You can’t put a price on safety, but when it comes to keeping our homes and businesses safe, there is a price. Surveillance systems often come with a high price tag and security companies can charge big monthly fees for continuous monitoring. While this is a great option, it’s not always financially feasible. Thankfully, there are surveillance systems that are affordable, easy to use and provide an added layer of safety for your home or office.
What to Consider Before Buying A Security Surveillance System
There are plenty of simple, single-camera systems that are designed for small homes and apartments, but sometimes you want more complete protection, especially if you have a larger property. In that case, you might want an all-in-one, multi-camera system — all of our options featured here include at least four cameras.
How you view what your cameras record is another important factor to consider. For example, many modern options utilize WiFi, while some consumer cameras rely on a more traditional CCTV model. These will take more work to be wired, but they will be more reliable — you won’t have to worry about losing your WiFi connection, for example.
How We Chose The Best Security Surveillance Systems
Surveillance systems with weatherproof cameras can be placed inside and outside your home, giving you several views of your property. All three systems we’ve included on our list are eight-channel surveillance systems, which makes it easy for home or business owners to access various views of the exterior and interior of their property. The systems combine a wired connection with wireless capabilities. For example, they all allow for live streaming, which is convenient when you’re away from home or want to check on specific areas. All three surveillance systems can also work with hard drives that can store video footage.
Whether you want to keep an eye on small children or elderly relatives, have a large property, travel often, or simply want to feel more secure about your residence, these surveillance systems will be your eyes and ears.
1. ZOSI Security Camera System
View your property up to 65 feet away day or night with the ZOSI Security Camera System, which features aluminum weatherproof housing that makes it suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Using the ZOSI app, customers can see all four cameras at once on smartphones or tablets. The ZOSI can be customized to send alerts when motion is detected, with images delivered directly to your smartphone. Video is recorded in 1080p and though the ZOSI comes with four cameras, it is an eight-channel system (four additional cameras can be added at any time).
Pros: The ZOSI comes with a 1 TB security-grade hard drive that can record hours of footage. The DVR can be set to override the oldest footage for continuous recording and files can be transferred to a USB flash drive or external hard drive.
Cons: The ZOSI cameras are not wireless and require cabling to function, which may limit where they are able to be installed.
2. FirstTrend Wireless Security Camera System
For an easy setup that doesn’t require wiring cameras, we recommend the FirstTrend Wireless Security Camera System. The four security cameras are weatherproof and can be placed inside or outside the home as long as it’s within WiFi range. Connect the FirstTrend NVR (not wireless) and immediately begin streaming your security cameras through the FirstTrend app, which works on smartphones, tablets and PCs. Like the ZOSI, the FirstTrend cameras have a viewing range of 65 feet.
Pros: Email and app alerts can be sent immediately when motion is detected and users can also access live viewing and playback through the FirstTrend app.
Cons: The FirstTrend surveillance system is equipped with eight channels, but is only compatible with other FirstTrend cameras, compared to the ZOSI systems which work with other camera brands. A 4 TB hard drive can be supported by the NVR but is not included.
3. ZOSI Lite Video Security Camera System
Receive alerts anytime motion is detected using the ZOSI Lite Video Security Camera System, which provides live viewing through the ZOSI app. The four cameras included in the set are waterproof and can be used indoors or outdoors. Like the other two systems on our list, the ZOSI Lite provides 65 feet of night vision. The ZOSI Lite is an eight-channel security system and four models of cameras can be added in addition to the four ZOSI cameras that come with the surveillance system.
Pros: The ZOSI Lite can be set to automatically overwrite the oldest stored footage, or this footage can be backed up on a USB.
Cons: Unlike the first ZOSI system on our list, this option does not come with a hard drive and one must be purchased separately to record or playback.