Remote Systems

A remote surveillance system takes your home security system, whether wired or wireless out of the box. It provides the owner the capability to monitor and control a home security system from a location away from the home. Imagine yourself checking your living room, bedroom and kitchen while enjoying your trip to Hawaii!

Components

In a remote surveillance system, you are going to need the same set as with the ordinary wired or wireless security systems. The camera for image input, the transmitter or network cable for data transmission, and the monitors for the receiving end or data/image output. To have remote properties, a transceiver that uses standard telephone lines to transmit both full color motion video and audio from up to six cameras in real time is needed. Transceivers may also use LAN (Local Are Network)/WAN (Wide Area Network) networks that are DSL/Cable Modem Ready. Your surveillance data may also be monitored from any location through your personal computer. You just need the right software (e.g. Watcher and Remote View) that is operating on any Pentium desktop or laptop that dials a transceiver at the camera location to view the captured audio and video data.

Pros: Allows you to monitor and report artificial and environmental conditions inside and outside of your home. And as mentioned above, it lets you see the internal conditions of your home from any location.

Cons: Adding remote properties to your surveillance system gives you a big step towards unparalleled security. Same goes with the price—a big lump off your pocket. In addition, the extra installation procedures can cause you quite a bit of time, but not that much.

Brands

The popular brands for the camera-transmitter-monitor set are Sony, Panasonic, Philips, GE and Honeywell. For the remote transmission software, some popular applications are Watcher, Netvision, NetVizor and the Remote Desktop Spy.

Prices

Hardware devices for the surveillance package have prices ranging from $300 to $5,000 depending on the number of devices included and the extendibility of control and monitoring features.

Some Tips

• Setting up a remote surveillance system is has obviously more complicated procedures than the non-remote. Installation is a bit of additional work. So even before venturing into remote security systems, you must be aware of the do’s and don’t regarding this matter.
  
• But take note, installation is not just the issue. Every time you access your devices at home from a different location using your remote system, you are supposed to do some basic steps for connection establishment. Just like dialing a telephone line or configuring local area network settings. Why am I stressing this? It is because you need certain security codes or direct dial numbers in order to establish remote connections. Take care of those digits!
  
• You also need to have clear connections by signing up for a trusted internet company that serves high quality internet connection.
  
• It will not hurt if you do some surveys and consult an expert in remote security systems for professional guidance.
  
• Make sure you pick the most suitable products.
  
• Do some research and learn to compare products according to price, quality and functionalities.