FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION

Lorex offers free shipping on orders over $100. For all expedited mail services, the cost will be calculated upon entering your country, city and postal / zip code.

Every Lorex security camera and recorder will have a model number and a serial number. These are typically found on the reverse side of the recorder or security camera. DVR / NVR serial numbers will be displayed either above or below the barcode, starting with M/N:*****. Likewise, the model number of each security camera will be displayed as Model No:*****.

Every Lorex product can be returned within 30 days of delivery. Every product also includes a one-year warranty. This warranty covers both defective products and parts. If your product is deemed defective by us, you will be eligible to receive a replacement of the product (or a similar upgraded product).

Lorex products are designed for consumer and business use only and not for US federal governments, federally-funded projects or contractors subject to NDAA.

The vast majority of Lorex security cameras come with either an IP66 or IP67 weatherproof rating. This IP (Ingress Protection) rating uses a two-digit code to indicates how resistant the equipment is to dust and liquids. Lorex cameras with these ratings are completely protected from dust and can withstand low pressure jets of water from all directions. This ensures safe outdoor use in virtually all climates and atmospheres.

Yes, and no. Some Lorex cameras come with an IK10 vandal proof rating, which ensures they can withstand violent impacts. These cameras usually come with heavy-duty metal exteriors and are ideal for lower "within-reach" installations. The majority of Lorex cameras do not come with this rating, however. This is not to say that are totally vulnerable to vandalism though. They all come with durable exteriors and use vandal-resistant designs to protect their cables.

Select camera models include a built-in microphone that will capture the sounds around the camera. This can be a very handy feature that can add additional evidence (such as voices) and a greater ability to detect and interpret events, even if they occur off-screen. Audio monitoring is not always legal in all areas, so before committing to an audio camera, please ensure you are not breaking any local privacy laws. Lorex assumes no liability for use of its products that does not conform with local laws.

MPX, IP, wireless, and wire-free security cameras are all powered in different ways. All Lorex MPX security cameras include a Siamese RG59 BNC cable. This cable splits into two ends, one for video and one for power. This allows you to plug the camera in near the DVR, rather than an outlet near the camera itself. IP cameras do not need to be plugged in close to the camera either. They receive their power over the Ethernet cable that is connected to the NVR. This is thanks to Power-over-Ethernet technology. Wireless cameras, on the other hand, are required to be plugged into a nearby power outlet (the wireless aspect of wireless cameras takes place between the camera and DVR). Wire-Free cameras are simply powered by rechargeable battery Power Packs. Wire-Free cameras can also be plugged in to ensure constant power.

Yes. The RG59 siamese BNC cables and Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cables that Lorex provides are both in-wall rated and fire resistant. Some of our cables also meet the standards for CMR (Riser) cabling. This means that they can be used between floors, so long as these areas do not circulate environmental air for heating or conditioning systems. Our cables also pass a vertical burn test that ensures flames will not travel along the cable in the case of a fire.

Yes. Each wireless camera sold by Lorex will include a specific wireless receiver. This ensures a secure pairing that only you can access. They also use FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) or DSSS (Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum) technology to generate a channel hopping sequence created by the receiver that only the camera can follow through the "pairing" function.

Wireless cameras are not completely wireless. They still require a power source, which means that they must be plugged in. The wireless aspect takes place between the wireless receiver attached to the DVR and the camera itself. Wire-free security cameras, on the other hand, run on batteries (or solar power), which means they do not need to be plugged in. These cameras typically only turn on if motion is detected. Without a constant power supply, however, wire-free cameras will not provide 24/7 surveillance and will have trouble in high traffic areas since the constant motion will quickly drain the batteries.

Wireless security cameras include a wireless adapter that attaches to the BNC ports on the reverse side of the DVR. Once both the wireless camera and the receiver are powered up, press the "pair" button on the receiver. Then press the "pair" button on the camera within 30 seconds. The video from the wireless camera should then appear for you to monitor. Some wireless cameras also include a weatherproof wireless adapter. This means that you can run a 60ft BNC cable to the wireless receiver, which can be installed on the exterior of your house. This will mean the wireless signal will bypass cement walls and other materials that can diminish the signal and will ultimately extend the maximum distance of your wireless camera.

Wireless security cameras from Lorex will need to be plugged in to an electrical socket for power. Of course, this means that wireless cameras are not fully wireless. The wireless part of our wireless cameras takes place between the camera and the wireless receiver attached to the DVR.

Yes. The night vision ranges of Lorex wireless cameras are similar to our wired cameras. This is because our wireless cameras receive enough power to operate the infrared lights.

Wireless security cameras are ideal for locations that it might otherwise be difficult to run cables too, such as detached buildings, high-up placements, or a distant area of your property. Wireless cameras can also be an easy indoor solution to monitor your important entrances or your home office.

Wireless security cameras from Lorex use high gain antennas that can transmit video to a receiver up to 500ft / 137m away with a clear line-of-site. The indoor range is usually much shorter (usually around 165ft / 50m), since the wireless signal will most likely have to pass through walls and other building materials to reach the camera.

Lorex DVRs (for MPX cameras) and IP cameras both come with advanced Video Motion Detection (VMD) abilities that can spot any movement caught by your security cameras. By constantly analyzing each and every pixel that is recorded, the DVR or IP camera will know the moment that a group of pixels is suddenly different than before. You can customize the sensitivity of the VMD to suit your needs, so you are only made aware of larger movements, like people, and not moving branches in the wind, for example. You can also set up custom smart grids, which allows you to pick sections of the screen that you want your recorder to watch for movement. If movement is detected, you can program your recorder to send push notifications (or email alerts) with video snapshots to notify you. Our recorders and mobile apps will also keep track of all of these motion events for easy reference.

Lorex security recorders can do five things simultaneously. First and foremost, they will record footage. At the same time, you can view the live feeds, playback recorded footage, backup important files to a USB stick, and remotely control your system from your smartphone or tablet - all without affecting the live recordings.

The length of time that your recordings will be stored for depends on your system and your settings. The most important factor is the size of the hard drive. Since our recorders are designed to constantly replace the oldest footage with newest footage, the size of the hard drive greatly determines how long recordings will be stored for. Other settings, such as the number of cameras, resolution, and frames-per-second rate, as well as scheduled and motion-triggered recording options, can also extend your recording times.

Yes. The hard drives within most of our newer DVRs and NVRs can usually be expanded in one way or another. The main things you need to know is how many hard drive bays your recorder has and the maximum amount of storage. This information can be found in the product documentation.

Yes, all of your security footage will be automatically compressed using either H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) or HEVC (H.265) High Efficiency Video Coding. This will save you massive amounts of data and extend your recording times, without losing any noticeable quality in the footage. There is a big difference between the way analog and IP systems will compress footage, however. In analog systems, the video is compressed in the DVR while IP cameras will compress the data themselves before sending the data to the NVR.

H.264 Advanced Video Coding was a big part in making HD content accessible for television and streaming. It promised identical video quality but at half the bitrate (the amount of data required to encode the video). The main method of H.264 video encoding is called interframe compression. This essentially involves a comparison between previous and future frames to the current frame. If most pixels are virtually the same, then the data from the original frame is intercoded to the new frame. This means that only the pixels that have changed will be stored in the data. H.265 High Efficiency Video Encoding takes the process further by looking within the same frame for similarities (intraframe compression). It also uses more motion prediction modes and a greater intrerframe compression techniques to keep file sizes smaller without losing video quality. In the end, H.265 encoding attempts to do the same thing for 4K and 8K resolutions as H.264 encoding did for 1080p HD - identical video quality but at half the bitrate.

You can download video footage to a portable USB drive or an external USB hard drive. After inserting your USB media into the USB port on the DVR or NVR, right click on the live view to bring up the main menu (you may have to log-in at this point). Next, click on the "Backup" menu option. From there, select the channel and start / end time that you would like to backup. A list of files should then appear. Click the files you would like to backup and click start. Your clip(s) will then begin to download onto your USB media.

You can choose to save files as either .DAV or .ASF files or .MP4. To view .DAV files, please download the Video Player from www.lorextechnology.com/support. To view .ASF files, please download the free VLC Media Player (not supported by Lorex) from www.videolan.org.

Absolutely. There are plenty of customizable options on both DVRs and NVRs. Configure general system options, scheduled and motion recording, network settings, display settings, and motion settings. You can also configure recording settings such as resolution and frames-per-second.

Lorex security cameras typically use "Active" night vision technology. This type of night vision works by illuminating the area in front of the camera in invisible infrared light. The infrared light is provided by small infrared LEDs, usually found around the lens of the security camera. The camera, built to be receptive to this IR light, will then see the intensity of the reflected light on the scenery and convert it to a video signal.

Lux is a unit of measurement that gages the amount of light that falls on an object. In general, one Lux is equal to the light produced by one candle (one meter away). Most of our security cameras are 0 Lux, which means that they are capable of producing a visible image in total darkness with the help of their infrared LEDs. Without the infrared LEDs, Lorex cameras will still typically be able to produce decent video footage without the help of the infrared LEDs with just 0.1 Lux.

Infrared light falls just outside of the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is within this visible portion that we see color. Infrared light has a longer wavelength, falling just outside of the visible spectrum (which is also why infrared light is invisible to the human eye). So in low-light situations, the camera cannot detect the visible light wavelength. Rather, it detects the infrared light wavelength, which is not part of the visible spectrum and is thus black and white.

Color night vision cameras need ambient light to produce full color images in the dark. CNV cameras use espeically powerful image sensors that are more sensitive to light. This means that the image sensor can absorb more light, which is how it is able to continue to see color at night. Without any ambient light (under 1 Lux), the security camera will rely entirely on its infrared LEDs, which will turn the footage to black and white.