Electronic Surveillance Systems

Learn more about electronic surveillance providers

Written by Eric Fleming

Business owners everywhere understand that one of the key security measures they can take is having their employees be ultra-vigilant while performing their duties. A criminal who feels the eyes of store employees on him is likely to seek another target. Still, there is only so much that human surveillance can do. In this case, it is up to the business owner to purchase the best electronic surveillance system he can, to protect his store, employees and customers.

What is Electronic Surveillance?

Electronic surveillance is a rather broad category. Anything from listening bugs to hidden microphones, from video cameras and motion detectors, can be considered electronic surveillance. However, for business owners the idea typically means visual surveillance, which almost always means a video camera system.

Key Benefits

The major benefit of electronic surveillance is that a camera never blinks. Sure, there are some electronic surveillance systems that offer time-lapse images (usually those saved to videotape), but others offer cameras that record at speeds of up to 120 frames per second, meaning a crime or accident can be slowed down without loss of detail. In addition, in the event of a crime or accident, a business will have a visual record to show police and insurance companies, in hopes of apprehending or identifying a criminal or to show negligence.

Typical Features

Typical electronic surveillance equipment would be a camera (or multiple cameras), motion detectors, some type of monitoring device (a computer monitor is a basic example), as well as a way to record the video signals. Within the general "video camera" category there are many options, from color to black and white, infrared night vision cameras, dome cameras that allow a camera to be positioned away from prying eyes, or PTZ cameras, which pan, tilt and zoom to follow the action. Similarly, video recorders can be as simple as a multiplex system (combining multiple video feeds into one picture) that is shown and recorded on a videotape recorder, or in high definition on computer hardware, for hundreds of hours of recording. Computer software plays a role as well, and can be programmed to operate only in the event of motion, to alert a security company, to sound an alarm, or send out a message via e-mail or text.

Cost

Electronic surveillance equipment can vary drastically in price, from the $50 range for a black-and-white fixed- focus camera to more than $500 for a vandal-resistant dome camera with zoom and wide range of motion. Similarly, DVR units can be as inexpensive as $100 for a standard 250 GB size, or you could spend thousands of dollars for recorders capable of multiplexing 32 different cameras and storing thousands of hours of high-resolution footage.

Complete systems share the same wide range of prices, with basic home or small business setups costing between $300 and $400, and professional quality industrial grade systems costing 20-30 times as much.

Are you ready to purchase electronic surveillance systems? Submit a free request for price quotes and get matched to multiple dealers who will try to get you the best deal for your business.

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