The modern replacement for old analogue CCTV cameras is the
wireless internet CCTV, also known as IP CCTV. The wireless CCTV system that is
internet enabled has a great advantage over old system. You can see your
property from anywhere in the world. You can see live images and video of your
business property or your house, from wherever you are, just with the help of
internet.
The technology has come in the market, but not many people
know how to best use to. In order to get the best out of your wireless internet
CCTV system, we must also look at the requirements and features that a router
would need in order to be used successfully with the wireless system. There are
a lot of things that goes into deciding your router for the wireless internet
CCTV.
Broadband Type and Router Compatibility
You can have a broadband service that can come through
either a phone line or a satellite CCTV box. In case the broadband service is
through a phone line, you will require an ADSL modem/router also known as the
DSL modem/router. Alternatively, if your broadband comes from your cable
supplier, you would then require a cable router. This is another box that plugs
in to your cable box.
The router part of your DSL modem/router or the cable router
is basically the same. Manufacturers just make the DSL or cable version of the
router that has the same features.
Router Features for Wireless CCTV System
- The router
must be set up so that the port number, a special code, is allocated to
the camera. When you type the IP address and the port number in the
internet browser from any system, the router sees the port number and
passes the message to the camera. Without this facility, it will not be
possible to view your property through internet.
- With broadband
suppliers changing your IP address at will, DDNS i.e. dynamic DNS support
comes in. It helps you to use a third-party service to link a domain name
you your IP address. The router’s DDNS feature makes sure that the router
will tell the DDNS provider about your current IP address. Thus, even if
your IP address changes, you can contact your camera with the domain name
of the DDNS.
- Having your
router remain connected is very important. This is important especially
when you go out on a vacation. You don’t want to find that you cannot
connect to your camera because your router disconnected due to power
failure. In case of power cut, the DSL line or cable may drop for some
time. Not many home routers are able to handle this, but with technology,
new routers are able to reconnect by themselves after power cut. The
router is able to sort itself out once the power is back and provides you
hassle free access to your camera from anywhere in the world.
Thus, a router is an important device that enables you to
monitor the security of your home and business’s wireless cctv systems from
anywhere in the world.
Choosing Routers for Wireless Internet CCTV
Wireless Internet CCTV, also known as IP CCTV, is the modern
replacement for old analogue CCTV cameras, and has the great advantage that you
can see your property, live, from wherever you happen to be, using the
internet. Now that the technology has become popular in homes and businesses,
people need to know how to get the best out of it. In this article, I want to
look at the minimum set of features that a router needs in order to be used
successfully with wireless CCTV.
First, a quick note about types of broadband and router
compatibility. Your broadband service is likely to come through your phone line
or perhaps via a satellite CCTV box. If it’s through a phone line, you will
need an ADSL modem/router, sometimes called a DSL modem/router. The modem part
of the box is what talks to the phone line. On the other hand, if you have
broadband from your cable supplier, you need a cable router. This is not the
cable box itself, but another box that plugs into your cable box. The router
part of a cable router or a DSL modem/router is usually the same, with many
manufacturers making cable and DSL versions of what is essentially a router
with the same features. Now, let’s take a look at the features you will need to
get the most out of your wireless internet CCTV system:
- Virtual Server/Port Forwarding. This just means having the ability to set up the router so that a
special code known as a port number is allocated to the camera. When you
open an internet browser window and type in the URL or address of the
camera, you add this special port number onto the end of the camera’s
address, (e.g. for port 8765, you would type “http://:8765″) and when the
router sees the port number it knows the message is to be passed to the
camera. Without this facility, you would not be able to see your property
over the internet.
- DDNS Support. It
stands for Dynamic DNS and is used where the address of your home or
business on the broadband system, known as the IP address, is changed at
will by the broadband supplier. Most DSL broadband services have changing
IP addresses, also known as dynamic IP addresses. Say you have an IP address
of 91.103.218.59 (they tend to look like this) today, with dynamic IP
addressing it could be something different tomorrow. This means you would
never know what address to use to access your camera over the internet,
and that is where DDNS support comes in. Basically, you use a third party
service to link a domain name to an IP address. This service is provided
by a separate DDNS provider and can be free, e.g. dyndns.com. The router’s
DDNS feature means that the router makes sure it always tells the DDNS
provider what your current broadband IP address is. Therefore, even if the
IP address changes, you can always contact your camera by using the same
dyndns address, e.g. “http://myipcamera.dyndns.com:8765″.
- Keep alive or auto-reconnect feature. This feature is all about making sure the router stays connected. You
may have a power cut, or the DSL line/ cable connection may drop for a few
moments. In these scenarios, you want the router to sort itself out.
Earlier models of home router did not handle this well, and even today
some can still be bought that don’t reconnect after a power cut or
especially a broadband fault. The last thing you want is to go on holiday
and then find you cannot log into your camera because a power cut several
days ago left the router disconnected, so this is important.
- Encryption. Most
routers these days offer some sort of encryption, usually known as WEP or
WPA. WPA is stronger and preferable. Encryption is simply encoding the
messages on your wireless network so that they cannot be intercepted
easily. Make sure you get a router that offers at least one type of
encryption that your wireless internet CCTV cameras offer. For example, it
is no good getting a router which only does WPA encryption if your cameras
can only do WEP.
As always, if what you have read here leaves you dizzy and
you just want an internet CCTV system to monitor your home or business without
all this technical complication, my advice is to get a fully-configured wireless
CCTV camera pack from a specialist supplier.
