I love it when I get gadgets in the post to review, last week I received the Swann USB 2.0 DVR Guardian.
The USB 2.0 DVR Guardian is a video capture device that hooks up to your PC or laptop, it has four composite video inputs, which allows you to run up to four different cameras at once, ideal if you want to protect your home without shelling out a lot of cash.
It comes with software which manages the unit and the cameras, and the software is pretty good with a lot of features which lets you adjust the settings like brightness and contrast on each individual camera, you can also watch all four cameras simultaneously.
You can choose where you want your video to be recorded so if you have a NAS attached to your PC you can save it there. The coolest thing about the DVR Guardian is the motion detection feature which can be set up on one for all of the cameras, you can also set up a recording schedule of when you want the cameras to record.
The best feature on the DVR Guardian has to be the remote function, all you need to do is check a few setting on teh software and your PC is an instant video streaming server. I tried this feature out and checked it from work and I have to admit it is pretty impressive, I was able to log in from the Internet and see what was going on around my home via the live feed and you can also watch recorded footage as well, this could be a particularly useful feature if you travel abroad a lot and want to keep an eye on things.
Overall the Swann USB 2.0 DVR Guardian is a great solution to home security, and at £89.99 you cant really go wrong, add a few cameras and you have yourself a cheap but very extensive home surveillance setup.
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