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QNAP NVR-1012 Surveillance Kit
The age old saying of "Love thy Neighbor" may still be heard on any given Sunday and will likely receive a positive reception. However, if the saying happened to be "Trust thy Neighbor" the response would most likely be a little different. Gone are the days where one can feel comfortable leaving their house or cars unlocked, trusting that your employees are honest, or even that the babysitter is not mistreating your child. It is rare that you walk into a store nowadays without being watched by electronic eyes. While to some that may be troubling, the fact of the matter is, it is becoming more and more a necessity. In the past, those high tech security systems were reserved for the business that was forced to justify the expense or the rich guy that could afford the rather large expense of not only purchasing the system but having it professionally installed.
Today Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at a new product that hopes to reduce not only the cost barrier of the home/small office security system, but also virtually eliminate the installation hassle, the NVR-1012 from QNAP.
I recently reviewed the TS-409Pro NAS server from QNAP and was very impressed, so when given the opportunity to review their newest security system I was very excited. QNAP is no stranger to surveillance products, although I believe this may be one of their first ventures into the consumer's home with their cameras.
While some might feel that designing a security system for the home would be easier than one for a large business, the opposite just might be true. The large business customer will usually hire a professional to take care of the entire security needs. This not only includes installing the product, but most likely includes deciding on which product to purchase, setting up the software, aiming and focusing the cameras, and configuring the storage requirements to archive the recordings. Basically the typical business is looking for a turnkey installation where they are told it will cost X amount of Dollars, and when the security Pro leaves they have a product up and running. They don't need to really know much else about it other than it works.
The home or small office user on the other hand usually doesn't have the budget to hire the Pros to handle everything. They are looking for a simple product that they can do themselves in an effort to try and fit it in their budget.
So let's think about the added requirements to design a product for the SOHO consumer. First it needs to be affordable, second, it needs to be easy to install, third it needs to be easy to operate, forth, it needs to be reliable, and fifth, the quality has to be acceptable. While the home user may be willing to make some compromises in quality in an effort to save money, the need for security is much more "personal" for the home user. It may very well be the consumer's children that they are seeking to secure, and as any parent will most likely agree, that is not an area where compromises are welcome.
QNAP's marketing spin
TAIWAN, April 23, 2008 - The NVR-101 is an instant surveillance system providing professional grade live video recording and real-time remote monitoring/playback service. The complete system is built-on the Linux OS for its proven superb performance yet power-saving feature. In order to bring users more convenience and extra benefits in setting up a network surveillance system, QNAP has considerately selected two value-plus IP cameras for the NVR-1012 kit. The kit can be set up instantly in a few simple steps. All the system configuration and recording/monitoring functions of the NVR are carried out through Internet Explorer and absolutely no complicated software installation is ever required.
Besides the built-in Ethernet connection the cameras also provide a great alternative for home users to connect wirelessly. The state-of-the-art 2-way communication system supports synchronized video and audio monitoring and recording. Users can speak directly for the instant conversation or even use the camera to perform voice-broadcast. The real-time remote monitoring service that is viewable on IE browser can now even stream the live video to any 3GPP-enabled handset.
According to Mr. Peace Kuo, Senior Product Manager from QNAP, "The NVR-1012 kit is an ideal solution to provide day & night protection to your home and office. The unique infrared designed on the camera included in the kit is enabled automatically during the night time to ensure continuous recording and monitoring. We also provided motion detection feature that if a moving object is detected, direct recording is triggered, and an alert email is sent to notify the users. Moreover, precious timestamp is embedded on every single recording for easy video navigation and playback, and even an evidence for police investigation. Such powerful and high-end surveillance combination is rarely available from other surveillance providers. QNAP has taken a major step forward in the home use surveillance market."
The NVR-1012 supports high resolution MPEG-4 and MJPEG recording of up to 4 channels simultaneously. The server supports up to 1TB internal SATA hard drive. The storage capacity can be expanded to 2TB at maximum via eSATA connection to an external hard drive for long-term recording. The energy-saving design of NVR-101 enables non-stop system operation 24x7 at the power consumption of less than 18W, which is more power-saving than an energy-saving bulb. The NVR-101 is also equipped with a low-noise fan for quiet operation. The NVR-1012 is the new generation digital surveillance solution which provides immediate effective protection yet affordable and it is perfect for home and office.
About the company: QNAP Systems, Inc.
QNAP Systems, Inc. is professional digital and network surveillance solutions provider. With the solid expertise in the Linux-embedded platform and video encoding and decoding technology, QNAP has developed various high quality security solutions over the past 6 years, including Motion JPEG, MPEG4 digital video recorders, modularized multi-channel DVR server, and centralized remote monitoring software. One of our success stories is the Asia's largest multi-functional shopping complex, the Dream Mall, where QNAP VioGate series and VioServers are installed with hundreds of cameras (expandable to 2,000) for complete security monitoring. Currently, QNAP is promoting the new generation surveillance technology. We have successfully launched the world's first Linux-embedded network video recording system, VioStor, in 2006. The VioStor series supports a wide range of IP cameras such as Axis, Panasonic, Canon, Sony, Arecont, and Vivotek etc.
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