Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Surveillance Camera: A Guide to Purchasing and Understanding the Surveillance Camera

A surveillance camera is nothing new when a customer walks into a retail store, convenience store, even a college or school. But surveillance cameras come in a variety of styles and have many functions to accommodate the consumer's needs and preferences. Surveillance in general is watching and observing selected areas for any interference, such as theft, burglary or vandalism. You can have something as small as a peephole surveillance camera to observe who comes to your door without them knowing, or upgrade with audio surveillance equipment where you can speak or listen to the outside as well. Surveillance equipment can come as small or as large as needed, can zoom in or out, there are even spy cameras and wireless cameras out there where large companies can hide cameras to observe their employees activities.

Some functions of a surveillance camera are that it allows you to observe activity that is happening without you actually having to be there. There is no need to inform the people involved and you can gain access to the video via your web browser on the Internet or a local network without having to even be in the same state much less the same building. Depending on your specific needs, you can pause and still capture an image, zoom in and enlarge a part of the image, and even have the surveillance system notify you via email if there is an "occurrence" it has captured on film.

When purchasing a surveillance camera and a surveillance system in general, be familiar with the jargon thrown your way and make sure you know what you need. Some things to consider are:

o The resolution. How detailed of a CCTV camera do you need? This is where you need to think specifics, such as where you want a high-resolution camera (captures up to 500 TV lines) or if you can do with a normal surveillance camera, which will capture about 350 TVL. Upgrading is not costly, so if you don't care about adding about $50-$75 to your budget, purchasing a high-resolution CCTV camera is a wise decision. Make sure your entire surveillance system is capable of supporting high-resolution cameras if you do choose that route.

o Figure out what you are trying to monitor to determine what type of surveillance equipment you will need. Do you just need a video surveillance system to watch vehicles or do you have to actually see merchandise and faces of employees and customers? Once you decide on what you need to see, you can figure out what you will need to purchase.

o Some other things to consider is the noise ratio or interference you can get, such as static or outside surrounding noise that can interfere with what you need to capture on your monitor or recordings. Lighting can also play a factor so determine exactly where the surveillance cameras and CCTV cameras will be placed so you can see if you need a fluorescent bulb or a lux camera, which can make out images in dim light. Depending on your specific needs, you may need to purchase a few different types of surveillance cameras.

o There are many types of surveillance cameras with similar functions to the security camera. Night vision cameras , infrared cameras, PTZ cameras ( pan-tilt-zoom), wireless cameras, and spy cameras are a few of the cameras available. They provide unique functions and are a key part to any surveillance system for home or office.

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