Posts Tagged ‘monitoring camera’

Top Benefits of Using a Hidden Camera DVR

Threats come in all manner of forms.  With every technology invented to combat them, they evolve and adapt, becoming problems that very often are such a challenge to resolve.  However, there are a number of options for both homeowners and businessmen to minimize threats to their lives and property.  The hidden camera equipped with a DVR can be a very efficient means to ensure protection and prevent crime.  Here are just some of its top benefits:

Provide a means to record and monitor activities covertly
One of the best reasons why people use a hidden camera with a DVR is that it is a way to observe activities surreptitiously.  Although this may be sneaky by nature, using a hidden camera allows you to observe people behaving naturally, something that is near impossible to do if they are aware that a camera is observing them.

Easy to conceal
Hidden cameras, unlike their more traditional cousins the video cameras, are built for stealth.  They are generally smaller which makes them easy to hide behind virtually anything and can even be built into an ordinary object.  This is how you could have a hidden camera within stuffed toys, alarm clocks, air fresheners, humidifiers, books, picture frames, even small items like fake pens and beepers.

The benefit of hidden cameras of this type is that they can be placed anywhere without anybody suspecting that there’s more to them than what they appear.  They can be placed readily in the target area without raising any suspicions.  Depending on the model, these hidden cameras usually record images remotely to a DVR, so their design do not actually interfere with their function.

Easy to use viewing features
The main challenge with older analog video cameras or those that used tapes to record images was that they produced blurry pictures.  What made reviewing the tapes more difficult was that the images were mostly in black and white.  If they came in color, the recording device simply wasn’t sophisticated enough to preserve the true colors of these images.

There is also the question about the quality of the tape itself.  Images tended to deteriorate with older tapes, making them difficult to store for future playback.  Tapes also tended to produce lesser quality images through repeated viewings, rewinds and fast forwards.

With the newer hidden camera DVR, images are stored digitally, so they are reproduced in greater detail, with better clarity and color.  Digitally recorded images using hidden cameras are also easy to view since they can be set up to record only when motion or activity is detected.  Otherwise, the recording function is turned off.  What this means is that there’s no need to waste several hours of tape or memory on a blank screen.  Viewing is also easier because only images showing activities on them will be recorded.

The President Did It: How a Nanny Cam Caught a School Board Head Stealing

When Pam Bombien installed a nanny cam in the kitchen, all she wanted was to catch a thief — and confirm her suspicions.  Bombien, a resident of Franklin, had lost money on several occasions before under mysterious circumstances but did not really take it seriously until she lost $60 in April and $50 the next month.

What made Bombien suspicious was that an old friend, former school board president of Franklin Roseann Lewandowski, was always with her each time money disappeared.  To make sure she wasn’t just placing her suspicions on an innocent person, Bombien began using a nanny cam.

The nanny cam provided Bombien the evidence she needed.  When Lewandowski came to visit, the cam recorded the woman leafing through Bombien’s purse.

However, it was not until the nanny cam caught Lewandowski stealing the funds supposed to be used for the local Little League that Bombien decided enough was enough.  Lewandowski made off with $880 from Bombien’s purse and again, she was caught on the nanny cam doing it.  Bombien asked for assistance from the police, who promptly arrested Lewandowski.

The nanny cam knows
It has been said that cameras are unforgiving — they will show what we sometimes do not wish or expect to see.  This is probably the best move that one person did to finally stop the sneaky ways of a former school board president, catching her performing the act without placing any doubts as to the authenticity of the evidence.

As the Franklin case shows, the correct placement and use of the nanny cam was instrumental in helping a woman to finally find out the truth about her missing money.  Bombien was smart enough to consider the circumstances that proved to be the common denominator each time she lost money — that is, the location and the person she suspected was involved.  By placing her nanny cam in the kitchen, she finally proved her suspicions right.

Using the nanny cam
Something that works as an all-seeing eye such as the nanny cam is most effective if its advantages are optimized and its limitations minimized.  Nanny cams or any hidden camera used legally for reasonable surveillance rely on unobstructed vision in order to monitor and record any activity that may be of interest or prove to be illegal.

A good first move when using nanny cams would be to start with areas that are most likely to be where an activity could occur.  In Bombien’s case, it was the kitchen, the same area where she frequently left her purse and entertained guests, one of whom happened to be the guilty party.

Since there are legal restrictions to the use of hidden surveillance devices such as the nanny cam, take note that proper placement also requires that they are only installed at publicly accessible places, such as the living room, family den, dining area and kitchen.  Nanny cams are not allowed in private areas such as the bedroom or the bathroom.

The view from the nanny cam should also be clear of any obstacles such as plants, walls, dividers or curtains.  The angle of viewing should also be carefully considered.  While most nanny cams are positioned at a slightly higher angle to overlook an area, setting a camera at eye level or even slightly below might also be effective, depending on what the user needs to monitor and on the availability of space.