Customer Reviews for Defender BlueLine 16-Channel 600TVL 500GB Surveillance System with Hard Drive and (8) Camera

We purchased a Defender brand DVR on March 3, 2014, and in August of 2015, the DVR no longer recognized the hard drive. Because the system was outside of the one year warranty period, Defender offered a mere 10% discount on the purchase of a new product. Defender refused to repair the DVR at my expense, so we could only trash the DVR, the heart of the security system, and replace it with a new system. We spent several hundred dollars on the original security system and spent $300 on labor and materials to have the system professionally installed. To have the system fail after a year and five months is unacceptable, particularly when you cannot buy internal replacement parts or have your items repaired. We are very disappointed with Defender's failure to stand behind its products. Below is our conversation with a Defender representative as we attempted to have our issue resolved. Chat Transcript Time of chat: 8/31/2015 9:36:06 AM Length of chat: 00:14:50 Your name: William Rooks Chatted with: Kristi 9:36 AM Kristi: Hello William Rooks, thank you for your inquiry. I am looking into your question, and will respond shortly 9:36 AM William Rooks: Thank you. 9:38 AM Kristi: I do apologize for the issue with your DVR. We are regrettably unable to offer repair work outside of the 1 year warranty. Please see the link below for the DVRs we offer at this time. 9:38 AM Kristi: http://defender-usa.com/products/DVRs.eng-12.html 9:39 AM Kristi: I can also offer coupon code CXB17, valid until September 30th, for a discount on most regular priced items on our site. 9:40 AM William Rooks: How much of a discount does the coupon code provide? 9:40 AM Kristi: 10% 9:40 AM William Rooks: I have to tell you how frustrated I am that a product I spent hundreds of dollars on and lots of time installing has broken and cannot be repaired just outside of one year. 9:41 AM William Rooks: I have receipts for having the system professionally installed, which cost over $300. 9:41 AM William Rooks: That is on top of the DVR system itself. 9:41 AM Kristi: I do apologize, William. What was the purchase date of the DVR? 9:42 AM William Rooks: March 3, 2014 9:42 AM Kristi: At this time, it would regrettably be to far outside of the warranty for us to make an exception, regrettably. I do apologize. 9:43 AM William Rooks: It is incredibly frustrating that one year after purchase, Defender no longer repairs its products. I will be leaving a lengthy review on Amazon and on the Defender website. 9:44 AM William Rooks: Do you think it is reasonable to have to throw a device away after spending this sort of money on it, particularly when it is only one year and five months old? 9:44 AM Kristi: I do understand your frustration with this, and I apologize. We are unable to offer repair work, regrettably. 9:46 AM William Rooks: Are you able to offer a larger discount on the products that are listed under "Special Offers" on your website? There is an 8 Channel DVR with a 500 GB hard drive for $74.99. 9:49 AM Kristi: We are unable to offer a larger discount then 10%, regrettably. 9:50 AM William Rooks: I have to tell you that it is also frustrating that defender offers a telephone support line that, after dialing extensions for 15 minutes, merely re-routes you to the website.

Due to a creepy neighbor, we had to purchase a security camera system. Cause we were told we need a picture or video of our neighbor behavior. We compare everything out there and found the system that fit our needs and budget. We were able to install the system with in a couple hours of work. But once we had the camera mounted in position, running the wire was easy. So we are now ready for record any problems that may occur. I would highly recommend this product.

I love my system the night light is very clear. The motion light is great. It comes on and it get your attention. I just need to learn how to play back to put on a usb port.

I purchased a similar system 2 years ago with just 4 cameras. I recently upgraded to this system with the 8 additional cameras and still have room to add 4 more cameras if I want. This system is incredibly easy to install (my 20 and 22 year olds did it). The cameras are great quality pictures and overall I'm completely satisfied. The Defender customer support was very helpful as I was having an issue seeing my camera's on my mobile phone. One thing I think everyone should know is you really need a static IP address in order to be able to see the cameras on your phone and on other computers. I loved the package I purchased 2 years ago so I upgraded to a bigger and better package last week. I even got my parents to purchase on for themselves. My oldest is about to purchase one for himself! I highly recommend it :)

My husband was able to mount the cameras and run the cables with no problems. The system really is plug and play. Only problem we had was with the wifi and remote access, and Defender's tech support line fixed it after Comcast came out twice and couldn't...