There are a number of reasons to install a home security camera system and probably the biggest reason is to actually catch whoever is causing you problems.
While standard security systems are important they will only deter and report problems. Many will call you, the police or fire department as necessary but what if you want to see what is happening live or have it recorded for later.
Actually theft is not the only reason to have a security camera system. You may want one to monitor your baby sitter or to monitor work people that you let into your home while you are away.
You may even just run a chicken farm and want to watch your chickens all day.
Whatever your reason for a camera system the costs for installing one has dropped quite a bit and along with that it is now a do it yourself job that will provide you access from your home tv or even over the internet.
If you have an Iphone or other phone that can access web pages then you can access your home or business’s camera system from the palm of your hand and if you want remote backup you can send the images to an internet server in real time for later recovery.
What Type and How Big a system do you need?
The size of the system that you install is really up to your needs.
For under $500 you can get a 4 camera system that can record in color and both in the day and night. A system of this size can provide you days, weeks or even months of recording time so even if you go away the system will keep on recording.
How elaborate you get really depends on your situation. Even simply setting up a Webcam or two inside your home to an old computer could be enough.
Or just leaving your video camera in your window to watch for activity around your home.
Larger Systems
If you have a medium or large business you may want to monitor a number of locations on your site.
Any area where there is danger such as a loading dock or tool station may require monitoring. You may want to monitor both your customers and workers at each cash register and any area where you believe there could be problems.
Outside Cameras
It is not necessary to mount cameras outside your building to monitor your lot but most cameras can be installed outside if they are placed in a weather tight housing. This means you can use dedicated outside cameras or buy a housing that will protect standard cameras from the weather.
Wired or Wireless
Whether your camera is wired or wireless is really up to you and your ability to wire the camera in its location. The fact is though most cameras that do not work on solar or battery power will require a wire to provide 12v voltage to the camera.
In this case a special wire that includes both power and signal can be installed reducing the number of wires and related problems.
If you have a remote location such as a very large parking lot you may want to use wireless transmission and get your power from a light post.
DVR and Internet Recording
If you are useto using a television remote then you can handle the security camera system.
Depending on the number of cameras your system can support your initial screen will be split into boxes with previews of each camera. If you want to watch any of the cameras individually you simply select the camera and it will go full screen on your monitor.
The same is true if you access your video system from the internet. If you have ever seen a webcam on the internet then you know how easy it is to view a camera system over the internet remotely.
Storage of video can be local in the DVR or it can be remote on the internet or both.
With wireless technology you can install a usb card in your system that will allow direct connection to the internet without the use of your cable or telephone system for about $50 a month at most.
You can set them up to call you or to text your phone if there is a problem or directly call the police, fire department or a neighbor if the problem is not serious.
Hide or Don’t Hide your Security System?
This is a question that only you can answer. If you know you have a problem area where it would be helpful to record video you may not want to announce the presence of your camera system.
If the system is in your own home then you have more right to not announce the presence of recording equipment then you may in a store or other public area.