Surveillance Storage Options – SD Card

Businesses and individuals recognize the importance of security cameras for their homes and enterprises, but nobody likes sitting in front of a monitor watching their security footage every day. This is why video recording is a tremendously helpful feature and owning a device to store recordings is convenient.

What are the storage options available today?

SD Card and Other Onboard Memory Options
SD means Secure Digital and this type of storage option has been used for many years. This is the same kind of storage that is seen on DSLR, smartphones, and other devices. SD cards are solid state storage, meaning it does not have moving parts that could wear out.

There are many IP camera manufacturers that are integrating SD and microSD storage for their cameras because this type of storage is inexpensive and very reliable. Small surveillance systems with only a few cameras that use SD storage eliminate the need to have an NAS or NVR, which lessens the installation costs as well. Even for a large system that make use of NAS or NVRs, an SD card may be used on cameras that monitor important areas. This redundant video coverage can be of use in critical places like the storefront and front door. Even if wireless cameras suffer from interference or if there is a problem with the network, the security camera can still continue to monitor and store surveillance videos and photos that can be used later.

SD cards of up to 64 gigabytes are now available that have the option to automatically overwrite older footage when it is full. Even so, two weeks of full-time recording on an SD card can still be stored.

Disadvantages. One of the biggest drawbacks of storing video footage or surveillance images on an SD card is that it is stored inside the camera itself. In the event that the intruder steals or smashes the camera, chances are the footage will also be lost.