Defender PHOENIX1 Wireless Video Security System with Portable

Frustrating!!! Picture and Sound Quality Sucks. Waste of $$$
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
My husband ordered this for me to monitor our baby. Too bad the picture is staticky, the sound is horrible, and the battery life majorly SUCKS! I am very unhappy with this item. It is so frustrating when the picture is staticky and jumpy and the image comes in and out even if you are in the very next room. BIG thumbs down!!

Im going to order the baby safe digital video monitor from HOme Sentry instead. I hope i have better luck with it. I’ll post a review if i do….

Can’t hide outside!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We bought this for one specific purpose. To see who is at the front door. Our porch is situated such that you can not see who is at the door from any window.

Our other Electronic Devices: Wireless Internet and Cordless Phones. No issues with the camera/monitor or our other devices. Both the wireless and phones are 5.8Mhz which may be the reason we had no issue.

Setup: I had the camera on a nail above the door in 5 minutes. Briefly skimmed the manual and we were off. We tested for a couple of weeks both in daylight and night to get the placement right. Note: If you are buying strictly for night vision…don’t. It doesn’t work more than a couple of feet. Our porch has a motion detection light in the ceiling so this works perfectly with the camera. We have tried the monitor sitting in the cradle, walking around the house and connected to the tv.

Results: On our first test, my wife loved it. She was able to clearly see who was knocking. The range is pretty small and it does degrade rapidly with walls and doors between. Our setup is basically 20 feet from the camera through the front door and outside wall. Moving to a back room with 2 inside walls produced quite a bit of interference…we could see but the image would flake out every few seconds. We also do not use the sound activation since the camera is outside it picks up any noise on the lowest settings…

For the price and ease of use…it fits our needs perfectly. It really depends on how you plan to use it, if it will work for you or not. If you need long range or strict night vision…this is definately not the system for you.

Baby monitor
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this product just to use as a baby monitor and it has worked great. When she cries i can hear her and at night when it is dark i can see her just fine. I would recommend this for everyone.

Perfect for what I needed!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have a bi-level home with no windows downstairs. When people come over I can not see that they are here nor can I here them when they knock, This system is so perfect! It has a motion sensor so that when people pull in my drive way or walk up to my door it beeps. It has sound although the sound picks up everything including the wind. The camera was so easy to install and so small that people can’t see it. It has night vision that isn’t wonderful but it works!! The monitor is wireless and has a great picture.I am very happy with the product! I can monitor the front of my home, and with they system being wireless I can take it with me upstairs and into the backyard!

Great buy and for the price it is more than worth it!!!

Better than I expected
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We bought this product because we have a solid steel door with no peep hole so we couldn’t see outside. It works better than I expected when I bought it. We can almost walk around our entire house with it outside. We get some static in the back bedroom but that’s not a big deal. The sound is really good and I like the fact that you can adjust the sensitivity. I would definitely recommend this product.

Great product..at last, a camera that works
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
we have 3 babies and we were looking everywhere for a good,reliable video monitor with several cameras. we knew by experience that the kid’s stuff does not work great,so we switched to “real” security system, and this model did the trick just fine. It was our second try, but the first model had too much interference to work properly (ah this annoying blip, blip in the middle of the night…)Easy to use, no unnecessary gadget or design…we like particularly this model because of the automated switch to night vision in the evenings. just one comment:it is a shame that the model does not allow for a third camera for our third kid. All-in,great device and reasonably priced.

Excellent baby monitor
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I am reviewing this as a baby video monitor – the price point is just higher than the junk you can buy at any “Babies” store and this blows those away. Range is fine – I can ride the mower and see upstairs. We have used this for 10 months every night and it is still working fine. The second camera is useful when traveling as we can clip it anywhere (we bought digital camera clip from Wolf Camera). This is the best “baby” purchase so far. If you are trying to use this as a security camera and are unsatisfied, invest in a real security system.

Great in the beginning but now have major issues.
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I really wanted this system to work. I read all of the reviews and everything seemed great accept for the wireless range. After setting up the system (w/additions camera), all looked great. Setup was easy and directions were clear. The night viewing range was good and the reception range was better than I expected. Initially I was very happy, but after a few days of use I noticed issues with the picture. One camera showed a clear picture while the over was almost completely washed out and at night showed very blurry. And a day after rain or snow, both camera were fogged for a few days. No big deal I thought, I just have a defective camera(s). Unfortunately after replacing the one bad camera, the second camera was now washed out and barely visible. So I figure lets give it one last try and replace the second camera and LCD receiver. Again, same issues. Bad picture on one camera and perfect picture on the other. I finally gave up and returned everything to amazon. Now I’m back to square one.

Don’t buy as a baby monitor
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This is listed as a result for baby monitors, but it doesn’t work at all for that:

1. It is WAY WAY WAY too quiet. If you think you are going to be able to hear your kids in the other room, maybe you will with the volume all the way up and holding the monitor next to your ear, but it won’t alert you or wake you up.

2. You can’t use any other baby monitors at the same time as this or the video gets all screwy and the audio is all fuzz.

Wonderful Product
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This product is great. I am using it for security in my hair salon. It works great to keep an eye on the front while I am in a different area. It was easy to set up and it does exactly what I needed it to do.

Phoenix1 DLH Review
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
3 STARS: The Phoenix 1 is a good camera and monitor. The ONLY complaint I have, and it seems to be true with everything is; The indoor range is dramatically overstated. I currently have the camera inside my house at my front door. The monitor is 20 feet away next to my Television. There is a wall blocking a “direct line of sight” by nevertheless it is only 20 feet away and the reception is affected pretty bad. Other than that, especially with no blockage it works very good. The microphone picks up well too.

So Far So Good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
So far everything works well. I opened up the box and plugged in the camera. I then walked all the way around my house and it worked well. Yes there was a little fuz and static but nothing major. My main concerns were that my existing wireless devices would interfear. (Wireless internet, Wireless phones 6.0 Panasonic, and a wireless video transmiter 5.8) So far nothing seems to be interfearing with this camera. The picture quality is good and it seems to be well built.

I read the reviws for the other SVAT camera system that says you have to plug in the monitor behind the batteries and that it uses AAA Batteries. I thought I would try this camera because it has a rechargable batery and a base that you can set the monitor in while it charges.

I am very happy with my purchase. My expectations were really high but this thing does work well. So that is why I am taking the time to type this review so others can rest assured that this camera is,in my opnion a great deal.

If used in open space, Ok !!!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
In open spaces it is Ok, but in closed it take “noise”…

In my case works very good.

Nice product with some limits…

its okay
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
i bought it for a baby monitor since most had bad reviews, so i got this one since i can also use it as a security camera

pros: it works pretty good; compact; mic on camera; battery operated and can be plugged in; batter saver: screen can be turned off but will alarm(beep) if noise is picked up

cons: its pretty expensive(150) for the range IMO; no speaker on camera to talk back (front door: who is it?)

cant walk outside of house, picture becomes to static

its okay for a baby monitor and to see who’s outside of your front door;

Good for the price.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The product arrived quickly. The picture works well. However the sound wasn’t as good as I hoped. It had a lot of static.

Solves the problem, but limited range on wireless
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We have a beautiful custom iron front door that doesn’t lend itself to a peephole so this device is ideal. Works fine but as some others have mentioned range is quite limited. Static starts to crop up once we’re more than about 15′ from the front door – unfortunately this eliminates any ideas of bringing it to the backyard with us. We are using it in a suburban neighborhood that has about 50′ between homes – so not sure that the interference theory mentioned elsewhere is the issue. Range aside it does do the job fine – the screen and colors are plenty clear to recognize who is at the door. I really like that it has a charging base to set it on. My only other (minor) complaint is that it’s not totally clear when the motion/sound sensing beeps are on or off, and car noise from a car driving by will cause it to beep if on.

wow blows away summers baby monitor
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i will post pics later but my god…the clarity is amazing and its wireless…how i really saw the clarity was i plugged it into a tv set on the kitchen counter and the pic was like a camcorder recording…im dead serious, i truly cant believe the reception…buy buy buy this camera instead of that summer brand from T… we have that one and this blows it away…real person real nieces and nephews real wireless monitor…

love it
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have done a lot of looking for a cheap security camra and this is the one. has good reviews for one, and easy to use. if your looking for a good product this is it . i have two cams and it works great. i didnt no it came with a two camra box so i order a extra cam. so if you want two camras its here.

OK, but camera fogs up at times
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this for about a month now. Setup was easy enough and worked great at first. Now we just started the Winter season, with rain that turns to snow and then back to rain again. The camera got foggy a few times. I unpluged the camara for about a half hour and it seemed to help clear it up…but have to do this every once in a while. So be aware the weather does seem to effect the camera. I’m going to keep this unit, because I can put up with the short falls of it. I use it to view my driveway from my living room, so I can see any vistors arriving before the doorbell rings. I would recommend this to others, but want them to know the camara is effected by wet weather. Thank you

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Poor Reception
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
When I ordered this, I ordered it because of the good reviews. My wife and I were planning on using it for a baby monitor. We live in a 2 story older house. Not very big, but our daughters room is on the second floor. When the monitor is in the same room it was awesome. Very clear crisp picture and radiant color. However, once we moved more than 3 feet out of the room, the sound quality was very staticy and garbled and the video would come and go quality wise. The video was very unreliable and the static made it even harder to hear in the room. I wouldn’t suggest this product to anyone for monitoring purposes. I think the product would be great in a wired circuit security function, but not wireless.

works good, defender, phoenix1
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I got this system to use as a back up camera on my camp trailer, seamed like a versitile 110vac/battery operated unit, and with remoat moniter, and wireless, has been perfect, bought a 2nd cam to put on front of trailer, and its not only good security, but have got to watch wildlife in camp also.

Ha I know this is a kind of off the wall use for this system, but why not? and it works.

The only down side #1 it is not rain proof.

#2 the IR light source is pretty weak, 6-8 foot only, so night use is limited.

#3 A bubble and foil insulation can defeat the wireless signal(metal trailer skin, then this type of insulation), so have to watch placment.

#4 2nd cam was not as good as 1st one, so quality varys, by unit.

I have not had any dealings with company so not sure how customer orented they are.

Yes I would buy this system agin, cant beat it for the $, or versatility.

The cams are small, and used in its intended application it is great.

thank you

George C. Hall

Pleased !
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
We use the product with 2 cameras. We needed something that would allow us to have some visibility of the front door and driveway when we were in a location of the house without front windows. This product allows us to quickly and easily view without going to the front of the house. If exterior lights are on the night view is pretty good, otherwise it is about 8 to 10 feet from the camera with the night vision. We have the monitor set up to the TV to enlarge the view. Based on weather and other external factors the picture may be fuzzy at times…but definately clear enough for what view is needed. We are very pleased with the purchase and would recomend.

Poor reception, low resolution, low quality build
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The comments on the poor range are generally true. What people aren’t saying is that the second you get this thing even a room away, the quality degrades and static comes in, even if it’s still “in range.” I also find that the screen “flashes” sometimes, even if the reception is relatively good. And good is a relative concept here, because even with perfect reception the video quality is so poor that you can barely tell who is who. It’s sufficient to tell if your baby is awake, but not that it’s actually your baby, for example…

The quality of the receiver is very low. It is cheap and put together like a toy, not a piece of equipment. It makes annoying beeps whenever you turn it on or use a function, and its alarm setting wheel is so cheap that it will constantly get turned up as you hold it.

Having said that, for the price it’s possibly worth the money if you have very modest expectations for it.

Great product, but…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Unit works as advertised. Easy to install and great picture. However, strongly recommend using AC adapter on the cameras as battery only lasts 3 hours. I went through 2 batteries thinking unit was faulty, but customer service confirmed working as expected.

phoenix1 serveillance camera
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
this camera has nothing i expected. low quallity monitor bad reception,bad images. not worth setting it up.

Not really for outdoors
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
The range is good and the video image quality is sufficient, but connecting it to a 9 volt battery is a joke. It lasts for an few hours at most. So connecting it outside is just about impossible unless you live in a really dry area where you could plug it in to an outside outlet. The AC adapter that comes with it is certainly not weather proof.

If you are looking purely for an indoor camera to monitor a room (baby, kids, etc.), this would work OK. I suppose it would work OK to monitor your pool or something like that outside if you could plug it in someplace away from weather and water.

I purchased two cameras wanting to monitor my front door and driveway. I have one aimed through a window near my front door. This works fine during the day, but at night the “night vision” reflects off the glass so I get no image. The other I was able to rig looking through a bedroom window towards my driveway, which is a well lit outside area. This one works pretty well even at night, but it doesn’t cover my front door, which is what I really wanted. I had to move this second camera a good distance from the window so the night vision wouldn’t reflect back.

I do think the manufacturer is being very deceptive when they call this an “Outdoor Surveillance Camera”. Sure, it will work outside with a 9 volt battery, but you would need to change the battery every few hours, which is not at all practice. If you are good with electronics you might be able to rig this some way to actually work outside.

just my luck to make the wurst possilble choice!
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
though the camera(when absoultely no interference or cell phone activity is present and it always is when you need it most!) is decent enough day or night, the unit itself cannot hook to anything, you cannot record your videos when odd occurences come up and I’m not there, I’d like it recorded the unit comes with an A/V out/ male to RCA female but it doesn’t work in a TV the out jack, not the cord is at fault but it is totally useless except for monitoring current activity. I’ve got better things to do(like clean the toilet or watch grass grow) than play “security guard” at my abode.

Not for apartment use
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
The product was easy to set up and we are using it as a baby monitor. It gets the job done and we can see and monitor our son, but the picture is very very snowy. We called tech support and they told us it is because we live in an apartment building where we have interference from all sorts of electronic devices from our neighbors and they recommended we return it. It will cost more than we would like to return it, so we are trying to put up with the snowy reception. Like I said, at least it gets the job done.

Simple and Good Value
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I selected this system as it operates at 900 mhz frequency to avoid interference with the WiFi internet at the house and the wireless alarm sensors. After charging the monitor for a few hours, I powered up the camera and it works fine. Good wall penetration with this system – I have walked around 90 feet from the camera with the monitor and the picture is still viewable. The audio is pretty sensitive as well. The night vision is adequate for a short distance, probably 10 – 15 feet in total darkness maximum – fine if you have the camera mounted near the door and want to see who is there. The night vision range could be further extended with the use of an additional infrared illuminator, however the resolution of the camera is not really adequate for a distance shot. The camera is housed in a metal enclosure and seems high quality. The handheld monitor unit is plastic and acceptable quality. The built in lithium battery does not seem to be user-replaceable. I have not opened the device to see if it is soldered into place, but I suspect that it could be changed with a little tech savvy. The unit will probably operate from the supplied ac adaptor even after the battery fails. Overall, the system is a bargain and I recommend it.

No Good for Multiple Cameras
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I had actually made the mistake of ordering the additional camera first. =) Lot of good that did so I then ordered the main unit with camera, got it all set up and got ready to try it out but, wow! It really is wireless, I guess I’m spoiled having only ever dealt with the old standard wired security cameras and there is a world of quality difference between the two. The snow on this system is incredible, the unit’s description clearly shows images of the cameras being mounted on brick exterior walls, well, good luck getting reception with that.

Indoors the quality was almost bearable unfortunately that was of no use for me.

The system is suppose to utilize 2 cameras and with the hand held base/monitor it alternates between the cameras, even with every possible configuration imaginable I can get either one camera to work but, never both. They’re both broadcasting but, I get one image then snow, move the monitor around and maybe get the other camera’s image then lose the first camera’s image.

It’s like chasing your tail. I even stood in direct sight of both cameras outside and it still looks like a blizzard.

I can see this system possibly working for a baby camera, indoors, things might work out for you. Make sure the base unit isn’t far from the camera and, avoid being suckered into adding a second camera. This system is lucky to work with the one camera, the two camera feature should have been scratched.

For the cost, you can easily purchase the old standard wired camera (network or coax), granted you have to run the wire and power but if your security is really your concern, you’ll find it easily worth the effort. Wireless is cute and easy, if that’s really all you want then you might be fine. For all others though, avoid this setup.

I’ve returned this system for refund. My next attempt will be a wired network setup.