Surveillance Cameras Wireless VS Wired Security Cameras

When you are concerned about the safety of your family's home or your business, the first thing you want to look into is a sufficient number of security cameras to deter break-ins. We will discuss two main advantages and one single disadvantage of surveillance cameras, wireless type, for your home or business. The two advantages are: No cable installation and no need to protect cables. The two disadvantages are the wireless signal subject to privacy concerns, and the possible weakness of the signal. Let's look closer.

Surveillance cameras wireless advantages

Depending on the size of the house or the business, the wired cabling can be quite a chore to install. You would likely need to install the wires high up on the walls which poses a risk of fall. And whenever you decide to change the location of the control unit, the DVR, or the cameras, you would have to recable again. There are no such worries with wireless surveillance cameras.

The second advantage of wireless security cameras is related. When placed inappropriately, visibly or, unprotected, the cable can be the easiest for a potential intruder to cut, thereby preventing the operation of the camera. With a wireless camera, the intruder would have to physically access the camera to disable it.

Wireless surveillance cameras disadvantages

There is one main potential disadvantage of a wireless surveillance camera setup. That is a security concern. The wireless camera signal is available up to several dozens of yards away from the camera, and is available for anyone with a receiver to collect. In principle, given enough time and computing power, such wireless signal can be deciphered and decoded, and after that your wireless signal will be openly available to the intruder. You can manage the risk of a security breach by regularly changing password on your system, and by employing the highest grade encryption in your wireless communication.

The second disadvantage mainly for larger houses and businesses is a limited range of the wireless signal. Particularly when the signal has to traverse walls to reach the receiver, the range of the wireless signal may not be sufficient and your camera image will suffer. This is less and less of an issue with the introduction of new powerful and long range wireless-G and wireless-N signal standards.