In fact, cameras that move around are traditionally more the purview of commercial security than they are of residential home security systems. However, there is a trend now among home security system manufacturers to offer Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras – sometimes known as PTZ home security cameras.

How PTZ cameras boost your home security system

What’s the advantage of a PTZ home security camera? They’re the most flexible (and, of course, the most expensive) home security cameras on the market. They have three features that let you do more with your camera than what you could do with a standard camera:

• Pan. Pan allows the home security camera to move back and forth from left to right.
• Tilt. This tilts the camera up and down.
• Zoom. Zoom allows the home security camera to focus directly and more intently on one area.

How do PTZ cameras work?

There are a number of different ways that PTZ cameras can be operated for home security, including:

• Pre-programmed scans. The advantage to a pre-programmed scan is that you can cover a much wider area with a single camera. This is often ideal for an outdoors setting where you want to be able to capture video of a large area and don’t want to have to install many cameras.
• Manual operation. You can also set your PTZ camera to respond to specific commands from your security system. You create a default setting so that the camera faces in the most-often needed direction. When you want to look elsewhere, though, you send commands to the system. This might happen from your control panel, or in some cases can even happen through your security system’s mobile interface for your smartphone.

PTZ cameras give you the greatest possible degree of flexibility and capability of any home security system cameras. If you want that kind of versatility, check into these cameras today.

This story involves Sarah McKinley, an 18 year-old young mother in Oklahoma City. The holidays proved tragic for McKinley, whose husband passed away on Christmas Day.

McKinley was targeted by a man giving the name of Justin Martin on the day of her husband’s funeral. The man claimed to be a neighbor introducing himself. Wisely, McKinley didn’t let the stranger into the house.

On New Year’s Eve, the man returned with an accomplice by the name of Dustin Stewart. Martin brought with him a 12-inch hunting knife, and the pair attempted to break into McKinley’s house.

The pair went from door to door of the home, trying to break in. (This, of course, illustrates just how important it is to have a comprehensive home security system that protects all of your potential entrances).

As the men attempted to break in, McKinley called Emergency Services, and she also got out two guns in the home: a 12-gauge shotgun as well as a handgun.

While on the phone with Emergency Services, McKinley gave her 3 month-old baby boy a bottle and spoke with the dispatcher about the situation.

The intruders were persistent – McKinley was on the phone with 911 for 21 minutes. Eventually, Martin kicked in the door, and came at McKinley with his hunting knife.

When he came at her, McKinley shot Martin, killing him. Stewart fled the scene, turning himself into police later on New Year’s Day.

At this point, no charges have been filed for McKinley for the shooting. The local chief of police is on record as describing the situation as one of self-defense, and saying that the law provides for such an action in that kind of situation.

This story illustrates just how important it is to spend some time thinking about your home security system, as well as what other personal protection methods you might want to have in place in the event someone tries to get into your home.

There are, essentially, three layers of security that stand between you and a home invader. Your home security system can interact with all three layers, and you need to consider all three when making home security plans.

Layer One: External Security

The external security has to do with your yard as well as entry points into your house. Measures you can take to secure this layer include:

• Reinforce doors. Most doors are easy to break down. Reinforce yours to make it harder.
• Install deadbolts. Deadbolt locks aren’t impenetrable, but they are much harder to pick than standard lock.
• Secure windows. If you’re especially worried, consider security shutters.
• Use a peep hole in the front door. That way you won’t accidentally let someone in who shouldn’t be there.
• Set up motion sensitive lights. Light is a burglars worst enemy.
• Provide visual security cues. Things like security signs and stickers, real or fake home security cameras and even a large dog food bowl can all be deterrents.

Layer Two: Internal Security

If a home invader makes it past all of those measures, you need additional protection. A home alarm system that includes a voice call feature to the security monitoring company as well as security cameras can help with this.

Keeping valuables and guns locked up where burglars can’t get to them is another important aspect of internal security.

Layer Three: Personal Security

This is the most important layer of home security: keeping yourself and your family safe.

Personal security has to do with things like teaching your family not to open the door to a stranger, setting up a neighborhood watch program, and more. At this point, your home security system has been bypassed entirely, and you need to worry about your well-being instead of just your possessions.

In addition, make sure you have emergency plans, and that everyone in your household knows how to follow them.

Unfortunately, the most dangerous home invasions can be ones where it’s not a crime of opportunity. If someone has deliberately selected your home to break into, there’s usually a specific reason. Some of the more common include:

• To cause harm to you or your loved ones.
• To steal a particular item or items of value.
• To damage or deface your property.

These crimes can be harder to prevent. In most cases, the home invader has been inside your home. He knows that you don’t actually have a dog, even though you have a huge dog bowl on the step to scare away burglars. He knows there’s no alarm panel on your wall, even though you have a security sign. He knows when you are and aren’t going to be at home, because he’s been watching.

Here are some things you can do to prevent these kids of invasions:

• Start with a reliable home security system. Most of the systems on the market today can deter home invasion. Just be sure the system is armed.
• Make changes to your landscape. You need to make sure the home invader can’t just walk up the driveway without being seen. Get rid of tall bushes in front of windows, for example.
• Be careful who you let into your home. Anyone who comes through the door could be scoping around for valuables or for the presence of a home security system.
• Learn personal protection techniques. Things like having a family disaster plan, or learning to use and safely store a handgun can all increase personal safety, as well.
• Consider forming a neighborhood watch. The Neighborhood Watch program has proven to be an effective method of reducing crime.

That’s where low light home security cameras come in. There are three ways in which technology can help create a more reliable and clear image for your camera in the dark:

1. Utilize contrast. One of the best ways to improve a camera’s ability to capture images in the dark is to switch from color to black and white images. This enhances the contrast of the video. Many home security cameras use black and white images in order to increase low-light visibility. These systems may or may not switch back and forth between color during times of better lighting.
2. Wide Dynamic Range. WDR is a technology that will attempt, on its own, to compensate for the amount of lighting in a given room. For example, if your camera is placed near a window aimed at an outdoor light, it can result in a poor quality video. WDR technology relies on two CCDs (Charge-Coupled Devices). One works at fast speeds, while the other operates at a low speed. This means a given image actually is captured twice. Those two captures are integrated to create a picture that’s much sharper and clearer in a low-light environment.
3. Infrared. This is the traditional “night vision” technology that you’ve probably heard of (or at least seen in the movies). “Infrared” is a catch-all term that refers to a number of different technologies, including Image Intensifiers and Thermal Imaging, as well as other tools.

If you want your home security camera system to be as effective as possible, it needs to be able to capture images all day and night. Check into some of these low light home security camera technologies today and you’ll see what a difference they can make in your home.

What, exactly, is an IP home security camera? There are several defining characteristics of which you should be aware:

• It’s not a closed circuit camera. For decades, the only kind of home security camera you could find was a CCTV camera. These cameras utilize a single circuit that connects the camera with a monitor or recorder. There’s no ability to transmit the data from the camera elsewhere. CCTV cameras may be either wired or wireless.
• It utilizes your home’s computer network. An IP camera uses your home’s computer network to send its signal. Each camera becomes another node on the network. The camera may plug directly into a category 5 network jack, or it may connect to a wireless home network.
• It uses Internet Protocols (IP). There are a number of different types of Internet technologies used with IP home security cameras, including TCP/IP, FTP, and HTTP (web).
• It can be accessed from a computer. The big advantage to an IP home security camera is that you can look at it from your computer. In some cases, you can even set it up to be viewed from outside of your home network – over the Internet.
• It will be either centralized or decentralized. A centralized IP camera system records its video and images to a network-based recorder. That may take the form of a specific piece of equipment that also plugs into your network, or it may be a piece of software on your home PC. A decentralized IP camera uses built-in storage to keep its images.
• It only works when your home network is running. If your home’s router or hub loses power, your camera may stop recording (if it’s centralized). Regardless of whether it’s centralized or decentralized, you won’t be able to access it if the home network is down.

Many security monitoring services force people onto a costly long-term contract, lasting for about three years. Thankfully, LifeShield Security provides high-quality monitoring services without a restricting long-term plan.

The LifeShield security monitoring service is much more flexible than people think. Monitoring costs $29.99 a month. This is a value for half the cost of ADT’s overpriced security monitoring service.

In fact, the best part about this security monitoring plan is the overall price. Unlike ADT, LifeShield will permit people to cancel their LifeShield monthly payment plan at any time, if they wish. LifeShield’s security equipment also stays functional, even after people cancel their monthly plan.

This is actually a much more reliable service, especially when people compare LifeShield to other plans. ADT’s equipment is programmed to malfunction after people leave the three-year payment plan. As one can imagine, this lack of security is much more inconvenient for all of the company’s customers. In fact, many former customers have spread their complaints about ADT on various other websites.

LifeShield’s monitoring plan also avoids the restrictions of the long-term payment contracts in ADT and Protect America’s security monitoring services. In ADT and Protect America, people must continue to pay monthly fees until the contract ends. If they sign out of the contract, they have to pay an expensive cancellation fee. Fortunately, LifeShield does not burden its customers with any long-term contracts or monthly fees. In fact, it is the biggest value over all the other security monitoring services.

The quality of LifeShield’s monitoring service is also just as effective as the ADT and Protect America. LifeShield systems integrate the typical benefits of monitoring, such as automatic phone dialing and battery backup systems. It also provides monitoring for the fire alarms and the carbon monoxide detectors. It also comes with medical monitoring, which allows emergency response teams to help people in the house who have severe medical problems.

LifeShield also allows people to use the company’s free mobile app, LifeView. This application allows homeowners to inspect their house by controlling the cameras remotely through their mobile device. The technology has still not advanced to the point where the device can instantly control the cameras without a delayed reaction. The app is also entirely dependent on a broadband Internet connection, so the service is useless unless people have a clear wireless signal. However, it is a pleasant bonus feature that homeowners can use to keep an eye on the house.

Rating: *****
Reviewed by: HomeSecuritySystems.net, December 2011

If you’re considering a wireless home alarm system, you’ve most likely come across FrontPoint Security. FrontPoint is one of the leading wireless home security system providers in the nation. Let’s take a look at some of the FrontPoint equipment and service, and see how it stacks up against other home security options.

FrontPoint’s Wireless Core

At the heart of the FrontPoint system is GE Security wireless equipment. There are a variety of sensor types you can have with the system, including:

• Door sensors
• Window sensors
• Glass break sensors
• Smoke detectors
• Carbon monoxide detectors
• Motion detectors
• and more.

Each of the wireless sensors communicates with the control panel to create the secure area. The sensors are high-quality, tamper-resistant, and difficult (if not impossible) to disable.

The control panel gets regular signals from the sensors. Depending on the configuration of your system, you might have more than just one control panel, but one is fairly common.

Monitoring and response

When the FrontPoint control panel gets a tripped alarm signal from one of the sensors, it immediately sends a secure signal via the cellular network to the monitoring center. That signal is encrypted, meaning that it’s almost impossible to disrupt it.

You have your choice of monitoring packages from FrontPoint. There are monitoring plans for a number of contingencies, including burglar, fire, and more.

With the Interactive Monitoring plan, you can add another layer of protection. The system can be configured to send you a text (SMS) message whenever it detects a triggered alarm.

Perhaps best of all, FrontPoint’s alert system is fast. Many traditional home security systems have a delay between the time the alarm is triggered and the time they receive the signal. During that delay, a burglar could compromise the system, preventing a singal from being sent.

With FrontPoint, a signal is sent every time a door is open when the system is armed. It then gets a signal when you disarm, as well. If they don’t get the disarm signal, they know something is up.

Latest Technology

FrontPoint will even work for a home that doesn’t have a landline for telephone service. It can use an all-cellular signal and VoIP technology to keep your system humming right along.

Add in the remote access technologies that the system offers, and you have some of the latest advances in home security. You can actually view the real-time status of your home security system via a smartphone app, giving you instant access to your home’s information.

Cost

FrontPoint isn’t the cheapest home security system on the market. An average homeowner can expect to spend around $1,000 or more for the system, depending on their home size and configuration. This isn’t the highest out there, but it’s not the cheapest by any means.

The FrontPoint monitoring service varies depending on your features, but runs around $50 per month. That puts it under many competing systems.

If you’re interested in a wireless home security system with the latest tech, take a look at FrontPoint.

Rating: ****
Reviewed by: HomeSecuritySystems.net, December 2011 ]]> http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/frontpoint-security-review/feed/ 0 http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/protect-america-review/ http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/protect-america-review/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:06:53 +0000 admin http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/?p=2061 Continue reading →]]> One of the things that keeps many people from having a monitored home security system is the cost. The fact of the matter is that home security can be expensive. One security company, however, seems to have the consumer’s interests at heard, and is able to do so while still offering world-class protection. That company is Protect America.

Quality wireless security equipment

At the heart of Protect America’s wireless home security system is GE Wireless Security equipment. This equipment has become the industry standard for home security. Most of the major wireless home security companies use this same equipment.

Getting started for free

The copper package from Protect America gets you started on the road to home security with no upfront costs, and some of the most competitive monthly fees around. In this package, you get:

• A standard control panel
• Three window or door sensors to protect your external doors
• An infrared motion detector to be used inside
• Security window stickers
• A security yard sign

Monthly monitoring options start at under $30 for a landline option, all the way up to $42 per month for a cellular monitoring option.

Not just budget security

Protect America also offers a full range of sensors and detectors. You can add door sensors, window sensors, glass break detectors, smoke detectors, and more to your system, as well.

The monitoring service provided by Protect America covers you all day, every day. If a sensor goes off, you have enough time to get to your control panel and enter your code in order to deactivate it.

If the code isn’t received by Protect America, they will contact you and ask for the password in order to determine whether it’s a real emergency. If they don’t get the password, they will contact your local emergency services agency or central dispatch.

What you need to know

One of the basic assumptions you need to make when choosing Protect America is that you’re going to be with the company for about the next three years. Because they offer such deep discounts (with essentially free systems in many cases) they do require a lengthy contract.

The other thing that may turn some people away from Protect America is the lack of “crash-and-smash” protection. That means that, if a burglar were to break in and reach the control panel to disable it in time, emergency services will not be notified. A burglar would have about one minute to do so before the system’s alerts kicked in.

A solid choice

Still, as long as you can live with those details, the Protect America system is a solid choice. It lacks some of the bells and whistles of a more advanced security system, but it does give you basic security protection at a price you can afford.

Rating: ****
Reviewed by: HomeSecuritySystems.net, December 2011 ]]> http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/protect-america-review/feed/ 0 http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/guardian-security-review/ http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/guardian-security-review/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:55:49 +0000 admin http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/?p=2057 Continue reading →]]> When it comes to your home security system, you want reliability. You want to know that, if someone breaks into your home, help will be on the way. Guardian Security offers home security systems that protect you in the event of burglary, fire, and other personal emergency situations.

Basic but solid security

One of the things you’ll immediately notice when looking through Guardian’s offerings is that they don’t have some of the add-on devices you might see from other companies. Guardian believes in focusing on essentials. They want to protect your home from burglary and fire, and offer you home protection.

What that means is that Guardian focuses on its monitoring services. This company, unlike many of its competitors, monitors your home security system from its central monitoring station. It doesn’t contract its monitoring out to other providers. When you have a Guardian system and there’s a security event, it’s a Guardian representative that’s going to be dealing with it.

Home security devices

Guardian offers the standard list of home security devices, including:

• Entry point sensors (for doors and windows)
• Motion sensors
• Sirens
• Heat and smoke detectors
• Panic button pendants
• Key fob alarms
• Home security signs and stickers

Most notably missing from Guardian’s offerings is glass break sensors. Some homes are more suited to glass break sensors, as standard window sensors aren’t always reliable, and can actually be something of an inconvenience.

Problems with customer support

One of the main sticking points with Guardian seems to be their customer service. Even a cursory look at home security system reviews shows Guardian woefully behind the pack in this area. If you expect to have access to a system FAQ, user manuals, and other helpful material, know that you can’t get to them without having a current contract.

If you drop your Guardian contract, your home security system becomes much less useful. You need to maintain the service in order to have access to the most basic alarms in the system, which is a problem for some people.

In addition, it can be expensive to cancel your Guardian contract. Even several years into a multi-year contract, you could be looking at a cost of $1,000 or more just to cease the service. Before signing up with Guardian, be sure it’s a service that you can live with for the next several years.

Basic protection for the long term

All of that said, Guardian equipment seems to have a solid reputation. It functions as designed, and does a decent job of keeping out burglars (or deterring them once they’ve targeted your home).

If you don’t think you’ll need more than basic options for home security and if you’re comfortable with a lengthy contract, Guardian’s home security system should make it to your list of potential systems.

Rating: ***
Reviewed by: HomeSecuritySystems.net, December 2011 ]]> http://www.homesecuritysystems.net/guardian-security-review/feed/ 0