Smart wireless home security cameras are the latest thing in connected home devices. Not only are they better than they have ever been, but they’re cheaper too. However, there is word or caution. If your home Wi-Fi and internet connection are not up to speed, your new security system could become defunct before you even unpack it. Before you invest in wireless technology, ask these two important questions to help with the decision making:
- Is your internet good (fast) enough to support wireless cameras
- What else do you need to control wirelessly (be specific)
Table of Contents
Be Smart when Smartifying Your Home
The latest trend for protecting loved ones and safeguarding valuables is to smartify the home. The concept is a good one and there’s lots of innovation going on to support this fledgling industry. Nevertheless, smart homes need lots of power and resources, and this is an area so many people overlook. In theory, the idea of controlling your home from the palm of your hand is novel, but is it doable, that’s the big question.
Whether it’s one device or a collection of devices, you need to make sure your internet is up to the task. Home security in particular is a serious concern. You certainly don’t want your wireless cameras to let you down all because of a weak internet connection or an overloaded network.
Is Your Internet Fast Enough?
You should never invest in wireless technology until you can answer this question. The speed of your wireless communication is a simple concept. It is the transfer of data (or power) between two or multiple points that have no physical connection via an electrical conductor.
The three things to check for with your internet include:
- Good reliability (stability)
- Adequate upload speed
- Adequate download speed
Only when you can tick all three boxes should you move forward. Now you can consider an IP (internet protocol) Camera Surveillance System, or IP camera. Note too that the more devices you have (cameras), the slower your internet will become. The easiest way to test your internet is to use websites that let you check your speeds direct from the browser.[1] [2]
Reading the Test Results
As you run tests on your internet connection you may see that you don’t get the speeds your Internet Service Provider (ISP) advertised. This is typical and it happens to us all. Don’t worry about that too much. Just focus on whether your internet speeds are good enough to support an IP Camera Surveillance System (see below). There are many factors that can affect internet connection speeds. For example, there could be a problem with your actual equipment, or perhaps the issue is at the ISP end. If you have more than one computer, run tests on them both. If one is okay but the other is slow, you can at least rule out any issues with the ISP.
If your connection is slow, but you still prefer wireless security cameras over hard wired options, you may have to get a professional in to fix it for you. Either that, or have them advise you on how to remedy your internet. If you’re tech savvy, there are certain diagnostic checks you can run yourself in an attempt to resolve speed issues.[3]
How Fast Does the Internet Connection Have to Be?
There are a number of factors to consider when checking the speed of your internet to the wireless home security system. If in doubt, contact the retailer or manufacture for guidance.
The things you need to consider the most include:
- The recording resolution
- The compression / codec (JPEG, MPEG-4, H.264)
- The number of cameras used
- Frame rate per second (FPS)
I personally wouldn’t use an IP camera if my internet speed was below 2.5Mbps. My rule of thumb is 2.5Mbps per camera. For example, if I had 4 cameras, then I would want a minimum speed of 10Mbps and if I had 18 cameras, I would want 35Mbps download speed.
Top tip: If you opt for a multiple camera setup, it’s a good idea to add each camera one at a time. By doing this you get immediate feedback on the actual bandwidth usage. You can then adjust each of the camera’s settings as a way to optimize the network as you put it together.
About Bandwidth
In simple terms, bandwidth is the amount of data or information the internet connection can send and receive at any given time. Your bandwidth needs will be unique to your wireless setup. More cameras and higher resolution will use more bandwidth. You can look at bandwidth as the fuel that powers your IP camera setup.[5]
Here are the factors that will determine your bandwidth and storage calculations:
- Continuous recording or event-based
- The recording hours in any given day
- Scenery: Image complexity
- Data storage time
- Data storage options
Note also that outdoor IP cameras generally require more bandwidth than indoor systems. The reason for this is that they monitor larger areas, and also the scene constantly changes. Sometimes the outdoor light will fall low, and night scenes may need up to five times more bandwidth than other times of the day. The well-lit, more constant lighting from indoors has fewer spikes. This means inside, in general, has lower bandwidth demands than outside.
Wi-Fi Dead Spots and Weak Zones
Another thing you will want to check for around your home is potential Wi-Fi dead spots. This is easy to check with a regular smartphone or other portable wireless device. The first thing to do is connect the device to the wireless network. Then all you have to do is walk around the property while paying close attention to your Wi-Fi signal. If the indicator drops to zero, that’s a dead spot, or zone. If it falls somewhere just above zero, then it’s a weak zone.
That sums up our piece on Wi-Fi, internet speeds and IP camera surveillance systems. If you have anything to add, please leave your comments below.
Resources
- http://speedof.me/
- http://www.speedtest.net/
- http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025053/answer-line-an-obscenely-slow-internet-connection-when-youre-paying-for-a-fast-one.html
- http://www.supercircuits.com/resources/tools/network-ip-security-camera-system-bandwidth-calculator
- http://www.axis.com/th/en/learning/web-articles/technical-guide-to-network-video/bandwidth-considerations
The upload speed is going to be more important for cloud based security cameras as it governs the quality of the video feed to the cloud server. A 1080P camera system is going to need more upload bandwidth than a older camera system with a lower resolution. A slower upload speed will result in choppy and laggy video feed. Unfortunately most providers tout high download speeds while offering lousy download speeds.
Yes, you are correct Tobbe. If I want 1080P then, for each camera, I would look to have 2.0 Mbps upload speed and 1.0 Mbps for 720p.
Hi you mention having a 2.5m download speed.
However, cameras are most useful for smart home security when you are not at home and viewable through remote access.
This uses upload speed, which is generally much much slower. Many people do not have fast enough upload as isps prioritise download.
Yes you need to check your upload speed as well. 1.0 – 2.0 Mbps should be adequate.
Hi Mark. I am about the newest person to start installing cameras. I have had to change our modem to accept a wireless camera which now operates fine. I also have a generator that is hard wired to our new modem. I have spoken to our wireless provider about leaving our internet on as we leave for Fl for a few months, and was amazed at the cost of leaving the internet on and putting the tv and phone on vacation. I have been offered a speed of 3.1 at a lower cost. After some reasearch I believe 3.1 would be fine for now. I there any way to monitor cameras etc without having to deal with a internet provider? Dumb question? Thanks,
Paul
Hi Paul, not that I know of. If you are going away for that long, then you may need someone to go to your home and turn the modem off and on should there be a problem. It’s important to test that it’s working fine as well so whenever you leave home to go shopping, etc., check the video on your mobile.
Mark
Hi Mark, you stated “I personally wouldn’t use an IP camera if my internet speed was below 2.5Mbps. My rule of thumb is 2.5Mbps per camera. For example, if I had 4 cameras, then I would want a minimum speed of 10Mbps and if I had 18 cameras, I would want 35Mbps download speed.”
Shouldn’t you be referring to upload speed (or bandwidth) rather than download speed?
Hi Dave, yes very good point. Obviously, you need a good download speed to view the footage. With regards to upload speeds, I would be looking at having 1.0Mbps to 2.0Mbps per camera depending on whether I wanted Standard or HD recordings.
I want to do something a bit different with a camera, and I only get about .5 mbsp upload speed in tests, being in a rural location . But largely all I want to do, while I’m away , is point a camera at my heat pump and see that it’s running ( or not ) and at what temp ( I have a wireless gadget to remotely run my mini split so I want to ensure its working) . Is there a low resolution camera or something that I could use that would work well enough to get me that functionality … even a periodic still photo would probably do the trick…. Thx
Yes I think you are going to struggle with .5 mbsp upload speed. If possible, try to get hold of a 720p camera with settings that allow you to take pictures at predetermined timed intervals and test it out before investing in your setup.
Hi mark ,how much gb of internet data will be consumed by an IP camera for a full day.
That’s not a straightforward question to answer; it will depend on file size, resolution, compression, and bit rate of your camera. With a recording speed of 13 Mbps, 128GB of storage will store 1280 mins.
Great article but though you’ve written a lot about why and how the wireless cams work I still have an important question. I live rurally and my upload speed barely hits .5 let alone 2 lol. So I can’t use this type of camera. PLEASE tell me what kind of camera I can use then. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks
If you have a very slow internet connection and you want a camera. Then you will have to go with a hardwired CCTV option and save the recorded video on a hard drive on a home PC. Alternatively for a low cost option you could get a wildlife camera.
You did not say too much about upload speeds. I was told by my ISP that was more important then the download speed. My upload speed is barely one but the download speed is 18, I can go no higher. I have two wireless carriers for motion detection only. Sometimes they get the motion instantly and sometimes I can stand in front of one and wave my arms, doesn’t do anything. the camera company has helped me all they know how which is been very little. Could you shed some light? And I do not know the bandwidth or how to find out. Thank you very much .
Yes the cameras will work better with a 2.0 Mbps upload speed. You might also want to check the motion detection sensitivity setting. Plus, it is very difficult for a camera to detect motion when walking towards or away from it. You want to position the camera at an angle so it can pick up movement as someone walks across the field of view.
I have a plan to change a new higher speed wifi router. I would like to know the surveilance camera could respond to the highspeed router?
Cameras work better on higher speeds so don’t see why it should be a problem. If you are running your camera over WiFi then I can highly recommend getting a “mesh” Wi-Fi wireless router.