What is Remote Access Control for security cameras?

What is Remote Access Control for security cameras?

The safety of a building should be a prime focus today when crime is both abundant, and criminals are more intelligent. A way to ensure the security of almost any building structure is through a security camera device. The prime function of security cameras is to record footage of any space that you want to keep surveillance over. You can have both real-time footage and recorded footage of the location. This allows you to act both when the crime is being committed and to present the footage as evidence if needed.

Security cameras have developed a lot over the years. Initially, they needed someone to control the footage and monitor it on-site. Still, today they have expanded way beyond that. Other than offering much more robust hardware features such as better footage quality and extended vision, the cameras can even operate wirelessly now. Surveillance systems can connect to the internet. You can monitor your property or office building from almost anywhere in the world. However, there are stages of remote access that you may have to a security camera system. In this article, we will explore them and the cost of such a system.

Basics of Remote Access Control

To have remote access to your surveillance system, the system needs to be connected to the internet using Wi-Fi or Ethernet. The system’s security cameras are connected directly to the home security system’s base station or your router. This is based on the features of the cameras you purchase. If we talk about wireless cameras, some of them may need a power cord to operate. At the same time, they are connected to the router or base station using Wi-Fi. Other wireless cameras run on batteries and need to be charged to operate them. When it comes to how much access you have to your remote camera system, that can be divided into two types; remote surveillance and mobile monitoring

What is Mobile Monitoring?

This is one of the recent and most significant advancements in remote surveillance technology. Many IP manufacturers make smartphone applications that work with their surveillance systems. Using these applications, you can remotely manage your security camera systems using your smartphones or tablets on the go. 

Many of these apps have multiple options, such as viewing multiple cameras simultaneously, controlling PTZ settings, and managing recorded images and videos. All you need to avail these features is a stable internet connection. This is a perfect feature for people who are usually off-site and do not have frequent access to a computer system. This is relatively unreliable as there are areas where data coverage is not available, and you may lose valuable footage because of that.

What is Remote Video Surveillance?

Using remote video surveillance, you can view the feed of your security camera system live through a PC or a Laptop. All you need to do to achieve this is type in the camera’s IP address that you want to view, just like you type a website into your browser. This feature is made available using DDNS and Port Forwarding, allowing a local IP to be pinged by an internet connection. You need to learn how to configure DDNS and Port Forwarding; without that, the IP of your camera cannot be viewed from another IP. 

Remote security cameras support a wide variety of browsers, so you do not have to worry about browser support when choosing between camera brands. While both remote access control and mobile monitoring operate through an internet connection, you get a lot more control over the behavior of your camera system through remote access surveillance. You can manage a lot more settings, and you can record or stop recording at will. Furthermore, you usually have a much more reliable connection to the internet when monitoring with a PC or a laptop.

Essential Features to Look For in a Remote Access System

There are numerous security camera options in the market. It is easy to get confused and sometimes deceived into getting a surveillance system that barely matches your needs. Below are a few features that an effective remote surveillance system should excel in.

  • A Strong Web-Based Platform

While it may not seem of that much significance, a robust web-based platform can make all the difference in your remote surveillance experience. The online software platform is responsible for all the control and security that you will get through your camera system. If the web-based platform is glitchy, it can cause immense trouble viewing it from a desktop or mobile device. In some cases, the off-site platform is the same as the on-site one. Still, they all need security features to determine which employee gets how much access over the cameras. This calls for adequately designed security settings and, in a broader spectrum: a strong web-based platform.

  • Cross-Platform Access

This feature allows you to control the security system over various platforms with similar functionality. Be it your smartphone or your laptop, video surveillance’s integral features should be very readily available. A simple web-based platform may be completely fine for viewing from a desktop or a laptop. You need a system that can offer you native applications for iOS and Android platforms too. Another critical feature that falls in the category of centralized management is link access sharing. In case the in charge of the security system is not available at the time of an alert, someone should get complete and instant access to the live feed using a shared link.

  • Multi-Factor Authentication

A remote security system will be rendered useless if anyone can access the camera systems with little to no trouble. Data security is absolutely vital when it comes to access to the footage of a security system. Two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication has become very prevalent in the modern day of media. Even signing in to your email requires it. You usually get an SMS, or you have to authenticate the access using an authentication app. However, this serves as a vital step to ensure that not everyone can access your remote access control system.

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