Everything you need to know about Wifi Cameras!
If the surveillance camera market is currently booming, Wifi cameras have a lot to do with it. Very practical , relatively inexpensive , ensuring very good image quality and reliability , they benefit from all the advantages of digital cameras. However, in order to make the right choice , it is essential to know a minimum of information about these cameras and their characteristics. So how does Wi-Fi video surveillance work and what are its advantages? More precisely, is installing a Wifi camera actually as simple as advertised?
WORKING :
Many people oppose Wifi cameras and IP cameras . In their logic, the former are wireless cameras and the latter are wired cameras.
According to them, for the first, the data is transmitted over the Wifi network, generally to the router or to the user’s Internet Box, so that this user can scrutinize the images on his computer or smartphone. And for seconds, data is transmitted over Ethernet cables. However, the very name of “IP camera” is incorrect: in reality, the two types of cameras, wired via Ethernet or wireless via Wifi , are IP cameras, which use the Internet protocol ( Internet Protocol or IP in English) to transmit their data . Simply, the internet protocol is used by a wireless transmission system for Wifi devices and by a wired transmission system for others.
To conclude, the confusion is all the greater because… not all wireless cameras are cameras using Wifi networks . Indeed, there are also analog wireless cameras using conventional radio waves , but these systems are on the way out.
FACILITY :
The installation of a Wifi-type wireless surveillance has few difficulties. Indeed, it can be positioned on any flat surface , even if it means having to add support to a pole.
And they can be positioned far from the receiver: the range of the network depends on one solution to another . In any case, this range can be improved by adding a Wifi repeater or amplifier.
The main difficulty is getting the camera to be detected by the router to which it is connected , but the software that comes with the hardware usually turns this task into a formality .
ADVANTAGES :
Indeed, cameras using Wifi networks have many advantages and do not suffer from the shortcomings of traditional wireless cameras:
- The most obvious advantage is that they do not require the laying of any cabling between the router and the camera. As explained above, the installation procedure is extremely simple;
- Moreover, these cameras can be installed outdoors as well as indoors;
- They can even operate at night , for models equipped with lighting or infrared devices;
- Installation is also all the more simple as Wifi signals are less sensitive to obstacles or interference than the radio waves fitted to traditional wireless cameras;
- This explains why the quality of the images is often much better than that provided by analog wireless systems and which had given wireless video surveillance a bad reputation;
- But the main advantage of the WiFi-connected camera is to combine the advantages of wireless with those of digital. Thus, it is possible for the user to view the images on his computer, his tablet or his smartphone , when he wants and from where he wants, as long as he is connected to the internet. Images can be saved not only locally on a server or hard drive, but also in the “cloud” . The fact that the videos are digital also allows a large storage capacity and above all, with the appropriate software, great flexibility in the use of images for detailed archiving, detailed analysis and image processing.
- Another intrinsic advantage of wireless digital video surveillance systems is their scalability : they can easily adapt to needs and changing needs without the need for major changes to the network infrastructure,
