With crime rates on the rise and an increase in these crimes occurring against people’s properties, it can feel more essential than ever to keep our homes and valuables protected! It is our natural instinct to want to protect the place which we live and the family that we have inside, but this can feel almost impossible to do at times (especially if you are in bed or not even at home!). Research suggests that one of the best ways to reduce crime against your home is with a CCTV system…in fact it has been proven to reduce crime rates by up to 70%!
Don’t forget though, that a CCTV system can actually do much more than just this! If this worst does happen, and you do end up with a break in or damage to your car etc at your home, then a good quality CCTV system can help with any insurance claims, police convictions and neighbourhood watch schemes!
But what if you’re not worried about the crime in your area? Is there then any need for you to purchase a CCTV system? Well, you would be surprised! CCTV systems are now regularly being used for people just to see what is happening on their property, whether this be watching wildlife in the garden, your pets roaming around, or even to keep an eye on your children! We have also seen them being used on yards, private garages and even allotments. This is one of the main benefits of a wireless CCTV system – providing you have access to an internet connection, they really can be used anywhere!
If you need to know what features to look for and how to decide on the best wireless CCTV system for you then keep reading – we have included some of the best available along with the features we think are most essential!
Best Pick – SANNCE 3.0MP Wireless CCTV Camera
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In A Hurry?
We understand that anyone who has been a victim of crime at their home probably feels a lot more vulnerable than they may have done before. If you are in a rush to find the best wireless CCTV system for your home, so that you can go back to enjoying your time there, then here is all that you need to know.
Wireless or Wire-Free?
By far one of the first things that you need to think about when purchasing a wireless CCTV system is exactly what the “wireless” part actually means. Different manufacturers have different opinions on this – so it is important to be clear on what you want, so that you know exactly what to look for.
Believe it or not, a wireless CCTV system doesn’t actually mean no wires. Instead, a wireless CCTV system is actually one that doesn’t have a recording box. These cameras will use a connection to your WiFi to send footage to a phone, tablet, computer or other connected device for you to view. It can also store the data on the harddrive or memory card in the device for if you can’t connect to your phone immediately (more on this below). However, you will still have a wire to actually power your CCTV camera, which does have its benefits, but is going to mean that your camera needs to be fitted close to a power source and you will have to fit the wire through the external wall of your property to get to the power source. Sometimes this can be done through a window to reduce damage but other times it is going to mean a hole in your wall!
If this isn’t going to work for you, for whatever reason, then what you actually need is a wire-FREE CCTV system. A wire-free system is going to have a battery pack, which means you will have no wire to the power source and no wire to a recording device either. This gives you many more possibilities as to where you can position your camera and helps to avoid any damage to your property from fitting wires etc. They are also going to be much easier to fit in the first place. However, it is worth mentioning that because they aren’t mains powered, you are going to have to be prepared to charge your camera every few weeks. Not only is this going to be rather inconvenient but it means you run the risk of forgetting to charge your camera and missing recording important footage!
TOP TIP: If you decide that a wire-free model is going to be the option for you then check the battery life that comes with your camera. Most are going to last for around 3 to 4 weeks on one charge but some will last up to a couple of months!
Type of Camera
Once you have decided which wireless CCTV system it is that is going to be best for your home, you need to then decide on the style of the camera. This is going to impact on the area that it is able to cover and record, plus the overall appearance of the camera at the front of your home.
- Bullet Cameras – These are your smallest cameras available so they are going to be nice and discreet on the front of your property. They are also going to be easy to fit, reasonably priced but have enough features to record the main things that you need.
- Dome Cameras – Dome cameras are a bigger option than the bullet cameras but they are still plenty small enough if you are wanting something simple for outside your home. These cameras are designed so that they can fit to a ceiling, so make sure that you have a flat hanging surface outside your house to secure to, such as a wide fascia.
- Box Cameras – These are going to be your next size up and they are the most frequently found options for most homes. They are large enough to be noticed without taking up too much space on your walls. We particularly like the relatively large coverage area and number of features for the size and price of the camera!
- Pan, Tilt, Zoom Cameras – Finally you have the pan, tilt, zoom cameras. These are more commonly found on commercial properties where you have a large area that needs to be covered, however they are becoming more popular on domestic properties. They are particularly ideal for anyone that has a semi-detached or detached home, as they can be positioned on the corner of the home and you will get footage of both the front of your home/driveway and down the side of your home too, thanks to the 360° rotation.
TOP TIP: It is important to think about how discreet you actually want your camera to be! A camera that is TOO discreet isn’t going to do a very good job of putting off people from tampering with your car or home!
Storing Your Footage
You aren’t going to be able to watch your CCTV camera all the time and to be honest that sort of defeats the object of having one! This means that you are going to need a device that is able to record and store data. The point of a wireless CCTV system is that you aren’t recording to a physical device which needs a wire (as you would have done archaically with CCTV systems) but that the data is being sent to an external device via WiFi instead.
However, even if you are accessing this footage via your phone or tablet, it still needs to be stored somewhere! Most wireless CCTV systems achieve this by having a hard drive in the actual device, or the option to add a memory card. Models that come with hard drives are going to be more expensive initially due to the extra equipment that goes into making them, but it does save you the hassle of having to buy a memory card that is going to be compatible etc. What we do like about the memory card option though is that it gives you much more flexibility in how much footage you choose to store and whether you keep this footage afterwards. With a memory card you will be able to replace the card as it becomes full, whereas with an in-built hard drive your only option will be to wipe the older data – in fact most models do this automatically.
If you go for a hard drive model then make sure to check how much storage comes with your camera, as we found this can range from as little as 250MB up to around 1TB. Equally, if you opt for a memory card model then make sure to check what size of card it is going to be compatible with!
TOP TIP: Some of the newest wireless CCTV cameras actually send all of their data up to “the cloud” – a virtual storage space! If this is the case then you won’t need to worry about the storage options that you have in the actual camera, as all your data will be transferred straight to the cloud, providing your WiFi connection is working!
Quality Image
It is very important that you check the quality of the image that you are going to get with your wireless CCTV camera. Without a good quality image, if someone does try to damage your home or your car you risk not being able to see their face well enough to get a conviction. A nice simple judge of this, is the distance away that your camera will still be able to get a clear image of a registration plate!
The best way to judge the quality of the image is by looking at the megapixel count – just like you would for a television that you may be buying! High quality images are going to be able to offer around 1080 megapixels. Although slightly less than this will still be good enough for most images, you may find some images in the distance not being very clear!
It is also worth looking to see whether your camera has infrared technology. This will allow your camera to still pick up images through the night and is essential as far as we are concerned, as most crimes against cars and properties happen through the night!
Best Budget – TP-Link Smart Security Camera
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The Best Features!
Once you have decided on the style of camera and the key features that are going to be essential for you, here are some of the additional options that you may need to consider!
- Durability and waterproofing – Make sure to check the casing and build of your wireless CCTV system. Some will be designed with plastic “shells” that are going to be completely watertight. Others come with rubber/silicone sleeves which can be pulled over the top to make sure that no water gets into the charging point etc.
- Installation – Always check how easy it is going to be to install your camera. Look out for models that come with all the fittings included so that you know they are going to be compatible. Then check to see whether the bracket can be secured to the wall separately from the camera. This makes it much easier to remove your camera for charging or maintenance etc.
- Two-way sound – This is a fantastic feature that is becoming more popular. Two-way sound systems will not only allow you to hear what is happening outside your home but to actually talk back through your device and then the camera. This means that if you are away from home but see someone on camera, you will be able to talk to them and tell them to leave your property!
- Motion sensors – Another key feature that is now much more common! Motion sensors will detect when something moves past your camera and then they can alert your device (if you want them to) and start recording. This saves you from having to trowel through hours worth of data just for one part that you need and also avoids the storage on your camera from becoming full too quickly!
Best of the Rest
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do wireless CCTV cameras come with a guarantee?
Yes! All wireless CCTV cameras are going to come with some level of guarantee. This is normally between around 2 years and 5 years, however we did find some products that extended the warranty if you registered the product online, which is well worth doing for the sake of the 30 seconds it takes to register!
Will a wireless CCTV system connect to my phone?
Providing you have a phone that is compatible with the app system for the camera that you are buying, then yes almost all wireless CCTV systems can now be connected to your phone. It is worth just checking the amount of data that it will use to log onto your camera though as this can be quite substantial.
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