It used to be that having a sophisticated video surveillance system would cost an arm and a leg. As such, everyone assumed that only big companies would invest in such a security system. Thankfully, this is no longer the case, so it is much more affordable for you to protect your small business, home office, or just your home in general.
One of the more versatile solutions that you may consider is the Archerfish system. Said to be the “smartest approach to video monitoring,” Archerfish allows for up to four discreet cameras and full web-based access.
Security Cameras for the Home and Office
Looking at some other video monitoring systems, you may encounter a couple of different issues. First, the monitoring may only provide a live feed and it may not be able to record clips based on motion. Second, you may only be able to review the video feed locally. Archerfish has neither of these issues.
First off, you can access and customize your Archerfish system anywhere you have Internet access. Hopping into the Archerfish SmartPortal, you can check the live feed, review recorded clips, and set up new detection rules. You can also receive automated notifications by email or to a mobile device.
Inside the box, you get just about everything you need to get started. This is comprised of a SmartBox that must be connected to your router, (at least) one camera that you can mount wherever you’d like, and all the cabling that you’d need for the setup. A bevy of documentation is included too.
Hardware Setup
The Archerfish SmartBox looks like it could just as easily be a DVR or a media player, but it is neither of these. Instead, it acts as the “brain” for your Archerfish video monitoring system.
Swinging around to the back, you’ll find the LAN port for the required Internet connectivity, jacks for up to four cameras, a jack for an external monitor, USB port, and ports for digital input and output. For basic functionality, all you need are the ones for a single camera, power, and LAN. Bear in mind that each camera will need its own power source as well.
This part of the setup process is reasonably straightforward, except for the time that you’ll need to mount your camera in an appropriate location and running the cable back to the SmartBox. This will take some planning on your part, of course.
Online Registration Required
After getting the hardware side of things set up, you’ll need to point a web browser to the Archerfish SmartPortal to go through the configuration settings. This includes registering your SmartBox, entering your user information, defining your notification preferences, and entering your billing information.
You will need a credit card at this point. This is because there is a monthly subscription fee in order to use an Archerfish. The basic plan for one SmartBox (with up to four cameras) and 50MB of online storage is $7.99 a month. For plans with two, three, or four SmartBox units, you’ll be paying $11.98, $15.97, and $19.96 a month, respectively. Each SmartBox is given 50MB of of online storage for video.
Defining Events
The initial setup process is not done at this point. While you could certainly just use the Archerfish for a live video feed from your camera, you don’t get to harness its true power until you define events and zones.
An “event” is when you are telling the Archerfish to record the video feed for later viewing. This is based on motion and it is based on the “zones” that you define. You can have the event setup to be triggered by a person, a vehicle, general motion, or an external trigger.
This is within a certain time span and you can set the minimum duration before the motion “triggers” the event. At that time, the Archerfish will record the video and have it stored in your SmartPortal for later review.
Defining Zones
Instead of recording any motion that comes across any part of the camera’s view, you can define up to three “zones.” Make sure you have your camera mounted exactly where you want it before you do this, because you will be drawing your polygons based on the previewed image.
A good example of this would be if you had the camera set up to see a loading dock. You want an event to be triggered if a person gets too close to your building, but you don’t want it to be triggered by traffic that is just passing by.
Reviewing Recorded Videos
Logging into your SmartPortal, you can then look at the different events that have been recorded since the last time you reviewed them. These videos can be viewed right in your web browser or they can be saved (or deleted) individually.
The motion detection seems to work quite well, but I found the video quality to be lacking. Bear in mind that the MP4 files that result are only at a QVGA resolution. You’ll be able to make out that it’s a person, but the precise facial features may escape you.
The user interface is certainly robust, but it may take you some time to get used to how to use the menu. There are “hidden” drop-down menus that only appear when you hover your mouse pointer over them.
Closing Thoughts
Video monitoring solutions are supposed to be more affordable and more robust these days. The Archerfish Kit seems to address the latter, giving you the ability to access any of your cameras over the Internet. The ability to set up “zones” and “events” is quite useful as well.
Unfortunately, Archerfish doesn’t do a lot in terms of helping to bring the price down. The basic Archerfish Quattro Kit, which provides you with the Quattro SmartBox and two cameras, runs for the cool price of $1699, not including the monthly subscriptions fees that you’ll have to pay.
The camera resolution is not as good as I would like to see, especially at this price, though I suppose this helps with accessing the feed over a mobile device. The ability to record video from all cameras to a USB-attached storage device is certainly useful, since the online account will only hold 50MB of data at a time. This also allows you to pull the USB drive every day and lock them away for safe keeping.
If the Archerfish solution were a lot cheaper or “included” the monthly service fee, I may think otherwise. At this premium price, I expected a bit more value added features to justify the price. More online storage or even some backup internal storage would be a start. It’s clearly priced for enterprise, businesses and people living in large mansions.
Coincidentally, you could set up a more budget friendly solution with a webcam and a properly-equipped NAS with a bit of work. However, for most people willing to pay the price for a professional, easy to setup solution that monitors multiple locations over the web, this could very well work out for you.
Pros
- Relatively easy to setup and configure
- Highly scalable with support for up to four cameras per box
- Good motion-based events and zones
- Solid build quality
Cons
- Each camera needs its own separate power source
- Only QVGA resolution video
- Only 50MB of online storage with basic plan
- Much more expensive than expected
Overall Rating: 7.0/10.0
Love This Review? Hate This Review? Tell Us In The Forums!
Archerfish SmartBox and Camera Surveillance Kit Photo Gallery
