Amcrest 4K 16CH NVR (1080p/3MP/4MP/5MP/8MP) Network Video Recorder - Supports up to 16 x 8MP/4K IP Cameras, 16-Channel Supports up to 10TB HDD (Not Included) NV4116-A2

Here is my honest rundown of this system.I bought the because my WD Readyview, which has been discontinued for years already, has no more remote functionality. I'm guessing Western Digital/Microcenter have shut down whatever service to provide access over devices. I bought this Amcrest (driveless) 16CH unit.I opened this gem up and installed a spare WD 6TB drive. DONE. I already have WD Readyview ONVIF cameras that were native to the previous system. Here's where I was concerned if they'd work. I was specific in looking for a new system with ONVIF compatibility. Without exaggeration, I plugged everything in, powered it on, followed some basic set up prompts, set a static IP (because I'm a nerd), and it sniffed my network and found all my existing cameras. I. Am. Not. Joking. I was actually sitting in front of my TV with my jaw dropped. Clicked done.. and I was D-O-N-E. It imported all my existing camera quality settings. Installed the app on my tablets and android phones, and it's done. This truly could not have been any easier. I'm an IT Engineer so I was expecting to get under the hood and start some voodoo configuring. It took longer for me to open the shipping and product boxes. AND the app even allows to view more than 4 cameras at a time as was the limitation of my previous system. A++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I purchased an Amcrest NV2108 HS NVR 1 1/2 years ago when the price was at a blow out special. I have a number of Amcrest cameras and was using the onboard email function from each to alert me when there was activity. Needless to say that got out of hand and called for a better solution. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was very surprised with the feature set and reliability of the unit.I have since upgraded my cameras to higher resolution as well as added in a couple of non Amcrest cameras to the mix. The NV-2108 handled the additional load but was taking it’s time on resolving live scene situations due to the increased bandwidth and processing.I did my research and selected the NV-4116HS as it met my criteria and utilized all of the external apps I currently use to access the cameras. I see this more as a server than a stand alone application. Setup was extremely easy as I transferred the config.back file from the NV-2108 to the new unit. The two ONVIF cameras integrated quickly, and my H.265 capable cameras aid with hard drive utilization. Tieing the NVR to the external apps was seamless as well. I now have nine cameras online and room to grow if the option arises.

It works great with Amcrest-branded IP cameras. I'm also using it with a Hikvision ONVIF IP camera, Dahua IP cameras, and an unbranded ONVIF doorbell camera from Nellys Security (NSC-DB2). The NVR itself is a lot smaller than it looks. The picture makes it seem like it's the size of a 1908's VCR, but it's much smaller than that. It is big enough for one HDD inside, and that's it. It integrates very well with the Android app "Amcrest View Pro." I especially like that it works in P2P mode with the Android app, which means you don't need to pay for a DNS service or do any port forwarding configuration with your router. It just works without any complex router setup. You can access the NVR for live video monitoring and/or playback anywhere you have an internet connection. The software in the NVR is pretty good. You have to configure cameras for it yourself, but it's not hard since it discovers IP cameras on your network. You just need to add the camera to the setup and enter its password, and you're done. One thing I didn't like was the noise from the case fan. I replaced the case fan with this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W93333?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details and even then it was a bit noisy, so then I added this somewhat pricy speed controller to reduce the fan speed by about 50%: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072M2HKSN?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 After that, the fan noise was reduced significantly. Not to zero, but quiet enough while still providing adequate air flow to cool the internals. Overall, I really like this NVR and highly recommend it.

I have been building an Amcrest empire for many years now...its just not worth changing brands.I have 5 dome wifi cameras (mix of IP4M and IP3M models), 2 video door bells (AD410), and 1 outdoor camera (IP8M). I have Fios gigabit internet service.I decided I didn't want to pay for the Cloud Storage for the doorbells and outdoor camera any more so I got this NVR.My hope was to disable P2P on all cameras and run them through this NVR with P2P enabled so I would just access them remotely through the NVR with Amcrest View Pro.I suspect I would have had no problems if every camera I had was wired instead of wireless. But alas, thats impossible in my home. I had extreme difficulties with maintaining the cameras' connectivity with the NVR on my home network with my desired setup.My solution, that seems to be working for now, is keeping P2P enabled for the 5 cameras I don't need to record and not connecting them to my NVR. The 2 video doorbells and the outdoor camera are still connected to the NVR.So its a little awkward that I remotely access some cameras through the NVR and some not, but it seems to be stable, and I think I can cancel those cloud subscriptions.Maybe this will help someone.

This is probably the 10th or 11th unit I have purchased and installed. Zero issues, does what is advertised and just keeps performing.I will say that my preference is to not use the AI interface as it can get a bit wonky, but it is still in the early days of trying to work the bugs out on their end.Overall, I will continue to utilize these cheap effective units. Highly recommend!