Securing Your Borders, Remotely
April 30, 2009
The digital groundswell is invading home security. Finally.
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Home security has largely been a world of proprietary equipment hooked up to wireline telephones. If you wanted video to boot, you had to get pricey closed-circuit video cameras and monitoring services. But that's changing. With wide adoption of broadband in the home, cheaper and better digital cameras, our growing comfort with using and sharing digital media, and our embrace of mobile devices, some new home-security solutions are beginning to sprout. |
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In that spirit, Alarm.com recently unveiled a home video-security product that's all about wireless Internet — and is affordable for the masses. Alarm.com's new system uses small mountable pan-and-tilt cameras, a WiFi network and, well, that's about it. The cameras, which sell for $300 to $400 through its dealers, simply upload video via your Wi-Fi network to Alarm.com. Via the Web, you can use a computer or mobile device to watch events in real time, move the camera to get different views of a room, and set up motion-triggered alerts that will send you salient video clips, under a monthly service plan that costs about $20 to $40 a month. In the next month, Alarm.com plans to introduce iPhone and BlackBerry apps for faster and easier access to your home video feed. |
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Logitech sells a competing system for $300 with similar features, but it requires a Windows PC and the installation of some software. Another competitor is iControl, a start-up whose products are sold as digital enhancements to traditional security services. It recently teamed up with industry powerhouse ADT, and the two plan to introduce a joint offering in late summer or early fall.
These systems could help you catch a thief. A Florida woman did just this recently. While watching her home surveillance video feed at work, she saw two burglars enter her house through the doggy door and cruise around a room. She called the police and, minutes later, watched the intruders scramble and cops enter and secure her home with guns drawn.
You can also keep an eye on your kids – or anyone else who comes into your home when you're not there – without being glued to the thing. These services will send you a video clip if a camera sees, for example, your kids getting home from school, the housekeeper or babysitter looking in your jewelry box or the dog walker caring for your pet – or not caring for her, as the case may be.