Video Surveillance Systems

Swann Security has been in existence since 1988 and opened first in Melbourne, Australia. It is now a global company that has offices all over the world. It has a large reseller network that provides security products to customers across the globe. They are committed to promoting the do-it-yourself consumer security solutions and do not offer any security monitoring solutions.

Swann DVR4-Pro-Net combo kit

This kit contains six items:

• Four wired CCTV cameras
• 8.4-inch color LCD monitor
• 4-channel DVR with 160GB HDD

The cameras can operate in both daytime and nighttime according to this review on PCMag. During the day the images they produce are color and at night, infrared sensors produce black and white images. The motion detection offered is very highly configurable too.

A drawback to this solution revolves around remote access not being encrypted. Sometimes e-mail alerts attach incorrect photos if you forget to put a setting back to its previous placement. You can access your security solution from any remote computer around the world by typing in the right IP address. You can even preconfigure your own DNS services.

Needless to say, the security issues the reviewer laments about are easily solved with an inexpensive VPN tunnel subscription and combining this with the Swann Combo Kit will provide you a seriously robust security solution for a fraction of the price of a similar system from a big security provider.

The system this review touches on will cost around $400 but larger kits are available for up to 9 cameras that will cost around $1,000. The value in this kit lies in its upgradeability as single camera units run around $100.

Swann security Angelcare AC 301 reviews

The Swann Security Systems sound monitor is a device that sits in the baby's room and picks up any crying sounds made. The movement monitor is a pad that goes under the baby's mattress and can be used to detect whether the baby is sleeping still or restless. It can even detect breathing patterns.

The unit comes with:

• Sound monitor
• Movement monitor

Features:

• Alarm sounds after 20 seconds if no movement; even slightest breathing is detected
• Adjustable sensibility
• Battery (7AAA) or AC adapter operated
• Optional ticking sound to hear baby's movements
• 2 channels to minimize interference
• Switches to battery in case of power failure
• Low power indicator

The only drawback reviewers noted was that the unit is quite expensive and can now only be bought second hand. The good news is that Swann CCTV digital cameras are backwards compatible, so if you already own the AC301 or have purchased a used unit (they are that hearty), you should be able to upgrade and add to your used system easily.

While both units are highly specific in function, Swann has dedicated their product line to being sideways compatible meaning digital cameras can be mixed and matched when needed to perform more than one function at a time. The value of these units cannot be denied and Swann is a good investment for home or small business use.