A complete video surveillance system can record all activity
to VHS tape or to disc, where you can burn a CD. This
information is valuable to law enforcement to be able to find
the criminals. No one is immune from being robbed. The cost of a
system is low compared to your potential losses of irreplaceable
items.
According to the FBI, 79% of all home burglary's are done
through the front or back door, or a ground floor window. You
need to have systems in place, inside and outside to record all
areas of the first floor of your home, and maybe 1-4 cameras on
the second floor.
There are many choices for you to consider starting at $99 for
some cheap junk on eBay, all the way up to complete PC based
systems that will record all activity to disc using state of the
art wireless cameras and cost thousands of dollars. We will
cover some of the basics that you will need to know in order to
determine which surveillance camera system is right for you.
When choosing a video surveillance camera system for your
home, there are several things you need to consider:
- Will You Use Hidden Cameras vs.
Visible Cameras?
- Will You Use Wireless Cameras vs.
Wired Cameras?
- Will You Need Indoor Systems or
Outdoor Systems?
- How Will You Record The Activity,
VHS Recording vs. DVR Recording?
Hidden Cameras vs. Visible Cameras
Hidden Cameras The first thing
you want to consider is whether you want your cameras to be
visible or not. Modern technology has reduced a video camera
down to miniature levels. Hidden cameras can be hidden ANYWHERE,
even behind a pinhole, and can be put in practically any
everyday item in your house; smoke detectors, TV antennas, clock
radios, baby wipes, Pringles chips, etc. The advantage is that
the criminal won't know they are being recorded, and you should
catch more theft. Hidden cameras could be more expensive then
visible cameras.
Visible Cameras A visible camera system consists of any
number of visible cameras from the black dome cameras you see in
most stores, to the old fashioned kinds on brackets pointing at
you at the bank. There are also high resolution cameras that can
zoom in to tight detail. The advantages of these types of
systems is that your criminal will know they are being watched,
and that should deter a lot of crime that normally would occur
without the cameras.
If you have a tight budget, even a series of dummy camera's,
camera bodies with no working parts except a flashing red light,
are proven to deter crime. If you don't have the funds for a
working video surveillance system, just installing four to
twelve dummy cameras fools the criminal into thinking you have a
real system in place.
Do you really want visible cameras in your home? It seems the
best choice for a home are hidden cameras.
Wireless Cameras vs. Wired Cameras You have two choices
for the type of surveillance system, wireless and wired. Both
have advantages and disadvantages;
Wireless Camera System Wireless camera systems are the
fastest systems to install, as you just need to mount the
cameras, hook up the wireless receiver in the back room, and
wire it all together to a power box and some type of system to
record the video.
The advantages of wireless cameras are that they can be
installed in locations that are difficult, if not impossible to
wire. They can be moved to different locations easily, as often
as you like, and if the need arises, they can be hidden inside
everyday objects like wall clocks, radios, table lamps, etc.
To overcome the disadvantages of a wireless camera, you should
buy one with a higher frequency transmission band of at least
1.2GHz or above. The best are in the 2.4 GHz range. If you need
to take video from the wireless camera a long distance from the
receiver, or there are walls, metallic or steel obstacles
between the wireless camera and the receiver, you should buy a
wireless model with a higher transmission power, that is, a
transmitter with longer transmission distance. Another good idea
is to use a high gain antenna for the transmitter or receiver,
which will improve the signal transmission/reception.
The disadvantages of wireless cameras are that the video stream
might be disturbed or influenced by moving objects or strong
radio or even telephone frequencies. Video/audio transmission is
limited within the prescribed transmission range. These
disadvantages will not occur with a wired camera.
Wireless camera systems are also more expensive than wired
systems, as they require a lot of receivers and transmitters to
received the video that normally would run in the inexpensive
wires. However, the costs are usually worth it, as it could cost
less to install, and less to relocated. Overall, the video/audio
signals from a wireless camera are less stable than a wireless
camera.
Wired Camera Systems Wired camera systems are more stable due to
the cable, which doesn't have the interference problems
associated with wireless systems. You need to run a video cable
to each camera in order to get a video feed. You will have to
run the wire either through the walls and ceiling, or have it
exposed on the wall. While the cost of the system is less than a
wireless system, it will require more work to install, and if
you are paying someone, it might cost more than buying a
wireless system.
You should look at the total costs to purchase and install both
systems and go with what is best for you. Overall, the
video/audio signals from a wired camera are more stable than a
wireless camera.
Looks like Wireless Cameras win here, easy to hide and
install.
Indoor Systems vs. Outdoor Systems Depending on your
needs, you will need a camera for indoor or outdoor needs. If
you have the funds, you should have a camera in front and out
back to monitor the entrances. You will need a camera that can
withstand the elements. Unless it's specifically sold as an
outdoor or waterproof camera, a regular camera can't withstand
the beating from Mother Nature that a weatherproof camera can
endure.
You can find many types of outdoor camera, dome, bullet, and
standard. All are enclosed in waterproof cases and some even
have heaters for cold areas. You can also buy armor dome cameras
that will withstand direct hits from bats and hammers. These are
recommended in high crime areas.
It looks like a Wireless system will fit the bill, unless you
need outdoor capabilities, then you want to consider a
surveillance system that will let you hook up wireless, as well
as outdoor wired cameras.
Video vs. DVR Recording You need to determine if you want
to record the activity. It's a good idea to record the video so
you can give a copy to law enforcement for future needs. You
have two choices, VCR or DVD.
VCR allows you to record the video with a Video Cassette
Recorder (VCR) directly to a VHS tape. You can use a bank of
standard VCR's, or there are high density VCR's that allow you
to record days of video. Some come with motion detectors and
won't record unless the video changes. The disadvantages are
that you have to know about what time the event occurred, or you
will have to review all the tape sequentially, or on fast
forward.
The latest technology is using a DVR or PC based DVR system to
record the video to disc. The advantages are a DVD can be burned
from the digital recording. This is the easiest system to review
your recordings, as you can jump ahead to any point in the
recording, unlike the VHS tape. The initial cost will be larger
than a VCR system, though you won't need to buy tapes, and the
ease of use will be worth the extra money for a DVR based
system.
You have two types of DVR systems, DVR recorder and PC based.
DVR recorders feed the video directly into the hard drive or
disc on the recorder and you either burn the disc, or back up
the hard drive. These come in a variety of sizes, from standard
sizes for indoor uses, down to field use DVRs the size of a pack
of cigarettes that can record up to 60 hours of video from a
hidden surveillance camera.
Your other option is the PC based surveillance system that uses
a Personal Computer, a video capture card, and VISEC
surveillance software as a control center that can not only
record the video and burn it to disc, a quad can be installed to
monitor the feeds on real time over a computer screen, and break
it up into quadrants to monitor multiple cameras at the same
time, in real time.
We have only just scratched the surface of video surveillance
systems with this brief overview, and future articles will focus
on the pros and con's of what is out there, and is it right for
you.
Don't delay installing a surveillance system for your home. You
never know when crime will strike and it is too late after the
fact. Get it on disc so the police can arrest the criminals.
Christopher Winkler
Author
Eye Spy Pro
Supplier of Video Surveillance & Spy Equipment
mailto:cwinkler@eyespypro.com
http://www.eyespypro.com/complete-systems.htm
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