We're Through Playing Around

In case the price hasn’t clued you in, this is a much more serious video security system than the cute little kittycams we’ve sold before. It’s superficially similar in some ways - you can watch the cameras live through an app or web browser - but that’s like saying there are similarities between your bathroom and Donald Trump’s just because they both have flush toilets.

This isn’t for dabblers who want to give video security a try. You’ll find no pretensions to sleek “Internet of Things” design here, no obvious yearning to be featured in the pages of Dwell. You wouldn’t buy this to point it at your birdfeeder or livestream your D&D session. This is for when you have important things you want to protect for real.

Let’s just make this simple and count the ways.

Your choice of 2MP or 3MP video quality. You may know 2-megapixel video better as 1920 x 1080, or 1080p, probably the highest resolution on the best TV in your house. 3-megapixel video goes way beyond that with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. With video quality like this, you might be able to actually identify the malefactors and miscreants that besiege you.

Your choice of 4, 6, or 8 cameras. That’s right: these systems start at four cameras and go up from there. If you don’t have multiple rooms, angles, or perimeter points to keep an eye on, settle for less.

Included NVR with pre-installed 2TB hard drive. Your data is your own. Screw the cloud. This system includes NVR with a 2TB hard drive. (Think DVR, but with network connectivity.) You can also plug in a USB drive for permanent backups.

Cameras are powered over Ethernet. Yes, the cameras have to be wired back to the NVR. That’s because they’re really good and wireless stuff tends to be shittier. The cameras also draw power through the included 60-foot Ethernet cables, so you won’t need to plug them in, or recharge them, or change their batteries, ever.

Weatherproof cameras. These are IP66 weatherproof, which means they permit no ingress of dust under any circumstances, and limited ingress of water only when sprayed with high-pressure jets. Installation in a sheltered location (like under an overhang) is recommended, so the lenses don’t get gunked up, but not strictly necessary. Plus they have little visors over the lenses which is just adorable.

And the rest. Everything else is just that much better than the aesthete-cams. Night vision up to 65 feet. More alarms for more trigger events. Intelligent search and playback options so you can find and save “the incident”.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the lightweight WiFi video systems we usually sell. They are what they are. And this is what this is: a real, serious, heavyweight, professional video security system. As for you dabblers, we’ll see you tomorrow.