3 Common Types of Surveillance Cameras

Having a surveillance camera can help you monitor your home, business, or other property in a variety of ways. In addition to video recordings, you can also use fixed IP cameras or Day/night infrared cameras. Hybrid video recorders allow you to view your live surveillance video over the internet.

• Fixed IP cameras

Fixed IP cameras are surveillance cameras that provide a fixed static view of the surveillance area. These types of security cameras can be used indoors or outdoors and are available in day/night or high-definition models. 

They offer an affordable solution to security concerns. In addition to their cost-effective nature, they are compatible with most surveillance applications.

Unfortunately, some IP cameras are vulnerable to hackers and malware. If you have an IP camera that isn’t protected by a firewall, it’s not safe. Malware may be installed in your home network, and then attack other computers. 

Additionally, some of the IP cameras have cheap firmware and aren’t secured with basic encryption. They are also only updated rarely, and these updates don’t necessarily account for security issues. One such security issue is Heartbleed, which is an exploitable vulnerability in some IP cameras.

One of the benefits of IP cameras is their ease of installation. Fixed IP cameras are usually mounted indoors, and can even be used outdoors. Some cameras offer two-way audio, allowing the camera owner to talk to the subject. Others feature remote access, which allows authorized users to view live video footage. 

Compared to analog cameras, these cameras can produce 4x the resolution and require fewer cables. In addition, IP cameras use Power over Ethernet, a technology that supplies power to the camera through its Ethernet cable.

• Day/night infrared cameras

A day/night infrared surveillance camera is a versatile surveillance tool. It functions as a regular color camera during the day, but when night falls, a sensor inside the camera detects darkness and switches it into night vision mode. This night-vision mode makes use of built-in infrared LEDs to produce a night-vision image. These images may appear in black and white, or they might have a green tint. Because of the IR filter, these images are not visible to the human eye.

Day/night cameras are automatic, which means they automatically adjust for both daytime and nighttime surveillance. They often feature an Infrared Cut Removable Filter (ICR) to block IR light during the day. 

The filter then moves away from the lens during nighttime to provide surveillance in low-light conditions. Some cameras can even be programmed to automatically remove the filter depending on the lighting conditions.

• Hybrid video recorders

A hybrid video recorder combines the benefits of both types of recorders. These devices have both analog and digital video inputs and can record videos in real time and in full resolution. They also have features such as push notifications and the ability to save videos on web cloud servers. They can be installed easily and are plug-and-play.

Many hybrid DVRs have a dual Gigabit NIC to separate the camera system from the main network. This helps reduce the load on the main network. For example, Internet browsing, email, and voice-over IP phones can all consume large amounts of bandwidth. This is why it is a good idea to separate the network for surveillance cameras. Typically, a hybrid DVR will use around 25% of the main network’s bandwidth.

Hybrid video recorders also come with a remote client application that allows you to remotely monitor one or more DVRs. You can also view recorded video remotely and export it to a network for further analysis. A built-in VPN server protects the remote connection from unauthorized users, and custom user profiles ensure that access to the videos is restricted to only authorized users.