What to Consider Before Buying Security Home Camera Systems
Security home camera systems are an essential addition to your home. They help protect your property and give you peace of mind. Read on to understand factors to consider before buying top-rated home security camera systems.
Understanding Security Home Camera Systems
A security home camera system is a surveillance unit that allows users to monitor their property from anywhere. They rely on the internet connection to transmit recorded or live footage to their cameras or smartphones. The best security home camera systems come with various features. For example, they:
- Are powered by a wall outlet, batteries, or wirers
- Communicate through wires or wirelessly using WiFi
- Offer high definition or standard video resolution
- Are designed for outdoor or indoor use
- Record when motion-triggered or continuously
- Can stream videos live and can be controlled via a smartphone app
- May feature an inbuilt alarm system and two-way audio
- Come with night vision, enabling them to see at night
- Have digital zoom, enabling them to zoom in on footage
- May have wide-angle lenses or tilt capacity to see past a standard field of view
Buying Security Home Camera Systems
Here are simple steps you can follow when purchasing a home security camera system and installation.
Identify Parts of Your Home that You want to Protect
Cover all areas where robbers could access your home and key entryways where intruders may walk through. Determine whether you need outdoor or indoor cameras and where to position them. Security experts say you should always ensure that your outdoor and indoor security home camera systems are high enough. That prevents intruders from grabbing or covering them.
Determine whether you need Wireless or Wired Cameras
While wired cameras don’t require a nearby power source, they should be wired to the central recording unit. As a result, you will need professional assistance to install them. Many wireless home security cameras require an outdoor or indoor outlet. You will need to drill through your wall to route a power cord.
Some cameras are powered by a battery that must be charged regularly. The core advantage of wired cameras is that they allow users to continuously record to a local gadget. As a result, you don’t have to pay monthly subscription fees for cloud storage.
You also won’t have to worry about hackers. Wireless cameras are easy to install and have numerous features like activity zones, facial recognition, and user-friendly mobile applications for remote footage viewing.
Know Your Budget
While wireless security home camera systems are cheaper, the cost may rise if you require multiple cameras. You can install the cameras yourself to cut down on installation costs. Wired cameras are usually less expensive upfront, and you won’t pay ongoing video storage fees. However, installation costs can be high.
Choose the Right Features
The core features of security home camera systems are:
Motion Activation
The ideal security home camera systems should start recording immediately after detecting motion. It should then store the footage where it can be accessed easily. Often, this feature is known as event-based recording.
Smartphone Alerts
An excellent security camera should send customizable alerts to the user’s smartphone.
Night Vision
Outdoor security home camera systems should feature night vision with a great range. Find a security camera whose night vision range is nearly 50 feet.
Audio
An inbuilt micro[hone allows users to hear and see everything that’s happening. A speaker to facilitate two-way audio would be an excellent upgrade, allowing you to talk to the person on your property through the camera.
Storage
Many cameras store their footage in the cloud. Local storage on a micro SD can be an option.
These features help secure your property. Other secondary features include:
- An inbuilt floodlight and sirens.
- Two-way audio.
- A broad field of view to cover more areas with a few cameras.
Advanced features you may want to consider include cameras that can differentiate between animals and people and units that monitor particular activity areas to help eliminate false alerts. Determine whether you need a camera that will record continuously or when triggered. Continuous recording ensures you don’t miss anything, but they need lots of video storage and WiFi bandwidth.
Think About Your Privacy
Wireless cameras generate footage over the internet. The footage is then stored on a cloud-based server, meaning that other people can view it. To eliminate this risk:
- Consider purchasing cameras from trustworthy companies that guarantee the security of their cameras.
- Check inbuilt privacy features like geofencing, which switches your cameras off depending on your phone’s location.
- Opt for wireless cameras that provide two-factor authentication to prevent hacking.
Finally
While security home camera systems are self-sufficient, users must ensure the software is updated regularly to enhance security. Check your camera’s mobile application regularly for software or firmware updates and install them immediately based on the camera’s instruction manual.
