Analog? VHS? Time To Upgrade Your Surveillance System

How often do we see security footage of an attempted robbery on the news? How often is it black and white footage with barely recognizable images? This can be a rather sad state of affairs when there is so many newer surveillance products that could make apprehending these malcontents all the easier. To drive this point home lets go over some of the more popular old surveillance technologies and talk about potential upgrades and how they could help.

VHS Recorders

Still using this type of recording technology is the equivalent of man writing with clay tablets in the surveillance world. The current piece of equipment that has taken the place of the VCR is the DVR, and it is far superior in every conceivable way. With features such as networkability, motion detection, E-Mail notifications, and more; the DVR is where it’s at. In fact modern DVRs now allow the user to access and view their security cameras from all over the world via their phone, tablet, or computer if they want.

So ditch the tape library and the need to sift through hours of footage, and spend a couple hundred dollars on a solution that will make your surveillance life ten times easier.

Analog Wireless

We’ve talked about this in quite a bit of detail in the past, but let’s quickly go over the basics. If you are using a wireless surveillance system and it is more than 3 or 4 years old; then most likely it’s an analog system. These types of setups are the ones you would see susceptible to snooping on news specials for a while. People would roam neighborhoods with wireless baby monitors and tap into unsuspecting homes cameras.

This has been solved with the advent and use of digital wireless systems that are paired only to their respective receivers and cannot be tapped into so easily. These systems are now on par with the cost of analog systems and are a great way to upgrade if you’re worried about unwanted viewers. Additionally digital systems can allow for more cameras then their analog counterparts could.

B&W & Low Resolution Cameras

Remember those grainy black and white images we talked about in the very beginning? Well just as with having a VCR, this is a rather unacceptable problem to have. First of all color cameras have around for quite some time, and even though in the beginning black and white cameras offered a superior resolution; this is no longer the case.

The grainy gas station images we see on the news are usually 380TVL black and white security cameras, and I’m here to tell you that for around a hundred dollars you can get color image security cameras with 600 or even 700 TVL resolution. This will in affect double your resolution and make it much easier to track down and apprehend any criminals.

Future Upgrade

Due to price prohibiting factors the following upgrade is something that exists, but it is not quite easily obtained by a low end surveillance user. As with all surveillance technology however, the price is coming down extremely fast and within the next few years it will most likely be the norm for surveillance systems.

The upgrade I am talking about is IP/HD/Megapixel security cameras. These are security cameras that go way beyond the top end analog resolution of 700TVL that is used. These cameras have true HD resolution images such as 720P, 1080P, or 1080i. Some have even greater resolutions that this.

Additionally these new IP cameras have their own built in network functionality and can be operated and accessed remotely over your network. This allows for all kinds of flexibility if you just want to monitor or adjust a single camera rather than accessing all of them through your DVR. On top of all that, these cameras still offer all the great features you’ve come to love in security cameras, such as PTZ control, weatherproof housings, and IR (Infrared) LEDs for nighttime viewing.

With all these great surveillance system upgrades available it should be a no brainer to skip the store decorations for a while and invest in a solution that will better protect your assets.

Christian M Gillman has worked in the surveillance industry for over 7 years. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, learn more about surveillance, and find great products at http://www.cu1.com

– CU1 – Your CCTV Products and Surveillance Equipment Source