One of the most powerful security tools, surveillance cameras are currently ubiquitous. They are now being used in all types of spaces, public and private, and are greatly contributing to making every space they serve secure and safe. The popularity of CCTV Birmingham has now resulted in the availability of countless types of cameras with countless and specific capabilities. If you so like, you can even find a CCTV Birmingham that has the capability of recording audio. But is this added capability really so desirable? 

The question of with or without audio

Best Way to Check If Security Cameras Have Audio

Whether or not you prefer a CCTV Birmingham that comes with the added capability of recording audio, depends on who you are and where the CCTV is. For example, if you are a homeowner and are looking to improve the security of your premises, you might feel a CCTV with audio makes it more effective. But if a camera with audio capabilities is being used in a public space it can become a violation of privacy, and it is important that you stay away from it, as much as possible. But first, you should be able to recognise whether or not a particular surveillance camera has the specific ability to record audio. So, here we are with five ways to check if security cameras have audio. 

  1. Using technology to get the work done

When it comes to research the internet and especially the Google search engine is the best. And currently, with the availability of reverse image search, you can search about things you don’t know the name of too! And this is the capability that we are going to use to see if a specific model of CCTV Birmingham has an audio recording or not. The way to go about is to take a snap of the surveillance and make a reverse image search of it. You will then be provided with the name of the model, using which you can find out what its various features and capabilities are and specifically whether or not it is capable of recording audio too. The best advantage of this method is that it can be done discreetly without anyone noticing and getting suspicious. 

  1. Physically checking the CCTV Birmingham

If you aren’t worried of people knowing that you are looking, then the best way to know whether a particular CCTV Birmingham has audio recording capabilities is to make a physical check. You can get up to the device and check to see is there are microphones installed. Generally, this can just be a small hole or a minor opening through which is audio is being recorded. This method can be a great way to be sure but only if you are knowledgeable about security cameras and know where and how to find the microphone. If not, the previous method is more effective. 

  1. Checking the video footage

Another great way to check whether a particular CCTV Birmingham records audio too is to check its video footage. Generally, most security cameras today store the footage on the cloud or users can view the footage on their mobile devices by accessing a specific website or through an app, etc. So, in case you have access to the video footage, this is a perfect way to be 100% sure whether a particular surveillance camera has audio recording capabilities. The only drawback is this doesn’t work for cameras in public spaces since in most cases, common people will not have access to view the video footage! 

  1. Customer support can help

When in doubt, the best way to find out is to ask someone who knows. And the best “expert” you can find is the customer support of the company that provides the particular CCTV Birmingham. This is perhaps the easiest method of all since all you have to do is call the customer support number and provide the details of the camera and directly ask the support staff whether or not it has the capability to record audio. The advantage with this method is you can also find out if it is possible to turn off the audio recording feature and if so how. The only drawback with this method is that you have to know the company that manufactured the specific camera and the specific model name to get relevant information. 

Thus, these are some of the ways in which one can be sure whether or not a specific CCTV Birmingham has audio recording capabilities.