Anyone used a GadSpot DVR?

[acheslow]

I've been looking around for a dedicated network-capable DVR to replace my PC video surveillance system and just found this GadSpot GS760 for $169 (w/out hard drive):

http://www.gadspot.com/product_info.php?products_id=84

This almost seems too good to be true. I read through the owner's manual and it looks like it does everything I need (motion detection, email alerts, etc), and I found a few places where people had good things to say about the GadSpot cameras, but I haven't read any reviews of their DVRs.

Does anyone have any experience with these?

Thanks,

 

[electron]

Looks pretty interesting for sure. Keep us posted!

 

[wfernley]

I usually don't like to recommend Gadspot products. Their tech support is very hard to get a hold of. I have contacted their company probably about 10 times now and not once have I got a reply. I usually contact them about their IP cameras and not their DVR's. Sorry, I'm not trying to say not go with them, that is just my experience

Please do post how it works out though, I am very interested as well.

 

[acheslow]

I decided to take a chance and just ordered the DVR. Without cables or a hard drive it came to $179 with shipping to Seattle. I'll let you know how it works after I get a chance to play with it.

 

[acheslow]

Quick update... so far I'm pleased with the ordering process. I had placed my order on Sunday afternoon and by Monday morning had a couple of confirmation emails. On Monday afternoon I received a Fedex shipment notification with my tracking number showing that delivery is expected for tomorrow (Thursday).

Before I ordered I had a quick chat with a support rep through the LivePerson service on their website. I was impressed that someone was available and actually helpful on the weekend.

I'm still very sceptical that this thing can do everything it says it can for <$180 but I am anxious to find out for sure. The user's manual even documents a serial protocol to control it remotely so I'm hoping that I can integrate it with my Elk either directly or through my PC.

 

[wfernley]

Sounds good :blink:

Let me know how it goes. I should probably give their tech support team a call and get to know them a bit. I wouldn't mind getting some contacts there so I can better support Gadspot products on this site and my own.

 

[bronzemaxell]

Sounds good

Let me know how it goes. I should probably give their tech support team a call and get to know them a bit. I wouldn't mind getting some contacts there so I can better support Gadspot products on this site and my own.

I bought from them 3 times so far with in a month, first, i bought a 4ch network dvr, no hd. and on blackfriday, i bought a 200gb for $19 from staples, put it in, and works fine, i have bought a wireless cctv day/nite camera last year, but picture not too great, so i ordered a GS232 outdoor dvr camera from gadspot again, the gadspot camera is very clear, day and nite shot are excellent, in compare to my wireless camera, then i decide order a wide lense GS308 and a regular lense GS308 to try out. i never contact the tech support yet, as there is no need for me yet, and the 4 ch dvr is made in mainland china, looks cheap, feels cheap in term of quality, but works, can't complain much. my company bought a 16 ch dvr for $5000 or $6000 early this year, ebays sell similar 4ch network model for nearly $400, can't compare the price to mine, i think the picture quality get only as good as the camera can capture, everything else just digital fomatted.
and i can remotely control, view live and playback via internet, it seems the internet can only view 3 or 4 fps, doesn't matter on 100mps lan or internet.
one thing i found is there is a VGA port in the back, with a plastic cap cover it, i'ved tried to plug a regular vga monitor with a gender changer adaptor to it, the DVR light on front panel shut off, looks like frozen, so if that vga port not function, why bother puting one there.
spec said one hard drive, but i think if i use the thin drive, i may able to squeeze two hard drive in the unit, and the system detects master hdd and slave hdd at startup anyway, so i don't think the system will have problem recognize a 2nd hard drive.
oh one more thing, sometime, i wish it comes with a remote.

 

[acheslow]

So I opened up the DVR today as an xmas present to myself. I popped in an old 120GB ATA drive I had laying around, powered up, and was pleasantly surprised to see that everything worked very simply just the way I hoped it would. The configuration options are fairly plentiful but I had it up and running with my four cameras, motion detection, email/ftp alerts, and internet streaming in less than an hour.

Feature-wise this does everything I need it to. The main potential downside is that the performance is not stellar. It's definitely good enough for me but it will top out at only 2-3 fps over the web. Also, it's very nice that you can access the on-screen configuration menus through the web interface but there is about 7-8 seconds between each key press and response, so it takes a lot of patience to remotely administer the box.

If anyone wants to test drive the web server I'd be happy to setup a temp account if you PM me.

 

[acheslow]

P.S. It looks like the GS760 model has been replaced by the model GS1800. I can't tell what the difference is between the two models except that the GS1800 is $80 more (but on sale for just $40 more).

 

[electron]

I am surprised that it is that slow. Do you have any screenshots of the UI? How well does it handle motion detection?

 

[acheslow]

The user's manual has some screenshots and a good overview of the functions:

http://www.gadspot.com/download/GS760/Engl...Manual_V1.0.pdf

The motion detection works well for me. You can use either an external trigger or the internal video-based motion detection. In addition to triggering a record event it can send an email, upload images via FTP, and/or trigger an external contact closure. Each camera can be indepdently configured with its own sensitivity (four different settings per camera) and area masks. You can also restrict motion detection to specific days and/or times.

I tweaked a couple of the sensitivy settings and so far it seems to be working very reliably.

 

[pete32]

Hey have you tried the systema outside? I mean, motion detection triggers lots of false alarms when used outside. It ' usually because of rain, wind, trees ...

 

[acheslow]

Yes, I am getting some false triggers although I haven't had the time to fully tweak the motion settings. For my needs this is fine since it just triggers an extra minute of recording but these are easy enough to skip over with up to 32x rew/ff.

I have noticed a few small issues with the DVR since I've gotten into it more but for the price I'm still very happy overall.

 

[batwater]

I am looking at purchasing this personally as well as recommending to 2 friends, if you had it to do all over would you still purchase this equipment?

How has your experience been with the cameras now that you have had them for a while?

Thanks

Ben

 

[gcimmino]

The user's manual has some screenshots and a good overview of the functions:

http://www.gadspot.com/download/GS760/Engl...Manual_V1.0.pdf

Interesting that they appear to have taken down docs on their old products..