Lorex Security Camera Review

Our Video Review

For this review, we chose to test one of the most advanced Lorex security systems, which comes with 4K outdoor cameras. And of course, writing about a camera’s video and audio, especially if the resolution is as high as 4K, doesn’t really do it justice. So here’s a video review showcasing the Lorex 4K’s video display day and night.

You’ve probably heard of 4K video, but maybe you’re not used to handling it on your computer or mobile device. If that’s the case, you might not be used to the amount of bandwidth needed to support 4K and the amount of space needed to store it.

To stream 4K video, you need at least 25 Mbps of bandwidth, compared to just 5 Mbps for 1080p. To store an hour of 4k, you need 40 GB, compared to 4 to 8 GB for an hour of 1080p. Because of the significant jump in bandwidth and storage demands, Lorex offers lower resolution options. We tested a 2K camera from Lorex in the video below. We were still pretty happy with the quality, and we didn’t have to completely upgrade our IT infrastructure.

The Beginning of Our Process

We always base our recommendations on first-hand experience, so as you can see in our video reviews, our experts took home Lorex cameras to test. The buying part is usually easy. We research and pick several of the best cameras from the brand, and then whip out our credit card to purchase those. That was the case when we chose to review the Nest Cam (battery) from the Nest Cam lineup.

Lorex has such a wide range of options, including professional grade cameras, that we had to switch it up a bit for this review. Instead of picking out the best cameras and putting them through their paces, we selected cameras we thought were best for the typical home user. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the system we put together.

>> Check Out: The Ultimate Guide to Home Security Cameras

Choosing Our Lorex System

We had our mind set on testing Lorex’s DVR systems because we wanted to get a feel for these always-on, always-recording cameras Lorex offers. Most of the cameras we test, like the Ring Spotlight Cam we reviewed recently, are configured to record only when there’s motion, so Lorex offers a really nice change of scenery.

Filtering Lorex’s catalog to that of only DVR systems did the trick. It narrowed our options down to about a dozen systems. We went through each system and found one offering cameras that would let us test Lorex’s full capability in terms of camera resolution, smart home integrations, advanced detection, and so on. It was none other than the Lorex 4K Ultra HD system that comes with an eight-channel DVR, which by the way is one of the pricier systems in Lorex’s catalog. It contained:

• A One TB Hard Drive
• Four 4K Cameras
• Four 60 Foot BNC Cables
• Four Mounting Kits
• Five Power Adapters
• One Ethernet Cable
• One HDMI Cable
• One Mouse
• One Security Decal
• One Quick Start Guide.

We unboxed and tested it out, and here’s what we thought of the system’s features.

Storage With The One TB Hard Drive

There’s a lot of upside in using cameras that record 24/7, but we found that Lorex’s DVR setup wasn’t without downsides. One is the limited storage. The typical space of Lorex DVRs is 1 TB, which is enough to store about 20 days of recordings from one camera. But remember, all your cameras share that storage space. So for our four cameras, recordings lasted about five days before getting written over. That meant we had to back up important clips as often as that. Once a clip is overwritten, there’s no getting it back.

If you don’t want to delete clips constantly, you can upgrade the storage. You can replace the existing hard drive with one up to 10 TB. The size varies according to the model. Some Lorex DVRs even let you install extra hard drives. Of course, this increases the costs, so keep that in mind when reviewing Lorex’s pricing.

Local recording via a DVR or NVR has pros and cons. Besides requiring no monthly fees, there’s lower risk of hacking if videos are stored locally. That said, without backup, you could lose important videos if something happens to the recorder (e.g. physical damage, tampering, corrupted drive, etc.). We recommend having both local and cloud storage. That way, you have automatic video backup in the cloud. Fortunately, that option is available for some Lorex systems.

4K Video

4K video is all the hype these days, and Lorex is riding the wave. Right now, Lorex has the largest catalog of 4K security cameras. The good news is they are some of the best 4K cameras you can buy.

Before you go all in on 4K cameras though, ask yourself if it’s worth the hype. We asked our in-house video expert what he thought, and he said that 4K cameras can be a double-edged sword.

On one hand, they have clear video quality. From a security perspective, that means if your house is burglarized, you’d be able to see more and clearer details of the crime. You might even be able to zoom in and look at the perp’s face or read the license plate of their getaway car. The Lorex cameras we tested could zoom in up 25 times, confirming our expert’s opinion.

On the other hand, though, he said that 4K security cameras consume bandwidth like crazy. It’s one if you have one or two 4K cameras – most Wi-Fi networks can handle it – but any more than that could spell trouble for your network. That’s specially true for the always on, always recording Lorex cameras. And speaking of recording, videos from 4K cameras take up more space than 1080p videos.

Our recommendation? Use a combination of 4K, 2K, and 1080p cameras. Fortunately, Lorex has options for each. We suggest using its 4K and 2K cameras in the most crucial areas, like your front lawn or porch. Meanwhile, use 1080p cameras indoors. Just don’t go with 720p cameras. In our opinion, those fail to provide the picture quality required to capture detailed videos.

Hardware Specs and Design

One key aspect of Lorex cameras is their ruggedness. The outdoor cameras we tested can work in temperatures between -40 and 131 degrees Fahrenheit. They were also weatherproof and tamper-resistant.

But that hardiness of Lorex cameras often comes at the cost of the design. Most Lorex cameras are bulky and heavy; think street corner or storefront cameras. They don’t exactly fit in that well in a residential setup.

Lorex has been making improvements in that department. Most of the recently released Lorex cameras feature a sleeker design similar to that of Arlo and Nest. They are still on the bulky side, but features like color-changing halos around the lens add a few aesthetic points to make them easier on the eyes.

Additional Features

Security cameras are past the point of just being recording and streaming devices. Modern security cameras have advanced features. For example, Nest Cams work with ADT security systems, using facial recognition to identify and let trusted people into your home by controlling your smart lock and disarming your security system.

Lorex is yet to enable a feature that advanced, but it has extra features of its own. Here’s a couple of them:

• Smart Home Integration: Our security system was compatible with both Alexa and Google Assistant. This meant we could access our security system with voice control using our smart speakers and displays. And yes, that extends to Android smart TVs as well as TVs with Chromecast, via the Lorex Secure App. Lorex also works on Apple TVs. So besides directly hooking up your DVR to your TV (which takes up an HDMI slot), you can make integrations happen wirelessly – provided that you have a good internet connection.

• Night Vision: One underappreciated feature of Lorex cameras is their night vision. In our opinion, Lorex offers the best night vision cameras, as they have a range of 100 to 200 feet in complete darkness. But the Lorex system we tested offered something even better – color night vision. This was made possible by the high-spec image sensor in the cameras that absorbs light well in low-light conditions. So as long as there’s enough ambient light (like from streetlights), videos are in full color (notice the red car in the photo below). But when it’s too dark, infrared night vision kicks in to provide 120 feet of visibility in black-and-white.

• Storage: We stored videos on the recorder, which gave us about 5 days to a week of rolling video history, but we liked having cloud backup as well. Now, that’s one thing you should consider before choosing Lorex, because not all Lorex cameras work with cloud storage. Fortunately, the ones that do have access to affordable cloud backup – $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for one camera or $9.99 per month or $50 per year for multiple cameras, 30 days of event recording from unlimited cameras. That’s affordable; when we looked at Arlo’s pricing, cloud storage for unlimited cameras cost $19.99 per month. Granted, we saw more advanced features when we reviewed Arlo, but Lorex is more affordable.
• Motion Detection: Lorex offered something called RapidRecap, an easy way to locate motion from the camera. Essentially, this was our event history compiled into a quick and easy time-stamped video. The fact Lorex provided RapidRecap made it incredibly easy to sift through cloud history and saved us a ton of time when we were looking for specific movement within videos, like one time when a friend from out of town arrived on our doorstep unexpectedly.

Installing Our System

As bodybuilders often say, “No pain, no gain.” In order to gain access to Lorex’s top-shelf features, you’ll have to go through the installation process, which isn’t exactly painless. It’s doable, of course, but you’ll need a little patience. Here’s why.

Most Lorex security camera systems are built around a DVR (digital video recorder) or NVR (network video recorder). Both are central devices that need to sit within Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable range of your router. Those devices process videos from the cameras and then store them in a built-in hard drive.

While we love the local storage, setting up a DVR or NVR adds a few steps to the installation process. We recommend starting by clearing out some space for the DVR or NVR, as they aren’t exactly small. They are about the size of a DVD player, and again, they need to sit close enough to the router.

Setting up the recorder is easy, though. In most cases, you just have to plug it in, connect it to your router, and then boot it up. That’s the case with the DVR we received, and it started up nice and smooth.

Next, we had to place the cameras and then connect them to the DVR. The latter was the tough part. All four cameras we received were indoor/outdoor types, but we decided to keep them all outdoors. After all, they looked too bulky for our interior design.

Each camera needs two types of wires: The first one is for power, which plugs into a wall outlet; the second one goes to the DVR for data transfer. We had to get creative, which meant drilling, snaking wires through the ceiling, and using an all-important tool of the trade to keep the wires out of our way: duct tape.

That said, not all Lorex cameras are as time-consuming to install as the one we had purchased. There are wire-free Lorex cameras that run on batteries and connect to Wi-Fi, so basically, all you’ll have to do is mount them. There are also cameras that do plug into a wall outlet but use Wi-Fi to transmit video and audio. Those cameras are called Wire-free and Wireless cameras, so check them out if they are more your style.

Eventually, we got things done but after installing the cameras and the DVR, we still had questions about how to connect our system to the app. That was when we decided to call customer support. We also had the option of live chatting with a customer service rep on the Lorex website, but we felt that would be more time consuming. We were hopeful our representative would answer our questions, but honestly, we didn’t get the kind of service we expected. The representative we spoke with was a bit short and didn’t seem interested in helping. He did eventually help us set our system up, but it wasn’t the most professional experience we’ve ever had.

The Lorex Secure App

Because our Lorex system was self-monitored, having a decent app was key, since that’s where we viewed our livestream and received notifications. The Lorex app worked on all devices, which was great because we used both Apple and Android products in our household. Once we downloaded the app, we got push notifications, saw both live and recorded video and grouped cameras together. For example, we grouped together our outdoor front cameras and outdoor back cameras which made it possible to livestream multiple cameras at one time. This made the self-monitoring portion simple when live streaming because we had eyes on multiple places simultaneously.

Lorex Pricing

We’ve all heard the saying “you get what you pay for” and that’s the case with Lorex. Because of the wide variety of systems, there are a wide variety of prices. Our system was on sale for $387.99 but normally costs $699.99.

One of our favorite things about Lorex was there was no mandatory monthly fee. While the initial investment may feel like shelling out a large chunk of change at one time, many other security companies require long-term contracts and monthly fees even after the initial equipment costs. Some don’t even store footage unless you pay for a cloud subscription. The Ring cameras we reviewed, for example, require a $10 monthly fee to store videos from the entire camera system. But not Lorex; once we paid for the product we were done. Of course, that wouldn’t be the case if we sprung for the unlimited cloud storage.