To own an home security surveillance system can be cheaper and more readily then ever before. You don’t need to rely on the big company product, spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on a set of equipments that you are not familiar with. Build your own security surveillance system at home and watch almost everything you can from anywhere you want.

DVR, digital video recorder system, is the perfect way to build a computer and Internet based home surveillance system. All you need are a home computer with adequate Internet connection, surveillance cameras and DVR card with software. You can set up your system with a computer where various home surveillance cameras are connected together threading your surveillance system to survey surrounding areas, record visuals to the HDD (hard disk drive).

Computer and Internet request. A host computer, not need to be much advanced, is the core of the system. Your computer records and plays captured video via monitor, and streams videos to Internet. Make sure there are enough free hard drive space for the record data. If you want scheduled recording, or motion activated recording, a large capacity hard drive is essential for data store and later evidence proving. Also, a reliable high speed Internet connection is a must-have. Note that a dial-up Internet connection definitely won’t work because you’ll need faster speed for video streaming and remote Internet controlling.

Types of camera and other issues. A security camera can come in many different styles including dome, bullet, infrared. The security camera that will work best for your application will depend on several factors such as whether you will use the security cameras inside or out, during the day, nighttime, or both. Bullet style security cameras are the most popular. They can be used inside or out. These security cameras come in relative small size and the camera casings are weather resistant and don't require added external protection. Infrared security cameras are also very popular as they allow an image to be seen in little or no lighting conditions. Most infrared security cameras are bullet style and can be used inside or out. The cameras have infrared lighting which allows the security camera to see in no light for up to 25 feet - even further with a little bit of light (like street lighting or an outside light.) Whichever your choose, these cameras are quite cheap, around 20 dollars, even cheaper if you buy from an online store.

DVR card and software. Install a DVR card and its software in your PC to begin building your surveillance system. In the market, most popular ones are 4 channels, 8 channels and 12 channels, which need the same numbers of cameras. The latest software features motion activated recording, remote surveillance, automatically notifications to your cell phone, home or office when motion is detected, scheduled recording, 24/7 full-time recording and more. The prices range from dozens to two or three hundreds dollars. So choose a software that best fit your needs and home conditions.