Choosing a Wired or Wireless Video Intercom System

A video intercom system is unmatched in its ability to enhance convenience and security at the entrance of your home or commercial property. With this technology, you gain the ability to see and hear visitors at your front door or gate without having to physically approach it. What's more, new advancements have made it possible to remotely monitor your entrance, even when you're not at home. Depending on your specific needs and application, there are various technologies available to suit your requirements. The image below provides a concise overview of these options and the text below that goes in to more detail. You will find these products at the bottom of this page..

When considering the purchase of a video intercom system, it's essential to understand the various technologies available. However, it's equally important to recognize the distinct applications for these intercoms. Firstly, there are single-family residential uses, which may involve a drive-up gate for a fenced-in yard or property. For such scenarios, it's best to opt for an intercom that can be mounted on a pedestal pole, facilitating easy access for drivers. These typically feature a more horizontal design with hole patterns tailored for mounting on poles.

Alternatively, there are vertical models designed for wall mounting near walk-up entrance doors. While either form can be utilized in any location, mounting a vertical intercom at a driveway gate may require additional steps, such as attaching a panel or hood to the pole first, due to the differing hole patterns. It's worth noting that while these commercial intercom systems can be used for commercial properties, they are not suitable for buildings with multiple tenants, as they lack the necessary buttons for selecting specific recipients.

If you do have a multi-tenant application for an apartment building, or commercial property with multiple tenants, then take a look at our apartment intercoms page. You won't find all the technologies below for multi-tenant applications because they don't all work for those applications. There are vertical and horizontal forms of these video intercoms too and the same rules apply. The multi-tenant video intercoms will need either an Internet connection or connection to cell phone service.

Hybrid Video Intercom

A hybrid system is wired between the outdoor station and the indoor video monitor just like a standard wired video system. But it also has Wi-Fi capability so you can add tablet PCs and smartphones with an app. This gives you the best of both worlds. It has the fast reliable connection between the camera and monitor that a wired system gives you, plus you can still take calls no matter where you are as long as you have a data connection on your device.

Wi-Fi Video Intercom

There are a couple of types of Wi-Fi intercoms. The really low cost ones are called doorbell intercoms. Those doorbell units are not commercial quality but can be good for residential or light-commercial use. Then there are the commercial kind that can be used at security doors and gates and they include a keypad that can be used to enter codes to open a door or gate. This is what we call a Wi-Fi Video Intercom.

Wired Video Intercom

A wired intercom requires running wire between the monitor and camera, which can be expensive or impossible to do in some situations. However, once the cable is run then installation is very easy and you have an always reliable connection. One of the downsides is that you don't have any mobility on the monitor side so you always have to walk over to a monitor to answer a call.

Cell Phone Network Video Intercom

If you want some of the benefits of wireless video but your gate is too far away, you can use the AT&T or T-Mobile cell network to give you wireless benefits. It transmits video over a data connection for a low monthly fee. So no matter where you are, as long as you have an Internet connection on your phone, you can see and talk to visitors.

Wireless Video Intercom

We no longer carry radio frequency wireless video intercoms due to their poor range. However, the cell phone network and Wi-Fi intercoms are basically wireless and these are very reliable. The cell phone intercoms essentially have an infinite range as long as you have cell service at the location you want to install an intercom. For Wi-Fi intercoms, you can use long distance wireless bridging equipment to extend Wi-Fi over a distance of miles if they are installed properly. See this article for more information: How to Do Long-Range Wireless Video Transmission

Doorbell Video Intercom

These are the lowest cost and most widely used systems that you'll see sold everywhere. These are light-duty units that connect to your home's Wi-Fi router and do all of there communication through your Wi-Fi router or over the Internet. They are very dependent on having a good Internet connection in your house.