Lorex Security Camera Review

Our Video Review

Of course, writing about a camera’s video and audio doesn’t really do it justice. For this reason, we made a video review of the Lorex 4K camera system, showcasing its video display throughout the day and night as well as its audio, smart platform integrations and more.

Check out another camera system from Lorex; this one shoots in 2K instead of 4K.

The Beginning of Our Process

When it comes to home security, we like having options, but when we checked out Lorex, we felt a bit overwhelmed by the number of options available — there were thousands! We thought you might feel the same, so before scouting Lorex, we recommend familiarizing yourself about security cameras in general. You should, for instance, know the difference between wireless, wire-free, and IP cameras. Our security camera guide is a good place to start.

Fortunately for us, we have lots of experience with security cameras, so once we figured out what type of camera we wanted to test, we were able to filter through Lorex’s options. In the end, we decided to go with the Lorex 4K Ultra HD 8-channel security camera system. It was being offered at a bargain price, so we wasted no time and bought it.

The checkout process went smoothly, and it shipped out within the next day. The package arrived about a week later and 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

One of the primary concerns when buying a security camera is where all the footage will go. Typically, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee to keep videos in the cloud, unless there’s a microSD card slot in which you can plug a microSD card for local storage.

The Lorex system we tested took a more traditional approach. It came with a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) that housed a one TB hard drive. With that much storage space, we could store approximately 500 hours of video or about 20 days worth of continuous recordings. Of course, that storage space will be shared among your cameras, so the allotment for each camera will be, for example, five days if you have four cameras.

You can actually expand your DVR storage space if needed. You can hook-up up to three more hard drives. Be warned, though: It won’t come cheap. A one TB hard drive can cost up to $200 each depending on the brand, so keep that in mind when studying Lorex’s pricing.

Aside from expanding the storage, you can also connect more cameras to the system. Ours came with four cameras, but since the DVR has eight channels, we could add four more to make it eight. Lorex also offers DVRs with 16 and 32 channels, but those are usually reserved for business security applications. For a mid-sized home, an eight-channel system is probably enough.

But is DVR storage the best type of storage for security cameras? That depends. Having your videos stored locally means there’s lower risk of hacking compared to videos that go to a cloud. There’s also no on-going cost associated with using DVRs. However, since your videos are stored on a device, there’s a possibility of losing important clips if the device is damaged or stolen.

With cloud storage, you’ll pay a monthly fee to store videos, and yes, there have been instances of videos stored in the cloud leaking. However, you’ll have access to your videos 24/7, and cloud storage also serves as backup in case your camera is stolen.

Our recommendation is to have both: A DVR for your main storage and cloud storage for backup. Fortunately, Lorex offers such an option. The cloud cost depends on the DVR used, but generally, it’s about $10 per month.

Additional Features

We’ve been singing the praises of Lorex. Now it’s time for a little bad news. There was really no way to get these security cameras to blend in with our home. While that didn’t bother us, it is important to note the design of these cameras was very bulky; think street corner or storefront cameras. That’s typical with Lorex security cameras, but there are quite a few with nicer aesthetics. We suggest looking at Lorex Wi-Fi cameras if design matters to you, or some of Lorex’s newer bullet cameras with security lighting, as these cameras offer color-changing lights for extra aesthetic points.

One good thing about the cameras we bought, though, was that they could withstand harsh outdoor weather elements, working in temperatures anywhere from -40 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit. Basically, they could work in the coldest of winters and hottest of summers, which was a great feature for us since we wanted eyes on our entire property throughout the seasons. We don’t ever have to worry about bringing the cameras indoors even during rain or snow, as they were completely protected from dust and water jets. When we got our system we sprayed it with our power washer to test this feature out. To our satisfaction, it held up perfectly!

Some of our other favorite features of the cameras were:

• 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. We were also able to activate camera features and access live or recorded video on our smart TV. For those without a smart TV, the security system was also compatible with Apple TV, which could be hooked up to any kind of television. But in order to use a smart TV or Apple TV, first we had to install the Lorex Secure App, which is free on the Apple and Google Play stores.

• Night Vision: The night vision on these cameras was amazing and we could see clearly outdoors at all times. Color night vision allowed sensors within the camera to record colored video in low-light settings, which meant we could see the branch outside our home as the sun was setting. This was made possible by the powerful image sensor built into the cameras. But it’s important to mention the system needs to be set up near ambient light for this feature to work, so we set up one of our cameras facing a street light. If there was no ambient light, the infrared LED lights around the lens kicked in, which allowed an automatic shift to black and white light. Being able to clearly see in color or in black and white was a unique feature, since many systems such as SimpliSafe only have black and white night video.

• Storage: We liked being able to store video on the hard drive and on the cloud. The free cloud storage plan included up to 10 GB of video, which was about two days worth of rolling footage. When set to record just movements, it can last about a week. If that’s not enough storage, the premium plan provided unlimited cloud storage, but that would have been an extra $35 a year. That price is pretty normal; Arlo for example, charges anywhere between $35 and $180 a year depending on the system and the amount of cloud storage the user wants.
• 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.

For us, the first step of the installation process was to clear out some space for the DVR. It wasn’t exactly small. After that, we plugged it in, connected it to our router, and then booted it up. 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.

Let’s Talk Money

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, which broke down to $3.49 a month, but we opted out.