How to Build a Cheap Main Camera System

Getting a home security monitoring system is now cheaper than ever before. All you have to do is to put some time into it. You do not need to rely on the big company products and spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on a set of equipment that you are not familiar with. Build your own security surveillance system at home and adjust it to your needs
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A DVR, digital video recorder, a computer and an Internet connection are the main things you need in order to build a home-based surveillance system. In fact, all you need is a home computer with a good Internet connection, surveillance cameras and a DVR card and software. You can use your system and connect all the different surveillance cameras to a computer. This way, you can transfer all the record visuals to the HDD (hard disk drive) and then the information you were looking for.

Computer and Internet connection

The core of the system is a host computer that does not need to be very advanced. Your computer captures video records and games on the monitor and they stream on the Internet. Make sure there is enough free hard drive space to record all the data on the camera. You want a hard disk drive with a large data storage capacity if you schedule the motion activated recording so that you can then capture all the footages on the camera. A reliable high-speed Internet connection is also a must-have. Note that a dial-Internet connection will not work because you need faster speed and remote-controlled Internet for video streaming.

Types of cameras and other expenditures

A surveillance camera can come in many different styles. You can find dome cameras, bullet cameras or infrared cameras. The surveillance camera that works best for your application depends on several factors such as whether the security cameras are designed for indoor or outdoor spaces, for the day or for the night. Bullet surveillance cameras are the most popular. They can be used both inside and outside.

These security cameras come in relative small sizes and the camera body is weather resistant and does not require added external protection. Infrared surveillance cameras are also very popular as they allow a picture to be seen in poor or no lighting conditions. Most infrared security cameras are bullet type and can be used both inside and outside.

The cameras have infrared lighting which allows the security camera to see at a distance of up to 25 feet. Street light or an external source of light will do for the camera to be able to record. These cameras are quite cheap, costing around 20 USD, but they can be even cheaper if you buy them from an online store.

DVR card and software

Install a DVR card and its software on your PC to set up your monitoring system and then you can turn it on. The most popular versions on the market are the 4 channels, 8 channels and 12 channels systems, which require the same number of cameras. The latest software features include wave-activated recording, remote monitoring, automatic notifications to your cell phone, home or office notification when motion is sensed, scheduled recording, 24/7 all-day recording and many more. The prices range from twelve to two or three hundred dollars. All you have to do is to choose the software that best meets your needs.