How To Choose a Surveillance System for Your Home
Understand Important Features that May Matter to You
Is there a perfect surveillance system for your Charlotte, NC home? As in choosing most things, it all comes down to what’s most important to you. Security concerns in one home might be quite different in another, even in the same neighborhood. Ultimately, you want the right set of features that make you and your family feel safer.
Keep reading below to explore three features you should consider when choosing from the many surveillance solutions available for your home.
SEE ALSO: Find Out What Ring’s X-Line Brings to Your Home Surveillance System
High Resolution
Many surveillance cameras are still using only HD (1080P) resolution. In contrast, you likely have upgraded TVs with 4K resolution, and your current smartphone also takes 4K video. While HD resolution may be adequate for some applications, you should consider the advantages of updated 4K-capable cameras. The larger sensors in these cameras capture more detail, which may be critical in a situation. Higher pixel density and detail also allow high-quality digital zooming to see more detail in a wide shot. Finally, this additional resolution also enables advanced artificial intelligence features like recognizing faces, vehicles, license plates, and more.
Local Vs. Cloud Storage
Most consumer camera systems – such as those from Nest – store recorded video footage in the cloud. The cloud system provides much of the intelligence for analyzing footage and alerting you to specific events. There are two disadvantages to the cloud that may be important to you. First, many services charge a subscription fee (most often based on the number of cameras) to store footage in the cloud, access it, and have advanced recognition features. Second, some people are uncomfortable with storing private footage in the cloud for security and privacy reasons. Professionally installed surveillance systems can provide secure local storage on a hard disk-based device (called a Network Video Recorder or NVR) that keeps your footage in your home. These systems can also provide advanced recognition features like faces and vehicles with local intelligence that doesn’t rely on the cloud or a subscription.
Smart Home Integration
Today’s surveillance systems shouldn’t be an island unto themselves. Smart home integration amplifies your property’s protection and security. When integrated with a smart home system like Control4, your surveillance system can work with smart lighting, smart locks, alarms, AV, and more for a more comprehensive approach to home security. Smart home integration lets you react quickly to situations or have automation features in your home spring to action to slow down or ward off intruders and critical situations until help can arrive. For example, if an intruder gets into your garage, when the camera detects the person, the lights can come on bright, an alarm sounds, and a warning can blare that the authorities have been called. At the same time, you can be notified on your smartphone to decide how to react.
Work with The Integrated Home in Charlotte, NC to select the surveillance system that fits your family and lifestyle. Reach out to us by calling 704-412-4040, filling out an online form, or connecting with us instantly by clicking the chat window below. We look forward to working with you!
