A brief summary of things to consider when determining if you want to add remote video surveillance to your home security system
Most home security systems include surveillance and monitoring cameras. As technology advances and prices for added components continue to drop, it is becoming easier and more cost-effective to include remote video surveillance services to your home security system.
Home security video surveillance
An important consideration when determining whether to add video surveillance service to your home security system is how many cameras you think you might need. Some typical zones on your property that benefit from camera coverage include:
- Any and all entry points (exterior doors and ground-floor windows)
- Outdoor storage units
- Garages or other outbuildings
- Driveways
- Property perimeters (especially for larger lots or those with vision obstructions such as thick vegetation)
In past times, adding enough cameras could be costly as cameras had to be hardwired into your home security system. The rapid advancement in wireless and remote camera technology makes adding enough surveillance cameras easier. Adding wireless security cameras to a cellular or Internet-based system can be as easy as putting add cameras to your home security system up a camera and sending a signal to your system. In these cases, you will want to be aware of battery life for your cameras.
Wireless cameras are more discreet, but they have challenges of their own. They can be interrupted by electrical static and other interference. Wireless cameras can also be intercepted if not properly encrypted.
Archiving footage, there are a few ways to record the feed from your video surveillance system. Most traditional, hardwired systems relied on tapes to record, but this can be costly and isn't very efficient. More modern systems and nearly all wireless an Internet-based systems record directly onto your computer or the nard drive of a DVR as part of your home’s cable television system.
If a separate, third party monitoring service supports your home security system or a security system featuring incident-response guards, the monitoring service archives recorded footage from your surveillance cameras on your behalf.
Some general things to consider when evaluating costs and performance benefits from any remote video surveillance service include:
- Equipment costs (are you buying or renting with your package?)
- Installation charges (are they waived with a contract?)
- Monitoring services and fees (monthly fees tied into a longer contract?)
- Maintenance, repair and replacement costs (if any)
- Warranties
If you’re seriously considering adding remote video surveillance to your home security system, QualitySmith can help by connecting you to local home security professionals.
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