The price range for home security systems is also very diverse. You can invest in a black and white camera in case your budget is low. Even though black and white cameras may not pick up as much detail as a color camera. But they can useful as some black and white cameras can pick up better light at night time. You can also choose between a ip camera or hard-wired camera.

A very important factor when it comes to setting up a home security system is location. So, most people prefer wireless cameras due to their ease of setting up and also because they are also easy to move around if you need to watch over more than one area of your property. You may find a wired security camera useful, if there is one specific area of your property that needs constant monitoring. Night vision Home security Cameras can be used in darker environments, to provide excellent security of the surrounding area. Night vision Home security Cameras can also be used during the day but they will allow you to see intruders on your property at night with good clarity.

They are able to detect people through the use of an infrared LED which senses the heat emitted by humans by the thermal imaging device. Such night vision cameras with infrared illuminators are often used for commercial property that covers a larger area but they can be used both as indoor and outdoor units. They are usually enclosed in a metal shell and most have triggering alarms or lightings which start automatically on seeing any moving object. Some of these night vision Home security Cameras also have microphones to pick up sounds.

Home cctv cameras have been mostly designed to blend in with their surroundings and placed in obscure places making them difficult to see. So, in case you are thinking of getting a home security camera, then you should make sure that you do your research on different types of home Home security Cameras. You can do the research on the Internet by the various articles available and the websites of most of the home security system corporations.

You can also consult a home security expert which can be provided by most of the home security companies prior to your purchases.

Wireless spy cameras use radio frequency to broadcast the videos. A lot of them come with a integrated transmitter. The electrical power is drawn from batteries and/or AC adaptor. Take care the camera is power is on and subsequently attach the receiver to a small screen. In addition, there are wireless spy cameras with a rechargeable battery. These devices can be found in the shape of a cell phone. No one can know that the cell phone is in fact a wireless camera. With this kind of camera, you won’t require battery replacement. One more benefit of using these fake cell phones is they are moveable.

Spy cameras are offered in different shapes, like pens, necktie, sunglasses, and so on. These kinds of camera are appropriate for you who would like to make use of a hidden camera while traveling. Usually these kits cost hundreds of dollars. On the other hand, you can find many cheaper ones in the market. In addition, the maximum distance where the receiver is able to catch the signals is supposed to be considered as well. On an average, the maximum distance the camera and its receiver cover is around 30 meters.

Besides, there are spy cameras that come with a built-in DVR. The benefit of using these cameras is that they are difficult to spot. For sure, you can buy a spy camera and a recorder individually. One more thing to think about is the audio quality that enables for both sound as well as video recording. Be aware that not all of spy cameras are able to broadcast audio signals. Transmission frequency measured in 1.2 or 2.4 GHZ and resolution of the camera are a few other things that you should consider so as to get a spy camera that will be right for your requirements.

The attractiveness of spy cameras at present is you can hook them up to a computer to widen its usefulness. If you set up surveillance software on your computer you can also carry out remote monitoring and surveillance by means of internet without having to spend a great deal wealth. Like this, your computer acts as a DVR as well. A spy cam can be an excellent asset for home security. At present, you can come across the ones that are concealed in a variety of objects, like pen, stuffed toys, and alarm clock. On the other hand you can seek to conceal the camera in other regular things for instance within a toy or a picture frame. It relies on what you wish to achieve.

Choosing between analog and digital system is a complicated task, whether the system is being designed for monitoring a business activity or for home surveillance. If some one already has multiple analog CCTV cameras installed, updating the system by replacing each existing analog camera with a digital CCTV camera costs a considerable amount and time. Some leading companies of surveillance system market like Avermedia.com have introduced Analog DVRs that enable such users of analog CCTV system to have the advantage of digital surveillance system at a fractional cost. Analog Avermedia DVRs prevent the need for immediately replacement of analog CCTV cameras thus saving huge. With the help of Analog Avermedia DVRs, surveillance system designers or operators may incorporate new IP cameras in to the existing analog system, eliminating all the limitations thus making the existing system as efficient as the advanced one.

The selection of right Analog Avermedia DVR depends upon the system owner requirements, configuration, purpose and budget. Though there are many options but Analog Avermedia DVRs have become the first choice of the surveillance system designers through out the world.

EB5208DVD Analog DVR: EB5208DVD Analog Avermedia DVR is considered among the best options while designing the surveillance system for gas stations and convenience stores. It includes shield (30×20/ 30×24 blocks) and Motion Detection mask for independent control of recording areas. It has 8 ch video – Audio inputs for Real-Time recording. This facilitates the users to view the live video on mobile phones also. iSync mode of this Avermedia DVR allows the users to enjoy playback and live video on the same screen simultaneously.

EB5416DVD Pro Analog DVR:   EB5416DVD Pro Analog Avermedia DVR is considered among the best options available for the mid-sized educational campuses or businesses houses. It has 16 channels video/ audio input for ‘Real-Time’ recording. Jog shuttle at the front panel makes the entire operation very convenient. It is compatible with many mobile phones also; this feature gives the users freedom to move anywhere and to enjoy the live or playback recording anytime as per their wish. iSync mode, Motion Detection mask, Hot-key for speedy access etc are the other unique features of this Avermedia DVR that makes this ultimate choice of the surveillance system designers using 16 channel recording configuration.

EB1304MOB Analog DVR: EB1304MOB Analog Avermedia DVR is an ideal choice for transportation applications like school buses and ambulances because its iStable software and rubber insulated mounting brackets handle the jerks of mobile units without letting them to disturb the image quality. It has 4 channels video plus 1 channel optional audio input. Peak voltage protection, over heat protection and 7 segment LED lights to give a quick snapshot of system operation are other unique features that are sufficient to make it a favorite of surveillance system designers and owners.

So, when you come at Avermedia dvr for the solutions to cater your need of Analog DVR, you find a wide range to select the best as per your parameters without compromising with your requirements or purpose. The money you invest for buying analog Avermedia DVR is complete safe because every product comes with reliable after sales support and guarantee that you get at your end through its experienced and reputed channel partners like

Firstly, there’s no hassle to drill holes for wire installation. The system is almost wireless, except the landlines and the power connection to the control panel. This set-up method saves time, money and manpower.

Secondly, most wireless home security system comes with battery backup during power failure. The life span of the battery which can go about 24 hours makes the wireless home security system a dependable system.

Thirdly, whenever the alarm is triggered, you will be notified via your cell phones. Some wireless home security systems will notify the authorities too. So you do not have to worry being far away from your home.

Fourthly, some wireless home security system has the sensor detectors for leaking. The alarm will be triggered each time there’s a leak like flooding or heavy rain. This additional feature of wireless home security system helps those living in flood prone land.

Fifthly, the wireless home security system can easily be customized and fitted to the users liking. Sensors can be added to the system and because it is wireless, it is very perfect to be used in condos or apartments.

The above five reasons firmly justify why wireless home security system are worth buying home security system. Different providers offer different set of functionality of the wireless home security system. Therefore, do some homework and pick the best wireless home security system for your home.

Same time how to select proper Video Surveillance System for your business is a major concern.  Indian market is flooded with Taiwan, Chinese, Korean and Some Indian products and there are multiple options available to choose from. Usually, when you go to a vendor selling security products you do not know what to ask for and one might end up with a wrong product.

Product technology has transitioned from old days CCTV camera to latest sophisticated
IP Based intelligent Video Surveillance systems (Networked Video Surveillance Systems). As market is enjoying the Benefits of internet and IT as whole, now a lot could be expected our of the security systems fitted in your facility.

IP camera systems are good entry level option. If you’re your need one or two camera and would like to monitor remotely IP cameras are nice choice. There are multiple varieties are IP cameras in the market.

But for multiple camera systems , IP cameras do not stream video over the Internet properly. So your need is for more than one camera then you should know that these are the factors that you should consider and ask the vendor the right questions and then make a wise decision according to your budget and requirement.

You should go for a networked surveillance system even if you do not have an internet connection because you can view it locally anyways and you have the option of connecting it to the internet for remote viewing anytime in future. Since the price difference between the traditional CCTV and networked Video Surveillance Unit will be only about 20% more. You will spend on the cameras and wiring any ways.

What you should look in a security product – that is advanced CCTV or Video Surveillance System

1.    Storage capacity of DVRs– Make sure your systems provides you adequate days and months of storage for all of your cameras.

2.    Secure Access – The IP Video Surveillance System should provide Secure Access – when you are accessing you location over the internet it should have secure access over the VPN (Virtual Private Network). So that there is less or no possibility that anybody can hack your location and get visibility into your facility, shop or business.

3.    Extensible Storage – The IP Video Surveillance System should provide Extensible Storage. One should be able to add the storage so that one can save the important data for multiple days or months as required. Also one should be able to save such data over the LAN at different location for security reasons. One should be able to have the option of having extendible Storage through NAS and RAID.

4.    Scalable -The networked Surveillance System should be Scaleable and should be able to add local and remote cameras. So the system should be scalable to add cameras and also the storage via NAS and RAID.

5.    Different Types of Cameras Support – You might need to use night vision and PTZ cameras. The networked surveillance system should support PTZ cameras and also one should be able to operate the cameras over the Internet and should be able to Pan and Zoom the camera.

6.    MPEG4 and H.264 Industry Standard Compliant – The Networked Video Surveillance should be built using the industry standards of MPEG 4 and H.264. One should pay attention to this because many companies might claim to have these but in reality one should see that they are following the standards because this will save you in operating costs and you will need less storage and disk space.

7.    Adaptation to Local Internet Band with – The Networked Video Surveillance should adapt to available Internet band with and should not be rigid. If this feature is not there then you will not be able to watch the video at all on fluctuating Internet band with. This will help you to get access from anywhere and anytime.

8.    Viewing Multiple Videos over the net in Real Time- If all the above mentioned technologies are used in the product then one should be able to see multiple videos streaming real time on 256 Broad band connections or even on 126 Kbps wireless connections to the laptop.

9.    Dynamic DNS Support – The Networked Video Surveillance should provide Dynamic DNS support. This will save you running cost of purchasing Static IP and also many Internet providers especially in developing countries do not proved static IP.

10.    Inter-operability over different platforms – Inter-operability with various clients Apple, PDAs, Windows and Linux. So you should be able to access your premises on various types of mobile and stationary equipment and also over multiple technology platforms.

11.    Video Management Software – The networked Surveillance System should give have Intelligent video management software that gives administrative rights at various levels so that the owner can assign the appropriate access rights to the appropriate person.        

12.    Intelligent UPS support – The system should turn off safely when the power supply goes off and it comes on UPS.

13.    Preserve latest video in case of sudden power loss- the networked Surveillance System should be able to save the latest data when sudden power loss happens.

14.    Local Supply and Support – The system should have local supply and support.

15.    Warranty- Make sure that the CCTV, DVR or NVSS has one year warranty and that they will give you the new unit if there is a problem with in one year and you should be able to purchase extended warranty for less than 25% of the product value. This is important because the system can fail and you can loose all your investment in less than a year.

16.    User Manual- User Manual should be available with the product. If somebody is purchasing a card and building a system on a cheap computer this may not be there.

17.    The system should have the capability and option to record only on motion to save on hard disk and avoid unwanted recording.

18.    The system should raise an alert when the camera is not working or is being disconnected for any reason.

19.    The system should generate alerts via emails and / or SMS when there is motion and on intrusion or user defined events.

20.    Also make sure that the system will work with your existing wiring and cameras so you do not have to incur that cost again if you are replacing your old CCTV unit. You may end up replacing some old cameras with the better cameras and might want to use some night vision or PTZ cameras according to your need.

As you can see that it is not easy to select the proper CCTV (networked) or Networked Video Surveillance System. There is a lot of choice and price range in the market.
We wish you all the best. If you are in mid-market (6 to 64cameras) or higher market (100 +and looking for a Solution can send you a list of products that we recommend. Send us an email at videosurveillance1@gmail.com.

Please visit www.cradle.com for additional information.

There is now night vision cameras concealed in clock radios. This would let you to not only have a security camera to monitor on a particular room, but also let you to monitor people or things in your home without constantly having to be present. In addition, it lets you to keep an eye on your kids if they are being looked after by nannies or baby sitter and confirm they are not being ill-treated, and on the other hand confirm they are not deceitful or trying to concoct on something happening, as you turn your back.

One more product available that you can buy these days are listening devices and have wide-ranging uses that people have not even thought about for home security. Having these gadgets fixed in blind areas of your home or at the entrance can enable you to look with your ears, without it you usually would not have been capable of seeing. It can enable premature uncovering of trespassers, and can as well maintain checks on children if they are always getting in difficulty or keeping risky secrets like if they have taken to drugs.

There are a lot of other spy equipments available that can offer both improved home security for you, or offer surveillance to your home and other locations you might want it. These include spy cameras like, Hidden Cameras, Nanny Cams, Wireless Mini Spy Cameras, CCTV, Surveillance Systems and Covert Recording Devices and Listening Devices like, Digital Phone Recorders, Wireless Microphones, Hidden Digital and Analog Voice Recorders, Bionic Ears and Audio Jammers. In addition, Digital Recording Equipment, VCRs and accessories, Portable DVR’s and Media Players are also available. All of these equipments are easily available with many online websites that cater to such equipments.

Once you have received your equipment you will have to install it properly. Mostly if the equipment is a wireless camera it can be easily installed by you. On the other hand, if it’s a wired camera its better if you call upon an expert for fitting as it will need a lot of wiring which has to be done properly and in fact has to be concealed from other people.

These spy equipment will take into consideration the routine of your home or task to be monitored as they are happening, without the equipment being detectable to people, and for that reason letting them to cover the conduct or what not seeking to be monitored. These equipments offer stealthy and dependable task and are reasonably priced. It won’t cost you much trying to maintain yourself and your property secure.

Before we go through how to choose a complete CCTV System, some people may only want to connect a camera to a TV/Monitor to view and record via a video recorder.

This is simple to do, when you have selected the camera you want pick the option with the correct length ‘Plug & Play’ cable. Make a note of the ‘connector’ type, this is usually BNC, then check your TV connections. They will probably be phono or scart. Then you will need to buy a BNC to Phono connector, and if necessary a scart connection. And you’re done; you simply plug these connections into the end of your cable, and into your TV. Place the camera where you want and record images on to your video recorder, keeping in mind that it can only record for as long as there is space on the video tape. Of course you will need to “tune” in a channel on your TV to see your camera.

Below we go into more details about the two main parts of a CCTV security system, the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and the Camera’s.

Digital Video Recorder Basics…

The Digital Video Recorder is the “brain” of a CCTV system; it takes the images from the cameras and stores them on to a hard disk drive. You can then look at the images recorded on the hard drive, and review what the cameras have been viewing by connecting a monitor (or other form of display unit) to the DVR. You can forward and rewind through the images in much the same way you may have done so with a typical Video recorder. On many you can search for specific dates and times to quickly find the footage you want to view.

Once you have your images recorded on the hard drive, from time to time there may be an incident which you will be required to give to the police as evidence, you will then need to back up the Data they require from the hard drive on to another storage device.

Backing Up Data…

All Digital Video Recorders store information on a hard drive, something you should consider when choosing your Digital Video Recorder is how you will back-up this Data if there is ever an incident that you may be required to provide evidence of to the police.

Common forms of back-up include:

• Connecting to Video recorder: This is mainly only for ‘budget’ Digital Video Recorders and involves connecting the Digital Video Recorder to a video recorder and recording the information on to tape.

• USB to PC link: Quite common, and simple to do, simply connect the Digital Video Recorder to a PC via cable and copy information to PC Hard drive, from there you can write on to disk, pen stick etc.

• USB Pen Stick: Quite common and simple to do, amount of storage depends on USB pen stick used.

• CD Rewriter (built in or external): simple to do, some Digital Video Recorders would also require you to load software on to any device that you wanted to then watch the CD on. You should keep this in mind if giving CDs to police as with this software they would not be able to view the CD. Also bare in mind CDs are limited to 750 Megabytes.

• DVD Rewriter (built in or external): simple to do, some Digital Video Recorders would also require you to load software on to any device that you wanted to then watch the DVD on. You should keep this in mind if giving DVDs to police as with this software they would not be able to view the DVD. 4.7Gigabyte of space available.

• Networked: You can copy data from your Digital Video Recorder on to any PC while viewing it over the internet

Digital Video Recorders are available as Standalone units or PC based units. Choosing which one is a personal preference, but I’ll take this opportunity to point out a couple of things. Although many PC based Digital Video Recorders offer lots of added features and familiar use, standalone Digital Video Recorders are purpose built for the job and are considered more reliable and therefore less likely to fail. With PC based units we would strongly recommend the pc is used as a security device only and not used as a standard pc with surveillance, this should reduce the risk of failures.

Also if you are “PC savvy” and decide to buy a Digital Video Recorder PC Card and install it into your PC yourself, please check that you will not void your PC warranty before you do.

Last but not least, and this goes for all Digital Video Recorders, where possible try to use a purpose built hard drive. By this we mean that some people, to save costs, use a normal PC hard drive in a Digital Video Recorder. Unfortunately this usually ends up with the hard drive failing simply because a pc hard drive is not designed to be constantly “working” twenty four hours a day – seven days a week. Also please check the compatibility of the hard drive with your Digital Video Recorder, as some may require IDE drives, others SATA, and some may work better with Seagate, others Maxtor.

Ok, now hopefully you have a better idea about what a Digital Video Recorder is, and its purpose, now let’s consider the Cameras.

CCTV Camera Basics…

For those who know little or nothing about what a CCTV camera is, or what it does.

CCTV Cameras are the “eyes” of a CCTV system, you place them inside and outside buildings to enable you to see and also record (via a Digital Video Recorder) what the camera is looking at.

Unfortunately that’s where it stops being easy, we cant emphasize enough how you need to educate yourself as much as possible about what CCTV cameras are capable of and then look seriously as to what you want to use a camera for and what you need that camera to do. By this we mean there are literally thousands of cameras available nowadays, but this is because there are so many different situations where a camera is required that there isn’t just one camera for all jobs.

So how do you go about choosing a camera, well you have to start with basics….

First where is the camera going? Indoors or outdoors? If outdoors use the weatherproof guide to choose what kind of an IP rating your camera requires.

Weather Proof Rating…

Weather proof is measured using an IP Rating, if a camera doesn’t state an IP rating you can consider it is for internal use only.

IP Ratings Guide

The IP classification system designates the degree of protection provided by an enclosure against solid objects or water ingress.

There are always two digits in an IP rating, the first digit refers to the protection against solid objects (dust) and the second digit refers to the protection against water.

Dust Protection (first digit):

0 = Non-protected
1 = Protected against a solid object greater than 50mm, such as a hand.
2 = Protected against a solid object greater than 12.5mm, such as a finger.
3 = Protected against a solid object greater than 2.5mm, such as wire or a tool.
4 = Protected against a solid object greater than 1.0mm, such as wire or thin strips.
5 = Dust-protected. Prevents ingress of dust sufficient to cause harm.
6 = Dust tight. No ingress of dust.

Water Protection (second digit):

0 = Non-protected
1 = Protected against dripping water.
2 = Protected against dripping water when tilted up to 15º.
3 = Protected against spraying water at an angle of up to 60º.
4 = Protected against splashing water from any direction.
5 = Protected against jets of water from any direction.
6 = Protected against heavy seas or powerful jets of water. Prevents ingress sufficient to cause harm.
7 = Protected against the effects of temporary immersion in water.
8 = Protected against the effects of continuous immersion in water.

So for using CCTV cameras outdoors, I would recommend a very minimum IP rating of 55, but preferably 65 and above.

Once you know this, go to the area where you want to install the camera and look at what you want the camera to see. How far is the scene you want to capture from the camera? How big is it? Think about this and make sure you know what lens size you need to be able to see the scene you want at the distance it is away. There are many CCTV Lens Calculators on the internet to help you.

Consider, will you need to be able to see in dark conditions? Or only during the day time? If its needs to see in low light conditions, how dark does it get? Is there a street lamp near by? Or is there a security light on the premises? Go back at night time and see how dark it actually is, then use the Lux guide to see what kind of “minimum illumination” your camera requires. Keep in mind during the winter it gets dark very early, no good having a camera that’s only useful during the summer.

Lux Guide:

0.00005 lux = Starlight

0.0001 lux = Moonless overcast night sky

0.001 lux = Moonless clear night sky

0.01 lux = Quarter Moon

0.25 lux = Full Moon on a clear night

1 lux = Moonlight at high altitude at tropical latitudes

3 lux = Dark limit of civil twilight under a clear sky

32000 lux = Sunlight on an average day (min.)

100000 lux = Sunlight on an average day (max.)

Is the camera going to be installed in such a place it may be subject to vandalism? If so make sure you use a vandal resistant camera.

Ok, now hopefully you have a better idea about what a CCTV camera is and what kind best suits your situation. With all the above knowledge, I hope it helps you choose a suitable CCTV system for your needs.

And good luck with your security project…