Camera Installers Inc.

I had an issue with my 10-year-old, 5-camera system in that one of the cameras had lost its night vision capability. After reaching out to a number of resources to determine a course of action, I elected to upgrade the existing system as it became obvious that current systems are vastly superior.
I selected Victor, of Camera Installers, based on the advice he provided and his reputation on Home Stars. He did the job in much less than a day, taking maximum advantage of the existing cabling. Victor was very knowledgeable in answering my questions, demonstrating how to use the system, and setting up my computer, cell phone and iPads for remote access. He was also very respectful of current public health advice regarding COVID-19, social distancing where possible and wearing a mask while in the house.
In general, working with Victor was a pleasant experience and I will not hesitate to use him again.

***** UPDATE *****
This is an update to my review. While my initial installation experience was very positive, Victor’s after-sales service has been quite disappointing. Because of this I am downgrading my overall review to a 5 or less.
My first experience was simple. The original installation included a lockable steel cabinet for the power supply but I wasn’t left with the key. Victor promised he would look for it but never got back. I was not inclined to pursue this further as this was not a deal-breaker.

My second experience related to the fact that I couldn’t find a user manual for the DVR on-line and requested instruction on how to export files. In response he sent a YouTube video for a different DVR that was not helpful at all. Fortunately, I was able to figure it out myself through trial and error so I lived with this complaint as well.

While these issues were more annoying than problematic, my most recent experience has resulted in a significant loss of functionality. My ISP, Rogers Cable, replaced my modem, creating a problem where I can no longer view my feeds over the internet. My understanding of the solution is that it will require an update to the external DDNS and port forwarding settings, both of which are password protected by Camera Installers. I discussed the issue with Victor in early October. He immediately understood the problem, suggesting that he didn’t even need to visit and would solve the problem during the following week by remotely taking over my computer. I have since tried to contact him numerous times over the phone to no avail. He has not returned any of my messages. I now have been waiting for more tha a month and have to conclude that Victor has no interest in addressing my problem.

My only recourse seems to be to contact another contractor to re-establish my lost functionality. I will provide another update to this review when my problem has been resolved.

*****FINAL UPDATE*****
I ended up using Homestars to identify other service providers and discovered that most service providers either did not want to service equipment not installed by them or wanted a lot of money to try. Ultimately, I found a good one. Not only was the service provider knowledgeable of my situation and my equipment but he walked me through a solution on the spot! And more impressively, he also did not charge me for this advice even though I am not a regular customer. Finally my issue is resolved!