Door viewers, in theory, are great additions to your home’s existing security network. They really are. When you install them on your front door, you get a nice, wide and angle view. This takes a lot of the guess work out of trying to figure out who’s at the door. It also enables you to record the identities of the people entering and exiting your premises. Of course, they avoid the necessity of you having to go to the door to peek into the peephole. All that happens automatically. This is quite convenient because you might be at another part of your house doing something important or are otherwise indisposed. You can rest assured that regardless of the security issue at your front door, the peephole camera’s recording system has you covered. Peephole cameras definitely provide a nice supplemental layer to the recorded security footage you’re already getting from Closed Circuit TVs installed in your premises or residence.
There is one missing piece here. If you are to operate door peephole cameras in the same way you operate Closed Circuit TV set-ups, you are going to run into archiving problems. These small cameras will continue to record on a 24 hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year basis, and you would end up with a whole lot of nothing.
When you look at the recorded data, it’s basically just nothing. It’s just the front area of your door and people going in and out. This is no big deal but the vast majority of the time and space of that data is devoted to nothing. This is why it makes a lot of sense to buy door peephole cameras that have two additional features. They have to have motion detection and infrared detection. Why? First of all, a lot of crimes happen in the dark. Under the cover of the dark criminals come out. They are more emboldened because they have the cover of the dark. Unfortunately, if you use a typical peephole camera without infrared features, you are literally left in the dark. You better hope that there is some sort of ambient or incidental lighting in the background so you can make out the features of the crime perpetrators, trespassers, or accident victims. Talk about a headache.
When you have an infrared feature in your door peephole camera, your recorded footage would see them in action like they were acting out in broad daylight. That’s what infrared is. It enables you to see images in the dark. You no longer have to hassle with trying to figure out the features of a perpetrator or person of interest. You don’t have to stumble through that process. Instead, with infrared, you can clearly make out the features of the people plus you get a clear idea of what they did in front of your door.
Motion detection is crucial because it helps save the battery life of your door peephole camera. Infrared recording takes a lot more of energy. Also, when you use motion detection, your cameras would only record whenever there’s action. When there’s no action or dead space, the cameras stop recording. If you insist on looking for door peephole cameras with these features, you do not only end up preserving the battery life of your unit. You also get an added layer of security. Always keep in mind that door peephole cameras should be just supplemental equipment. They should not, in any situation or circumstance, stand in for a fully configured and properly designed home security set up. Trying to use these equipment as CCTV replacements can and often do end with disappointment or even disasters. Seriously.
As important as infrared detection may be in boosting overall security, you have to have a comprehensive system. These two features are not a replacement for comprehensive systems. At the very least, you should have multiple CCTV cameras at multiple angles. You should also set up a regular archiving system for all your cameras. If you are able to follow all of these, then you can definitely take the overall security level of your premises, whether it’s a business or a residence to a much higher level. This doesn’t necessarily mean that crimes won’t occur, and accidents would be prevented but at the very least, you would have some peace of mind knowing that if something does go down, everything would be properly recorded so you can resolve whatever issues in a more positive way in the future.