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Keeping watch: A user operates an IP camera through his laptop.

Technology has taken security solutions for homes to the next level. If you are still relying on watch dogs to do the same job, then its time to switch over to high-end surveillance cameras that can be accessed via Internet from any part of the world.

Keeping an eye on your home especially when you are away can be quite a task. It is only natural to feel insecure leaving the house locked and asking neighbours to keep watch over the house. While commercial establishments such as malls, multiplexes, corporate offices and showrooms have been using these surveillance cameras to track visitors , the trend is catching up with households as well. With an in-built web server and broadband compatibility, IP camera’s enables one to access security setup sitting in another part of the world.

“The main areas that people prefer to monitor are garden, kitchen and gate. These are the places where people move around.” says K. Shashank, Business Director of eZone. “If the DVRs are plugged into the LAN connection, then any computer can have access to cameras monitoring areas. If one is away from home, the camera can be accessed by typing the IP address into the Internet Explorer. A window displaying all the areas and a control panel pops up for one to see their property and control the cameras, ” he says.

The camera comes with an Ethernet port, a slot for the broadband cable and one has to configure the Internet protocol settings of the camera. After this is done, the camera is attached to a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which is connected to a monitor. “These facilities are also being provided in schools for parents to monitor the classrooms and how their children are taking to the classroom atmosphere”, he adds.DVRs come in various channel modes, ranging from four channel to over 16 channels, meaning up to 16 cameras can be controlled through one monitor. Moreover, IP cameras can be categorised into critical and non-critical zones, making it easier for surveillance teams to monitor certain areas.

The DVRs are equipped with a hard drive where footage is recorded and can also be retrieved, through an in-built DVD drive. A combo DVR is also available in the market where the cameras are directly hooked on to a monitor which has an in built DVR, web server and supports a hard drive of upto 500 GB.

All the IP cameras work with Video Analytics software that enables one to ‘stitch’ all camera views into one picture and also options like ‘motion tracking’ help one trace the movement of an object in picture.

This software is manufactured by ACTi, Sony, Bosch and Milestone. But it is not only IP cameras that are Internet compatible, the ordinary surveillance cameras, if plugged into a DVR, also can be accessed from any place on the planet. These setups for homes can cost between Rs.17,500 to a cool Rs.1 lakh.

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