|
Home > Home video surveillance -- peace of mind through wireless technology
February 8, 2006
By: Alice Osborn
Home video surveillance used to be an expensive and
time-consuming project -- but not anymore. A homeowner who
is away on vacation or at work while contractors are in her
home can now access the webcam's remote feed via an IP
address to see if anything is amiss. Parents can watch their
child's nanny and property owners can make sure their rental
properties are safe and secure.
Home video security systems can rely on wireless IP
technologies, wireless sensors, and webcam surveillance to
meet the security needs for every homeowner's budget. It is
estimated that over half of home surveillance systems
purchased today are using wireless technologies. Says Jeff
Hoover, past president of the Custom Electronics Design and
Installation Association, "As video systems get better and
cheaper, more and more people start to use them."
How are these video home surveillance technologies
used?
- Wireless IP video cameras, aka "nanny cams"
Before the popularity of the webcam, tiny spy cameras,
or wireless video cameras, were the only option for
inexpensive home surveillance monitoring. Priced between
$130-$500, these cameras send their video signals (434MHz,
900MHz, or 2.4GHz) to a local base station. From there,
the images can then be viewed on a TV, mobile phone, PDA,
laptop or desktop computer. These surveillance cameras,
which can be hidden in clocks and smoke detectors, are
purchased to watch nannies inside the home, sometimes
without their knowledge. Unfortunately, if the cameras are
in the low-end price points, there's a greater chance
their wireless signals can be picked up by "war-drivers,"
who cruise the streets trying to hack into homeowners'
wireless signals. However, the higher-end cameras offer
encrypted transmission and tie into standard WiFi
networks.
SVAT Electronics of Niagara Falls, Ontario, is
previewing its new GX5150 Baby Monitor home surveillance
system featuring a tiltable screen plus night vision
equipped with eight infrared LED lights to light up the
baby in the darkness. In addition, the GX5400 system is a
nanny cam that includes a flash memory card and connects
up to four cameras at a time, so that parents can check
their cameras' images via an individual Internet IP
address.
On the high end of the consumer products, home
surveillance market is the
Smartvue S2. This system operates on the WiFi
pre-standard 802.11n, which enables the cameras to send
signals to a base station up to 800 feet away. The images
from this wireless IP camera are extremely sharp (720 x
480 pixels), and deliver a frame rate of 30 fps. The
camera also adjusts for low lighting conditions.
- Wireless sensors with or without cameras
Motorola offers the
Easy Start Kit HMEZ1000, priced at $280. The Easy
Start comes with two motion and sound-detecting cameras,
along with sensors that alert the homeowner if a door is
open, if there's a leak, if there are temperature
fluctuations, or if someone is approaching the front door.
Once the images are captured, they are sent via a
broadband connection to a computer, PDA or cell phone.
Homeowners can also purchase motion sensors without
cameras that alert the homeowner to intruders with high
frequency radio wave signals. In other sensor systems,
infrared light is applied to perceive heat changes.
- Webcam surveillance systems with motion sensors
With a webcam surveillance system, software, such as
EvoCam (for Mac users) and
TinCam
(for PC users) detects motion, so that recording only
occurs when something is moving in front of the motion
sensors. The webcam does this by capturing two images, and
then comparing them for discrepancies. This set-up saves
hard drive memory space and time because the captured
images can be instantly e-mailed to the user. These
software applications also allow the user to host the
images through the built-in web server so that he or she
can easily access them via a static IP address. However,
the user must remember to set up a port on the firewall in
order for the footage to be seen.
Some of the drawbacks of using webcams for home
security include their fixed positions that limit their
range, and the fact that they are USB-based devices that
can't be more than 16 feet away from the computer or USB
hub. In addition, webcams generally do not perform well
under low-light conditions as compared to most wireless IP
video cameras, so one must remember to switch on a light
for extra illumination.
Home surveillance for added peace of mind
Today, homeowners can choose from a variety of home
surveillance options that give a feeling of security when
they are away from home. If there's trouble, they know they
will be quickly alerted. Home surveillance technology will
only get smaller, faster and more reliable within the next
few years, as computers and cameras work together to monitor
security with a touch of a button.
About the Author
Alice Osborn is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Video-Surveillance-Guide.com. Your
definitive guide to video surveillance equipment, CCTV
cameras and wireless security systems for home and business.
Also See: [ CCTV -- what are the
advantages? How do I decide, what I need? ]
[
Advantages of digital video surveillance systems for your
security needs ]
[ The coming
video surveillance revolution -- trends for 2006 and beyond ]
Related Articles
[ top of page ]
|
