Ethernet cables were run, hooking up the cameras was quite straight forward. Plug them in, tuck in the wires and snap them to the base. Done deal.Set Up:After running all of my Ethernet cables to the areas where I wanted to mount the cameras, I found that everything hooked up and worked seamlessly. Once a new camera is plugged in, the NVR automatically finds it and adds it. The only configurations I had to make were for custom motion zones and my alert preferences. This system is very much plug-n-play. Because these cameras are POE (Power Over Ethernet), there are no other cables required for use other than one single Cat5 cable per camera.Camera Quality:The cameras are heavy duty and feel well made. Video picture quality is crystal clear and is much better than the Ring products I replaced which were only 1080P and were very dark in my opinion. The Reolink cameras have very good night vision and can light up nearly all of my rear yard (about 75 feet deep). If you have any flood lights or lights near your doors, the Reolink cameras are able to pick up light so well that you can keep them in full color mode even at night. The included cameras all record audio (you can chose to turn this off if desired) and the microphones are crisp and clear. They are quite sensitive and I could pick up my neighbors voice from around 50 feet away.Motion alerts:This is one of the biggest features in the age of home video recording. If I am recording video, I want to be alerted when someone is on my property or at my front door. The Reolink handles this with ease. You can set custom motion zones for every individual camera. Once the zone is set, you can customize the sensitivity and also when and how you would like alerts to be pushed to you (e-mail, push alerts, alarm on the NVR). You can also set custom time blocks where you may want more or less motion sensitivity.. Alerts are pushed instantly and on the iPhone they arrived every time without any delay.Remote viewing from Windows, Mac & iOS:Most people are going to be using this system for real-time alerts on their cell phone or mobile device to know if there is motion at their home. So far this system has shined in this area. The Windows and Mac client offer the full suite of customizations where you can tweak every aspect of the cameras and settings. The iOS app has many of the same features but lack a few abilities such as drawing the custom motion zones. For viewing, the iOS app works great. Upon opening the app, it immediately gives you a live stream of your cameras as well as the audio stream of whichever camera you have selected.Playback and Recording:This took a little time to get used to. Coming from the Ring, I was accustomed to having separate videos for every motion event or every time I pressed Live View. The drawback with Ring was that the videos were not available immediately. They had to be recorded and then uploaded to the Ring server before you could tap on it and view them. Unlike Ring, the Reolink video is a continuous timeline which gets broken down into 1-hour long segments. It is fairly simple to locate the chunk of video you want to view however unless you know the exact time you are looking for, you have to scrub through until you find what you need (I have been told this will be addressed in a future firmware update which will allow going directly to a motion event on the timeline). On the NVR itself, you can easily search by Motion Events and it breaks it down very simply for you. On the remote viewing clients, this is not the case (or at least I have not found the feature as of yet). There is no Fast Forward or Rewind so be prepared to scrub through the videos. Once you know what time you want, saving a video is very simple. On iOS, it saves directly to the camera roll and the videos are crystal clear. While live viewing any camera, you can also tap the record button to make an instant video which will save to your camera roll after you press stop. Overall, I love the ability to remotely view and save video, but I feel it could use some added features to make it better.Conclusion:For the money, this system meets all of my expectations and then some. While it is chocked full of features, I would really like to see the company offer the ability to fast forward and rewind while reviewing video in ALL of the remote viewing platforms. The single feature which absolutely needs to be added to iOS, Mac and Windows Clients is the ability to see any motion events in the playback timeline (again, I was advised this is in the works in a firmware update which will be released soon). This way the user can easily skip to the portion of video that is most important to them. All things considered, I recommend this system to anyone looking to get a good video surveillance system for their home.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2020
I've had REOlink equipment for 3+ years now, and have waited until now to review after buying this latest system. Don't get me wrong, REOlink NVRs and computer/phone apps don't play well with other camera manufacturers and has caused me much grief over the years. But when using REOlink-ONLY equipment, their stuff is pretty bullet-proof. My latest system (NVR+8 cams) worked perfectly on the very first power-up.
I have 20 cameras now, everything from RLC-423WS, RLC-423, and C1pro PTZs, to RLC-511 zoom, to 4MP bullets, to 5MP turret cameras, multiple NVRs, blah-blah-blah. I've personally wired 2000ft of CAT6 PoE to most of my systems, snaking through walls, attics, soffit, and even buried a few hundred feet of conduit to get all of the cameras and NVRs as inconspicuous as possible.
That-said, here's the pros/cons to all of the REOlink stuff together, not just this item:
REOlink CONS:
- Doesn't play well with others
- I think their inclusion of RCA-audio, reset-button, and power-socket is STUPID for an external camera that is made to be PoE (power-over-ethernet). I have to heat-shrink-seal every single one of those connectors on outdoor cameras (that's 54-connections I've had to meticulously seal)
- Doesn't support HKvision encoding (used by virtually all of the doorbell cameras on the market)
- Technical support is hit-or-miss; 80% want you to go away, 20% want to help, 0% actually do help
- Both of my high-end recent cameras (RLC-423 and RLC-511) 4X-zoom cameras seem to have the same internal malfunction with focus... right-side is out of focus when zoomed-in and left-side is out of focus when zoomed-out
- Most of their bullet and turret cameras have great quality, but such a narrow field-of-view that its hard to find good mounting locations (they are too zoomed for 8'-12' range use, which I argue is what most houses have indoors and outside for mounting locations)
- Their motion-detection is based on pixels changing, not true motion-detection like Ring somehow accomplishes through infrared or other cameras with PIR-detection, so it is constantly going off for shadows and vegetation
- The UUID-setup is so simple that it makes internet-security very questionable... if I can sign in from my multiple devices, other countries probably can too
- Their cameras require you to turn on the active infrared-LEDs for nighttime use. They are NOT true nightvision like a passive FLIR would be. The problem with the infrared-LEDs is humans can see your camera and bugs are attracted to the lenses
- There are plenty of cameras on the market with more optical zoom. 4X is frankly not enough for me in most cases, and most of their outdoor cameras start off with too much zoom to begin-with (no wide angle)
REOlink PROS:
- Their stuff plays well with their own equipment, better than every camera company I've tried
- Their Apps magically work really well, whether on the same wifi-network or cellular or Internet-remote
- UUID setup of apps is effortless
- PoE setup of cameras with NVR is effortless, so are their WiFi cameras (as long as on same network)
- Cameras have really good control of bandwidth-type adjustments (frame size, frame rate, KB/s)
- Their motion-detection is fairly-decent; detects all movement (which is a pain with sun/shadow/bushes)
- Their cameras have internal memory slots, incase you want localized non-NVR playback capability
- I think their night-vision is actually pretty spectacular, but it requires the red-IR-LEDs to be on (and visible)
- All of their stored videos have .MP4 codecs compatible with Quicktime and PC/Mac operating systems
- All of their systems (NVR, phone, computer-MAC, computer-PC) work the same way, set-up is the same
- I've had some cameras outside for 3+ years and they have held-up well to rain and sun
I wish their customer / technical service people were more capable. Every time I talked or emailed them, it felt like I was speaking to an intermediary... like they weren't the company that actually designed the hardware. Frankly, I'd pay more and be more pro-REOlink if they gave a crap. Their ultimate response is basically always the same: our stuff works together and if you want to try something else, don't call us. And basically, they're right.
I have 20 cameras now, everything from RLC-423WS, RLC-423, and C1pro PTZs, to RLC-511 zoom, to 4MP bullets, to 5MP turret cameras, multiple NVRs, blah-blah-blah. I've personally wired 2000ft of CAT6 PoE to most of my systems, snaking through walls, attics, soffit, and even buried a few hundred feet of conduit to get all of the cameras and NVRs as inconspicuous as possible.
That-said, here's the pros/cons to all of the REOlink stuff together, not just this item:
REOlink CONS:
- Doesn't play well with others
- I think their inclusion of RCA-audio, reset-button, and power-socket is STUPID for an external camera that is made to be PoE (power-over-ethernet). I have to heat-shrink-seal every single one of those connectors on outdoor cameras (that's 54-connections I've had to meticulously seal)
- Doesn't support HKvision encoding (used by virtually all of the doorbell cameras on the market)
- Technical support is hit-or-miss; 80% want you to go away, 20% want to help, 0% actually do help
- Both of my high-end recent cameras (RLC-423 and RLC-511) 4X-zoom cameras seem to have the same internal malfunction with focus... right-side is out of focus when zoomed-in and left-side is out of focus when zoomed-out
- Most of their bullet and turret cameras have great quality, but such a narrow field-of-view that its hard to find good mounting locations (they are too zoomed for 8'-12' range use, which I argue is what most houses have indoors and outside for mounting locations)
- Their motion-detection is based on pixels changing, not true motion-detection like Ring somehow accomplishes through infrared or other cameras with PIR-detection, so it is constantly going off for shadows and vegetation
- The UUID-setup is so simple that it makes internet-security very questionable... if I can sign in from my multiple devices, other countries probably can too
- Their cameras require you to turn on the active infrared-LEDs for nighttime use. They are NOT true nightvision like a passive FLIR would be. The problem with the infrared-LEDs is humans can see your camera and bugs are attracted to the lenses
- There are plenty of cameras on the market with more optical zoom. 4X is frankly not enough for me in most cases, and most of their outdoor cameras start off with too much zoom to begin-with (no wide angle)
REOlink PROS:
- Their stuff plays well with their own equipment, better than every camera company I've tried
- Their Apps magically work really well, whether on the same wifi-network or cellular or Internet-remote
- UUID setup of apps is effortless
- PoE setup of cameras with NVR is effortless, so are their WiFi cameras (as long as on same network)
- Cameras have really good control of bandwidth-type adjustments (frame size, frame rate, KB/s)
- Their motion-detection is fairly-decent; detects all movement (which is a pain with sun/shadow/bushes)
- Their cameras have internal memory slots, incase you want localized non-NVR playback capability
- I think their night-vision is actually pretty spectacular, but it requires the red-IR-LEDs to be on (and visible)
- All of their stored videos have .MP4 codecs compatible with Quicktime and PC/Mac operating systems
- All of their systems (NVR, phone, computer-MAC, computer-PC) work the same way, set-up is the same
- I've had some cameras outside for 3+ years and they have held-up well to rain and sun
I wish their customer / technical service people were more capable. Every time I talked or emailed them, it felt like I was speaking to an intermediary... like they weren't the company that actually designed the hardware. Frankly, I'd pay more and be more pro-REOlink if they gave a crap. Their ultimate response is basically always the same: our stuff works together and if you want to try something else, don't call us. And basically, they're right.
Images in this review
