Home sweet, secure,home!

We live in insecure times. We can no longer depend on the police to keep our homes safe. The job has become too big, too challenging. We have to look after ourselves.  Fortunately, technology rises to the need.  Today we can buy peace of mind -- and electronic surveillance -- for a modest investment in video surveillance tools.

The big jump in technology has been the wireless video camera -- obviating the need to run hundreds of metres of wire. And since many homes these days have a WiFi network, it becomes fairly simple to attach one or more cameras and a recording system to the hotspot.

I have been evaluating a  neat  4-camera  surveillance kit offered by Indian security specialist  SecureEye.  If your home or even a small office,  calls for monitoring 3 or 4  key locations, it makes sense to buy a kit like this rather than shopping for individual bits and pieces.  The SecureEye 4CH LCD NVR kit consists of  4  high definitions ( 720p) video cameras in rugged weather-proof housing each with LED and Infrared eyes for day and night surveillance.  The makers claim a pitch-black range of over 20 metres. They come ready-to-mount, each with a mains power plug and an ethernet port if you prefer to hardwire the system rather than going wireless.

The cameras connect to an 11.6 inch LCD monitor whose screen splits to show the feed from 4 cameras.  There is a slot in the display to take a  hard disk drive (up to 2TB) which you have to buy separately.  When away from home or office you can monitor the video feed from your mobile phone or laptop if you install an app.  You can configure the app to receive an alert with a snapshot only when there is motion detected. The makers also include an electronic doorbell for the asking price of Rs 32,500 plus taxes.  Not much -- if it lets you sleep easy!