Swann NVW-470 All-In-One review

Swann’s wireless NVW-470 All-in-One kit is a novel solution for small-office surveillance, comprising a 720p IP camera and a handheld network video recorder (NVR) with a 7in colour touchscreen.

The wireless day/night IP camera is a solid little aluminium bullet. An integral cable routed through its mounting plate sprouts 10/100 Ethernet, a power connector and a reset button. It comes with a 40ft power extension cable and can be used outdoors.

The kit includes an 8GB SD card, so you can start recording video straight away. It’s possible to add up to three more cameras, each costing around £120, but you can’t use the supplied camera separately – it only works with the NVR.

Installation is quick and painless. The NVR defaults to AP mode, and opens a direct wireless link to the camera. It then provides a wizard that allows you to set the time, format the SD card and configure secure access.

The NVR’s menu button provides access to network settings, motion detection, email alerts and a recording schedule. The live camera view opens with all four channels visible and each can be selected with a double tap. Quality isn’t great, however. The camera’s fuzzy focus leaves the image slightly blurred and its 65-degree horizontal coverage
is narrow. The touchscreen can be finicky, too: we found a fingernail tap often worked better than a fingertip.

It’s also possible to hook up the NVR to an existing network. Simply change the NVR mode to Station and search for a wireless network. However, the camera must be cabled to a router in this mode, as you can’t access the camera’s default wireless settings. You can also use a wired connection for the NVR, though.

The Windows SwannView Link app provides a similar set of features to the NVR, but the feeds appeared horribly distorted in the four-pane view. By contrast, the SwannView Link mobile app worked beautifully on our iPad.

The NVW-470 is a neat surveillance package that provides useful features such as motion detection and direct recording to the NVR unit. The simple installation process works in its favour, too, but ultimately its poor image quality doesn’t justify the high price.