dano97471

I posted a negative review on Costco for the new 700tve 12 camera package. It stayed on the site for 2 weeks along with two other negative reviews then was deleted. I've noticed that some of the positive reviews are for different DVR's then the ones advertised. I wouldn't trust any reviews on Costco.

The Western Digital AV-GP Series: I believe this is a "Green drive" When I bought my DVR I was told NOT to install a green drive. Check out the link below regarding a previous hard drive discussion. http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27782&start=15

I bought this system a few weeks ago from Costco online and took it back. The image in all situations was very bad. I even wrote a review and gave it two stars on the Costco web site. Up until a week ago there were 6 reviews for this system. At least three people gave it 1 star. Well Costco removed all the reviews and for several days there was nothing. I wrote another review and Costco didn't publish it. Right now there is one review and its not even for this product (look at model number in the review). I even sent Costco online an email asking why they removed the previous reviews. They never replied back. I ended up buying a-la-cart and couldn't be happier. I didn't get a DVR , 12 cameras and all the wiring but I didn't waste $599 on something I would never be satisfied with.

Update ... I bought the Costco Q-See system and ended up taking it back, the 700tvl cameras were lousy. I did buy a DVR Hybrid from Empire. After attaching both an HDMI and VGA cable simultaneous from the HVR to two different LED TVs I was able to view and control all function of the HVR. Added bonus was that I was able to use a wireless mouse...I couldn't do that with the Q-See.

One other thing about the system from Empire. The HVR does not come with a hard drive. You will have to buy that elsewhere. I bought a 2TB drive foe $99.

Here is the link to the HVR... http://empiresecuritycameras.com/p-85-empire-security-es-dvr1u960h-16-channel-960h-hybrid-dvr-30fps960h-30fps1080p.aspx The HVR looks similar to a VGSION VG-DA6016-H and it may be just re-branded. The cameras are 700TVL Sony Effio-P WDR / SuperHAD II Dome- 36IR - 2.8-12mm Lens w/IR CUT from the same company. I believe Empire makes the cameras. I don't think they do "all in one packages" They have several YouTube videos you can watch. If you have any questions its best to just email them. My stuff should arrive tomorrow.

I did try the cameras in different light and position scenarios (day, night, inside, outside, low light, bright light and no light). The DVR worked just fine but the live and recorded images were terrible in my opinion. I really wanted the q-see system to work and I do understand that an analog image wasn't going to be the greatest. Right now I'm waiting on a Hybrid recorder and cameras that I ordered from Empire Security Cameras. For about the same price as the 960h Q-see system with 12 cameras. I was able to get a 16 channel HVR and 3 cameras. The folks at Empire have responded quickly to all my questions via email.

Regarding the Q-See 960H 16-channel with 12-cameras (700 tvl) for $599.99... I bought this a week ago and ended up taking it back to Costco. I wrote the first review on the Costco web site.

Sorry for the Code thing...couldn't find where to turn urls on.

Dontheo:[/size] Regarding Costco and Q-see...My better judgement is telling me not to expect too much and go with something else. But there is so many different DVRs out there and of course each dealer say they have the best. I can always take it back to Costco if I'm not satisfied. The Gefen splitter is more then I want to spend right now. Monoprice carries a splitter that looks like it might do the trick. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10113&cs_id=1011306&p_id=8204&seq=1&format=2#description Taking your suggestion using a splitter...looks like I could ditch the VGA and use the Monoprice splitter at the DVR and run HDMI to both TVs. I'm new to all this and will start out at least for the next few years with an analog system. I've run Cat6 to several places for cameras now and the future. lowpro:[/size] I like your idea of running Cat6 for the IR repeater and will do it. Thank you both for taking time to help me.

I thought of using a splitter but wanted to use a more direct connection. Right now I have 50 ft of HDMI and 25 ft of VGA class 2 cable strung (drywall not up yet). I haven't bought the DVR yet, I was looking at a 16 ch Hybrid from Empire Security Cameras for under $400 and a newly added Q-See package from Costco. The Costco one is a 960H version QT5516. It comes with 12 700tvl cameras for under $600. I'll do a little more research on both and see if either allow for simultaneous live viewing. If anyone has experience with either DVR I would appreciate any feed back.

Hi All, I've been been reading all the good information posted on this forum for several months now. I'm just now starting to wire my house (new construction) with Cat6, HDMI and VGA cables. What I want to do is from the DVR run the HDMI cable to one TV in the living room and the VGA cable to the bedroom TV. My question is: Will I be able to view in live mode on both TVs at the same time via the HDMI and VGA connections? Thanks for your help.