Secure your house with the Zicom Video Door Phone

Don't know whether you should open your door to see who is standing outside? You can secure your house with the Zicom Video Door Phone

This may not be the all-seeing surveillance system that enables the good guy to spy the villain hiding behind the trees and chase him down. But the Zicom Video Door Phone is, in its own small way, a great way to see if a wolf is at your door. This first line of defence for your house can prove useful in identifying who is on the doorsteps and whether that someone should be given access to the house.

But first things first. What sets this gadget apart from the many others of its sort in the market is its dual ability to automatically sense movement near the door and to record that scene. This Zicom device comes in a sleek form. The control unit looks like a slightly elongated tablet with its 7-inch colour touchscreen. It is connected with the outdoor unit that comprises the camera and the door bell. Whenever the camera senses motion, both the units spring to life. The lens captures the video, while the indoor unit plays the scene at the door on the colour display, recording it at the same time for later viewing if required. If the visitor presses the door bell, you have the option of initiating a two-way conversation with the person. If it is a furtive mischief maker who is loath to press the door bell and alert you to his presence, the camera still gets down to work, capturing him in a video without his knowledge.

The video is saved on a memory card, the slot for which lies on the back of the display unit. Zicom provides a 4 GB SD card, but you can use cards with memories up to 16 GB. Since on detecting motion the camera automatically starts recording for 60 secs, you can be sure your 4 GB card will be full in 10-15 days. But you can then go through the list of video clips - these are accessible datewise or timewise - and delete the ones that you do not need.

The outdoor unit has an array of infra-red lights that help the camera capture pictures even in darkness, leaving you to sleep in peace even after switching off the porch lights. The unit, which is placed at a height of 5-7 feet on the door, is waterproof, and operates in temperatures ranging from an icy minus 10 degrees Celsius to a sweltering 40 degrees. Though the plastic housing of the unit looks fairly fragile, the company claims that it has yet to receive any complaints from users about its unsuitability for the task of protecting the camera from interlopers.

The touchscreen control unit, in addition to the display, has controls for video playback, communication, image brightness and volume. The device is also compatible with electromagnetic locks and the control unit has touch icons that will remotely open two entrances - the main gate and the main door. However, Zicom does not provide this specialised lock. You have to have these installed from the market, and integrate it with the Zicom Video Door Phone.

The company provides 15 metres of cabling for connecting the two units. You can install them at a maximum distance of 50 metres. A single outdoor unit can be connected to three indoor units, perhaps in the living room and two bedrooms, or whichever part of the house you most spend your time in. Thirty seconds of inactivity puts the system to sleep, only to be awakened by any motion near the camera. The power consumption is minimal - almost as much as charging your cell phone. It consumes 5 watts in its inactive state, and 9 watts when it is alive, recording or facilitating a conversation. This security system costs Rs 17,500, which is perhaps not such a big price to pay for peace of mind.