5 Essential Things to Consider When Buying a CCTV Security System

The terms of CCTV must be very familiar to all of us. It stands for Closed Circuit Television and is used to monitor particular areas of our house. Currently, buying and installing CCTV are not very difficult. A number of agencies are all around and you can choose one of them that looks most trusted and credible.

If this is your first time buying and using CCTV, you probably find it a little bit confusing. Yes, there are some types of CCTV products that need to learn about before making a decision. At least, some matters indeed need to consider when choosing CCTV as a part of the home security system. What are they?

Indoor vs. Outdoor CCTV Camera

The first thing you must do is know whether the CCTV system will be installed indoor or outdoor. Both types of CCTV work in a very similar way but their functions are a little bit different. Commonly, an outdoor camera has a night feature vision to keep monitoring the area at night. The video produced is also clearer even if the situation around is really dark. The product examples are Hikvision CCTV Security Systems.

On the other hand, an indoor camera may not need such a feature. To solve the darkness problem at night, when the lights have been turned off, there is an infrared feature. As information, the darkness level indoor and outdoor may be a little bit different. Therefore, the features used for them tend to be different as well.

Hidden vs. Open Camera

A hidden CCTV camera is a good choice if you really want it to be unknown by others. This is how the camera becomes the real security system. The size of a hidden CCTV camera is commonly smaller than the conventional camera. Although this one is indeed safer and not easy to damage, the installation process is more difficult. One of the products offered in the market is the Samsung CCTV products.

You may also think to buy an open CCTV camera but then it is installed in a particular place so that it is not seen. Okay, that’s a good idea but too risky as well. People may manually cover their open camera with something to avoid others knowing it. Unfortunately, it ends up with the camera cannot watch the situation around well.

So, if you want the camera to really work properly, the hidden camera is the best choice. Many cases are revealed because the perpetrators does not realize that his or her action is recorded by the camera. This way, he or she finds it very difficult to cover the evidence. Additionally, the perpetrator also doesn’t know the blank spot of the CCTV to improve the security system’s effectiveness.

Wired vs. Wireless CCTV

In terms of the CCTV installation, there are at least 2 types of cameras. They are wired and wireless CCTV. The wired CCTV is commonly more difficult to install since you need to make sure that all cables are placed in the right place and they are not disturbing. But a good thing about it is that the quality of the wired CCTV is better.

On the other hand, a wireless CCTV is more practical with a high level of flexibility. If it cannot record a certain spot well, you can just move it to another place. However, the wireless CCTV has a lower video quality than the wired CCTV. Meanwhile, it also needs batteries that need to be changed for every certain duration.

Analog vs. IP Camera

The system of CCTV is generally divided into two; they are the analog and digital camera. Well, the digital CCTV camera is known also as the IP camera. An IP camera is relatively easier to install as it can be simply connected to the computer device or a Smartphone via the internet. Meanwhile, an analog camera needs additional tools, known as a digital video decoder (DVR). A DVR is to record videos and give access to the computer or smartphone device.

Indeed, an analog camera is cheaper than an IP camera. However, the DVR is the most expensive component of the system. it is because the component makes the analog CCTV more efficient for many CCTV items. On the other hand, a CCTV with the IP camera system is more efficient only for 1 or 2 camera items only.

Offline vs. Online Camera

If you want to monitor the CCTV camera anytime for real-time, you can do the online installation. This way, the camera is connected to the internet connection. Interestingly, many Smartphone apps have provided this feature. Some brands like Dahua CCTV Camera also provide this type of camera. On the other hand, real-time monitoring is impossible if you choose an offline CCTV camera. Sure, for this second option, the price is cheaper than the online camera.