Home security systems are growing in popularity, with over 127 million households in the United States alone with security systems. These systems help homeowners:
- Manage their property
- Deter thieves
- Gather evidence in the event of a break-in
- Keep their families safe
PTZ cameras are a popular choice in home security because they offer the pan, tilt and zoom technology necessary to fully secure a home and zoom in on threats.
Advantages of Using PTZ Cameras for Home Security
Choosing the right camera is crucial to your home security. Why? Thieves are always one step ahead and will do anything they can to circumvent your system. PTZ technology supercharges your ability to secure your home with:
- Fewer blind spots: Many security companies install cameras at common entry points, making it easy for thieves to find blind spots and circumvent security measures. PTZ cameras have a large field of view, ensuring that you can see a greater area.
- Zoom: If someone knocks on the door or walks onto your property, you can rely on the zoom function to amplify the person’s face. You’ll find optical zoom options from 12x to 30x that you can adjust to see what a potential threat is doing and even identify them.
- Motion: Fast shutter speeds and the right setup (more on that below) will allow for advanced motion-tracking capabilities. The motion tracking is controlled using software and smart analytics to follow targets around a property and document their every move with crystal clear, 4K resolution quality.
- Automatic focus: Focusing on an object or person manually is a time-consuming process. A split second is all that you have to capture a person’s face or license plate. Autofocus technology is available in leading cameras to ensure important information is captured on the camera.
- Multi-camera compatible: Add more cameras to your network to ensure greater surveillance power. You can add cameras for all corners of the property to create true, 360-degree monitoring.
These are the same cameras that commercial entities have relied on to secure their premises. The difference is now that PTZ cameras are more affordable, you can create your own state-of-the-art security system at home.
Choosing the Right PTZ Camera for Your Security System
Whether you need PTZ cameras for church or home surveillance, there is the perfect camera available. You’ll want to make your choice based on a lot of factors:
- Price: You have a budget that will help you narrow down your camera choices. Be sure to limit your search to cameras in your price range to avoid being overwhelmed with too many choices.
- Resolution: Streaming quality will be even more important for home security than for events. You want to choose a camera with a high resolution, such as 4K so that your video quality is as clear as possible.
- Network requirements: Your network must have the bandwidth for HD or 4K streaming. With video and audio being streamed, you’ll want a network that has up to 1G capability. Slower connections may still work, but you’ll sacrifice quality if your network is slower.
- Weather resistance: It goes without saying that the camera you choose must be waterproof. Weather resistance is crucial to the health of your camera and the ability to secure your home.
Setting up your camera is the next step in the process and must be done with strict attention to detail.
Setting Up Your PTZ Camera for Home Surveillance
Home security systems must be set up properly to ensure that you can rely on them for your home’s security. You’ll need to:
- Review the manual to ensure that your network and corresponding hardware are compatible with the camera.
- Position the camera in the right locations to offer adequate coverage of your property.
- Use software to help you auto-manage the cameras. It’s important to choose a compatible software and hardware setup.
If your camera has the inputs and outputs that your network demands, you can follow the best practices below to get the most out of your security system.
Best Practices for PTZ Camera Usage in Home Security
Thieves will do anything that they can to avoid detection. It’s in your best interest to follow these recommendations:
- Keep cameras as well-hidden as possible to prevent tampering
- Place cameras higher up to reduce the risk of spotting the camera
- Choose placement to maximize viewing space and allow for a clear view of vehicles, people’s faces and entryways
- Use storage systems that backup to the cloud to reduce dependency on physical storage devices and improve overall security
- Test your security systems regularly to monitor for any defects or faults
- Encrypt all data connections
- Update any software regularly to reduce the risk of your system being penetrated
In Conclusion
Choosing the right camera for your home’s security is one of the most important choices you’ll ever make. Home security is evolving, and if you have the right PTZ camera setup, you can be sure that you stay one step ahead of thieves.
