It is such a slow news day that your favorite cable channels are not reporting anything interesting. You try streaming, but you have already binged your favorite shows to exhaustion. You really don’t feel like listening to music. None of your favorite teams are playing. You are at a loss – until you remember your wireless security cameras. Suddenly, you have a brand-new source of entertainment.
Scranton, PA’s ABC affiliate, WNEP-TV, recently asked local residents to share some of the funniest video footage recorded by their home security cameras. The station took the best clips and compiled them to create a pretty funny montage they showed on the air. It was kind of nice to see a device normally associated with bad things being used to put a smile on their viewers’ faces.
You Never Know What You’ll Get
It is a safe bet that nearly everyone who installs wireless security cameras does so for their own protection. They want to prevent burglary or porch piracy. Perhaps they are afraid of a home invasion. But the thing about wireless security cameras is that you never know what you are going to get when recording starts.
Even better, most of the people recorded are not even cognizant of it in the moment. Strangers don’t know security cameras are watching them unless they look up and see them. As for friends and family, they get so comfortable with the cameras that they forget about them. The result is homeowners being able to catch some pretty funny footage of people who have let their guard down.
Of course, not all the footage is laugh-worthy. Some of it is pretty serious stuff. But setting that serious stuff aside, your home’s wireless video cameras can be a source of entertainment.
When the Weather Doesn’t Cooperate
WNEP started asking for viewer contributions in the middle of winter. As you might expect, a lot of the footage they received showed funny things that happened when the weather doesn’t cooperate. In one clip, the camera catches a man sliding down a driveway covered in ice. Thankfully, he remains standing the entire time.
There is also a selection of videos featuring people tripping on the porch or slipping on ice-covered steps. In every case, the depicted tumbles were benign and the tumblers themselves were not harmed. They actually shared the videos themselves, so it was all in good fun.
Don’t Forget the Animals
You cannot collect this sort of footage and expect to not to see any animals. WNEP viewers certainly didn’t disappoint. One of the clips featuring animals showed three dogs in a living room at the moment one of them accidentally pulls down a big curtain rod over the front window. The dogs scatter at the sound of the curtain rod crashing down.
There are a couple of different clips showing everything from skunks to bears wandering through front yards and across porches. In one clip, there appears to be no fewer than five bears investigating what appears to be a suburban home. Another video shows a squirrel with its face right up to the camera, while yet another depicts a similar scene with birds.
The animal videos are even funnier because animals naturally do odd things. Even if they see a wireless video camera, they have no idea what it is or what it does. It is just something to be investigated.
Good, Clean Camera Fun
The WNEP security camera montage is a reminder that people are funny. It is a reminder that you can see some pretty funny things just by reviewing your camera footage. But why stop at that? There are ways to use your video cameras to enjoy some good, clean fun.
This past Halloween, there was a TV commercial showing how some homeowners used their video cameras and smart doorbells to make the Halloween experience a bit more interesting. They weren’t the only ones. Trick-or-treaters also took advantage of home security cameras to have a little fun with homeowners.
Of course, all of this is predicated on the understanding that video surveillance cameras should never be used to harm people. They are security devices, first and foremost. Their main purpose is to protect those who own them. But if you can have a little fun on the side, why not?
Around-The-Clock Surveillance
All the funny stuff aside, it is hard to beat wireless video cameras for around-the-clock surveillance. Perhaps that’s why so many homeowners are investing in them. The video camera market has surged over the last several years, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
Video cameras have become so prolific that they are now a standard component of most security systems. Only the cheapest entry-level systems do not offer at least one camera. The other thing to note is that wireless cameras come in a variety of form factors. Homeowners are not limited to a single style of a camera mounted on a bracket affixed to the wall.
The Doorbell Camera
One of the latest iterations in the wireless camera space is the doorbell camera. According to Vivint, doorbell cameras provide dual functionality. They are useful as general security devices by giving a good view of the entryway and street. But they are also useful for querying visitors who show up at the front door.
Video doorbells offer a unique advantage in that two-way audio allows homeowners to communicate with visitors. That being the case, visitors have no way of knowing whether there is someone on the other side of the door. That makes video doorbells a good tool to fight against burglary and home invasion.
Is your house outfitted with wireless security cameras? If so, you probably installed them for your own safety. But if you ever have some downtime and nothing to do, check the stored video footage. You just might find something that makes you laugh. It might even be worthy of sending to your local news station should they ever ask for viewer submissions.
