Indoor Camera

You've heard about how great motion-activated cameras are, and maybe you even have a friend who uses one as part of their home security system. These cameras boast a number of impressive security features on top of offering protection from burglars. Most models provide facial recognition, crystal clear outdoor and indoor footage, and around-the-clock surveillance, just to name a few. If you're reading this, you are probably thinking about buying a motion-activated camera for your own home. This article will help you understand why installing these cameras is a smart move for your own home security by answering the following questions: 1. How do motion-activated cameras work? 2. What are the most useful features of motion-activated cameras? 3. Where should I place my motion-activated camera? 4. What can trigger a motion sensor? 5. How can I keep my camera from recording false alarms?

The primary purpose of installing a motion-activated camera is to detect unwanted movement inside of your home while you are away. These cameras are designed to eliminate your having to worry about the safety of your home. While traditional recording cameras can capture footage of a robbery, motion-activated cameras can capture footage and simultaneously send you an alert that there is suspicious activity while the robbery is taking place. This eliminates unwanted surprises, decreases crime, and increases your peace of mind. Some motion-activated cameras use a light image sensor technology to detect movement within their field of view. Another type of motion-activated camera technology determines if movement has taken place by comparing pixels in images it captures of its environment. This type of camera utilizes motion-sensor lighting. Whenever the camera detects a drastic enough change in lighting (like, say, a person's shadow), its sensor activates and it begins recording footage. Whenever your camera's sensor is activated, it will begin recording video and send an alert to an app on your mobile device. This means that you can get notifications in real time from anywhere in the world as your camera detects activity.

There are a lot of motion-activated cameras on the market. It can be difficult to sort through all of your options to find the best ones out there. To make your decision easier, consider the benefits and features that motion-activated cameras have to offer. Which features are most important to you? Which features will be the most useful in your home security system? Which benefits will bring you the most peace of mind? Video Recording: How Long Does Your Camera Record? Video recording is a standard feature across all security cameras, including those with motion detection. Video recording is unique to different types of cameras when considering what footage to capture. It also differs by camera when it comes to how that footage is stored. Most motion-activated camera models will record video only when they detect suspicious activity. They are designed to do this so that you aren't stuck with hours upon hours of footage of a still, lifeless room. Footage without movement really doesn't benefit you in any way. Since these cameras are designed to record and store video only when there is movement, you save on storage space. Different cameras record video for different lengths of time after they are activated. Most will continue recording and saving footage for 3-5 seconds after the camera stops detecting movement. Take the time to think about if you want a camera that records video for a long or a short time once it senses motion. Video Storage: How Does Your Camera Store Video? Video from a motion-activated camera can be stored several different ways, so you have the flexibility to choose a storage method that you feel comfortable with. The most common methods of video storage are via SD card and via cloud storage. If you choose a camera that stores footage on an SD card (also known as a memory card), your video will be stored on that card. The SD card fits inside of the camera and keeps a record every time the camera's motion sensor is activated. Something to watch out for is how much memory your card has.. You'll want to choose a memory card that can hold a lot of footage, and you'll want to make sure you know how much room it has left to capture new video. If a memory card gets too full, your camera will begin to overwrite the oldest footage. It is also important to note that an SD card needs to be removed from the camera in order to get the footage it carries. All you have to do is click it out of your camera and into a card reader. From there you can delete footage you no longer want. You can also export video you do want to save to a hard drive. This method of storage can be beneficial because it does not depend on a wi-fi connection. If you decide to go with a camera that uses cloud storage, any video that your camera records will be automatically exported via wi-fi connection to the cloud. You'll have access to your videos anywhere that you can access your cloud storage, and you won't have to worry about removing an SD card from your camera to see what it has recorded. The cloud offers a lot of storage space, but it is always a good idea every now and then to make sure that you have enough room left to save new videos. Many services offer free cloud storage for the last 7-days of recordings. If your wi-fi signal is disrupted, your camera won't have a way to connect to your cloud storage. Look for a camera that can back up footage while it waits for a wi-fi connection to be restored or for one that also offers memory card storage as a fail-safe. Scheduling Feature: Does Your Camera Let You Schedule Alerts? If you have a child who is home sick or a friend who is staying at your place while you are away at work, you probably don’t want your motion-activated camera to send you constant notifications. If you are home every evening, you don’t want your camera to go into red alert whenever you walk through your living room. It just isn’t productive to receive notifications that there is movement in your home when you are expecting someone to be there and finding a camera that has a scheduling feature can help you avoid that situation. Conversely, you can also schedule your camera to be active while you are away. Say you normally have your camera set to ignore movement from 5:00 pm until bedtime every day because that’s when you spend time at home. If you were to go away on vacation, you could change that setting on your camera to monitor constantly since you know you won’t be around. This feature helps your motion-activated camera work smarter and decreases the amount of unnecessary notifications you receive. Power Source: How Does Your Camera Get Its Power? Motion-activated cameras will either get their power from batteries or from an AC power outlet. Both methods of power have their benefits. If you choose an AC powered camera, you won't have to worry about battery life. On the other hand, if you choose a camera that uses batteries, you won't have to worry about your camera functioning in a power outage. Two-way Audio: Does Your Camera Offer Two-Way Audio? Cameras equipped with audio capabilities pick up audio where they are placed and can transmit it to your app. This allows you not only to see what is happening, but to hear it as well. With two-way audio, you have the option of talking back to your camera and transmitting your message in your home. Should intruders ever break into your space, you could tell them that the police are on their way. Hopefully, though, you'll only ever need this feature to tell your kids that they shouldn't eat snacks before dinner when you get a notification that there is activity in your kitchen. Mobile App: Does Your Camera Come with a Mobile App? In today's app-drive world, it is standard practice for a motion-activated camera to come with a security app. This feature allows you to see what your camera sees anywhere you go. It sets your mind free from having to worry about your home because you know that if anything suspicious happens, you will be notified right away and have the evidence of the suspicious activity. Security apps are incredible because they won't let you miss a thing.

Now that you know some of the benefits and features of motion-activated cameras, it's time to think about where you want to place cameras in your home. Typical placement of security cameras includes corners of rooms and entryways. Entryways are an excellent place for a motion-activated camera because any time someone comes to your door, the camera will activate, record footage of the person at your door, and send you a notification that movement has been detected. Cameras placed in entryways will typically pick up a lot of needless footage of the UPS worker dropping off packages, but this strategic placement is the perfect way to catch intruders who try to enter your home. It is best to position cameras that will be placed inside in the corners of rooms. This placement gives them the widest angle to capture the most footage possible. Make sure that you don't place any cameras too close together. You want every camera you put up to capture unique footage. To achieve the best placement possible, take the time to consider what angle each camera you put up will be capturing. Stand where you want to place it and look out at the room it will record. Put it up and take a look at its field of view through your security app. If you don't like where it is placed and feel like it could capture a wider view, move it somewhere else. By taking the time to test and ensure the best positioning for each camera, you are making sure your motion-activated cameras can serve you in the case of a break in.

Motion sensors are designed to respond whenever anything in their field of view moves. As you can imagine, this could cause a number of potential problems. Nobody wants a camera near their front door that sends an alert whenever a breeze makes the leaves shake in a nearby tree. Nobody wants to be alerted every time their cat or dog walks through the kitchen to get a drink of water. If motion-activated cameras were that sensitive and responsive, nobody would want one. So what can you do to make sure your camera notifies you when it should and does not when it shouldn't? Here are a couple of tips. 1. Adjust your camera's sensitivity. If your camera is sending you alerts whenever the air conditioning makes your curtains rustle, try decreasing its sensitivity threshold. This will make it less likely to falsely mark minuscule movements as potential threats. 2. Pay attention to the type of motion-activated camera you are using. If you have a motion detector that is activated by temperature changes, you'll want to avoid placing it by a vent, fan, heater, or other appliance that presents with rapid temperature change. 3. See if your camera came with a “no record zoning” features. Some cameras can be set up to ignore any movement that happens in a specific part of the camera’s field of view. For example, you could draw a zone around your curtains and any motion in that specific area would not trigger a recording or notification.Keep your camera clean, especially if you have one placed outside. Keeping bugs and spiders from establishing a home around your camera will prevent them from setting off a false alarm. Motion-activated cameras y provide incredible peace of mind. We hope this article has helped you to see how a motion-activated camera can be an asset in your own home security system.