Should I choose Wireless or
Wired Cameras for my security system?
There are many retailers offering
wireless cameras these days, and boasting about the range, and quality
as well as the ease of installation of these cameras...However, they
neglect to inform you of the MAJOR FLAWS of a wireless camera
system!
Wireless cameras are not
secure! These cameras are easy to install, but they can
allow a professional, or even an amateur who has a few dollars and
access to a Radio Shack® store, to see inside your house or business,
and case the robbery from the outside.
This defeats the purpose of a Security
Surveillance System!!! Now you never know who is watching you
on your own cameras!
These cameras operate on very crowded frequency bands which can be
interfered with by a Mobile Phone, Wireless Access-Point, Wireless
Network Card, or many other wireless devices. This also demonstrates how
easy it is to disable the camera system from outside of your home or
business.
Wireless cameras are not stable. The
pictures flip, and the least disturbance in the area, such as a person
walking by the receiver can disturb the picture.
Finally, the wireless cameras broadcast on the same frequency. You can
only have one wireless camera in an area. There are multiple frequency
cameras that come with multiple frequency receivers, but not only do the
cost 3-4 times more, they are also not reliable, and suffer from channel
drift as the video from one channels drifts into the next.
In our our experience a Wired
Surveillance System is the only solution!.
CAUTION -
You can only have
ONE WIRELESS
CAMERA in an area, as they broadcast on the same frequency. If
you have two or more, all you will get is noise when you go to view them
on your monitor.
There are cameras that are multiple
frequency cameras, and they require multiple frequency receivers. The
start in price at $120.00 US each. They are limited to 4 channels,
Unfortunately, apart from being expensive, they also suffer from channel
drift, as the signal from one channel drifts into the other channels.
Not an ideal set-up at all.
There is one really good reason to
purchase a wireless camera. That is for its ability to be set up quickly
without stringing wires. So we suggest you consider, 3 wired cameras and
one wireless camera to take advantage of this capability to move one
camera around easily, without compromising the entire set-up.
Interesting
Wireless Story
DuncansOnline,
I owe you you guys an apology. I was raised that if you
make a mistake, you admit to it and take your lumps.
I finally found enough time to work with the camera
set, it’s a quiet Sunday. If you remember, I was trying
to set it up so we could monitor Main St. from the police
station. I mounted the camera on
a
phone
pole within visual sight of the station, about 80-90 feet
away. Both DIP switches were set on 2. As I
told you before, I got a VERY distorted video and audio.
I put the receiver in my police car and used a
power converter to run it and drove up and down Main St.
The signal would get better and worse and seemed to have
images that I had no idea what they were.
I finally got disgusted and unplugged the camera
and….. Voila. I got a steady, clear picture.
Of what, I had no idea. With some detective work,
I was able to determine that I was seeing the front door
of an antique shop on Main St., from the inside. Yes, I
saw the camera inside.
Now, I
ask you, what are the chances that there would be another
wireless camera running, in the same area, on the same
2.4g frequency, WITH THE DIP SWITCHES SET THE SAME!!!!
I
changed my switches to 4 and the camera set works
perfectly.
Do you
feel sorry for me a little?
Again,
I’m sorry for the confusion and tense moments.
K -
cop
Frames per Second
Most DVR
capture cards are 30 frames per second cards. (NTSC -
North American Video Standard) When they are being used to
run PAL cameras (European Video Standard) the frames per
second rate is 25.
If you
attach one camera to the card then it will view and record
at 30 frames per second. If you attach two cameras, that
resource is shared between the two cameras, and you can
view and record at 15 frames per second. If you attach
four cameras, then you can view and record at 7.5 frames
per second.
Why frames per second
is
NOT THAT
IMPORTANT!!!!
Well, it is, if you are using the card to study the mating
habits of hummingbirds!
But we believe that the
object in good surveillance is to be able to obtain high
quality images that you can email to the police, print out
on your color inkjet, and that can be used to prosecute an
offender.
When you are running four cameras on a 30 fps card, an
illegal act that takes 1-2 seconds, will produce 7 - 15
pictures that you can use to prove your case to the
police!!!
A 30 fps card is by far your
most cost effective choice for professional surveillance.
If you absolutely need higher frame rates, consider buying
more than one card, and then you could have up to 4 cards
in one machine, driving 4 cameras, each with 30 frames per
second viewing and recording.
As soon as you go to the
internet viewing, however, your frame rate will drop
again, because the internet slows down the process.
Bottom line, 30 frames per
second total resource is most likely all you need in 95%
of the time you need surveillance.
Want to drive 8 cameras -
Purchase 2 cards - you need 2 PCI slots
Want to drive 12 cameras - Purchase 3 cards - you need 3 PCI slots
Want to drive 16 cameras - Purchase 4 cards- you need 4 PCI slots
