If you are living in a city or town, chances are that you come across CCTV cameras on a daily basis. Whether it is a retail shop, shopping mall, school, railway station, airport or office buildings, CCTV cameras are everywhere and continuously monitoring our activities in its coverage area. If you haven’t installed CCTV cameras in your own home or office, it is high time to install one. CCTV cameras have been known to reduce crime rates, help in investigations and ensure greater safety. They are also known to increase employee productivity. So what are the factors that you must consider while buying a CCTV setup for your home or office interiors? Here are some of them that you must consider.
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Video Resolution: The video resolution in Megapixels is an important criterion for a camera as it determines how much clarity and coverage the camera can offer. For a small space like a drawing room, a camera with lower resolution is fine. For larger coverage like a big floor in the office space, a Camera with higher resolution is required. So the resolution depends upon your needs.
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Wider Camera Coverage: The wider the camera coverage, the less number of cameras you require to install. But wider coverage can also mean that you have to pay a higher price. Remember, you get what you pay for. So choose the camera coverage specification for your CCTV installation based on your needs.
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IP or analog: IP cameras are more advanced and sophisticated and also easier to use. You can also view camera output of IP cameras on your mobile. The cabling is also easier as IP cameras use PoE or Power over Ethernet to function. However analog cameras might be the right one when budget is a constraint.
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Motion detection and notification: Determine if you need motion detection and notification on your mobile device for your CCTV camera. Such cameras are often required in laboratories but can also be used elsewhere like a warehouse.
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IR Night vision: Choose a camera with IR LED lights if you need night vision.
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Remote viewing: Remote viewing is viewing the live feed of the camera on your mobile device. If you need to monitor your home from your workplace or monitor your office when you are not present, you can opt for CCTV setup with remote viewing capabilities.
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Scalable NVR/DVR: You should choose a DVR or NVR with sufficient channels to fit all your cameras. DVRs and NVRs come with 1,2,4,8,16 and 32 channels. Each camera is connected to its own channel. Choose the right DVR or NVR according to your needs.
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Wide Dynamic Range: Wide Dynamic Range of a camera is the ability to record images in a bright background. Cameras without WDR will produce a dark unrecognizable image of the element just next to a bright background like the exit to outside during the daytime as the interiors may be dim when compared to the outside.
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Is audio required: Determine if you need audio to be recorded and choose a camera accordingly.
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Resistance and Vandal proof: Indoor cameras may be subjected to vandalism for example during a robbery or burglary. So choose the cameras that are sufficiently vandal proof.