Home Surveillance Camera Basics

Have you been considering adding a home surveillance camera to help in securing your home? Are you somewhat confused with all the terminology in the security camera industry? Most of the terms are not difficult to understand, but some may have you scratching your head. Here is a look at some home security basic terms.

A home surveillance camera system that includes "IR" technology simply means that it will see moving objects in the dark. IR or infra-red cameras use a set of special lights around the camera lens that literally make the area look as if a floodlight is shining down. While you do not see any of this light being emitted, the surveillance camera does. You may have seen this type of technology being used by law enforcement agencies looking for criminals at night. Now, this technology is available to homeowners who want a high level of security.

When you go to s store to look over various home surveillance cameras, the store will most likely have some cameras hooked up to monitors to look over. You can use your own television at home, in most all cases, as your security monitor. Here is how it works.

TVL, or television lines as it stands for, will provide the pictures from your security camera. Your most common TV's will put out 480 TVL. This number is out of a scale of 0 -525, with 525 being the highest quality. When looking over home security cameras you want to find those that display images in the 375 - 425 TVL range. Obviously, the higher quality images will cost more, but you have a better system also.

Another type of home surveillance camera is the dome type system. You have most likely seen these in high traffic areas such as casinos. The security camera is hidden inside a darkened dome that is mounted to the ceiling. The nice thing with these cameras is that they can be tilted and provide a 360 degree view. Remote controls can be utilized to make things even more efficient.

Although this is by no means all there is to know about home surveillance cameras, it does cover the most commonly asked questions and aspects in regards to getting one for your home security needs. If you are looking at a camera, but have questions about features you have never heard of, be sure to ask questions about it. Having the right home surveillance camera does not have to be confusing when you know the basics in what to look for.