Wireless IP Camera

Wireless IP Camera Security for Home or Business

A wireless IP camera uses the internet protocol to communicate live video across the internet by means of a packet-switched network.  What this means is that the streamed signal is broken into ‘packets’ by the transmitter which are reassembled by the receiver to reproduce what the camera is recording in real time.

In simple terms this means that you can place your battery-operated camera high in a tree in your garden and program it to start recording whenever it senses movement close to your home. It will then pass the signal of what it recording in real time wirelessly to a server in your home, that you can then access from a computer on the other side of the world and see what is happening outside your house; you could alternatively monitor your business, either as, or in addition to, your main security system.

Farmers can use them to monitor animals due to give birth or their chicken coops and barns for predators.  They can also be set to check on cattle fields for rustlers, and even arrange a silent warning to be sent to a local security company so that the intruders can be apprehended without them being given the warning of an audible alarm.

IP cameras are digital cameras that have a web server built in and can be used in any situation, indoors or outdoors, for domestic or business use. All you need do is to plug the camera into an internet connection, and it is then visible to anybody using the IP address of the camera.  All you have to do to view what the camera is showing on your computer is to use any web browser, wherever you are in the world, and enter in the IP address of the camera. You can then view live exactly what the camera is seeing.

The advantages over a standard video camera or CCTV are obvious.  You don’t need to have anybody permanently manning a monitor screen, and can record and view your home or business premises from anywhere in the world that you can access a browser.

With wireless IP cameras, the internet connection is a wireless connection that can be connected online using any wireless router. It can be sited any distance from the router according to the range of the wireless signal; anything up to 20 – 25 Km. This provides the advantage that intruders cannot cut any cables to cut off the signal.  Although such actions could provide a warning that something is wrong, most people assume a fault when they cannot connect with their traditional CCTV and take no immediate action.  The advantage of a wireless IP system is that this is not possible.  The camera itself would have to be destroyed, and it would likely record this before it stopped recording and sending live signals.

Such cameras can be fitted with day/night facilities, full tilt, pan and zoom operation that is remotely controllable; they can be fitted with alarms, motion detectors and IR heat detection.  They are suitable for residential and business premises, and many use them even in garages and similar areas where specific protection is needed.

Wireless cameras are of particular benefit in areas where there is an electrical connection, but no conveniently located internet connection. Battery cameras can even dispense with the electrical connection. Furthermore, the cameras themselves are inexpensive, and it is possible to use two or more to protect premises so that even if an intruder could disable one camera without being seen, another would record this being done and send out an alarm.

IP cameras will generally record what they see onto a hard drive, and can be programmed to record only when there is a detected movement, at specific time periods between frames, or at predetermined actions or triggers, such as when a door is opened.

One of the great advantages of a wifi system is that the cameras can be placed anywhere, especially in areas inaccessible to intruders who would seek to disable them. The cameras can be placed anywhere on a farm, business premises or a home without the need for an internet connection.  They can also be used for security at autoteller points and inside banks, and anywhere else where remote access to the live signals from cameras would be useful.

When choosing your camera decide beforehand whether you need a powered version or a battery driven camera.  The battery cameras are useful for use in remote situations, but batteries run out, and so they need more attention than the powered versions that can be pretty much left to their own devices other than occasional cleaning.

In summary, then, wireless IP camera security systems allow you to check out the security of your home or business online from anywhere in the world that you have a direct or wireless internet connection.  The wireless camera allows them to be situated in places that were previously not suited to traditional CCTV systems that needed a hard connection from camera to monitor, and a range of 25 kilometers can easily be achieved, from camera to IP connection and also from receiver to computer.