A video capture card is a hardware device that is used to convert video recorded from a connected camera into a digital format. That converted digital format is easily recognized by a computer; so you can use your computer, a camera, and a video capture card to set up your personal surveillance system.

How to Use Video Capture Card for Surveillance?

Video capture cards are designed for several purposes and one of those purposes is to use it for building a digital surveillance system. You can integrate the card over LAN or WAN connection and it will allow you to record and monitor video remotely.

It’s quite simple to turn your personal computer into a DVR with the right video capture card and software package. Video capture cards are usually designed to run on a Windows platform, so make sure you have a Windows PC. If the video capture card you have is internal, then you will have to open the case of your computer and place the card into an empty PCI slot on the motherboard. External video capture cards on the other hand, are much easier to install as you can simply plug them into USB port on your computer. Most external cards have a compatible USB cable included in the box so you can hook it up without any issues.

After plugging in your video capture card, you will need to install compatible drivers and software for the card. A CD with compatible drivers and software is usually included in the box of video capture card. Furthermore, you can also download them from the official website of the video capture card you have purchased. Of course, you will need to hook up camera(s) to this card in order to complete your surveillance system.

How it Works?

Once everything is properly connected, you can use the installed software of the video capture card to monitor and view videos recorded by your hooked up camera(s). The card will convert video from the connected camera into a digital format which will appear as vivid or clear footage on your computer’s monitor. The footage recorded by your connected cameras will be directly transmitted into the hard disk of your computer, which will then be stored it automatically. In this way, your computer will become the nucleus of a video monitoring system.

Most video capture cards allow you to add up to 4 cameras for surveillance. The card then converts footage from all the cameras into digital format which you can view all at once on a single monitor. You can also integrate this completed surveillance system with other security control systems such as fire alarm, access control, etc.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a video capture card is an amazing piece of technology that you can use to create your own personal surveillance system. It is relatively inexpensive as compared to purchasing a DVR and the quality is also acceptable. Furthermore, the installation is also quite simple. Because of these reasons, video capture cards are commonly used by many homeowners and small businesses.