Bandwidth
Cameras that stream live footage, especially high-resolution footage, use up a lot of bandwidth on your Wi-Fi network.
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Security or IP (Internet protocol) cameras can help protect your loved ones, property and belonging. The latest cameras offer modern features that allow you to interact with those on the other end of the camera, receive alerts and store footage in a variety of ways.
Security cameras are commonly used to do the following:
While security cameras can be an effective way to protect your home or business, they aren’t foolproof.
The term surveillance camera or webcam is generally used to refer to cameras that passively observe or record. They offer little to no interaction whereas security cameras can send alerts, set off alarms, pan across a field of view, detect motion and more.
Security cameras come in one of two forms: standalone or as part of a monitored system.
Monitored
Standalone
Before you buy a security camera, consider how you will be using it.
Once you’ve thought about how you want to use your camera, look for the following features:
Cameras that stream live footage, especially high-resolution footage, use up a lot of bandwidth on your Wi-Fi network.
Many cameras allow you to record audio in addition to video. Others offer two-way audio so you can use the camera as an intercom to talk to people (or pets).
If you will be using the camera in a dark area, consider buying a model with night vision or motion activated lights.
Cameras with facial recognition allow you to filter out friends and family so that you aren’t receiving constant alerts when visitors come over.
Think about where you want to mount your security cameras. While some models come with mounting hardware, many offer hardware at an additional cost. You can install most security cameras on walls, ceilings and other flat surfaces.
Security cameras offer two main options for storing video footage: cloud storage or on a local device. Most models only offer one or the other but a few cameras offer both options.
Cloud storage uses an Internet connection to store your videos on a server or a network of servers. With cloud storage, you can access your footage from anywhere with an Internet connection, but if your Internet connection is interrupted the footage may not be stored properly. Some cameras include a limited amount of free cloud storage. Cloud storage can be scaled indefinitely and cost typically depends on how much storage you need. Most cloud storage is subscription based.
Local storage devices include microSD cards, hard drives, flash drives, PCs and DVRs. These devices hold a limited amount of video and can only be accessed using the physical device. If the storage device is lost or stolen, the footage will also be lost. Many security cameras offer some form of local storage.
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