What You Need to Know Before Buying a Wired Security Camera System

Wired security camera systems are nice and much more reliable than Wi-Fi cameras, but there are a handful of things you need to know before you go out and buy a wired camera system.

RELATED:

Wired or Wi-Fi Security Cameras: Which Should You Buy?

We discussed the

differences between a wired security camera system and a simple wifi camera

in the past (for those who might have decided between the two), but if you've already decided to go the wired route, it's good to know exactly what you're getting into.

You will need a monitor, mouse and keyboard

Security camera systems come with a DVR box and a handful of cameras (and sometimes the necessary cables), but they probably won't come with a monitor, mouse, and keyboard, all of which are needed to run the system. and view streams. cameras.

Some security camera systems

come with a mouse

, but most systems don't come with a monitor, and this is perhaps the most crucial part of the whole setup.

Unless you already have all three of these, be sure to factor in the cost of these when purchasing your camera system. The only exception is if you need to connect the cameras to a NAS that is already managed from your computer. Then you'd be good to go.

Make a plan to route all cables

Since the cameras must be directly connected to the DVR box, you will need to determine exactly how you will route the cables through your home.

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You'll probably have to get creative depending on where you want to install your cameras and where you'll be installing the DVR box. It's easily possible that you need to run cables two stories inside the walls and through places you probably didn't even know existed.

For this reason, make a plan and know the exact layout of your home. Find out if there is anything between your walls (like insulation or firewalls) that might interfere with cable routing, and know which route to take. you will take your cables before starting the process.

RELATED:

How to Install a Wired Security Camera System

That said, you will also need the proper tools, such as a power drill and

steel fish tape

.Be sure to check

our practical guide to installing a camera system

for details on how to do something like this yourself.

Get ready to get your hands dirty

Unless you're paying someone to do the work for you, installing a wired security camera system will likely require you to crawl through attics or crawl spaces running cables. is not an easy job.

If you're lucky, he

could

be as simple as running the cables through the ground, through the basement, and through the ground to the other side of the house, but that's the best case scenario.

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More than likely, you'll have to go through a crawl space or attic, which won't be pleasant. So be prepared to not only get your hands dirty, but everything else. Oh, and do your knees a favor with

good knee pads

.

Connect it to the network or not?

A huge advantage of having a wired security camera system is that you don't need to connect it to the internet to use it, unlike most Wi-Fi cameras, which

need internet connection to do anything

.

The downside of an off-network camera system, however, is that you won't be able to access it remotely from your phone if you're away from home. Instead, you can only view and manage your camera system only from the DVR box and the connected monitor and peripherals.

It's probably not a big deal for most people, and there's an argument to be made that it's safer to keep it off the internet anyway. However, if you want to be able to view streams remotely, you will need to connect it to your network.

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