Now there are wireless cameras that access your home network to display the live camera view on compatible devices such as a computer, iPad, smart phone, or TV. If your home network can access the Internet (most do), you can get the live view anywhere you can connect to the Internet: the office, golf course, store and such. Other features include motion detection, auto recording, and auto notification. So the camera can be set to automatically start recording video whenever it detects motion in its field of view, and at the same time send an email or text message to a your phone.
You can use all this amazing stuff for much more than “nanny” duty. Now you can have cameras placed to watch over swimming pools, garages, driveways and just about any place. Cameras can be obvious ( fake cameras sold for this purpose) or masquerade as a book, clock, plant, smoke detector, wall outlets and more. And some cameras have an infrared mode so you can see in the dark. Some cameras feature remote pan, tilt and zoom controls.
The legal stuff:
There are privacy/legal issues in using surveillance video cameras. Federal law prohibits secretly recording oral communication, so most nanny cams sold can’t record audio. States laws vary though, some allow audio recording after consent of individuals being recorded, others have no special laws regarding the audio.
It’s currently legal in every state to make a video-only recording of anything in your home, at any time, without informing anyone. The fact that the camera is hidden has no effect on this concept; however, privacy issues do come into play, and it’s best not to include in the field of view scenes outside your home boundaries, such as the street or the neighbor’s back yard. We advise using common sense, but you already do that, right?
So - for as little as $69.95, you can use video cameras to address many issues of security and safety (even keeping track of your pet).
