Set up Your IP Camera Without a Delay: A Quick Guide

Wireless security cameras are a great option if you don’t want to run wires through your house. Setting up wired cameras yourself can be difficult, and you run the risk of needing to open a wall to conduct any needed repairs to the system. Plus, if you are renting property, running wires might not even be an option. Also, it could turn into a huge hassle if you have to move your cameras to another point in your home. Imagine spending all day hard wiring a front porch camera only to discover the angle is completely wrong. Reasons like these are why countless people lean towards wireless security cameras. However, one of the biggest drawbacks of using wireless cameras is the heavy network load, especially if you’re streaming live video 24/7. So what can you do about it? 

Modem Limitations 

Most of the time, internet service provider (ISP), or ISP-supplied devices are not designed for anything but casual home use. In fact, sending high-quality video over the network is intensive and most routers and firewalls tend to hit their limits fairly quickly. For modems, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification, or DOCSIS, is an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-bandwidth data transfer to an existing cable television. If you’re just running a few cameras, but you want to be able to do some live streaming, a  DOCSIS 3.0 modem  should be plenty. If you are planning on expanding to more than a few cameras, then you will probably want to upgrade to 3.1. 

Routing the Video 

Again, most routers are not built to stream high definition video over the network while simultaneously handling daily internet routing. You have a few options here, but generally the easiest way to handle your camera streaming is to give them a separate wireless bridge which connects to your main router. With this method you can expand to as many cameras as you want, all you have to do is add more bridges. Another bonus to this method is how cheap it is. You can get a refurbished  DD-WRT supported router for under $10 and use it for all of your live video routing. Just bear in mind, the bigger your wireless camera network gets, the more complicated this will become. 

If you don’t want to deal with changing the firmware on a router you can always buy a wireless  Point of Entry access point. Just make sure to point it toward your IP cameras. 

Video Compression and Network Video Recorders 

If you don’t want to change your current network infrastructure, consider using a higher video compression. This will lower the quality of the video, but it should reduce a lot of the pressure on your wireless network. This is a good option for day-to-day use, but if you plan on using your cameras for security, it’s recommended to have the highest video quality possible. 

It’s also possible that any delay you experience is based on your hardware. If you have a network that should be capable of handling the video or you are using a bridge then it’s likely your hardware is struggling to decode the video feed. The easiest solution would be installing a Network Video Recorder (NVR) to your network. Similar to a cable DVR, this device allows you to store videos as well as play them back instantly. An NVR connects to your network just like the IP cameras, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have it connected to a bridge also. 

Consider Professional Monitoring 

The purpose of video monitoring is to protect your home and family. If your cameras are not set up correctly in your network, it could mean you’re unable to see what happened in the event of a disaster or alarm event. If you’re one of the millions who doesn’t feel comfortable dealing with technical troubleshooting but wants to feel secure, consider contacting Brinks Home Security ™  for a free quote on our  professional security camera  options. Brinks Home also offers professional installation, taking the pressure off of you and ensuring your smart home security devices are set up properly in the right locations to protect your home.  

Lauren Slade is a Dallas-based writer and editor.