Lets consider the practical use of IP cameras for residential applications. The basic scenerio would be typical, I have a two story home and would like to cover my perimeter and keep on eye on the baby when I go to sleep. Simple enough, you run your CAT5, throw in your router, and install the software into your PC that you partitioned especially for this application. Your cameras look great and your happy with your install. Awesome.

Night comes and someone rings the door bell. Ding Dong. Perfect. Woo Hoo, I can use my cameras to see who's at the door, but there is one small problem. The NVR is downstairs. Damn. Ding Dong. I know, let me find my iphone and look at the cameras from my app. Damn. Where is my iPhone. Ding Dong. Wait, let me use my laptop to see. Damn. It's shut down. Ding Dong. Oh well, down the stairs you go only to open the door to some mistaken dude with the wrong address. DAMN!!!!

With IP cameras your choices for monitoring your home are vast, iPhone, iPad, any PC, even at the original NVR but monitoring your cameras where you need it is nearly impossible. Remember when you simply clicked Video Input on your TV and you were watching your cameras? Remember Channel Plus? Simply pick out an unused channel on your cable and you could program your CCTV to that channel. Every room in the house with a TV could see what was happening. You could even use an RF extender to change the DVR screen to any camera you wanted from any room. So you were never stuck with picture showing on your DVR. Hear a noise, no problem, someones at the door, yep, no problem, IP cameras, yep, problem.

So how do I view IP cameras on all my TV's or how can I constantly monitor my cameras? Well, for one you can always have a PC next to your bed logged in remotely with sleep mode turned off. You can also do this with a Laptop  but who wants to have their laptop or PC running 24/7? You could log in every time you hear a noise? You could use your phone but lets be real, open the app and log in. Come on now. You could install a video card with video out so you run the wire to your TVs. OK. This could work but you can't change the output screen of the cameras. What you see is what you get.

I know that there are many ways around this stuff and not everyone wants to be dialed in on video at all times. I just wonder if IP is practical for these types of installs. Convenience and simple solutions have to out way buying technology just because its FUTURE PROOF, doesn't it?

Once again, maybe its me. Maybe you guys have some secret to keeping a baby monitor on in all rooms while using IP. I would love to hear it. 

Related articles

• Feature: Peep show: inside the world of unsecured IP security cameras(arstechnica.com)
• External IP camera recommendations..? (edugeek.net)
• Mobiscope: Home Security & Video Surveillance - SHAPE Services(itunes.apple.com)