Camera Dvr Security

How to Select a Home Security Surveillance System

The technology used in home security surveillance systems has changed dramatically over the years. Today, the surveillance cameras that come with surveillance systems are smaller, cheaper, and better. Up until a few years ago video footage was recorded onto VHS tape, but today DVR (digital video recorder) systems record video footage onto a hard drive. The price of home security surveillance system has come down dramatically over the last few years. The surveillance cameras and the video recording device are the two main parts of any home security surveillance system.

1. Surveillance Camera Technology

Surveillance cameras either use CMOS or CCD (charge couple device) chips to record video images. CCD surveillance cameras produce better quality video than the cheaper CMOS surveillance cameras. CCD camera formats are measured in inches, and the larger the format the brighter the images produced. A CCD format of 1/4″ or 1/3″ is good enough for most situations.

The number of TV Lines (TVL) is how the resolution of a surveillance camera is normally specified. This determines how detailed the video picture quality is. Cameras today typically produce a video resolution between 350-400 TVL. The number of separate images that a surveillance camera can record per second is said to be the frame rate of the camera. Most camera’s can record at 30fps (frames per second), and video below 30fps is not smooth and begins to look jerky.

A color surveillance camera is not as good as a black and white camera in poor lighting conditions. The unit of measurement for a camera’s light sensitivity is the lux. A camera’s light sensitivity must be 0.5 lux or lower to be able to view images at night.

2. Surveillance Camera Lenses

The lens of a surveillance camera should match the CCD format of the camera – 1/3″ lenses should be used with cameras with a 1/3″ CCD format. The cameras in most home security surveillance systems have lenses with a fixed focal length – these cameras do not have a facility to zoom in and out. Motorized zoom cameras are more expensive, and allow you to change the camera’s zoom focal length remotely.

3. Other Surveillance Camera Features

Some surveillance cameras include Infrared (IR) LEDs, which project an infrared light allowing you view video in complete darkness. These cameras can typically see between a a range of 10 to 50 feet in complete darkness. Home security surveillance systems that have surveillance cameras with a PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) facility are normally more expensive. To be able to pan the camera’s view left and right, tilt the camera’s view up or down, or zoom in and out, the camera must have a PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) facility.

4. Surveillance Camera Housings

A home security surveillance system can have large, visible cameras, which are cheaper, have larger housings, and can deter criminals by being clearly visible. Covert surveillance cameras are more expensive, are quite small, and are normally hidden within household objects. Cameras with dome housings are mounted on the underside of ceilings. Dome housings are normally used to house cameras with a PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) facility. Weatherproof security camera housings are used with outdoor surveillance cameras that need to be protected from the elements.

5. Video Surveillance Monitors

Using a standard TV as a video surveillance monitor does not produce the best picture quality. Computer monitors produce better picture quality, and also offer an extended lifespan. If you want to display video from multiple cameras onto a single monitor, then a 15″ monitor should be the minimum size you purchase.

6. Video Surveillance System Recorders

Most home security surveillance systems today record video onto a hard drive and not VHS tape. This has several advantages. Firstly, you do not need to fast-forward or rewind a tape to go to a specific point in a recording – you can immediately go to that specific point in the recoding. Secondly, you can playback an earlier part of any camera recording whilst that camera is still recording.

Motion detection is a handy feature which is incorporated into some home security surveillance systems, which allows you to only record when motion is detected within a certain area. This will reduce the hard drive storage space requirements. VCR systems today are a lot cheaper than DVR systems, and this is the only advantage of buying a VCR system.

7. PC Based DVR Versus Standalone DVR

There are two types of home security surveillance system, PC based DVR systems, and standalone DVR systems. A PC based DVR system is quite cheap, and is run off an existing PC. An expansion board must be installed into the PC case, and the required software must be installed onto the PC. The problem with PC based DVR systems are that these systems are unstable and slow when compared to standalone DVR systems.

The recording on a DVR security camera system is done using hardware, and this eliminates software crashes that you sometimes get with the PC based DVR systems. PC based systems generally do not perform as well, and are not as reliable as DVR systems.

8. Considerations when buying a Home Security Surveillance System

Your first consideration is the quality of the video you want to record. The is is the quality of the video recordings in terms of resolution (TV Lines), and the video frame rate (video smoothness). The second consideration is the number of cameras that you will need for your home security surveillance system. Four cameras are normally included with entry-level systems. The third important consideration is the hard drive size that you will require for the DVR system. Low-end DVR systems come with 80 gigabyte (GB) hard drives, whilst top-end systems come with a 750GB hard drive.

 

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DVR Security Camera Frames Per Second FPS

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