Eufy S4 Max NVR assessment: Upscale dwelling safety, no subscription

Finest Costs Immediately: Eufy PoE NVR Safety System S4 Max

Most dwelling safety programs power you to decide on between good options and native management. the Eufy PoE NVR Safety System S4 Max provides you each. As its identify signifies, this can be a PoE (Energy over Ethernet), NVR (Community Video Recorder) system with a built-in AI agent that runs by itself native {hardware}—there’s no cloud storage and no subscription charges required to unlock key options.

Specs

Eufy markets this technique as an all-in-one resolution for sturdy but easy-to-set-up dwelling safety. The bundle options native AI, native storage, and assist for high-powered 4K cameras.. The bundle consists of 4 of Eufy’s PoE Cam S4 triple-lens cameras. Every of those has a fixed-position digital camera with a single wide-angle lens (122-degree subject of view) that’s fused to the dual-lens, pan/tilt/zoom digital camera beneath it.

Eufy

The higher digital camera has a 16MP picture sensor that captures video in 4K decision (3840 x 2160 pixels), whereas the decrease PTZ digital camera has twin 2K lenses (every with decision of 2560 x 1440 pixels). The decrease digital camera can rotate a full 360 levels and tilt as much as 70 levels, with automated monitoring to observe and zoom in on an individual shifting inside its subject of view. Collectively, they kind what Eufy calls a “Tri-Cam” system, engineered to remove blind spots.

The cameras are constructed for out of doors use, with an IP65 climate ranking that protects towards mud, rain, and water jets (we’ll let you know every thing it’s essential find out about IP codes). For nighttime protection, the PoE Cam S4 makes use of starlight coloration evening imaginative and prescient and HDR processing to seize detailed, color-rich footage, even in low mild. Black-and-white Infrared evening imaginative and prescient can also be accessible. When movement is detected, the built-in highlight can activate to boost visibility—helpful for figuring out folks or license plates—whereas flashing purple and blue warning lights present a visual deterrent.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Eufy’s NVR hub hosts a 3.5-inch 2TB onerous drive for native storage. That ought to be a lot for many customers, however you may change that drive with one which has as much as 16TB of capability. And because the NVR can assist as much as eight digital camera channels out of the field (it may be expanded to deal with as much as 16 channels), you may end up needing to just do that down the street. Be aware that the 4 bundled cameras will eat two channels every, as a result of every one is sending two video unbiased streams. Because the system makes use of PoE, the cameras will probably be hardwired to the NVR, with that one cable dealing with each information and energy. This makes deployment a lot easier since you don’t want to fret about having an influence outlet close to the place you need to mount every digital camera.

The system’s intelligence comes from Eufy’s on-device AI, which runs totally on the NVR. There’s no round-trip to the cloud and no delay ready for AI to kick in. The system can acknowledge folks, automobiles, pets, and even unfamiliar faces (when you’ve helped it establish mates, households, neighbors, and anybody else who may make frequent appearances). You possibly can set customized detection zones and select which kinds of exercise set off alerts.

That layered design powers Eufy’s superior monitoring options. When the higher wide-angle lens detects a topic, the decrease PTZ lens robotically locks on and follows it, reframing as wanted to maintain the individual centered in view, even from so far as 164 ft away. In group situations, the digital camera can regulate zoom and framing to maintain a number of folks in view, switching again to single-subject monitoring when others depart the body.

The 4 dual-lens cameras work in sync, delivering protection equal to an eight-camera setup. Because of Eufy’s Stay Cross-Cam Monitoring characteristic, when one digital camera reaches its monitoring restrict, one other can robotically decide up the topic, permitting steady monitoring throughout zones. Recorded video is searchable by key phrase, making it simple to find particular occasions with out scrubbing by way of hours of footage.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Whereas the system is managed primarily by way of the Eufy app or net interface, it additionally helps voice management through Alexa and Google Assistant. There isn’t a assist for Apple HomeKit Safe Video, nonetheless, so customers in that ecosystem will discover integration extra restricted.

Setup and efficiency

Set up isn’t troublesome, nevertheless it’s extra concerned than organising battery-powered Wi-Fi cameras. The S4 Max is constructed to be put in outdoor and hardwired to your router, so that you’ll be drilling into partitions or soffits to mount the cameras with the supplied {hardware}, and drilling bigger holes and inserting weatherproof pass-through them that you just’ll pull your ethernet cables by way of. The job requires extra planning, instruments, and time than the everyday battery-powered, Wi-Fi digital camera does.

First, you’ll want to attach the NVR to your router, plug within the included mouse for system management, after which hook up a monitor through the NVR’s HDMI port. From there, you’ll select your digital camera places, mount the digital camera brackets and mount the cameras to them, after which drill close by holes in your partitions, insert weatherproof grommets (one thing like this could work) into the holes on the inside and exterior sides of the wall, and feed the ethernet cables by way of them. You’ll join the opposite finish of the cables to the NVR).

When you’re completed with the labor, configuring the system to work is as simple as you’d count on. The NVR robotically detects the linked cameras, and you may entry the system by way of a monitor, the Eufy app, or through Eufy’s net portal.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

As soon as every thing’s in place, the S4 Max will get to work quietly and capably. Stay Cross Cam Monitoring permits the cameras at hand off shifting topics between zones with minimal delay. When the system spots one thing it flags as a menace, it reacts rapidly, sending alerts inside seconds.

Video high quality is constantly sharp, delivering clear, detailed footage even in low-light situations. The system handles faces, license plates, and motion properly, and the built-in search instruments make it simple to find occasions utilizing pure language like “man in a purple hat.”

In my testing, the app was steady and responsive. Stay view loaded rapidly, object recognition was correct, and playback was easy. You possibly can tailor how every digital camera responds to exercise independently, together with defining exercise zones, selecting which kinds of occasions set off alerts, and customizing how lengthy the on-camera highlight stays energetic. You can even schedule when cameras are energetic or mute notifications by time of day. Every digital camera’s habits will be fine-tuned individually, which supplies you extra management over how the system works in several areas of your property.

Must you purchase the Eufy PoE NVR Safety System S4 Max?

At $1,299, Eufy’s high-end NVR system isn’t precisely an informal buy nevertheless it delivers stable worth for anybody critical about dwelling or small enterprise safety. You’re paying for native management, superior detection, and a system that doesn’t nickel-and-dime you with subscription charges. In the event you’re comfy with the set up necessities and need a system that stays native, customizable, and expandable, the S4 Max is a simple to suggest.

In the event you like Eufy’s native storage and AI options, however would favor wi-fi, battery-powered cameras, contemplate the $550 EufyCam S3 Professional Equipment. We lately reviewed a two-camera system with a Eufy HomeBase 3 for native AI processing and storage prices. It additionally earned a TechHive Editors’ Selection award.

This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the greatest dwelling safety cameras.