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Are you afraid for the safety of your home, is your child or wife afraid to open the door without seeing who is behind it? All these problems will go away if you install a video peephole for the front door. Depending on the model, this can be a device that simply sends an image to a monitor, records or takes pictures, serves as an intercom, and even sends photos of visitors to your phone. In general, a video peephole (or video call) can be helpful.
What is a video peephole and its purpose
The video eye for the front door in the simplest version is a miniature video camera, next to which an infrared LED is mounted. The camera is connected to a small monitor, which is located indoors. The signal from the camera goes to the monitor so you can see the visitors on the screen. There are many varieties with different functionality, but this is the simplest option.
A video peephole is needed in order to know to whom you open the door. An ordinary eye in this regard does not always save. Firstly, if you stand on the side of the door, even widescreen devices will not see anyone. Secondly, the image clarity is very low, especially in poor lighting, and in the dark you will not see anything at all. The video camera provides a wider viewing angle (from 90 to 180°) and can be equipped with a backlight. Thirdly, it is possible to record, take photos, send notifications to the phone. In general, a video peephole for the front door can have wide functionality.
Power supply for video eye
There are many varieties of this equipment. The first thing you need to pay attention to is nutrition. It can be served from:
- converter included in 220 V;
- batteries built into the device;
- built-in rechargeable batteries;
- external batteries
It seems to be difficult to pull the wires to the door. It is necessary to make a cable transition from the wall to the door leaf, stretch the cable to the video device. It’s a hassle, but the batteries don’t last very long (you can forget to change them), and good batteries, although they provide several months of operation, are expensive. If you need a budget model, a video peephole for an entrance door powered by 200 V will cost less with the same camera parameters.
So it turns out that the best option is power through a converter from 220 V. But, in this case, there is no light – the video eye does not work. If you want to have a video peephole for the front door that works under any conditions, it makes sense to look for an option with a backup power supply (220V + batteries or batteries).
Ways to turn on
Simpler options for door video eyes start working after you have received a call at the door. In such models, the call button is usually mounted in the same panel where the camcorder’s eye is located. When installing such a device, you will not know about visitors who did not ring the doorbell. This type of device is also called a “video call”. This is because often the camera is activated after pressing the call button.
Another type of video peephole has built-in motion detectors. It starts working when moving objects appear in the sensor coverage area. By placing such a device, you will know about all the visitors. True, the question remains open: whether some kind of signaling is needed or not. If there is no alarm, in a situation where a person does not call, you will only know that someone is standing at the door if you look at the monitor. If the audible alarm is enabled, it can be annoying in case of false positives (they are not excluded). A video signal can be considered a compromise – a light bulb, for example.
How the signal is transmitted
Next, you need to choose where and how the signal from the video camera will be output. There are two options here:
- wire transfer;
- wireless Wi-Fi transmission.
Wired models of video eyes transmit the signal from the video camera via an optical cable to the monitor. Many in the original version involve installing a monitor on the inside of the door. You can only see who rang at your door by going to the door. Not too convenient.
In most models, the image can be displayed on another screen without the use of additional equipment (a modern TV, for example). If desired, you can put the monitor at some distance from the door. Also, the video signal can be output to two or more video devices. All this is more convenient, but you need to lay cables.
Models that transmit images via Wi-Fi are more convenient in this regard. The video signal is transmitted not by cables, but by means of a coded radio signal. The distance is only limited by the power of the transmitter. The disadvantage of a wireless video eye is the high price (around $150-200), as it is a more complex system that processes signals. In fact, this is a digital device with its own control module and memory. In our market there are i-Corder Radio, iHome 4 (Rollup i4), Black Fortress. These models are powered by internal rechargeable batteries and come with a charger. There is a cheaper SITITEK Eye, which is indistinguishable from a regular eye. It costs half as much, transmits a signal wirelessly, but does not record.
But the wireless WiFi video peephole for the front door has a wider functionality: for example, it can send photos of visitors to your phone, no matter where you are and provide some other bonuses.
With or without recording
You also need to decide whether you need a record of visitors or not. The cheapest wired models of video eyes do not have this feature. If you want to see who came to you while you were not at home, look for a video peephole for the front door with a recording. They work on the principle of video recorders, have a built-in motion sensor. An object appeared in the visibility zone, the recording started.
Recording can be done on the internal memory (you can only view it by connecting it to an electronic device with a cord) or on a memory card. But it is worth remembering that after the free memory is used, the new information is stored on top of the old one. That is, only a certain period of time is available for viewing. The duration of this period depends on the volume of the medium on which the information is written, and on the frequency of visits.
Additional features
One of the interesting options is a peephole with a video camera and built-in microphone/speakers. Such devices allow you to negotiate with visitors without opening the door. In some models (with recording), the visitor can leave an audio message. Some models allow you to zoom in on the object that is displayed on the screen. This will allow people with poor eyesight to better see the visitor.
There is a video peephole for the front door with a GSM module. It is they who can send photos of visitors in real time to the phone (if your mobile device is online). In addition, if you have a microphone and speakers, you can talk to the visitor via mobile communications. He will not understand that you are not at home. This option will allow you not to miss an important visitor, even if you are forced to leave home. Examples are SITITEK i8, WiFi/GSM Proline PR-iHome4. i-Corder Sensor GSM. The cost of this equipment is different – from $ 70 to $ 250. The point is the quality of the cameras, the presence of additional functions and equipment. Not all of these devices come with monitors. Since the picture can be transmitted to a TV or mobile device, it is not always necessary to have a monitor near the front door.
There is an IP video peephole for the front door. It differs in that, in addition to writing information to a memory card, it can send it to cloud storage (YandexDisk or GoogleDisk, any other similar storage).
Technical specifications
Since the video peephole for the front door is a technical device, it is worth choosing it according to its parameters and characteristics. Moreover, the characteristics of the peephole and the screen can be considered separately, since only a video peephole without a monitor is on sale, but you can find models with the same peephole / camera parameters and with different screens.
Камеры
The first thing you should pay attention to is the color of the transmitted image. If desired, you can find cameras that transmit black and white images. These are the cheapest models. The second selection parameter is the camera’s viewing angle. They are in two categories:
- With normal view: range 90-120°. They should be placed if the entrance to the room is at the end of a long corridor.
- With a wide view – the coverage angle is 160-180°. Wide-angle (video cameras provide a practical complete overview, they are placed on the front doors of private houses, apartments with direct access to the stairwell.
Door peephole cameras with a wide viewing angle are much more expensive. If your apartment is located at the end of a long and narrow corridor, there is no point in contemplating two sections of adjacent walls. In addition, optics with a smaller viewing angle gives a clear image from a distance of 3 meters, panoramic – from 2 meters.
Next, you need to decide on the length of the body of the door video eye. It should not be less than the thickness of your door. Standard options are suitable for a conventional non-insulated metal or wooden door. A small difference in the thickness of the entrance door (3-4 cm) is compensated by the fact that the body usually consists of two parts connected by threads. For very thick doors, you need to look for special models that have a long body length.
It is worth paying attention to the range of the camera. It depends on the power of the backlight and on the quality of the camera itself. The maximum range is declared up to 5 meters, you can actually see people’s faces at a distance of 2-3 meters. By the way, black and white have better sensitivity in low light.
Monitor/display
If we talk about the characteristics of the display / monitor, then the main thing is its size and the number of pixels in the matrix. A clear image is obtained with a monitor resolution of 1280 * 720. The smaller one will give a more blurred picture, and the larger one is useless – you are not going to play.
The video call monitor can be regular or touch. If the matrix is uXNUMXbuXNUMXbnormal, the control is mechanical. These are small buttons that are located on the side or at the bottom. If the monitor is touch-sensitive, the control is like on a smartphone – using icons and pop-up menus.
Choices: intercom with video camera, video camera or video peephole
Sometimes it is not entirely clear why an intercom with a built-in camera and a home monitor costs less than a peephole with a camera and a monitor. It’s about the accessories. Intercoms usually use the cheapest video cameras, with a small viewing angle – no more than 90 °. In addition, they have a very short range. Most can give a more or less clear picture at a distance of 0,4-0,6 meters from the camera eye. Everything that is outside is not subject to identification, you simply will not see who is standing there. Therefore, the price difference is understandable.
One more thing: in the case of an intercom, there is no way to record. It is possible that such models of intercoms exist, but it is difficult to find them, since the cost is high.
If we compare the video eye with a video camera, then the cameras seem to have more advantages:
- The camera can be placed in a location that is difficult to reach. The video peephole is simply closed with chewing gum, sticker, paint.
- You can position the camera so that the desired zones are in the field of view.
But there is one point: in Russia, Ukraine, private individuals are prohibited from using covert video surveillance. This action is criminally punishable (in Russia, 138 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Installing a miniature camera without announcing surveillance is covered by this article. Installing a video eye – no.