The Cloud video surveillance: 6 life hacks

The cloud video surveillance is one of the most progressive decisions in the field of security for the last years, that managed to win a lot of admirers all around the word due to its accessibility and convenience. What is «cloud video surveillance»?

This is a system of video surveillance that requires only camera and Internet. Connecting through the network to remote «virtual recorder», the video is processed and stored on the specially secured server and only the account owner has an access to it. No local recording devices: DVRs with a hard drive or memory cards are not required.

However, due to the technologies development, there appear a lot of fake services that pose a common function of remote access to the video surveillance system as a «cloud».

Especially often it is made by Chinese manufacturers: churning out the sites and applications, they present their technologies as the notion «cloud», but they have nothing in common with this notion. Due to the growth of the number of such services and newness of the technology, it is sometimes difficult even for a professional to distinguish a real cloud from a fake one and an amateur will surely get lost in the labyrinth of descriptions, schemes, and specifications.

Therefore we have prepared a small list of life hacks to help you to determinate who is who and whom you can and whom you cannot trust your safety.

1. Your service provider offers you to record and store video on a memory card or hard drive but not on the specially equipped remote storage.

This is the first sign that you are to be deceived and provided a «fake service». The cloud video surveillance does not require a record on the local storage medium — hard drives, memory cards, and other devices. The video is recorded and stored on the specialized remote storage with the functionality similar to a common fixed DVR, but much more secured.

2. You need to change the settings of your network for operation of service and camera.

For example, they want you to change IP-addresses of network or camera, to forward the ports and to know other subtleties of work of the system administrator. It may be required for configuring the DVR network connection, but it is not required for a cloud video camera. The maximum you need to know is a unique identifier that is indicated on the box or directly on the camera (in the case of Partizan video cameras – this is the MAC address of the device).

3. 24-hour access to online broadcast and archive.

Any video surveillance cloud service should provide access to the online broadcast and archive of the records in 24/7 mode from both the PC and the smartphone having an access to Internet. Moreover, the management of playback, recordings, and settings should be available from any device – just as if you are working with a common DVR. If video surveillance cloud service has no application for a smartphone or a mobile version of the website, is it worth to trust your own security to this service?

4. Your service only records and stores video.

Besides these functions, the real cloud video surveillance allows you to configure recording modes, to fulfill the motion detection, to sent alarm notifications, to manage the schedule and to provide other possibilities common to video surveillance systems. Otherwise, this is not a cloud video surveillance, it is a Dropbox.

5. Significant restrictions on the volume of the archive and fee for online video.

If even the most expensive tariff includes the storing of the archive for no more than a month or two — it is worth considering the technical capabilities of your cloud service provider, probably they are very modest. In addition, every cloud service, that respects itself and the clients, does not charge a fee for video viewing in real time.

6. The overpriced services

The cloud video surveillance is a classic rental model convenient for usage of a small number of video cameras or in short-term perspective – for someone, it is a year, for someone it may be more. If the amount of semi-annual subscription according to the minimum tariff exceeds the cost of the average DVR, this service definitely exaggerates its importance. Although the cloud video surveillance is a relatively new notion, but the high cost is not an indicator of the quality of provided services. It is rather a desire of the service provider to make money on the newly-minted technology.

The cloud video surveillance is certainly not always suitable. For example, it can be ineffective in deployed security systems, and contrariwise it is the optimal solution for small security systems – for home, shop or office. The variety of cloud video cameras gives you possibility to use them almost everywhere: there are indoor, robotic and even outdoor models

If you appreciate the comfort and simple work, take care of your own security and watch out for new technologies, then the Partizan Cloud Storage video surveillance is an excellent solution for your own reliable video surveillance system. You can found more information about our advantages on the link: http://partizancloud.com/advantages/

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