Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera

Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera – how easy to install?

Amcrest Security Systems allow you to watch what you love and cover every angle of your home or business. It’s equipped with multiple features such as night vision, motion detection alerts, live-streaming and a pre-installed 1TB HDD to store your UltraHD footage. The Swann’s professional-quality DVR security system detects moving warm objects, like people and cars, triggering recording and push notifications so you can act immediately to prevent unwanted activity. With reliable notifications and fewer false triggers, you’ll save time and stress. With Swann Smart Search technology, you can select a specific area of the image to search for movement within recordings. Do they detect animal and objects – Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera?

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Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera
Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera

Pros & Cons

Armcrest

Pros

  • Expandable storage
  • USB backup
  • High resolution
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Lifetime support
  • 1-year warranty

Cons

  • Minimal pre-installed storage
  • Fewer channels

Swann

Pros

  • Good company reputation
  • 90° view angle
  • Night vision up to 100 feet

Cons

  • Shorter cables than the rest of the CCTV systems in this article
  • Inconsistent customer experience

Specifications – Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera

Amcrest Model: AMDV40M4-4B-B
DVR FEATURES :
4-Channel UltraHD 4-Megapixel Video Security Camera System.4-Megapixel 4-CH Pentrabrid DVR, Supports HDCVI, AHD, TVI, CVBS and IP Video Units.Easy Smartphone (iOS/Android) & Web-browser Access (MAC & PC) / VGA & HDMI Output.Backup to External Storage via USB.Pre-Installed 1TB Hard Drive (Supports up to 8TB Hard Drive).


CAMERA FEAUTURES :

4-Megapixel (2688 x 1440) 4MP Plastic Bullet Cameras4MP, 2688 x 1440 @30fps103° Viewing AngleIP67 Weatherproof Rating12 Powerful IR-LEDs for Night VisionDimensions: 6.37 x 2.75 x 2.75 inches.

Swann SWDVK-845804V

  • Item Weight 2.75 pounds
  • Product Dimensions 8.3 x 9.1 x 1.8 inches
  • Item model number SWDVK-845804V-US
  • Size 8 Ch | 4 Bullet Cameras
  • Color 1080p Bullet Security Camera System
  • Style 1080p
  • Pattern Security System
  • Item Package Quantity 1
  • Plug Profile Wall Mount
  • Included Components Cameras, DVR, cables, manuals, quick start guide
  • Batteries Included? No
  • Batteries Required? No
  • Warranty Description 12 months

Brief on manufacturer

Amcrest

Foscam US re-branded themselves as Amcrest Technologies in early 2016. Foscam US (Foscam Digital Technologies) used to be an independent distributor for the Chinese manufacturer/supplie Foscam Shenzhen. However in 2016, the Chinese supplier allegedly started undercutting Foscam US. Foscam US says they had no choice but to cut all ties with Foscam Shenzhen and go it alone as Amcrest Technologies.

Swann

Swann was created by David Swann way back in 1987 in his family garage in Australia. David grew the business to its international presence across 40 countries. In 2014, Swann was bought by the American surveillance equipment manufacturer Infinova Group which is headquartered in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, USA. The $87.5 million deal saw Swann gaining access to the high-end industrial sector. 

Features comparison – Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera

ONVIF

Amcrest IP cameras are capable of standalone independent operation without an NVR, wheras Lorex IP cameras cannot.

Amcrest has always made cameras that are capable of standalone operation. This means you do not need an NVR to make the camera work. That’s right they have the built-in NVR functionality just like Hikvision, Dahua and Reolink do. They can also detect motion, record video clips to a microSD card, send email and push notifications, even upload to an FTP server.

Swann cameras do not have onbaord storage either. So they are also incapable of standalone operation. Moreover, Swann has decided not to enable ONVIF on their cameras. So you are forced to use a Swann NVR if you want to buy their IP cameras. This is the main reason that we at VueVille do not recommend Swann for DIY security camera enthusiasts. Swann’s ideology is 100% against the ethos of openness and inter-operability that I champion here at VueVille.

Night vision – Amcrest vs Swann

The Amcrest has a substantially wider viewing angle of 112°. On to low light performance. While most IP cameras are good in daylight, night-time performance is what separates the men from the boys. The Amcrest camera has only standard black and white infrared night vision. But the minimum illumination required is impressive, 0.06Lux without IR and 0Lux with IR on.

The Swann cameras have only standard black and white Infrared night vision. However, the floodlights on the Swann are bright enough to switch the day/night sensor to day mode and provide colour vision. Just don’t count on being able to capture much detail this way though.

So far we see the Swann lagging behind a bit. But watch out – Swann has a few nifty features that Lorex doesn’t: a PIR sensor, on-board floodlight LEDs, an on-board microphone and built-in speaker! Swann uses the heat-sensing PIR sensor to power its TrueDetect feature which can reduce false alerts. A good touch and a rare one too!

Sensor

Both the Amcrest and Swann cameras have a nice large 1/2.5″ progressive scan CMOS sensor. This is even better than Reolink’s which has a slightly smaller 1/2.7″ sensor. Amcrest uses a Sony Starvis CMOS sensor. Swann doesn’t provide any specifications for its image sensor.

Mobile apps – Amcrest vs Swann

The Swann NVR uses the “swann home safe” app which allows for easy live view, but only in a distorted 4:3 format, and the playback feature is similar to the clunky channel based search system you’d find on the NVR, which is far from ideal.  There is no option to save recorded video from the app into your camera roll though you can record clips of the live view directly into the app, but I’m not really sure when that would be useful.

The Amcrest NVR uses Amcrest View Pro, which has a very similar user interface to the Swann NVR, but with slightly more polish.  You still need to search recorded footage by date and NVR channel, but you do have the option to record that footage to the camera roll and every feature of the app seemed to work flawlessly.

Installation

The Amcrest cameras that come with the kit are turret style, well designed, easy to mount and aiming is done with a single set screw like most turret cameras.  For mounting, one point each for Amcrest and Reolink, zero points for Swann, in fact the experience was so bad that I’m tempted to take a point away from Swann’s total score.

Customer reviews – Amcrest vs Swann Home surveillance camera

Great System For The Price
Size: AMDV40M4 w/ HDDColor: 4 CH DVR, 4 Bullets w/ 1TB HDD (Black)

 I’m reviewing this surveillance system as someone who has never installed or used one before, so if you’re new to this like I was, this may help you. If you are looking for a quick review, just scroll to the section labeled “Verdict.”

Out Of The Box:

I was immediately impressed by how well made everything appeared to be. The cameras have a solid body that feels pretty sturdy and the DVR box is made of metal. You get most of what you need to successfully install this system, as well as some extras. However, you will need a 6ft ladder, a powerful drill, a 1/2 inch paddle bit, and a Phillips head bit. If you cannot reach the area you will be mounting the camera to from inside your attic, you will need a wire pulling rod. Each camera included the hardware and allen wrenches you need to install them. Four 60ft cables are included as well as the power supply for all four cameras and the DVR box. You also get four stickers to stick on your windows letting everyone know your house is under 24 hour surveillance.

Installation:

I installed these on the underside of my roof, aka the soffit. If you have never had to run cable through your attic, this part can be a bit frustrating. If you have, I’m sure it will be no big deal. I had a few hiccups throughout the installation, but they were mostly operator error (like running the cables backwards or stripping the screws). Just make sure you have a plan of action and don’t just try to install these on a whim. I recommend doing this with a friend.

Take your half inch paddle bit, your drill, and your ladder around your house, and drill holes into the soffit where you plan on mounting your cameras. Attach the end of the cable with the female power adapter to one end of your wire pulling rod and poke it through the hole you drilled, the male adapter should be on the outside of your house. Pull the wire through your attic until the adapters on the outside are about 6 inches from the hole. Route the female end of the cables to wherever you plan to have your DVR box (I just drilled a 1/2 inch hole through my office ceiling). Take your cameras outside and connect them to the cables that are now hanging from your soffit. Be sure to position your cameras properly before drilling them into place. After drilling your cameras into place, connect the cables inside your house to the back of the DVR and to the power supply. Make sure you have a monitor or a TV plugged into the DVR with either and HDMI cable or a VGA. Plug everything in, go through the setup using the mouse that is included, and you’re ready to go.

Operation:

The DVR includes a mouse and a remote to make your way through the menus with. The interface has a bit of a learning curve so be sure to click around and mess with options to get to know everything better. You can schedule your cameras to record constantly, only when there is motion, or not at all. I used the motion settings at first, but after missing a few things, I set it to record constantly. The only real issue I have had so far is that, on playback, the screen is black and no video plays. This persisted until I rebooted the system, but rebooting takes about 30 seconds and solves the issue entirely so it’s not a huge deal. You can save your videos to a USB drive and transfer them to your PC pretty easily, but they will be in .avi format but you can just convert them to mp4 or to whatever file type you need.

Verdict:

Overall, this is a great system with great video quality that does its job perfectly. The interface can be a bit confusing, but after taking some time to explore and learn, it becomes second nature. I don’t think you can beat this system for the price. I’ve included a short video showcasing daytime recordings, night recordings with a light source, and night recordings with no light source. I hope this review is able to help you with your decision.
By Amazon Reviewer on Amcrest
Great picture, install was as expected, remote access is great and no monthly subscription.

Color: 1080p Bullet Security Camera System Pattern Name: Security System

I have rated this as easy to install as if you are not OCD about visible wires etc this is a very easy kit to install. If like me you want to hide all wires and place this at 4 points under the eaves of a 2 storey house then this will take some amount of heartache!

I spent a good amount of time planning my install. The most important thing is where to put your DVR box. Once you know that you can decide on the distance from the box to each camera and make sure you have enough wire from dvr to the camera. You can also ensure that you can get an ethernet cable to the box(if you want remote access from a phone/pc).

You will need some DIY expertise to run wires cleanly and safely if routing through an attic space/eaves etc. I added a wired ethernet connection from the ground floor to the first floor of my house but a powerline adaptor could be used for this.

You will need some technical expertise to open ports and forward external connections to your DVR IP address on your internet router if you want remote access. Generic information on doing this is available in the manual and online, but it is vital for access remotely.

Although quite a bit of expertise is needed to install this and get it operating as you require, it is a fantastic piece of kit and the required work was expected.

In terms of picture quality it is exactly as expected and required. The alarm notifications for certain areas of each camera picture work brilliantly, as does the motion and PIR detection.

One of my favourite things about this install is the fact that there is no third party involved in connection to your DVR remotely. As long as its powered on and online, you are connecting directly to this and not to a website that then connects to your dvr. Even if the support for this model is discontinued, the previous apps will always give you access to the dvr remotely. This is fantastic when compared to subscription based services that could change or discontinue products and deny access to old equipment.
By Amazon Reviewer on Swann

Editor’s recommendations