There's something comforting about hearing a live voice broadcast through an apartment community's common area, greeting residents with "Good morning. It's Tuesday Aug. 2. We hope you have a great day."

The voice is part of a video monitoring service that WinnResidential uses in 50 of its communities to help with various security and day-to-day operations functions. As cliché as that greeting might sound, residents do notice it, WinnResidential President Deirdre Kuring says. "They do realize that it's from a security device. But it lets them know that the device is active and it is working and is doing its job."

Kuring has been using a Viewpoint's video monitoring service for approximately 10 years. The service keeps an eye on the apartment grounds 24-7 from its central command center and, through a combination of manual patrols and state-of-the-art video analytics, detects any unwelcomed behavior. If action needs to be taken, the video-voice system gives monitoring agents the ability to instruct or disperse unwanted persons who enter the grounds.

The video-voice system also can be used at entrances, to let residents' guests enter after they display proper identification. 

"With multiple cameras placed strategically, you will get much better coverage than having a security guard either positioned at the property or who goes on rounds to check things out," Kuring says. "This is more than one set of eyes. I've visited the video-monitoring command center. It's pretty cool. It looks like something from the space age."

Kuring estimates that installation of the system pays for itself in 12 to 18 months. She says that though expenses vary based on type of community and location, the cost to use video monitoring can be as much as 25 percent less than hiring staff for in-person monitoring, such as security guards watching cameras.

She says that having a video monitoring service is beneficial when a new owner or management company takes over at a community because it helps them acclimate more easily to its day-to-day operations.

"All and all, the system has been pretty effective for us," says Kuring. "And if something unfortunate does happen at our property, the video system records it and it works well with the local police department and their reports."