1. IP cameras have changed dramatically in the the past several years not only in increased capability, but much lower cost. Before you choose an IP camera for your digital video recorder or network video recorder, you should understand pixels. A standard IP cameras provides about 300,000 pixels, which by today’s standards is a low quality image and low resolution. A good middle of the road IP mega-pixel camera offers about 2,000,000 pixels which provides good image at a very good cost. Some specialized mega-pixel IP cameras can provide more than 20,000,000 pixels, but as we will learn later, you need to be careful when using this technology. The more pixels, the better quality the image and the better detail the picture render if you need to zoom in on a particular area of the image.
2. Think about separating your camera needs into indoor and outdoor cameras. Usually indoor cameras do not need to have low-light capabilities, and do not need need to be as robust in resolution as outdoor cameras…and will cost alot less. Lighting is the number one thing to consider when putting cameras outdoors; mega-pixel cameras will need a lot of light at night to be effective or they will not work well. You can get cameras that provide artificial (IR-infra-red) lighting or cameras that operate at a very low lux but they can be very pricey.
3. Panoramic (wide angle) and 360 degree cameras have become very popular and cost effective. These cameras use a special lens or design that will allow you to see a picture or “shot” that would normally take 4-6 cameras. The picture in this article is a panoramic or wide angle shot with an 8 MP camera, it provides an excellent picture of a large, outdoor area with one camera. A 360 degree camera is a camera mounted overhead that shows a look-down image of an entire area (usually indoor) with one camera. These type of camera have become very popular and work well; they can be used for indoor and outdoor applications and are very cost effective.
4. Not all digital recorders are created equal. If you still want to use some analog cameras with your IP cameras, you will need to use a hybrid digital recorder that can accomodate both IP and analog cameras, hybrid digital recorders are more expensive. A digital recorder that only uses IP cameras, is called a network video recorder (NVR). The more mega-pixel cameras you put on an NVR, the more processing power you will need, the intel i5 processor is a good one to use. We will talk more about specific NVR capabiites in future articles.
5. Pick a knowledgeable vendor who has sold IP and mega-pixel cameras for at least 5 years, you want proven products that will last. Ask if they support their products with a Service Agreement that covers labor, hardware, and software for the life of the system. Ask to see a demo of the cameras in action to make sure they give you the picture you have in your mind. Happy hunting and read our blog often for more good upcoming security tips. Be safe.
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