Security surveillance is no longer a preserve of high-end businesses and police stakeouts. It is now an essential element in residential properties irrespective of the monetary value of your possessions.
Surveillance goes a long way in deterring intruders who can hurt your property’s occupants. A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera is the primary element in your home’s security surveillance. Several aspects will influence your choice of an outdoor and indoor CCTV camera.
Most property owners consider the cost, weather protection, image resolution and shape of their home security cameras in Utah. Unfortunately, a few pay attention to the storage of the camera’s footage. The camera captures continuous footage, and without storage, this will be lost, and the camera might not do much for your home’s security.
The following are the methods of storage you can use for your camera’s footage.
NVRs/DVRs
A network video recorder (NVR) is used with an IP camera while the digital video recorder (DVR) works with an analog camera. You can also opt for a hybrid video recorder (HVR), which runs on both IP and analog cameras. Based on the number of channels you choose, an NVR/DVR can record multiple cameras.
The recorders can work with no hard drives, but they will not record videos for you to view later and hence defeat their original purpose. DVRs and NVRs also generally work with cameras from a similar brand, so it is prudent to buy them together.
SD Card Recorders
These save security footage locally on an SD card and are sometimes called onsite or local storage. Some CCTV cameras have inbuilt SD cards, but you can purchase one separately more so if you want a different write and read speed and capacity. But you should ensure you pick an SD card format that is compatible with your camera.
PCs and Laptops
These are the cheapest storage options for CCTV footage. You will only need to link the camera to your PC or laptop and then save the activated or 24-hour footage to the machine. The primary downsides of this option are that your laptop/PC should run at the same time as the camera and the footage requires significant storage space.
FTP Server
The file transfer protocol (FTP) server is a free recorder of your camera’s 24-hour and activated recordings. In the past, most cameras required a DVR/NVR to store and upload the footage before transferring it to an FTP server but not anymore. The server available on IP cameras allows you to access footage offsite for download and playbacks easily.
Cloud
This is a pay-to-use footage storage solution. Cloud storage provides an off-site backing of your footage, thus increasing its security since it gives you double insurance should the locally stored version get lost or deleted. Though costly, it also allows the footage’s retrieval whenever and wherever you need it.
CCTV footage serves as the primary form of evidence in various legal issues. The above types of storage are crucial not just for future reference but legal proceedings as well. Before settling on one, consult your supplier to guarantee it works with your security camera type and brand.
