Video intercom as a security system has become firmly established in our everyday lives. Nowadays, it is difficult to find a multi-story building that does not have a central intercom with the ability to receive calls and remotely open the door. However, the functionality of such a system is minimal – only audio communication with the visitor and the ability to open the front door of the entrance. So if you want to expand the security features of your intercom system and choose which device to choose – this material is designed especially for you. By the way, everything that will be described below applies not only to residential apartment buildings but also to private homes, villas, and even offices.
So, what to pay close attention to when selecting equipment?
- The standard of intercom (video intercom)
Intercom, like video surveillance, is divided into 2 standards: analog (digital-to-analog) and digital (IP, network). Not to go into the detailed technical characteristics of these standards, we can highlight the following difference between them: digital-analog equipment for intercom provides acceptable quality of audio and video information, but is somewhat limited in functionality.
So if you want to add features to your intercom, such as remote network access, connect a large number of call panels and monitors, fine-tune the functions and characteristics – you most likely have to choose an IP intercom. If you only need audio-visual control of visitors and the possibility to open the lock with a button – an analog intercom is also quite suitable.
If you only need audio-visual control of visitors and the ability to open the lock with a button – quite suitable and analog intercom.
Both of these solutions have their advantages and modern equipment, if not erased, then blurs the differences, the only thing to remember – the intercom system has a rich set of features that will be relevant for a long time and will conquer more than one heart of the buyer. But it should be understood that its cost is also 30-40 percent more expensive than the digital-to-analog standard.
- Intercom or audio intercom
If you decide to seriously secure your apartment, house, or office, the choice is obvious – video intercom. In addition to the ability to not only hear, but also see your visitors, the presence of a monitor in the video intercom gives quite an advanced functionality – from picture settings to store photos and videos of your visitors, managing additional devices, and even supplementing the access control system with video surveillance.
Audio intercom for all its availability and simplicity can not provide you with 100% security and confidence that you open the door to the right person. Perhaps two cases when the choice of audio intercom justified – the presence of CCTV, and specifically – video camera over the front door and the inability to integrate video into the building’s centralized intercom system.
In all other cases, it is extremely desirable to use more modern and reliable devices, and we will talk about them next.
- Components of a video intercom
Like any other security system, a video intercom is a multi-component system consisting of at least four mandatory elements:
- The calling panel;
- An internal monitor;
- Cables and consumables;
- power supply.
And now more about these elements:
The door station is a device that is located outside your apartment or house and is a modified doorbell button. Modern video doorbells are equipped with a video camera, built-in microphone and speaker, infrared illumination for shooting in low light conditions (e.g. at night), and may also optionally have a built-in reader for entry panels or key fobs.
The main characteristics of the call panel are probably the resolution of the video camera and the housing. The first – the camera must have a high enough resolution and video quality to be able to identify the identity of the visitor, at least from a distance of 2-3 meters. Secondly, the body of the panel should be durable and resistant to burglary or damage, as well as to high and low temperatures, water, and dust. A special standardization is responsible for dust and moisture protection. If you meet the index IP67, IP65, IP54, and others, you know – your panel has protection from the bad weather, respectively, the higher the number in the index, the more protected your call panel. And if in the characteristics you find the index IK, for example, IK08 or IK10, you know that your call panel is protected from mechanical damage, and to damage it with a stone, stick, or other objects will be quite difficult.
Internal video intercom monitor – this component is placed inside your apartment or house and is the focal point of the entire intercom system. An internal intercom monitor is a screen that displays all the current information about the system operation, also displays the audio and video signal from the camera and microphone of the panel.
In addition to the screen, mandatory elements of video intercom are a built-in microphone and speaker, or in rare cases, the tube, but at the moment it is used very rarely, giving way to Hands-Free technology. All the functions and settings are controlled by the controls – it can be a mechanical keypad or a touch screen, which is installed in more expensive models.
When choosing an internal monitor you, first of all, pay attention to the quality, size, and resolution of the screen. Outdated models were equipped with black and white screens, made by CRT technology, but they have mediocre video quality and are often burned out because of the constant static image on the video.
In addition, such screens had a large width at a small diagonal, which had a great impact on the aesthetics of the device. Modern screens – LCD, they are thin and provide excellent image quality, especially if the resolution of the video camera panel exceeds 1 megapixel, and the screen resolution – HD or FullHD. Screen size video phone – a matter of taste and budget, but manufacturers are increasingly stopping at the standard seven inches, increasing the diagonal in the premium segment and reducing – in the budget.
Cables and consumables – these components are clear, communication between the outdoor panel and the video intercom requires a signal cable, in addition, you need an electrical cable that provides power and intercom and caller panel.
Cables should be selected and laid with the utmost care, as their properties affect the transmission of audio and video. Blatantly bad conductors can significantly spoil the video image and become a source of interference when working with equipment. Choose conductors with copper as the material – it provides the best characteristics of signal transmission.
To transmit power in intercoms used cable shVVP, and a signal – “twisted pair” (UTP) in IP video intercom and coaxial in DTV. By the way, if your IP-recorder supports PoE power (signal and power transmission over a single UTP cable), then there is no need to connect an electrical fiber-optic cable.
Among the consumables, we should mention the mounting elements – dowels, self-tapping screws, terminal blocks. In the vast majority of equipment, these consumables are already included.
Power supply – another important element of the video phone system, which provides power to both the panel and the video intercom. Usually comes with the package, but in some cases, you have to buy it separately. Mainly 12-volt DC power supply is used, but in exceptional cases, it can be an alternating current of 24 volts. Before buying, it is better to clarify these characteristics and ask about the presence of the power supply in the kit (at least for the internal monitor of the video intercom).
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