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Residential CCTV Video surveillance systems for your home PDF Print E-mail
Written by Bryan Lagarde   

We find that home owners put cameras on their houses for a multitude of reasons... general surveillance and prime prevention, problem with neighbors and stalkers, or perhaps a pedophile moved in the neighborhood. CCTV systems help add peace of mind, to what very well may be troubled times. Of all surveillance applications, residential video can sometimes be a bit tricky. But fear not, as this article can help you avoid common pitfalls.

Let's start with the basics... Color vs. B&W cameras. At the very least, we recommend that a low light weatherproof Color camera (such as the KG-230EX) be used to watch the front of a house. Color cameras can capture a full and accurate clothing and vehicle description of anyone who approaches your house. Depending on your budget, inexpensive B&W Cameras (such as the KG-190SWB) may be used on the rear and sides of your house. The important thing is that the intruder be captured at least once on a color camera as this will help assist with the initial arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator.

I mentioned that residential surveillance applications are among the trickiest. Namely, it's due to the lack of light. When faced with a very low light situation, you have two choices... either purchase a CCTV camera with IR emitters, or use a flood light (or motion detector floodlight) outside your home. What's best... hands down... a combination of CCTV cameras and using a motion-activated floodlight outside your home. Let's face it, there are several ways to help combat crime: install CCTV cameras, use floodlights, or get a dog. Getting a dog may simply not be an option, but by installing CCTV cameras and using floodlights around your house will make you a hard-target, and should greatly detract criminals from harming you and your family. Please click here for more information on why not to use IR Emitting cameras.

Wireless... forget it! Some years ago, wireless was very popular for residential video surveillance applications. However, as the use of electrical devices such as portable and cellular phones, wireless eithernet routers and adapters, and other devices that emit RF noise have grown in popularity, wireless analog video CCTV cameras have become more and more difficult to use. In addition, wireless analog CCTV cameras can be intercepted by a neighbor, need to be plugged into a power jack for extended use, and will give many false-alarms when used with video-based motion detection. (the exception to this rule is for Nanny Watching. Click here to view article).

Don't let the impracticality of wireless cameras get you down. That's what Siamese cable is for. Siamese cable features power and video all in one cable. If you have a professional install your system, we recommend either RG-6 or RG-59 Siamese cable. Doing it yourself... check out Simple Cable. Not only is Simple Cable Siamese featuring both power and video in a single cable... but it is thin, highly flexible, easy to run, and plug and play ready! When using any type of Siamese cable, remember... since it's power and video all in one... the power supply lives in your house since the cable carries the power to the camera. This is what makes installs a snap!

OK... so what about recording? Let's talk digital! There are two types of DVRs... Windows-based and non-Windows based. Windows-based, such as the PC-Witness Pro LT feature highly intelligent motion detection and auto alert via telephone & email alert functions. Windows-based DVRs are easier to use given that they may offer a graphical user interface and may be controlled via your mouse. Non-Windows based DVRs, like the 1304NET, offer the same high-resolution recordings and remote video monitoring capabilities via the Internet... but simply do not offer the same ease of use and advanced intelligent functions of a Windows-based DVR. You can expect to pay around $500 for a non-Windows based DVR, and about $1100 for an advanced Windows-based DVR. Need just a little more help justifying a Windows-based DVR... then consider that they may also function as your next home PC as well. In addition, Windows-based DVRs are easier to repair in the event of a hardware failure, and should last much longer than a non-Windows based DVR (Read this article too if you disagree with me on that point).

A word on DVRs. Do your homework and make sure that the vendor is reputable, has been in business for a few years, and is qualified and staffed to render technical support. The old adage applies to surveillance equipment too... you get what you pay for. You might as well not buy a CCTV system at all if you cannot get support and cannot get it to work. A good CCTV system will see when you need it to, and will work continuously without effort or user maintenance.

Specs to look for in a residential system:

  • Color or B&W cameras that feature 420TVL of resolution and at least 0.5 LUX or lower.

  • Color Cameras should feature a Full-Chip 1/3” Sony Ex-View CCD. Considering typical lighting conditions, never go with a CMOS camera or a generic 1/4” camera... unless you happen to have a lot of light around your house.

  • You can go crazy when shopping for DVRs. 3~5fps is all you need for residential surveillance. Any more and you will be wasting hard drive space and money unless you have a particularly special need. Don't worry... frame rate has nothing to do with picture clarity and you will still have the illusion of video at this frame rate.

  • At the very least, your DVR should offer 640x480 RECORDINGs. Many vendors fudge on this... be careful that the spec you read is pertaining to recording size, and not viewing size.

  • At all cost...Never... Ever... choose a proprietary CCTV system that uses mini-din (like how you mouse connects to your PC) or RJ style (like a phone jack) connector. These are common at Radio Shack, Walmart, Sam's Club, and other wholesale style stores. They are almost always junk, may not last long, will most likely only work during he day (or very inefficiently at night), and lock you into that companies proprietary system in which it would be very hard if not impossible to use cameras or a replacement DVR from another company.

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written by blagarde, August 11, 2008
Hello,

You need two things to record external video to your PC. A capture port to connect your camera to your PC, and software to record it. Except for the Sony Vio PCs and Macs, most computers do NOT include a video capture port, and those that do, typically include software better designed for video editing... and not video surveillance. So what does this mean to you?

IF you only have 1 video surveillance camera that you want to record to your PC and are NOT looking for advanced features, all you need to do is purchase an inexpensive USB video capture device for your PC ($30 - $50ish, found at most any consumer electronics store), and download some free or inexpensive surveillance software designed for web cameras. Really.... I would only suggest this "solution" for those on a highly limited budget, who need a quick and very temporary way to capture an event.

If you have multiple cameras you wish to view on your PC, you will either need a PCI video surveillance capture card, or a DVR. PCI capture cards can be rather tempting: they are very inexpensive, and everyone wants you to believe that they will work in YOUR PC, in little time, regardless of your PC skills. Yea... they just want your money. Multi-capture PCI surveillance cards do NOT work in MOST computers (you have to consider things such as the make and model of your mother board, chip set, processor, graphics controller), are typically not supported well (or at all) by the vendors that sell them and/or the manufactures that make them, and can be very troublesome to install the software and supporting drivers.

This brings us to DVRs. DVRs are pre-built with all software pre-installed. Most DVRs, such as the Aver1304NET cost very little (see www.cctvwholesalers.com ), and can be viewed to PCs via a network or the Internet. They are designed to be permanent, and practical solutions for real-life surveillance applications that demand that good video be recorded.

I hope this helps.... Bryan
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written by DonFen, August 10, 2008
Do I have to use a DVR or can I connect the cameras to my computer to record?
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written by DonFen, August 10, 2008
Do I have to have to use a DVR or can I connect the cameras to my computer to record?
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Do you have to have a DVR or can you connect the cameras to your computer to record?
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Bryan Lagarde
About the author:
A former New Orleans Police officer and Investigator for the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office, Bryan is the founder and president of Cctvwholesalers.com and is recognized as being a leading expert in digital video surveillance technology.  Over the course of the past decade, Bryan has been involved in over 40,000 governmental, law enforcement, commercial, and residential video surveillance projects.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 April 2008 )
 
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