Imagine a car alarm with camera, when something unusual happens to your car you will get an alert, and see the real-time video footage of the event from your mobile device, isn’t that feel secure? This is the most advanced vehicle security system that offers dual protection.
One, the alarm itself can deter potential thieves and second, you can capture the video evidence if your vehicle is targeted.
Essentially, you may be wondering how it works or how to choose the right one for your car, right?
No worries, we’re going to give you here a detailed breakdown of what you can expect from this dual protection system and tips for maximizing its use.
How Does Car Alarm with Camera Work?
Sensors and Triggers: This dual protection system uses different types of sensors like motion sensors, vibration sensors, and shock sensors to monitor the car. Whenever any disturbance is detected like someone breaking a window or trying to tow the car, the alarm is triggered instantly, and the camera starts recording.
Note that, cameras are activated when specific events take place like door opening or forced entry attempt. This feature is called “Event-Triggered Recording”.
Alarm Activation: If any kind of threat is detected, the systems kick off an audible alarm which is pretty useful to deter potential thieves. Simultaneously, you’re notified through the app connected you’re your phone and the camera will record the video.
Video Storage: A couple of car alarm with camera systems allow continuous recording while the car is in motion. Most of the footage will be with short intervals like 1-3 minutes per clip. If the alarm is triggered, that relevant clip will be saved separately.
When the storage is full, the oldest footages are automatically deleted from your storage. This overwriting feature is pretty handy because you don’t have to delete the oldest clips manually.
Benefits of a Car Alarm with Camera
- Prevents theft and vandalism with a loud alarm and video recording.
- Provides evidence for insurance claims or law enforcement investigations if needed.
- Tracks Stolen Vehicles with GPS tracking and real-time video monitoring.
- Enhances peace of mind that you’re ensured of your car’s safety.
Common Features of Car Alarm with Camera
Cameras with 360° Coverage: In most systems, front and rear cameras are positioned on the windshield and the rear of the car. However, some premium car alarm with camera offers side cameras mounted on the sides to cover blind spots which provide full 360° protection.
High-Resolution Video: Modern alarms are mostly featured with 1080p or 4K resolution cameras for clear footage. However, some systems have HDR (High Dynamic Range) capabilities for better footage in different lighting conditions.
One thing is common among all systems which is wide-angle lenses. This is equipped to ensure a broader field of view so that the key areas like windows, doors and the trunk can be monitored effectively.
Night Vision & Low-Light Performance: Infrared night vision is a useful feature for a car alarm with camera which allows the system to record clearly in low-light environments. This is essential for protection because in most parking lots or driveways, are not lit enough at night.
However, some systems have auto-adjusting brightness settings to be adapted to the change of lighting which prevents overexposed footage during the daytime or underexposed footage at night.
Real-Time Alerts and Live Streaming: When something unusual such as glass breaking or forced entry happens the alarm is triggered and notifies you throughout the smartphone connected to the alarm system. You can view real-time video footage from your car’s cameras which is a great flexibility and comfort of secureness for your car.
Two-Way Audio Communication: Some systems are equipped with built-in microphones and speakers for two-way communication. This is a handy feature to scare off intruders because you can speak directly to someone near your car via the mobile app connected to the alarm system.
Cloud Storage and Local Backup: The SD card is mostly used for local recording of the car alarm with camera footage whenever there is no Wi-Fi or 5G connection available.
Conversely, for additional security, recordings can be backed up into the cloud. Many systems offer a free trial of cloud storage which of course subscription is required for further use. These are the ways that ensure your footage even if the camera is tampered with or stolen.
Integrated GPS Tracking: Built-in GPS tracking system often included with a car alarm with camera. This is useful to see the real-time location of your vehicle. This feature is useful if your car is stolen, as you can track the location of your car which will provide solid helpful information for the law enforcement.
However, you can set up Geofencing Alert which is a parameter of virtual boundary within a specific area for your home or office. Every time your car leaves this zone, you will receive an alert.
Impact & Motion Detection: Most of the systems include shock sensors that activate both the alarm and the camera when they detect any kind of impact such as forced door opening or breaking a window even if someone colliding the vehicle.
Some advanced models offer a special Parking Mode which can activate the camera only when motion is detected around the parked vehicle to conserve battery life and storage space.
We’ve covered shock sensors in more detail which will be worthy for you to check out if you want to learn more.
Battery Backup: Car alarm with camera mainly powered by the vehicle’s battery. But they also come with a backup battery to properly function the camera and alarm even if the original car battery is tampered with or dies.
Mobile App Integration: Most car alarm with camera systems are usually controlled via smartphone apps. You can arm or disarm the system, watch live streams, or even view recorded footage throughout the app. Some advanced models also allow you to control other smart devices like remote start or keyless entry.
Usage Hacks to Maximize Effectiveness:
Maximize Battery Life: You should use an external power source or solar panel backup to ensure the system remains active even if your car’s battery is disconnected. However, you have the option to enable Energy Saving Mode like motion-activated recording to extend the alarm system’s battery life.
Use Cloud Storage Alternatives: You should consider using higher capacity SD cards up to 128Gb if the camera offers local storage via SD cards to store more storage without needing a cloud subscription.
Conversely, if you have to link your system to Network Attached Storage (NAS) with a subscription, we recommend you choose Dropbox because it’s the most cheap and secure service available for backup options.
Customize Sensitivity Settings: You should consider using customized sensitivity settings to avoid false alarms caused by small movements like leaves or animals to focus only on larger disturbances.
Smart Notifications: You should configure your system to notify you only for critical events like forced entry or impacts to reduce the number of unnecessary alerts. When you park your car in a high-traffic area, make sure you enable notifications for vehicle movements rather than minor motion detection.
Remote Engine Shutdown: Some advanced models allow you to shut off the engine remotely in case of a theft attempt rendering the vehicle inoperable until you reactivate the system via the app connected with the alarm system.
Privacy Control: You can use the Privacy Mode of the app to temporarily disable the camera when your car is parked at home or in a safe environment to avoid recording unnecessary footage to save storage space. It’s your personal choice though, because you better know whether is your car safe or not.
Which one you should buy?
Well, at this point, you must know almost everything about a car alarm with camera. Since, we tried to demonstrate the common features of this type of alarm system, choosing the right product is kind of objective issue. Because, if you want all of those features available, you may have to pay more.
So far, we have covered almost everything for buying a car alarm in Best Car Alarms Systems which we recommend you should check out to choose the best suitable alarm system for your car according to the features you need and how much your want to pay for it.
However, if you still have any of your car model specific questions, please consider creating a help post in our Discord Channel where our expert team will try to come up with the best possible solution for you.