Best CCTV For Home Security

Although capabilities vary from device to device, best CCTV for home security allows you to monitor what’s going on in your home through live or recorded video. But not all cameras are created equally. Some have alarms or can send you notifications when they detect activity, some offer two-way audio, some are meant to monitor your baby, and some even double as full-on home automation hubs.

At best CCTV for home security, we’ve tested lots of home surveillance cameras over the last few years, so we know what’s important to look for. For instance, you want a camera that’s simple to set up and use. Additionally, one of the very first qualities we notice is an attractive—though discreet—design. It’s important that the camera looks like something you actually want in your home, but depending on your needs, you may not want it to stand out too much.

Device support is critical as well. best CCTV for home security favorite cameras allow you to check in from anywhere, whether it’s an app on your phone or a web browser. Additional features vary from camera to camera, and each of our top picks offers just enough variety to set them apart from the rest of the competition.

Best CCTV For Home Security

Here are some other important factors to consider when buying a home security cam:

Even though 1080p is generally the standard resolution for cameras Best CCTV For Home Security tested, there are benefits to cameras with higher resolution sensors. Few home security cameras have optical zoom lenses, but almost all have digital zoom, which crops and enlarge whatever the camera is recording. The one thing to remember when looking for the Best CCTV For Home Security, The more megapixels a camera sensor has, the more you can digitally zoom in and still be able to see things clearly.

Besides resolution, consider the field of view as well. Best CCTV For Home Security have wide-angle lenses, but not all angles are created equal. Depending on the lens’ field of view, it can see between 100 and 180 degrees. That’s a big range in terms of the camera’s vision cone. If you want to watch a large area, you should consider CCTV For Home Security with a very wide field of view. The ability to mechanically pan and tilt the camera is a great asset as well.

Connectivity of Best CCTV For Home Security

Most of the Best CCTV For Home Security use Wi-Fi, but not all rely on it exclusively. Some add Bluetooth for local control and easier setup through your smartphone, while others incorporate separate home automation networking standards to interact with other devices, like Zigbee or Z-Wave. For most cameras, all you need to do is follow instructions on an app to connect them to your home network.

Once your camera is connected, you’ll almost certainly be able to access it through your smartphone or tablet. The vast majority of home security cameras today have mobile apps, and many focus entirely on those apps for doing everything. Some have web portals as well, which add flexibility for accessing your videos and alerts from anywhere.

Best CCTV For Home Security

Best CCTV For Home Security Cloud Storage

The videos your camera records probably won’t be saved on the camera itself. Most of the Best CCTV For Home Security use cloud services to store and offer remote access to the footage. Some models have microSD card slots so you can physically pull the video from them when you want to review footage, but this is a rare feature.

Keep in mind that not all cloud services are alike, even for the same camera. Depending on the manufacturer, your home security camera will store different amounts of footage for different lengths of time. This service is often a paid subscription on top of the price of the camera itself, though some cameras offer free cloud storage to varying degrees. Cloud storage service is usually offered in tiers, letting you choose between keeping footage for a week, a month, or more.

Who’s the Best CCTV For Home Security?

Most security cameras simply send you a notification when they detect any type of activity. Others can identify who—or what—is causing the commotion. The Best CCTV For Home Security is the first camera to offer face-recognition technology, for instance. It automatically zooms in on people who enter its field of view and sends alerts when it recognizes a face (and also tells you when it spots an unrecognized face). These technologies help eliminate needless alerts.

Best CCTV For Home Security

What’s the Best Outdoor Security Camera?

If you want to monitor the rooms of your home, there are plenty of options. If you want to keep an eye on your driveway, backyard, or front porch, you need to be more choosy. Not all home security cameras are rugged enough to be mounted outdoors. You need the Best CCTV For Home Security that’s waterproof and can stand up to rain, snow, and sun, and survive the extreme temperatures of summer and winter. Our current favorite camera for outdoor surveillance is the Best CCTV For Home Security.

Price of the Best CCTV For Home Security

As you can see from our picks, many of the top-rated home security cameras on the market are roughly in the £200 – £300 range and some of them also require an additional fee to store recorded video in the cloud. Best CCTV For Home Security break down any extra fees in our reviews, so it’s worth taking a look at each to find out which one fits your budget. The good news is that prices are coming down, and you can get a quality model for around £120! Then again, you can’t really put a price on peace of mind.

If you need better peace of mind than a single connected camera can offer, check out our picks for Best CCTV For Home Security.

Areas Covered by Best CCTV For Home Security 2018

Birmingham, Bath, Blackburn, Bradford,  Bolton,  Chester, Coventry, Crewe, Derby, Blackpool, Huddersfield, Harrogate , Hull, Halifax, Liverpool, Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln, Leeds, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Motherwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham,  Northampton, Oldham, Peterborough, Preston, Sheffield, Stockport, Slough, Sutton, Sunderland, Southend-on-Sea, Stoke-on-Trent,  Cleveland, Teesside, Warrington, Wakefield, Wigan, York.