How to Choose a Video Door Phone Intercom

A video door phone intercom is used at entry doors for homes or businesses and they not only enable you to talk to visitors, but also see them as well. Before you start shopping for a video intercom you'll need answers to the following questions.

Questions to answer in choosing a video door phone intercom:

Answers to these questions are needed to see which one of the technologies below will be best for your application. Not all technologies are available for both single family residence and multi-family.

These are the different type of video door phone technologies available:

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. This intercom is only available for single-family properties.

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. This intercom is available for single-family properties.

For multi-tenant applications it is recommended to use an intercom that has a hardwired connection to an Internet router. This gives the best performance for the more advanced features these units have. Tenants receive calls on a smartphone or tablet PC. They also have the ability to call landline telephones or cellphones.

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.

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. These are available for single-family applications and are a good choice when wireless technology is needed.

If you need help selecting the right product for you please give us a call at 888-298-9489 and let our experts help you get the right product for your needs.