Computer Shopper - UK (2019-08)

ISSUE 378|COMPUTERSHOPPER|AUGUST 2019

SECURITYCAMERAS

99

and the requisiteweatherproofing forthem

to withstand rain or snow,but many are

indoor-only,while others might be designed

specifically foroutdoor use.

Youcould potentially use an indoor camera

to watch an outdoor area by having it face out

of awindow,and there’s nothing strictly

stopping you from using an outdoor camera

inside,but neither of these are ideal. For

outdoor coverage,it’s better to place the

camera high up on awall rather than at

window-sill level, and even if you drill holes in

your interior walls to mount an outdoor

camera, you’re essentially paying extra for

weatherproofing features you won’t use.

Our advice is to stick to what the

manufacturers intended, although if you want

eyes on both the interior and exterior of your

house at once,your best bet will be acamera

kit that can handle both, such as the Arlo Pro

2. Rather than buying separateindoor-only

and outdoor-only cameras, this will allow

you to have multiple cameras on the same

network, all controllable from the same app.

In many cases, you can buy sets of two or

more identical cameras forthat very purpose.

FREE’SACLOUD

Storage remains one of the more complex

aspects of security camera ownership,but

that’s mainly because of all the different

options available; it’s all much simpler once

you’re actually set up.

The best scenario would be your chosen

camera coming with agenerous amount of

free cloud storage,which is typically measured

in how long footage will be saved in the cloud

forrather than how many gigabytes of footage

is stored at once.You’ll need areasonably fast

internet connection to make the most of

cloud storage,ofcourse,but it has the major

benefit over local storage of being immune to

physical theft. In other words, aburglar could

steal not just your valuables but the camera

and its locally saved footage as well, literally

robbing you of the evidence.

Be warned, however,that free services

rarely keep videos saved formore than a

matter of days, and sometimes as little as 24

hours, so you’ll need to be quick about saving

copies forfuture viewing. BT’s Smart Home

Cam also only gives you free storage forstill

images, and the Ring Stick Up Cam doesn’t

come with afree allowance at all. If you really

like acertain camera but want your footage

saved forlonger,there are often arange of

paid subscriptions that offer better terms,

but these can get expensive.

Should you wish to take your chances

with local storage,either alone or (as we’d

recommend) to back up the footage saved in

the cloud, there are afew ways this might take

shape.Some cameras have microSD card slots

or USB ports, intowhich you can simply install

acard, thumb drive or external hard disk,

while some might come with abase station.

Besides acting as asmart hub forconnected

cameras, these can also be used forlocal

storage –perhaps awiser option than saving

footage on the cameras themselves, as the

base station can be hidden awayinacupboard

instead of leftout in the open.

REDALERT

Don’t think you’ll have to sift through hours of

recordings to find abriefmoment of

suspicious activity.Home security cameras

aren’t actually rolling most of the time,but

they’ll automatically start recording once

theydetect motion or,onmost models, audio.

Anotification can then be sent to your phone,

informing you that something fishy might

have occurred, and that avideo clip has been

recorded and saved.

To avoid this happening every single time

you, afriend or afamily member walks past,

you can generally use amobile app to set

start and stop times forthe motion and

audio sensors –when you’re sleeping or at

work, forexample.You might still get false

positives from things such as pets and passing

cars, however.Some cameras are better than

others at determining what genuinely is

human movement, even if you can change

the sensors’ sensitivity.

MAKE SOME NOISE

There are plenty of other features to

consider,some more important than others.

Anight-vision mode is essential: it can reduce

video quality,such as recording at alower

frames-per-second rate, but allows the camera

to stayinaction when darkness falls.

Geofencing support is less vital, but still very

useful. This can automatically updatethe

camera system when you leave home and

arrive back, disabling motion- and audio-

detected recording while you’re around and

re-enabling it when you leave.

Two-wayaudio is another common feature,

with multiple applications. The most obvious is

it means the camera can record audio as well

as video,potentially making recordings even

more valuable as evidence,but it also lets you

talk back through your smartphone.Besides

offering asafeway of confronting –and

possibly scaring off –intruders, this can have

more benign uses too, like using your voice to

remotely reassure apet that’s been leftalone.

Some kits can be made to sound asiren, too.

would-be burglars is all well and good, but if
theworsthappensthenhavingclearfootageof
the culprits will help police catch the culprits.
The good news is that even the most
affordable cameras can shoot better footage
than the kind you might see on the news:
black and white, single frame-per-second and
tooblurry to easily make out faces. Every
camera we’ve tested here shoots in full colour,
and at no lower than 720p,although 1080p is
more common. The latter is preferable in every
regard, save forthe size of the video files it
generates, so you should try to aim for1080p
unless you’re likely to be short on storage
space.You often have the option of lowering
the resolution forthis purpose,however.
As forframe rates, anything that shoots at
24fps or higher is ideal. Since you only need a
single shot of aperpetrator’s face to identify
them, it’s not ruinous if acamera only shoots
at, say, 15fps or even 10fps, but shooting more
frames at once gives you abetter chance of
getting that one shot. Higher frame rates are
also better formaking out fast movement.
Field-of-view angles also vary between
models. Higher is generally better,for the
simple reason that you can see more without
having to position the camera so farback:
ideal forcovering the entirety of large rooms.

TAKING POSITION
Think in advance where you’d want to place
your camera or cameras. Many can be placed
indoors or outdoors, thanks to flexible stands

The good news is thateventhe mostaffordable cameras

can shoot better footage than the kind youmightsee on the

news:black and white, and tooblurry to makeout faces