Modern technology has allowed the home surveillance camera to be much more efficient in its applications. No longer is tape the only format that can be used, as DVR is beginning to gain popularity for security recording devices.
If you're hoping to keep your home safer by installing a video security system,
it only makes sense to install the best possible deterrent for any type of criminal activity. In today's world, that can mean involving the same technology you use on your television.
Installing a home surveillance camera is a major step toward making your residence safer, but only if it is used correctly. You see, you may catch a criminal in the act on video, but if no one is there to watch it or it cannot be correctly identified, it is of no use.
Closed-circuit television has been used for video security since the concept was invented. Cameras linked together or standing by themselves transmit their signal to a specific monitor and only to that location, which serves as the only secure hub to observe the footage. In many instances, however, this results in the need to constantly monitor a television set in order to make use of the cameras themselves.
The invention and functionality of the digital video recorder have pushed the limits of the home surveillance camera. The DVR, which is most commonly used to record television programming onto an internal hard drive and store it for viewing on demand, has made security systems more advanced, versatile and effective.
With a traditional VCR, which previously had been the only method of cataloging such footage, the user recorded all footage onto videotape, which had to be fast-forwarded in order to call up specific frames or timestamps. These tapes then had to be stored and labeled individually and then viewed in their entirety to determine whether something of interest the user may be looking for was actually recorded.
With a DVR attached to a home surveillance camera, the user is able to record both visual and audible signals from closed-circuit television. Perhaps more importantly, however, is the ability to sort, queue and catalog all material by time, date and location and call up any frame falling under any of these categories instantly without the need to fast-forward or otherwise sort through videotape. The DVR can also be programmed to overwrite or trim older footage in order to optimize the memory space available for newer material.
The quality of footage recorded onto a DVR is also markedly higher than that caught on traditional videotape, and its files are more compact and efficient to allow them to take up less space and optimize memory on the hard drive. In some systems, the user can access footage from the home surveillance camera remotely using a computer or other internet-connected device.
In partnership with a home surveillance camera, a DVR can be one of the most useful and practical pieces of technology you have in your house. If you are in the market for a security system that is state-of-the-art and will give you an advantage against would-be criminals, it is certainly an effective combination.
