Keep an Eye on Your Orange County Property from Anywhere – Home or Away

It’s always important to stay aware of your surroundings and not become complacent when it comes to security. No matter where you live, potential thieves look for opportunities wherever they may be. A home cloaked in darkness at midnight is an easier burglary target than one that is blanketed in protective landscape lighting. Visible security cameras and video doorbells also serve as deterrents to potential porch pirates.

To make protecting your home second nature, consider a security camera installation on your Newport Beach, CA property. Though it may seem like a daunting endeavor, it doesn’t need to be – let us help you! Keep reading below to learn how Launch Systems can implement a security solution that improves your peace of mind and protects those you care for the most.

SEE ALSO: Learn How Security Camera Installations Can Keep You Safe

What Is It Like to Have a Smart Security System?

Imagine synchronizing lighting, shading, intrusion detection, surveillance cameras, door locks, and more into one comprehensive control platform. With the press of your finger on a customized wall keypad, you can orchestrate a smart response from all of these security devices, and from your smartphone, you can even tap into live security camera footage!

The “Goodnight” smart scene sets the following smart responses in motion: Shades lower to provide privacy, lights turn off in sleeping areas, locks and the alarm system are armed, and exterior landscape lighting illuminates your home for an additional layer of safety. If you believe you heard a ‘bump in the night,’ you can view the live security camera feed from the comfort of your bed to reassure yourself and go back to sleep.

Here’s How Smart Surveillance Can Help Your Orange County Home

There are many reasons homeowners decide to invest in security cameras. Some folks can’t bear to leave their dogs home alone during the day. Others travel often and want to keep an eye on their property. If you’re deciding on a home surveillance system, there are many benefits and technology features to consider. We’re a security camera installation company based in Newport Beach, CA, and have installed systems across Orange County for the past decade. Read on to discover the many ways smart security will grant you peace of mind.

SEE ALSO: 3 Ways to Use Your Security System That You Hadn’t Thought of Yet  

How You’ll Use Security Cameras

You may be surprised by the numerous ways to use your surveillance cameras, including:

• Video Baby Monitor: Check on your child’s safety anytime from your phone or tablet, whether you’re in the backyard or on a date night, making sure everything goes smoothly with the sitter.
• Pet Cam: Going on a weekend trip and leaving the cat at home? Worried about the dogs while you’re at work? Two-way audio and video let you take a peek at your pets and communicate back to them.
• Wildlife Watch: If your cameras catch motion in the front or backyard, use your system to stay alert on any animals on the property.
• Smart Home Trigger: Sync your surveillance cameras smart lighting to activate lights on the front steps when cameras detect activity.
• Virtual Doorbell: Use your security cameras as a doorbell intercom to let mail carriers know they can drop packages off. Remotely unlock the door for the pet sitter or ask a stranger how you can help them.
• Keep an Eye on the Kids: Give your tweens and teenagers more freedom knowing security cameras have your back. Whether they walk home from school alone or spend afternoons with friends over, you know they’re safe.
• See Who’s Coming and Going: If many people pass through your home, including landscapers, babysitters, or house cleaners, you’ll know who’s entering and exiting.
• Deter Criminals: Of course, one of the most common reasons we install cameras is to prevent break-ins. Burglars are less likely to target homes with visible security cameras and will likely choose a more vulnerable house in the neighborhood.
• Recover Crime Footage: If something happens on your property, HD cameras will provide clear footage of the criminal’s face or license plate.

Camera Features to Look Out For

As you’re getting started, consider these points for the optimal camera system:

Launch Systems Is Your Local Security Camera Installation Company

Being able to monitor your Huntington Beach, CA, property, whether you’re at home or far away, brings a renewed peace of mind. As your local security camera installation company, Launch Systems provides that peace of mind with state-of-the-art security components that keep you and your family safe. We know every homeowner has different desires when it comes to keeping an eye on things. From alarm systems to video doorbells to motion sensors and more, we assess your needs before ever offering a one-size-fits-all solution. Keep reading below to learn a few exciting ways you can use a security system that you probably hadn’t thought of yet.

SEE ALSO: Choose Local for Your Security Camera Installation Company  

Knock-Knock. Who’s There?

Did someone ring the doorbell? Instead of fumbling for the remote to pause your favorite show, you can create a smart home scene that lets you see, hear, and speak to whomever is at the door in a snap. We can program your front porch security camera to rotate toward the front door, pause your TV show, and brighten the outdoor patio light to illuminate whoever rang your doorbell. You can even have your video doorbell footage pop up on your TV screen for easy viewing. There’s no need to interrupt your evening for a solicitor knocking at your door.  

Devices Work in Sync

If your alarm system activates due to a breach, you can create a security scene that turns your entire home’s lighting to 100% brightness. A dark home immediately transforms into an illuminated home, and the ringing alarm will frighten burglars and deter them from staying in your home for very long. You can even incorporate your whole-home audio system to begin playing loud music and set your motorized shades to rise automatically. While your home is well lit and blaring, your neighbors will come out of their homes to see potential thieves running away from your home. The more witnesses, the better!  

Go on Vacation

Going on vacation may not seem like an innovative way to use your alarm system or security cameras, but it can be. While you’re away from your home, you can always view security footage from the convenience of your smart device and utilize remote monitoring services to keep an eye on your California home for you. But you can also incorporate smart locks and security cameras to your advantage. You can lounge by the beach, pull out your smartphone, and grant access to your house sitter, dog walker, or delivery people by issuing a temporary user code that is active only for a specified amount of time. You can program access to your dog sitter for limited times of day or days of the week, and you can grant immediate access to a delivery driver dropping off an important package.   All of the above and more are possible when you contact Launch Systems, your local security camera installation company. Connect with us now to get started on a new or upgraded security system.

4 Camera Locations to Consider to Deter Thieves

Everyone in the country is spending less time doing typical activities such as going into the office, shopping, or taking the kids to school. Instead, Californians are spending more time in their homes working, cooking, and conducting e-learning with their kids. Likely, online shopping habits have picked up, along with home deliveries, which is a side effect of staying at home and avoiding crowded spaces. Since everyone in your home is busier than ever before for the sake of social distancing, it’s likely that you may not notice packages left on the doorstep before nefarious porch pirates see them or if a car is broken into. Smart home security will help you keep your Newport Beach, CA, property safe and secure while you’re at home on a video conference call or away on a vacation in the future. Read on to learn how a security camera installation by Launch Systems can bring you peace of mind.

SEE ALSO: Confused on Where to Start with Your Security Camera Installation?

Doorbell Camera

We’ve mentioned before that security cameras installed on the first floor of your home are useful since over 80% of burglars enter homes through the first floor. A doorbell camera gives you a view not only on your front porch but usually into your front yard as well, depending on the orientation of your home and doorbell. Video doorbells give you an up-close and personal view of whomever – or whatever – steps on your front porch. From delivery person to the kids coming in from their afternoon walk, the footage is captured, and you’re able to watch, rewind, and replay footage as needed.

Interior Entryway

When you receive the notification and live video feed on your smart device of the delivery person with a package, you can communicate with them. If you’re enjoying music on the back porch with the family yet want to maintain social distance while keeping your package safe, you can remotely unlock your smart locks and ask the delivery person (through an intercom) to drop off the package inside the front door. This ensures the package is kept safe from potential thieves. Security cameras that are installed in the interior entryway of your home will capture this footage. Once the delivery person is done with their delivery, you can remotely lock the front door, then come indoors to safely retrieve the package when you are ready.

Perimeter Cameras

When school is out or people find themselves with more time on their hands than usual, crime rates increase. Installing security cameras on the perimeter of your Newport Beach-area home can do two things – deter potential thieves and provide footage if anyone tries to trespass. Any motion detected by these expertly installed cameras trigger your security system. You are then notified via text or push notification and can view the live footage immediately on your smart device. If the incident occurs at night, remote security monitoring services can notify law enforcement for you.

Make Your Irvine, CA Home Safer with These Smart Solutions

So, you’ve decided to make your home safer and more secure, but how exactly are you planning to do that? Beyond having an alarm system, intelligent placement of security cameras can improve the safety of your property. Once you’ve decided to go forward with a smart security camera installation, Launch Systems assesses your Irvine, CA property, and inquires about your security system preferences to determine the perfect placement of security cameras and the ideal system for your home. Read on to learn two security camera installation areas you may not have previously thought to consider.

SEE ALSO: Confused on Where to Start with Your Security Camera Installation?

The First Floor

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 81% of burglars enter homes through the first floor, with 34% of those coming through the front door. Some may think video doorbells are a novelty, but they can truly help you surveil your home and potentially deter theft of packages and unwanted entry through the front door. Not only are you making your home safer, but you’re able to add convenience because you can see who’s at the door without before answering. Other ground-level security camera locations include the rear entry, garage doors, and by first-floor windows. Placement is also essential. Wide-angle cameras should be placed to see 75 to 180 degrees without obstruction, while focus cameras should aim at specific areas with around 45 to 75 degrees of viewing space. And of course, be sure to place your outdoor surveillance cameras out of reach, typically about nine feet above the ground.

Detached Structures

There are likely valuables on your property beyond the walls of your home. A tool shed, a detached storage area or garage, and cars in the driveway are all valuables that are often overlooked when homeowners take a DIY route to security camera installation. Often, thieves target these structures due to the lack of visible security cameras or poor lighting. Avoid thieves taking advantage of your home by placing cameras in high and visible locations, and add exterior lighting around your property to deter thieves. Launch Systems has a long history of serving clients in Irvine and the surrounding areas. From our initial personal consultation assessing your needs to security camera installation to post-installation support, we pride ourselves on our work.   Call us today at (949) 515-7030 or use our online contact form to get started on your no-obligation consultation. We can’t wait to help you make your California home safer and bring you peace of mind.

Learn the Difference Between Local and Cloud Storage Systems

Many of our customers consult us for a variety of smart home solutions, and we love hearing from you. From whether or not to invest in a more robust network to incorporating lighting control systems into your home, we’ve learned our customers’ strongest desires relate to simple functionality and high-quality products. That desire spills over into the security and surveillance realm, as well. Several different components can go into a security camera installation, and surveillance cameras are typically the most significant component of many systems. Camera footage storage is an aspect of security installations about which we get many questions. If you’re wondering what the difference is between local storage and cloud storage, keep reading.

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Components of a Surveillance System

Before you install a security system in your Laguna Beach-area home, make sure you’re informed about the variety of solutions available. Beyond cameras, door and window sensors, carbon monoxide detectors, motion sensors, video doorbells, smart locks and more are all components you could potentially incorporate into your own home. From dome to bullet cameras, wireless to wired options, and indoor to outdoor cameras, there are several options available, and each is suited for different needs. A professional security installation company will consult with you, performing a site visit to understand your current setup and clarify your vision for a future security system.  

Local Storage

Local storage does just that with your footage – your video and accompanying audio is stored locally. In the past, this meant bulky servers or computer storage. That’s a thing of the past, and cameras compatible with local storage have some type of SD or microSD card storage. You can easily access this footage, so don’t think this is some sort of old-fashioned method in comparison to cloud-based storage. Another consideration to make when planning a security camera installation is whether or not you want 24/7 recording or if you only want a recording to take place when sensors detect motion. This preference will affect your storage needs. Local security footage storage is stored in your home and is accessible by you when you need to access the archive. Storing locally keeps your data secure and unavailable to potential cyber thieves. The local storage option is also the generally more affordable option since you aren’t paying for monthly cloud-storage fees.  

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage, on the other hand, sends your security camera footage to a remote, cloud-based server, off-site from your Laguna Beach-area property. The primary benefit to this storage option is the ability to watch your security camera footage remotely, wherever you are, from a smart device app or your computer browser. Launch Systems can protect your home network from cyber threats so you can rest easy knowing your data is secure in the cloud. Security camera installations can accommodate a combination of both types of storage, so be sure to consult with a professional before you make your final decision. No matter your storage decision, a security camera installation can proceed without a hitch in your Laguna Beach home with Launch Systems. Call us today at (949) 515-7030, contact us online, or chat with us below. We can’t wait to hear from you.