How Pick The Right Security Cameras For the Job To Protect Your Home Or Business

By: Jeff Kleffs

Let's face crime is everywhere these days and only getting worse. Not a day goes by that I don't hear about a break in, either near my home, or near my office. Thieves have become increasingly brazen and it is becoming increasingly difficult to bring these people to justice. The police do try to do their best to help, but often they are powerless to find these bad guys without good video footage of the crime, and prosecution can also be difficult without this surveillance video. It is becoming increasingly evident that the only solution is to install a security camera system so that your home or business is being constantly monitored around the clock, and thus if a crime occurs it will be properly recorded, and I can hand a video to the police. This way I can be sure that the criminal can not only be identified but properly prosecuted.

So now that we've established that we need a security camera system, the question becomes what do we look for in a system? This is what causes most people the greatest hesitation, let's face it very few people are knowledgeable on this subject, and this is a big investment. Here are some factors to look for when selecting a system that will provide you with the quality that you need:

1. Camera Resolution: Make sure your cameras have adequate resolution. This is fairly obvious, but how is resolution measured, and how high of a resolution do you need? Resolution is measured in TVL (TV Lines), and at the low end starts at 380TVL, and goes all the way up to 700TVL or possibly more. We would recommend at least 420TVL as a starting point, and really 540TVL to get a solid quality picture at a decent price point.

2. Cabling: Cables are one thing that people often overlook. Most people just try to make sure they have cables that are long enough, without thinking too much about the quality of picture that they're going to get once it's installed. Everything else you spend time thinking about when configuring your system will be moot if you don't select a quality cable to connect to your cameras. We recommend cat5e cable, this type of cable has twisted pairs that eliminate interference, thus you get a crystal clear picture. Avoid thin premade cables, these cables typically have minimal shielding/insulation and a thin copper, and will be prone to interference and will not give you a high quality picture.

3. DVR: Make sure you get a quality DVR with a large hard drive for recording. Stand alone DVRs are cost effective, but really not the best solution. We highly recommend a Windows 7 PC based DVR. This has the best software and expandability options. Stand alone DVRs rarely if ever update their software, and are very limited in the devices you can hook up to them.

Keeping all these factors in mind will allow you to configure the perfect system for your needs. You will have the peace of mind knowing that you have the best system that will be there for you when you need it.