Lorex LNC216 Wireless HD Dual Lens Network Camera with Real-Time HD Resolution (Black)

What customers say about Lorex LNC216 Wireless HD Dual Lens Network Camera with Real-Time HD Resolution (Black)?

1. 28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

   
   doesn't record to local SD in HD, only to NAS, March 13, 2014

   By 

   nize king -

   This review is from: Lorex LNC216 Wireless HD Dual Lens Network Camera with Real-Time HD Resolution (Black) (Electronics)

   following my original review, i've also posted lorex's response and correction below:

   this is not an HD camera
   this is not an HD camera
   this is not an HD camera
   allow me to clarify;

   among the features, this camera has remote view capability using their custom program on either a smartphone or a pc. in either case you get to choose the image quality in one of four resolutions:

   320x240 (QVGA)
   640x480 (VGA)
   1024x768 (XGA)
   1280x800 (WXGA/HD)

   of course you would always want to choose the highest resolution, why else would you pay the extra money to buy an HD camera, right? so far so excellent.

   the problem is when recording to the SD memory card it will ONLY record the video in 320x240. that's right, in the lowest, grainy, can't recognize any faces resolution. what this means is that if you ever have to review your security video recordings, you won't be able to recognize any faces or any other details that would help identify anything. you may as well be staring through a frosted window smeared with grease.

   when i contacted lorex support through their online form, they answered with a generic response and closed my ticket. this forced me to call them on the phone. the first person who answered the call tried to get me to change the resolution in the pc/smartphone app. when i clarified i wanted to be able to RECORD video in HD, she place me on hold for a while and then introduced her supervisor. the supervisor clarified that the recording capability was limited to the lowest resolution in order to 'save space' on the memory card. when i clarified that i've bought a 32gigabyte memory card specifically to be able to store plenty of HD video, she said it was still not possible. i then questioned specifically if it was right that this HD security camera did not have any ability to record video in HD resolution and she agreed.

   so it seems that lorex is selling an HD security camera that can't record in HD. this is fake advertising. what excellent is a security camera when it can't record in the advertised HD resolution?

   all of the reviewers giving this product high marks did not bother to test wether the recording was HD or super low-res, or don't even realize it.

   i'm going to return this useless lorex low-res junk and get the samsung SNH-1011 IP SmartCam, at least it records in 640x480
   [...]

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   UPDATE: it seems lorex answered to my online review on Mar 20, 2014:
   ---
   Hello,
   Thank you for your feedback. To clarify the HD recording capability of Lorex LNC201 IP camera, 720p HD recording is available when changing the recording to a Network Attached Storage device (NAS). Currently the camera records to an SD card at a maximum resolution of 1024x768, which is linked to the Mobile resolution setting. The camera is not restricted to 320x240 (VGA) level. To increase the resolution of the recording (above the VGA setting), open the menu and select the Mobile resolution setting. Change this to the maximum of 1024x768 - this will also set the SD card to record at this much higher resolution.
   ---

   ahah! so there's a 'secret' SD recording setting that is not clearly documented in the instruction manual, and that the lorex phone support people aren't even aware about! so now the recoding capabilities we have are:

   320x240 (QVGA) -default 'max' resolution recording on SD card
   640x480 (VGA)
   1024x768 (XGA) -secret/obscure max resolution recording on SD card (see below)
   1280x800 (WXGA/HD/720p) -max resolution recording only on Network Attached Storage device (NAS)

   to increase recording resolution to SD card above the VGA setting:
   open the menu and select the Mobile resolution setting. Change this to the maximum of 1024x768 - this will also set the SD card to record at this much higher resolution.

   okay, this is better, but it still doesn't record to the local SD memory card at HD resolution, which is what their advertising leads you to believe. i'm glad it does record at up to 1024x768 to local SD though, so i will end up keeping this.

   lorex still needs to;
   1. improve the accuracy of their documentation
   2. improve their online customer support so that a phone call is not required
   3. improve their phone support
   4. market their products in a non-misleading way with clearer specifications and abilities

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2. 25 of 29 people found the following review helpful

   
   I really wanted to like this camera, November 13, 2013

   By 

   Polyskill Reviewer (Poway, CA United States) -

   This review is from: Lorex LNC216 Wireless HD Dual Lens Network Camera with Real-Time HD Resolution (Black) (Electronics)

   The specs on this camera looked quite excellent. One of the things I really liked was the built in thermometer that displays the room temperature along with the time and date (if selected) on a small banner on the image. I finished up returning the camera because of setup issues and nearly non-existent support. After waiting on hold for nearly an hour I was number 18 (I started at 32) in the queue and the automated attendant said my wait would be over an hour.
   I gave the camera a 3 star rating because it does have some cool features and others may not mind the small comings that I had issue with.

   Pros:
   720 HD video
   Sensitive mic for audio
   Built in thermometer
   IR cut filter (better night performance)
   On-board storage VIA microSD card

   Cons:
   No tech support unless you register the camera providing all personal information.
   Tech support has very long wait times.
   Set up seems to require you to use Lorex's cloud video server, (privacy issues?) I was able to access the cameras setup menu using a browser but never could get to view video in the browser. I also read that Internet Explorer is required because of the need for Active X. No FireFox, Safari, Chrome, etc. I was able to view the cameras video using the provided, proprietary L-View software.
   The IR illuminator is not very bright so distance is limited at night.
   The lens is not very wide angle (this could be excellent or terrible depending on your needs).

   I have two other IP cameras that I use (different brands) and haven't had nearly the set up distress I had with this one. I fully admit that the set up issues are likely due to my preference to not use the Cloud and not use Internet Explorer. I prefer to keep my camera's video on my local network not streaming around the internet. Maybe there's a way to do that but I couldn't get through to Tech support to question the question.

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3. 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

   
   Incredible camera. Simple set Up Works Perfect, April 6, 2014

   By 

   Suktaradox (Londonderry, NH USA) -

   This review is from: Lorex LNC216 Wireless HD Dual Lens Network Camera with Real-Time HD Resolution (Black) (Electronics)

   This is a fantastic small IP Camera.

   It sets up so simple. I set this one up with just my IPhone 5s.
   Lorex has a fantastic video online explaining how to set up this camera.

   The software that comes with this camera is also fantastic. it supports 16 cameras as opposed to the ancient software that supported 4.

   You can record directly to the camera itself with a micro SD card. Or to the iPhone or to a computer that is hooked up to your network. This is what I do. I record to me PC. Then I have a upload stream to a cloud server just incase someone breaks in and smashes my computer.

   The motion detection feature is incredible. Best I have seen in these types of camera. I can set it to send images to my email address. and the sensitivity settings can be adjusted to low or high sensitivity.

   I used this camera once to try to capture a mouse that was in my garage. I set up a mouse trap and this camera and the motion sensor went off and the camera emailed me the image of the mouse being killed, it was fantastic. The garage was in total darkness but the image and video were crystal clear and bright.

   Some tricks for set up.

   If you are having distress having the camera stay connected to your Wi-Fi you have to log in to your router and change
   the wireless settings for channel width to auto 20 or 40 Mhz. If you have it set to 20 Mhz it will just keep connecting and then disconnecting repeatedly.

   Also when setting up camera try to keep it level or even (not pointing down or up) Because at night in total darkness the infrared will be at an angle and not illuminate the entire seen. If its even then the entire area is bright and clear.

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