I recently purchased the EmpireTech IPC-Color4K-X-S2 along with the PFA130-E junction box. I want to start by saying the camera itself is excellent—image quality, especially at night, is outstanding and clearly a step above typical consumer brands.

However, my experience with customer service—specifically around returns—was frustrating and disappointing.

After realizing I didn’t need the junction box, I reached out to request a return. What followed was several days of back-and-forth emails with slow non customer centered responses. Ultimately, I was told I would be responsible for return shipping, which was not clearly communicated upfront and came after multiple exchanges.

I understand that smaller vendors may not operate like large retailers, but the process felt unnecessarily drawn out and not particularly customer-friendly. A clearer, more transparent return policy, less pettiness over $9 in shipping, and more efficient communication would go a long way.

Bottom line:

Product quality: ★★★★★ (excellent)
Customer service / returns: ★★☆☆☆ (needs improvement)

If you’re confident in what you’re ordering, you’ll likely be very happy with the product. But if there’s any chance you may need to return something, be aware that the process may not be smooth.

The only place for all your security cameras

I have a simple install because I am doing this the first time and only need monitoring of my home certain times. I ran the ethernet cat 5 e from the six cameras to a switch located in the garage, then one Cat 5 to the NVR, located in a different area. Followed the Andy Youtube instructions. Still trying to figure the motor vehicle alarm setting because it counts the cars up to 99 on the NVR and I haven’t figured out how to turn that off, when I am not recording. Time will tell if this is a good sytem.