Home Surveillance Camera Technology

While shopping the market for a home surveillance camera you might have came across a slew of unfamiliar words. How are you supposed to commit to a security camera if you don’t know what it is capable of? Many of the terms used are easy to figure out, but some are terms for new technology.

An “IR” equipped home surveillance camera is one that can see in the dark. These special cameras have a cluster of light around the lens or an added mount which is a cluster of lights which can be moved to a different location. The human eye cannot see the IR lights, but the camera picks up the emitted light as if a floodlight is illuminating the area.

This type of technology has been used for a few years but is just now making its way into the consumers’ hands.

Many times the home surveillance camera will be hooked up into a monitor for customers to preview in the store. If there isn’t any way for you to preview the quality of the camera, you can ask about the “TVL.” TVL stands for television lines. Most all television sets utilize 480 TVL out of the 525, and a good home surveillance camera will display between 380-420TVL. The higher the number the better image quality you will be viewing. Many times everything except for the Mini security cameras will boast 420TVL.

The dome type home surveillance camera are designed to remain a little more hidden since they don’t look like a camera and more like a darkened half sphere. These cameras usually have the ability to pan and tilt 360 degrees to give you the best view possible when needed. Recently there have been models which can be pan and tilted by remote control from the inside of the house, as opposed to being limited to moving the camera by hand, which almost defeats the purpose of having a camera that can move in such a fashion.

While this isn’t a complete list of all the jargon you will encounter when purchasing a home surveillance camera, these are the most frequently used and most important aspects to consider when buying one. If you are unsure about a specific feature a camera boasts, ask about it. Don’t be forced into buying a security camera with features you never intend on using.