Different Things that People can mean when they say "Cloud-Based" Surveillance:

1. I want to monitor my cameras when I am away:

Yes, we offer remote video monitoring for any of our NVRs that you have connected to your internet.

Our browser-based video monitoring works in Internet Explorer. You can view both live and recorded footage.

2. I don't want a recorder at all locally. I want to record to a server on the internet.

A. It is insecure.

Typically these types of cameras connect via WiFi which can be easily blocked or have interference.

Because your internet is tied to your power, you won't have the ability to use a battery backup to keep your security surveillance system running if the power goes out.

If your internet service provider has a disruption of service or if your router starts misbehaving, you won't be recording. When a DVR or NVR has an issue it "self heals" by rebooting and clearing the issue. There's no option for that with cloud-based recording.

B. The resolution is low quality and variable.

Even with the fastest residential internet connection, you are going to get terrible results from cloud-based recording. Depending upon the speed of your internet for corporate internet connections like a T1 Line you might be able to record, but this varies according to how much you are using the internet, and how much other people in your geographic area are using it.

C. It probably can't be done for a system.

Cloud-based recording can be a wonderful solution if you have one or two cameras and where quality or reliability is not crucial, such as using one for a baby monitor, but it probably isn't possible for any additional IP cameras.

For internet speeds, there is an upload speed and a download speed. In the US, download speeds can be decent (although we lag behind much of the developed world in that, too), but upload speeds are pretty slow. You may not notice this because the majority of what you do on the internet is downloading, but your ISP (internet service provider) isn't usually providing great service for uploading data. So, this solution works in Japan (where they have fiber internet in most places) but won't work well in the US because our infrastructure is behind the technological curve.

Each camera takes a large amount of bandwidth, about 5MBps, so while this can be a great solution for one or two cameras, it can be rendered completely unusable for more than that. It's nice if you want to put a webcam up and watch the kids. It doesn't work for having 4 - 8 cameras guarding your house. For businesses that are recording up to sixty-four channels, this problem magnifies itself tenfold.

D. Obviously, Cloud-Based Recording is also going to slow down your internet.

And may render it impossible to surf the net.