CCTV Camera Guide: Things You Should Keep In Mind When Buying One For Your Home

CCTV cameras were outright expensive a few years ago, however, with the advent of technology, they have become affordable. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are used for monitoring and safety purposes as they record everything when installed that you can view at any time. It is especially true if you want to safeguard your property and assets such as your home, office, garages, etc., or else burglars and trespassers may cause harm both monetary and to someone’s life.

However, you can’t just walk into an electronic store or check out Amazon to get the first CCTV camera you get your hands on. As with any piece of electronics, you need to know certain things about these cameras that will be guarding your life, assets, and properties. Here are 10 days you must know before you buy a CCTV camera.

What’s is the storage?

When you buy a CCTV camera, you can either buy one with a built-in SD card slot. It gets you 32GB, 64GB, and up to 128GB of storage depending upon which SD card you have inserted. Another option that you have is using DVR or simply a separate external storage where all the recordings will be stored automatically. The latter is cheaper than the former although both have their pros and cons.

What is the Image quality?

The thing about CCTV cameras is, that you need to have good image quality to decipher details in recordings. Modern CCTV cameras are available in 720p, 1080p and higher resolutions. However, you need to keep the storage in mind to select the image quality since a 720p recording for 24 hours can consume almost 30GB thereby filling the storage on an SD card immediately. If you have a DVR, you can go for a higher resolution since you have much higher storage at your disposal.

Newer CCTV cameras have an overwriting feature where it will start erasing recordings captured at the beginning and replace them with new recordings. However, you will lose the recordings once it has been overwritten. Thus, that’s a decision that you must take to get your hands on an ideal security camera for your home or office.

What is the range of the camera?

Cameras can’t just snag everything that a human eye can see. It has a point of view and a range that it can reach which is 20 to 25 meters minimum. Again, the more range your security camera has, the better since it will capture more ground often resulting in a breakthrough in case your CCTV camera was a witness of any burglary or any grieve scene.

Does it have a 2-way audio chat feature?

Although not all CCTV cameras will have a 2-way video chat feature, some models allow you to communicate with family or employees by audio via the camera thanks to a 2-way communication channel. You can use your CCTV’s companion app to communicate with those in front of the camera and they can simply speak to the camera and the built-in mic will record and relay it back to you.

Does it have a motion and audio sensor?

CCTV cameras with motion and/or audio sensors tend to be expensive, however, they are worth it. These smart security cameras can detect unusual sounds and motion and alert homeowners about the same. There’s a feature with a motion sensor where it will record people or any movement while it stores scenes where there’s no movement. It can save a lot of storage space since it won’t save any files with no motion at all.

Is it easy to set up?

Unless you want to get a technician to set up and install CCTV cameras, you must look out for models that are easy to set up. It includes positioning mounting, setting up of the camera on the systems, and so on. In absence of a pan or tilt mode, you would need to position the camera in a way that it will record areas that you want to record and not unwanted areas. There are of course more ways to position and mount cameras depending upon where and how you want to install them.

Check if the camera is waterproof

You can install the CCTV cameras indoors or outdoors depending upon where you want the surveillance. For outdoor cameras, you should always opt for waterproof options unless there’s no rain where you are located. Having a waterproof camera also keeps it away from moisture and splashes just in case which is something that could render an electronic device unusable.

What is the number of Infra-Red LEDs on the camera?

Ever wondered why red-colored LEDs light up during nighttime? Well, it is used for vision during the night as the more the number of Infra-Red LEDs, the better the quality of the recording would be. Thus, consider CCTV cameras with a higher number of LEDs.

Does it support pan/tilt motion or is it fixed?

You can get your hands on CCTV cameras which can be either fixed or it can pan or tilt that move horizontally or vertically respectively. It enables the cameras to capture larger space compared to a fixed view. Some smart security cameras can pan or tilt based on the commands fed via the companion app.

What is included as accessories in the box?

The next thing you should look for is the accessories in the box that come along with the CCTV cameras. It includes cables, point screws, mounting stands, and others. Some low-cost cameras may not get power adapters within the box and thus, you will have to buy them separately.

Decide if you want wired or wireless cameras

You can either buy a wired camera or a wireless one and both have their pros and cons. A wired CCTV camera is available in India at a cheaper price tag and is much more reliable than its wireless counterparts.

On the other hand, wireless cameras are better known for their mobility as you can simply put them anywhere assuming that it is in range of Wi-Fi. These can be expensive, however, are great examples of saving yourself from the hassles of using other aesthetic means to hide wires and cables. All you need is a good-quality internet connection and a router and that’s pretty much all you need to use the wireless cameras.

What is the warranty on the CCTV cameras?

CCTV camera models from makers and models will have distinct warranty periods ranging from one year to three years or even more. It is better to get at least a year of warranty to safeguard yourself from damage due to XYZ reasons that are covered under warranty terms.

Wrapping Up

CCTV cameras are a must have thanks to the increased risk of theft, burglary or some grieve incidences across countries. A CCTV camera doesn’t just helps make sure the culprit is arrested but it also gives you a sense of relief that you can keep an eye on your belongings even if you are miles apart. Current CCTV cameras are technologically better than before that can detect audio or motion, have zoom/pan/tilt functionalities and can record videos up to 4K although you need to shell out more for it.

This entire CCTV camera buying guide gives you all the things you must know before you go to buy a security camera as these are some important questions you must ask. If you are buying it online, these questions are enough to give you a direction on what you should be looking for in the listings.