During the next few months of social distancing, most of us will remain at home. But that doesn’t mean that all of our contact to the outside world will be eliminated. Whether it’s food delivery, UPS drivers, or unknown visitors, we’ll most likely encounter situations at our own doorsteps that require us to be smart and vigilant about who we make contact with. Security cameras are one good way of knowing what’s going on inside of our homes and outside of our doors.
Home security has advanced rapidly over the last few years. Today, it's common to see regular homes equipped with security systems that include state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. Along with an assortment of monitors, sensors, alarms, and control panels, modern home security systems also come equipped with high-quality cameras for full range surveillance and protection. Both indoor and outdoor cameras are important components of any home security system, and each serves a unique and vital purpose.
Here are the top 5 security cameras that will keep you aware of what’s happening at your doorstep and beyond.
Indoor Vs. Outdoor Security Cameras
Before you dive into the nitty-gritty details of security, it's a good idea to get to know the products themselves a little better. Both indoor and outdoor cameras play an important role in keeping your home safe, each one functions slightly differently, and the features you want to be on the lookout for vary as well. So, take a quick look at indoor and outdoor security cameras and what they’re all about.
Indoor Cameras
Indoor cameras secure the inside of your home and let you see what’s going on even when you’re not home.
Benefits:
- Remote surveillance of all the rooms in your home
- Can show you what’s going on in your home when an alarm goes off
- Can be connected to emergency services for faster response time
Important features:
- HD quality picture
- Remote access
- Connection to emergency services or monitoring service
Outdoor Cameras
Outdoor cameras protect the outside of your home and often act as a deterrent. Statistics have shown that criminals will frequently avoid houses with security systems, opting for an easier target.
Benefits:
- Check on the kids while they’re playing in the yard
- See who and when someone is coming onto your property
- Generate important evidence against criminals in a court case
- Deters criminals
Important features:
- Waterproof
- Recording capabilities
- Cloud storage
Now that you understand what’s important in an indoor and outdoor security camera, here is a review of some of the best home security services that offer top-of-the-line surveillance cameras for your home.
1. ADT - Authorized Premier Provider
- 720-pixel HD video quality
- Auto video feed upon motion activation
- Switch between live feed from indoor and outdoor cameras
- Unlimited cloud storage
Indoor Cameras: Stay connected and fully aware of what's going on inside your home 24/7 no matter where you go in the world with a state-of-the-art indoor security camera from ADT. These cameras deliver 720-pixel HD quality imaging, so you can see exactly what’s happening in every room of the house. ADT indoor cameras also allow you to record, watch, and save video clips of your home remotely.
Outdoor Cameras: The outdoor camera is totally weather-proof for all-terrain functionality, and these cameras even have a built-in heater to ensure the hardware doesn’t stop working in cold temperatures. ADT cameras are built with some impressive specs, including infrared night vision, WiFi protected access, and a sleek, easy-to install, wireless design.
Another neat feature built into the ADT system is the ability to switch between indoor and outdoor cameras instantly. So, you can watch activity moving throughout your home and even outside, covering every corner of your property.
2. Vivint
- Two-way audio
- One-touch callout
- Pan and zoom functionality
- 24/7 continuous playback up to 30 days
Indoor Cameras: Vivint is a serious home security firm with some seriously high-tech solutions on offer. All security cameras provide wireless, high-definition imaging with infrared night vision for round the clock surveillance capabilities. You’ll get a live feed streamed to any device you want, so you can check up on your home whether you’ve gone out for the night and want to see that the kids are in bed or you’re halfway across the world and need to know that your home is secure.
Outdoor Cameras: And then, Vivint pulls out the really big guns. Security surveillance camera features include Smart Sentry, Vivint’s way of detecting and deterring real threats, 1080-pixel video with HD zoom, and a 140-degree view, so you can see everything. These cameras let you set specific surveillance areas for customizable security, and they all run on hybrid wired/WiFi connection tech. Plus, a Vivint professional technician will come and install your security cameras for you, so you don't have to worry about any of the technical details. And both activation and installation are free.
3. SimpliSafe
- Watch live 24/7 HD video from anywhere
- 120-degree field of vision
- Night vision
- Intruder and motion alerts
Dual Indoor/Outdoor Cameras: SimpliSafe was voted the best home security system by CNET, PCMag, and Wirecutter. That should already give you an idea of how good these systems are. But what these dual indoor-outdoor cameras are built to do will even surpass those expectations. With 24/7 HD video and audio streaming directly to your smartphone, tablet, or computer, SimpliSafe ensures that you are aware of what’s going on in and around your home at all times.
Plus, SimpliSafe’s SimpliCam sends out automatic alerts whenever the motion detector is set off, so you can act quickly in an emergency situation. Have pets? No problem. SimpliSafe’s motion detection cameras are uniquely-designed to sense human heat patterns and not animals, so you won’t get false alarms constantly because of a stray raccoon or when your dog goes out for a midnight run.
SimpliSafe allows you to take snapshots even when you’re not home, record footage, and store it for 30 days. SimpliCam comes with end-to-end encryption and 30 Frames/sec, H.264 encoding. What’s more, SimpliSafe offers a 60-day money-back guarantee. A solid offer that shows this is a brand that stands behind its products.
4. Frontpoint
- Pre-configured WiFi enabled
- Adjustable sensitivity and threshold settings
- Bluetooth speakers & echo-canceling mic
- 180-degree field of vision
Indoor Cameras: Frontpoint has a selection of security cameras you can choose from. The indoor camera offers high res video in flexible hardware and 2-way communication. Loaded up with adjustable settings and motion detection sensors, these indoor cameras also easily integrate with your smart home systems. If you want something even more advanced, Frontpoint offers a premium indoor camera which is equipped with Bluetooth speakers, an echo-canceling microphone, and the convenient pan and tilt feature. Enjoy a 180-degree field of vision, zoom capabilities, and one-tap activation.
Outdoor Cameras: Lest you thought Frontpoint was skimping on the outdoor security, not to worry. Frontpoint has a resilient wireless outdoor camera that provides infrared vision, personalized recording settings, and high-level encryption to keep your footage secure. The doorbell cam is another marvelous security device that delivers a live feed, 2-way audio, and sensitive motion sensors with auto alerts sent straight to your device. Bottom line, Frontpoint has all your bases covered.
How Do I See What My Camera Records?
There are different ways to connect to your camera, but the most common options are WiFi, Bluetooth, home network, and wired. If you have a smart home system, it’s simple to connect your streaming to the system to get automatic access to your video feed. You’ll just use the app to connect to the camera and view the live or recorded streaming directly on the device of your choice. WiFi and Bluetooth cameras are easy and convenient, letting you connect and view your stream instantly with any smart device.
While a bit more work is required for wired cameras, this option delivers a wonderful service on all levels. These cameras are wired into your home’s electricity (either through direct wiring or a plug). The benefit of wiring is that the resolution is generally the best.
Features to Look for
While there are hundreds of home security cameras on the market, not all of them have got what it takes to deliver the best service to you. If you’re in the market, make sure your new camera has:
- HD Resolution
Showing you a fuzzy video of a vague person won’t help you much when trying to ID someone. Make sure the home security cameras you look at have high definition videos.
- Video Recording
Recording your streaming is an invaluable tool in the event that your home is broken into. Good video cameras have helped the police identify the culprits in many home intrusion cases. It’s also convenient if you want to know what’s been happening around your home but don’t have time to view it on the spot. Only look at cameras that record the footage being streamed.
- Detection
How the camera is triggered is also important. Good quality motion detection cameras will start streaming and send you a message when any movement is noted. This is crucial if you want to capture the important movements of an intruder, a stranger, or a visitor. You don’t want to be notified of every leaf that falls by your door, though. That’s why the best brands have some form of smart motion detection, enabling the camera to differentiate between human movement and things like cars and branches in the wind.
- View
This actually covers two important features: field of view and night vision. Along with HD resolution, it's really important to have a wide field of view; otherwise, you can miss out on the most important activity going on just outside your camera's lens. Night vision also improves your visibility, enabling you to see images as clearly at night as you would during the day.
- WiFi Capability
While it’s not essential, WiFi connectivity ensures that your camera will be online and available at all times, regardless of the weather. It’s also more secure, since there aren’t any wires to cut.
Secure Your Home With Smart Security Cameras Today
They say seeing is believing, and in security, nothing could be truer. There is a wonderful comfort that comes with being able to see your home from wherever you are, knowing you are in control and on top of things 24/7. A quality home security camera with CCTV will give you that confidence, so make the right choice and protect your home today.
