Swann – Enforcer 8-Channel, 4-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wired 4K UHD 2TB DVR Security Camera Surveillance System – White

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REVIEW: Swann – Enforcer™ 8-Channel, 6-Camera Indoor/Outdoor Wired 4K UHD 2TB DVR Surveillance System – White
Model: SWDVK-85680W6RL-US
Best Buy Tech Insider Network
SUMMARY:
I have been deploying security cameras for about 15 years at home, our local homeowner’s association, my office and for family. I am not in the industry, but I have probably deployed 6 different systems.
I have always been skeptical about these “all in one bundles”. I think however I can say now they seem to have grown up to be capable units. There is lots to like about this unit, and not much to complain about. While not at the same level as professional grade equipment (costing 4x to 10x more), it does a good to very good job covering most casual needs. This is about as “turn key” as you can get. Plug everything in, turn it on, you are in business for basic monitoring. It also supports many advanced features that you can optionally expose and utilize if needed.
I would recommend this package for anyone who wants to deploy something quickly without having to source each part out individually, and without breaking the bank. I have no hesitancy recommending this package, at this price point, especially for indoor use. You won’t find anything less expensive that is worthwhile. My only concern is that everything feels cheap and lightweight. There is even a giant warning sticker on the DVR “don’t put anything heavy on the DVR”. This summarizes my feelings about it overall. Again, there is nothing functionally wrong, it all works, it just feels cheap.
UNBOXING: (see picture)
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
Everything was protected, but it also seems somewhat loosely tossed into the boxes. The important things like the cameras and DVR are well protected, but cables, screws, power supplies, etc are mostly floating around loose. As mentioned above everything felt very lightweight and inexpensive. I think the focus is on cost (which is OK). For example, what is the cheapest cable we can bundle that will do the job vs, what is a cable that will last 20 years once installed. Again, that is OK.
Here is one simple example. The internal hard drive is a 2 TB Seagate Skyhawk LITE. Seagate Skyhawk’s have impressive quality and are optimized for security cameras. At first, I was very impressed that it had a Skyhawk drive. But I’d never heard of “LITE”. It seems to be a budget version (reduced specs and performance) sold primarily in India. Again, there is nothing wrong with this drive. For $10-$30 more I would have rather had a “regular” Skyhawk drive. If the focus is low cost, this is a good way to save money on each unit made and probably won’t impact performance. The Skyhawk drives are rated for about 60 devices and the LITE for about 30 devices (cameras). This DVR only supports 8 devices, so it is well within specs.
INITIAL SETUP / TIPS:
Here is where the SWANN shines. You can’t hook it up wrong there is only one way everything will connect together. I simply connected all the cables and power and video and turned it on, and instantly it all worked. There were some areas of advanced configuration that could have been easier or more intuitive, but it was not bad at all. I am confident that just about anyone without any technical experience, beyond turning on and configuring a laptop for the first time would have no problems with this system. The hardest part of any security system is running cables in a wall.
TIP: NO WIFI
As far as I can tell the unit does not have WIFI although some of the menus seem to indicate that on some units WIFI is an option. OK if you are trying to keep costs down, don’t include a $5 WIFI chip in the unit. It took me while to work around this topic. First, I had to connect the DVR to a wired network (back of router), and then get it all working. I had an extra WIFI to Ethernet adapter in my boxes of computer junk in my basement. This device connects to a WIFI network then bridges the WIFI down to a physical cable. Once I got that bridge working, I was able to move the DVR anywhere I had signal. So expect to spend an extra $50 on a WIFI-Ethernet Device if you need WIFI connectivity. Technically you don’t need it on a network other than TIME SYNC and remote viewing from the phone APP.
TIP: LIMITED WINDOWS / REMOTE CONTROL / SUPPORT
This is a dedicated DVR for SECURITY, it is not designed to be operated and managed remotely. It is meant to be sitting on a shelf with a TV/Monitor attached (Think of a small self contained solution in a gas station for example). This means you have to be careful where you plan to install the unit as it will be there for good once you run the cables, and you have to be able to get to it physically to do anything advanced. There is a windows app on the SWAN website, it does not list this model as a supported model, but it does seem to work. It gives you some basic viewing and capturing capability, but not full advanced functionality as if you are sitting in front of the DVR itself. So, expect to spend $100-$200 on a dedicated TV for daily use (vs just launching an app on an existing PC). The phone app works well for quick viewing and motion alerts.
TIP: NO KEYBOARD SUPPORT
While the DVR software does a good job of integrating mouse control, with the included mouse, it is still a pain to type in long complex passwords several times each session with a mouse. I tried plugging in a keyboard to one of the spare USB ports and it was not recognized.
TIP: NOT MUCH HELP ON SCREEN
As you start to try more advanced features, you are at the mercy of your wit and the people who defined the interface (or maybe read the manual). One example is scheduling for full time recording vs event recording. Here you paint the schedule grid yellow or green (or both) based on what you want. I only knew to paint the schedule because my other DVR system works the same way. But to took me 10 minutes or so to realize the “KEY” of yellow and green dots was more than a key, it was also a selection tool. So click on the green dot to paint green. Click on the Yellow dot pain yellow. Or, on some screens you can right click the mouse to unlock advanced features. As I as I said, you can just plug it all in and turn it all on and it all works. It is really the advanced features that take some time and work to reason out. For the record, in my experience, “ALL DVR SOFTWARE IS CLUNKY” and always has been. The easy stuff is intuitive, the advance stuff is clunky. This is not worse or better than any other DVR system I have ever used.
TIP: FIRMWARE UPDATE ERRORS
Normally when I first get a new device the first thing I do is to update the firmware. When you try to upgrade the firmware it gives what seems to be a server or network error. I think the real issue it that there is no new firmware for this device. I looked all over the SWANN website and this firmware is newer than anything that is on their website. It also does not list this model (too new or Best Buy Exclusive?). This makes me a little nervous as their support website is a bit of a mess.
IMAGE QUALITY:
My existing camera system is about 4 years old and is a network based system (vs a dedicated head end like this system). My existing cameras are 3MP vs the SWANN 8MP(?) cameras. In theory then the SWANN camera pictures should be about 2-3 times better, clearer, sharper. For comparison, my home system cost about $2800 for 6 cameras, 4TB storage. I plan to use the SWANN at my office since we have an unstaffed front lobby and I wanted to give the staff some piece of mind if they are working late or early about who is coming into the office or ringing the buzzer. I set up the cameras side by side and took snapshots at various times of the day. (See pics). For the most part, the images were about the same. Sometimes the SWANN was a touch better, sometime the SWANN was a touch worse. This is good news that for this price point, you can get good quality images. However, 4K did not really make much of a difference compared to my older non-4K cameras. NOTE: The maximum frames per second at 4K are only 8 FPS on SWANN. (Normal TV video is usually at least 30 FPS)
FEATURES:
This has everything I could think of for advanced features: Scheduled Recordings, Motion Detection, Scheduled Snapshots, Email Alerts, Alarms, Sirens, Audio Recording. I like the lights on the cameras that can be “on” or “triggered”. I liked that the cameras supported PIR to better identify people as motion instead of a tree or flag blowing in the wind. It has advanced analysis modes so you can fine tune motion detection. You can black out areas you don’t want recorded. You can set motion detection in only a certain area. As far as features go, I could not find anything that was not there.
SUMMARY:
I think this is 100% perfect for a small self-contained office or building like a gas station or retail store or small carry out restaurant. Home use is good so long as you can place the device where a 30 foot cable to the unit can reach the camera. Maybe, for example, you put the DVR in your garage and just have cameras around the outside of the garage pointing at various locations. I’m sure you can buy or build longer cables, but at some point, you start to lose the advantage of an all in one bundle.
It is easy to use, easy to set up, and the image quality is pretty good.

Initial thoughts:
If you’re in the market for a wired all in one security system that is fairly easy to install and has no monthly fees then this may be the system for you. Also, this is NOT a wireless system, there are wires connected to each camera.
What’s in the box??
-8 Channel DVR with 2TB Hard Drive
-4K Heat and Motion-Sensing enforcer Cams (6 of them)
-BNC Extension Cables that are 60ft long EACH (6 of them)
-Ethernet cable
-HDMI cable
-Power cables (There are 3 total you will need to plug in) and splitters (2)
-Mouse(wired)
-Mounting Screws and Plugs
-Quick Start Guide
-Theft deterrent Stickers along with a number if you want to have it professionally installed.
SETUP:
Ok, not going to lie the hardest part was actually choosing where to place the cameras. For me that was toughest part, as I live in a 3 story home. For those of you that are handy and live in a single story, getting in attic and dropping lines may be easier. Once you get your camera lines ran and hook them all up to the main unit, then attach your HDMI cable to from the main unit to your monitor (and if you have access to the internet close by hook up your ethernet cable) plug in the power cord and Viola! From there it will take you through a setup process. Oh and one more thing is don’t forget to hook up the mouse so you can navigate through the on screen menus. One side note is that I tried to plug in a USB keyboard to use instead of clicking but it would not work! Using the mouse wasn’t that difficult truth be told. The setup wizard takes about 12-15 minutes to complete. Then you have access to control how and what you want your cameras to. Once you finish your setup you can access all the camera features. There is no real guide and you have to just play around with all the menus and buttons. Just a note if you manually turn on the sirens, they do get pretty loud.
The App:
So, let’s talk about the app, everyone wants to monitor their home from their phone these days. To get started I have an IOS device and I just scanned the QR code that was on my monitor screen and it takes you right to the app store to install it. If you have installed an app before then you know it comes with the usual questions such as notifications. Once you have the app downloaded and signed in you can do what we all do with our home automation apps. Now if you are expecting 4K UHD and real time from these images you will be let down. The images were pixelated but you could see well enough. You can also access your stored images and video (playback) there is also a user manual in there. If you are smart phone savvy you will have no issue moving around in the app. One last note on the app, I found that there was a 12-15 second delay from real-time.
Picture Quality:
Picture quality on my 4K monitor was nothing short of amazing. I thought that it did very well in bright light and in low light situations. I have another camera that struggles with really bright outside lights but these cameras did an excellent job at keeping the colors correct. Clear and concise(especially on a 4K monitor) nothing more to say.
PRO’s:
-No monthly charges/free recording up to 2TB
-Wired, so you set and forget
-Weatherproof Cameras
-4K UHD
-Night vision(up to 130ft) with color(up to 32ft)
-Smartphone Control
-Flashing lights and sirens to deter intruers
CON’s:
– Self install can be difficult if you are not handy
-Lack of instructions on how to use the camera interface on the monitor
-App could use some work and polish
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I feel that this product worked very well and I would recommend this to a friend if they are in the market for device like this.

After installing and using the Swann Enforcer system I have found the overall system performs fairly well but there are some shortcomings especially in the mobile app. Below I have tried to list out everything that I really liked about this set up as well as the items that I felt were problematic. This system uses analog cameras and bnc cables – old school cctv, the downside is they aren’t as flexible as most of the newer digital wireless cameras or even ethernet based wired camera systems (NVRs) but on the plus side this system is far less expensive. One thing to keep in mind when looking at these 4k camera systems is that the resolution you see on your phone app is not 4k. What you see on your phone is the substream video at a far lower resolution. The actual default resolution sent to the mobile device is 362×240 with a max resolution of 704×480. Quite a difference from the 4k resolution of 3840×2160 which is the mainstream video that is stored on the DVR. Because the mobile device’s screens are small the image is still quite sharp even at the lower resolutions. To actually gain all the benefit of the 4k cameras you need to be looking at 4k monitor attached to the DVR via an hdmi cable. Also when recording in 4k the frames per second fps drop to 8 which means the image can be very choppy when viewing anything that is moving fast. If you lower the camera resolution to HD 1980×1080 you can then record at 15 fps so it’s a trade off of resolution vs frames per second. Luckily Swann gives you the ability to vary each camera’s resolution and frames per second so you can configure the cameras to meet your requirements.
What I liked about the system:
– Swann provides good documentation on getting the system initialized and its relatively straight forward. If you don’t feel comfortable installing the cameras and system Swann also provides information on how to contact professionals to do the installation.
– The information provided for configuring the cameras within the DVR application is fairly comprehensive and the downloaded manual offers even more details. I highly recommend looking at the manual and checking out on line videos for additional help.
– The 4k video images are clear and there are options to help enhance the image quality.
– The Motion detection worked well and setting up the motion detection zones were easy.
– Setting up alerts and email notifications was simple and they work really well.
– The Enforcer alarm and blinking lights definitely draw attention when set off.
– The night vision is bright and clear but not very colorful under normal night lighting.
– The mobile app was easy to use but its slow opening and buggy as explained below.
– Swann uses “modes” which allow you to set up different configurations for home, night and away.
– The camera head can be rotated and angled on the mount to meet nearly any type of installation.
– No additional cost since the video is recorded and saved locally on the hard drive.
What I don’t like about the system:
– The mobile app takes a long time to fully load. First you get the Swann home page and spinning wheel, then you get an image of a DVR and the spinning wheel, then you get camera icons and the spinning wheel then eventually you get your camera images. The app usually takes between 15 to 30 seconds to display images. This is using an Iphone 12 pro on my home wi-fi network using the default substream of 360×240 resolution. Comparatively another wired system I own takes 5 seconds consistently to load. Both my wireless doorbell and wireless outside camera take about 15 seconds to activate and load images so the Swann app is the slowest.
– The mobile app doesn’t work correctly on all settings. Using the app I configured a camera’s motion detection and hit save. When I went back to check the setting I found that it is back to the default setting with no explanation as to why. Because of this issue I do all my configuration directly in the DVR.
– The mobile app doesn’t include all the options that are available in the main DVR configuration page nor does it match or mimic DVR configuration screens.
– The cameras have a small viewing angle of 90 degrees. Many of todays newer cameras have a 130 degree or more viewing angle which means they see a wider view of what is in front of it.
– These cameras use BNC type cables with Siamese power taps and they can be a pain to run through the house. The cables provided are approved for in wall use so you cannot expose the cable or connections to the outside environment.
– The supplied wired mouse is cheap and limits the distance you can sit from the controller.
– There is not a pc app that works with this model. I tried to get the Swann Home Safe View app to work on my windows pc but it does not recognize the DVR. When I checked the Swan support page it does not show the DVR8-5680X as being compatible with the Home Safe View app.
– The mounting hardware and the screws to lock the camera head to the mount are cheap and you can strip out the heads without much force.
– There is not an all camera Alarm On/Off setting in the Mobile App. There are times when I would like to be able to Arm or Unarm all the cameras at once with a single button without having to use one the three mode settings. It does have a Do Not Disturb but that is not the same as being able to arm/unarm all the cameras with a single button.
– The cameras do not have microphones so they do not record any audio.

Included in the box: 6 cameras, The main DVR console with a 2TB Hard Drive, all the cables, screws and power adapter you will need, including an optical mouse (more than that in a moment)
Digital Video Recorder: All of the cameras connect to the DVR, and you can connect the DVR to any TV, or monitor using different cables such as the included HDMI cable. You can also use a VGA cable that most older monitors support. As mentioned before, this particular system comes with 6 cameras but two more can be added for a total of 8.
Packaging: Everything is packaged well and is easy to find what you are looking for in one of the three cardboard “briefcases” comes inside the box.
Wired vs Wireless: There is always a trade-off between wired and wireless cameras, wireless cameras need batteries while wired cameras obviously need a wire going to them and for that you have to spend some time running the cables through your house or place of business. This security system uses wires but Swann took advantage of the continuous power by including a built-in speaker onto the camera as well as Sensor Spotlights, Police-style flashing light where they will definitely get the attention of an intruder…..
If that doesn’t work then each camera is equipped with a siren, where when activated will emit a very loud high-pitched sound. Each camera comes with it’s own stand as well that can pretty much be installed anywhere with the included screws.
Operating System: The DVR comes with a mouse included, A mouse is needed to navigate through the Windows OS STYLE menus. Everything could be as simple as connecting everything and just powering on the DVR, or as complicated as Setting the record time lenghts whenever the cameras sense moving. whether or not the spotlight and or the police-style flashing lights come on when if it detects an intruder (you can also manually turn them on if you wish to do so to scare away an intruder even if they haven’t tripped the cameras, toggle night vision on or off, sensitivity of the cameras, resolution etc… there is a lot here to learn and play with if you choose to do so.
4K: This Enforcer security system supports 4K resolution for life viewing, you obviously need a 4K TV or monitor for that, but if you don’t your 1080p Monitor our television will work just fine.
App: Downloading and setting up the app is pretty easy and straightforward, The app it’s self is designed well and you have a lot of options you can control from your smart phone. The main purpose of the app is that you can view all of your cameras on your smart phone from pretty much anywhere in the world.
Smart Speakers: This enforcer security system is compatible with smart speakers such as Google assistant or Alexa
In conclusion: this enforcer security system has it all, 4K cameras, Heat and Motion sensors, spotlights, sirens, Night vision, the ability to see in color video at night, free recording onto the hard drive, waterproof, smart phone app, compatible with smart speakers and more, I highly recommend this system for anybody looking to protect their home or business.