Digital Watchdog VMAX IP G4 16-Channel PoE NVR (12TB HDD)

Beware of limited support

A local alarm company installed a VMAX IP G4 16-ch NVR and 6 cameras at our office. It worked fine and had room for expansion. So when we opened a new facility in BFE Texas a few months later, I bought the same model NVR and ten 4k cameras from B&H and installed them on my trip to install the PC's and network gear. After a few weeks, I noticed the NVR was limiting throughput to 80Mb/s, like it was an 8ch unit, when it's a 16ch unit rated for 160Mb/s. B&H states clearly on most product pages to contact the manufacturers for support/warranty. So, I contacted Digital Watchdog. After trying a couple of their suggestions that didn't resolve it, they said they needed to connect remotely to troubleshoot, but their policy is they only do that if a DW-authorized installer is present. B&H is located in NY. This unit is deployed in Texas. I told them I made sure to buy from an authorized dealer and I could easily connect them remotely, but they wouldn't. So, I ended up just adjusting all the 4k cameras down to 1080p to get below 80Mb/s. Pretty disappointing, to say the least. I haven’t been back to the Texas facility since then. Its been set at 1080 for almost a year now. This week I needed to pull video from one of the Texas cams. I logged into the NVR and found no recordings at all. I can connect, live video works fine, schedule hasn't changed, no warnings or notifications, just doesn't record anymore. Since I can only get basic support from DW, I'm just going to replace that NVR with something else. If you choose to buy Digital Watchdog products, and you plan to install it yourself, know your support options will be limited due to DW's policy. I have no problem at all with a business model of working through an installer channel. But if that's your policy, then don't make retail stores authorized dealers. Because guess what...retail stores are where end users buy products. If you limit support to end users who self-install, then advertise that or only authorize installers to sell your products instead of knowingly relegating retail customers to red-headed step child status. I only buy equipment from authorized dealers, specifically to avoid issues with warranties and support. But for some products, Digital Watchdog for sure, it's not enough to verify you're buying from an authorized dealer if you want the full benefits of ownership. Lesson learned.