Hey old school,
Something I actually know about
. I have
this on the front of my house that also has an infrared camera on it. This system works through your home phone and television. Basically if someone rings the intercom, it rings through all the phones in your house (different from the conventional ring) and you can talk to them at the front door. If you're near a television, all you have to do is change it to the specified channel and voila, you can see who's at the front door. I have the X series, which has some unique features, one of which allows you to program your cell phone into the unit, so if you're away and someone rings the intercom, it will ring to your cell phone.
I've had this system now for probably eight years and although I had to recently replace the camera outside because the lens cover burnt from UV damage, this new unit is a far better design and will last longer.
There are three parts to the system: the intercom, the phone box, and a modulator for the video signal. The whole bundle was around $2000 Cdn installed.
If you need any more info for a free to ask, as I like to think I know quite a bit about home automation, and even if this isn't exactly what you want, I can help you out with other suggestions.
