Only Record What You Want With Motion Activated Security Cameras

Such is the advancement in security camera technology today consumers can now enjoy the benefits of motion activated systems. What are motion activated security cameras? Basically, they allow you to only receive recorded information when the camera senses movement within it's visual vicinity.

The Benefits Of Motion Activated Security Cameras

In a world when less is best, the issue of storage is virtually eliminated with these systems. The fact is, by only recording movement, the space on accompanying hard drives are spared any wasted footage and their shelf life is extended considerably. This then reduces the need for continual back up actions. The problem before motion activated security cameras became available revolved around spooling through endless vision of static footage when there was nothing happening. Now, you'll have what you're looking for much quicker!

How Does A Motion Activated Security Camera Work?


Most motion activated security cameras are IP cameras. That is because a certain amount of computing is needed and only IP cameras are advanced enough to handle the task.

The actual movement trigger can be accomplished using two methods:

- A standard optical sensor (like those used in classic security systems) will signal the camera when to start recording, based on its input.

- The IP Camera's software constantly compares recorded frames and only starts the recording when two consecutive frames are different (e.g. something moved). The recording will stop when two consecutive frames are identical (nothing is moving anymore)

- Some motion activated security cameras have a great additional feature: motion tracking. The camera is mounted on stepper motors that provide tilt and pan features. A software component in the camera detects movement targets and sends electrical commands to the motors so that the camera will follow the movement target.

- This feature is only available on advanced cameras, but it might be very useful if you are monitoring an important target.

Can It Work With Standard Security Systems?

If you have a standard security system that is eating away all your disk space with useless recordings, there's still hope. You just need to change the software on the computer that is recording everything.

Or, if you're not using a computer, just replace your current storage device with a standard computer. You will find software like motion or Zoneminder that will handle the entire motion detection feature even if you have standard security cameras. These computer programs even allow the user to ignore certain areas, like the window facing a busy street, that aren't important movement events.

The motion activated security cameras have been a boon to the security industry. Motion detection is often the first issue raised when shopping for a system, not just because of it's effectiveness in cutting out wasteful footage but the savings in time and also storage space to the end user.