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IP BASED VIDEO SURVEILLANCE:
When you’re shopping around for an IP-based video surveillance system, you will need to be particularly cautious about what exactly you’re looking at and what the individual terms mean. How IP-based video surveillance works is open to interpretation as far as some video surveillance and security salespeople are concerned -- not because they are trying to confuse the issues, but because there is no genuine consensus on what the term “IP-based” or related ones such as “networked” or “web-based” means.
Originally video surveillance was done based on analog technology -- closed circuit television (CCTV) and recording on video tapes. This was fine for recording what was going on, but it didn’t broadcast actual live information, so it wasn’t practical for monitoring stores, for instance, from a remote location. It simply provided what happened after the fact. The picture quality wasn’t great and it relied on human reliability as well -- someone had to remember to change the tapes regularly, etc.
Digital revolutionizes video surveillance
With the Internet revolution and the ever-increasing presence of Local Area Networks, technology took great strides in video surveillance in the 1990’s. Analog camera tubes were replaced with CCD (Charged Coupled Devices) and digital cameras became affordable for most people.
This combination meant that video surveillance could do two things: go live over the Internet or a closed network for surveillance and provide clearer, crisper images that could be tracked and manipulated easily. For law enforcement, digital surveillance meant it was much easier to zoom in on images, track particular scenes and enhance features.
The basics of IP-based surveillance
A digital camera “views” the scene in front of it, broadcasts the video images as a digitized signal over a LAN line (Local Area Network) where it’s then transmitted to a computer or server. The server in turn manages all of this information. Depending upon the software used to manage the digital images, it can record, display or retransmit the images to anywhere in the world.
The software package can easily be upgraded to allow for analyzing data, selecting specific “flagged” items to watch for and a host of other functions, making it a truly customizable security tool.
True IP-based digital surveillance uses CCD cameras that use signal processing that send packetized video streams over the LAN through a Cat 5 cable rather than a coax cable network, utilizing greater bandwidth and standard TCP/IP communication.
It also provides more intelligent data mining and information retrieval. If security is an issue, full digital surveillance also offers the added advantage of data encryption opportunities to protect against image tampering -- something not possible with analog recording.
Recently, a few companies such as D-Link and Linksys have also developed fully digital cameras that actually have completely integrated, built-in web servers so that no external computers are needed for operating them. The signal is transmitted directly to the terminal location for storage or play-back.
Halfway there…
The “middle of the road” of video surveillance is upgrading video surveillance by utilizing a Digital Video Recorder (DVR). A DVR system is not really fully IP-based, but is step toward the more advanced IP technology. In actuality, a DVR system uses the same camera and structures for cabling as the older CCTV analog systems, but the old VCRs have been replaced with DVR for storage of the data. The data is converted to digital so that it can be stored on hard disks, but the quality of the images captured remains analog since this is how it originated.
When shopping for a system, be sure to ask if the system is digital based on the recording (DVR) or on the camera, since many manufacturers consider a system digital by virtue of the DVR storage system even if the camera recording the images is still analog.
Going all the way
Some people will move to the hybrid models of a CCTV/DVR system when they first move beyond an analog system because it seems like the next practical evolutionary step in video surveillance. However, shifting to this method largely ignores how IP-based video surveillance works.
With CCTV/DVR surveillance you have actually simply delayed the inevitable by adding on a relatively new technology (hard disk, digital storage) to an old technology (analog video over coaxial transmission lines). Rather than moving forward into something new, you have prolonged the demise of the old.
Advantages of IP-based video surveillance
The leap into completely IP-based technology is the best bang for your buck both monetarily and in terms of security by far. Digital surveillance can be done over a LAN network, of course, but TCP/IP transmittal of surveillance makes sense for remote monitoring of multiple locations and for remote recording of data onto back-up servers and hard disks for long-term storage.
With IP-based video surveillance, you can connect your surveillance camera or cameras to any network or wireless adapter, and you are extremely flexible in your placement of the camera itself. A typical PC-attached video camera, while providing digital picture image quality, still has to be within approximately ten feet of the computer itself.
Set-up of an IP-based video system is easy -- once you’ve set up an IP address, you’re up and running and it’s extremely stable and reliable. Because this is the technology of the future, it is also upgradeable. You won’t be outgrowing an IP-based video surveillance system any time soon because new developments are based on improving this market. Therefore, you will be able to add on and improve this system for years to come while older, CCTV+DVR hybrids will dead-end and become obsolete.
Comparing analog and IP-based video surveillance
A better way to understand the differences between analog and IP-based video surveillance may be to compare the two and how they work:
Analog or CCTV+DVR video surveillance
- · Easy to use -- operates like a VCR
- · Changing cassettes and rewinding regularly means human error frequently interferes with effectiveness
- · Image quality is poor
- · Storage tapes wear out over time
- · Broadcasting images live isn’t practical
- · Storage is bulky
- · Uses analog recording, recording in low-grade picture quality and inability to search and track easily
- · Adding DVR systems must be done in ‘blocks’ of 16 channels
- IP-based video surveillance
- · IP-based recording means instant transmittal of images anywhere in the world
- · Can monitor multiple cameras from one remote location
- · No decrease in recording quality over time or with repeated replays
- · Digital picture quality far superior to analog
- · IP-base recording is highly compressed for easier storage and can be transported over a variety of media
- · Digital images can be encrypted for security purposes
- · Updates and add-ons are relatively inexpensive through software packages and Internet computer networking
- · Adjustable frame rates
- · Remote or shared viewing may be done over the Internet or a wireless connection
- · Standard IP video compression techniques are used
- · IP surveillance cameras may be added individually or in groups according to your needs
- If you are contemplating increased or upgrading video surveillance for your company or home, understanding how IP-based video surveillance works will make your decision easier. It is the future of video surveillance and, although in the short term may be a bit more expensive, is obviously an investment in superior quality and flexibility.
WIRELESS SECURITY CAMERAS:
Wireless security cameras are fast becoming the best option for security camera installation. Whereas once wired cameras were the only option, wireless security cameras present new options for your security needs. Your security matters and you deserve flexibility in the installation and use of your security camera.
Are you unsure of the differences between these two camera systems? Here is a quick rundown of the main advantages wireless security cameras have over wired:
- · Improved flexibility – A wireless camera can be moved to different locations while a wired camera is difficult to move once it is installed.
- · Temporary setup – The cost effectiveness of a wireless camera makes it ideal for a security situation that does not need constant monitoring, like a seasonal location such as a pool.
- · Appearance – If you want a security camera in your home, office, or store, a wireless camera, as the name suggests, gives you the security without all the wires running around your home for an inconspicuous and more attractive appearance.
- Wireless security cameras come in many different sizes, which also helps make them a more viable security option. A small, discreet camera is more apt to record the normal activities than a large, hulking device for the simple fact that people act differently when they know they are being recording. If you want to know you’re getting the most accurate results from your security camera, a wireless security camera is for you.
Wireless security cameras are available in black and white or color, with color providing a more identifiable image. Improvements in camera technology have made a wireless color camera just as affordable a black and white one. Most cameras have a great range of up to 100 feet, so you will be getting feed from a sizable space with just one camera.
Are you thinking this is too technologically advanced for you? Relax! Here’s how the camera, from a provider such as X10, works:
- · Mount your camera where you need it most (indoors OR outdoors)
- · Plug it in (battery pack is also an option)
- · Plug your video receiver into a TV, VCR, or computer
- · Begin receiving live feed!
- That’s all you have to do to install the X10 Xcam2 wireless color camera, which is just one of many wireless security cameras available.
You spend a lot of time making your home and office thriving, safe places. Spend just a couple minutes more to make these places even more secure. A great form of protection in the form of wireless security cameras are just a click away.
NIGHT VISION SECURITY CAMERAS:
The hours we keep don’t always correlate with daylight hours. We find ourselves working after dark in order to get everything accomplished, at home or at work. Next time you find yourself out late, wouldn’t you feel safer knowing your office or home was equipped with a night vision security camera? A night vision security camera provides clear images no matter what kind of lighting conditions it’s placed in.
You can use a night vision security camera in any darkened area, such as a garage. How many times have your kids left the garage opened all day? Usually that’s harmless, but on occasion small animals or neighborhood pets can crawl into the garage. With a night vision camera, you can check out these darkened spaces and eliminate any unwanted surprises.
Easy to install and adapts to a variety of applications
A simple wireless system takes hardly any time at all to install. All you have to do is pick the proper angle of surveillance and plug the camera into the receiver, which then transmits a feed to your television or computer, depending on the camera you purchase and your personal preference. In less time than it takes to make a microwave dinner, you can set up a night vision security camera in your home or office.
There are different kinds of night vision camera because we all have different security needs. Think for a moment about what kind of security suits you best. Some cameras capture color images during the day and black and white images at night. Another kind of night vision security camera, such as the Low-Light Wireless NightWatch Camera from X10, captures only b/w images, which makes it ideal for any darkened area.
A night vision security camera pays back peace of mind
You may be asking yourself if a night vision security camera is worth the cost. The answer is a resounding “Yes!” You can purchase a wireless camera system that you use every day for a year for a cost that equals just a few dollars a week, if that. That’s right -- just a few dollars a week. For the price of a magazine or a latte per week, you, your fellow coworkers, and/or your family can relax in knowing that all activity in any poorly lit area is being monitored.
Cost-effective, easy to install, and able to capture images indoors or out and in all kinds weather -- what are you waiting for? Now is the time to consider purchasing your night vision security camera. Protect your home or office today.
See at night with an infrared camera
You need video surveillance. But you need it at night, in low light areas, and you’re afraid of investing in a product that will not give you the returns you desire. The answer to this problem is an infrared camera. An infrared camera is an ideal product for anyone needs to capture images in the dark for work or pleasure.
An infrared camera uses infrared light instead of the regular lighting spectrum in order to produce better images in complete darkness or low light conditions. Night vision cameras only record in black and white, but some will record color during the day.
Infrared options
A regular camera can become an infrared camera with the use of infrared illuminators. The illuminator lights the area under surveillance with infrared light so that that your regular camera can record black and white images with the use of infrared radiation, which the naked eye cannot see.
Do not confuse an infrared camera with a day/night camera. Day/night cameras can record in low light, but not in zero light and do not use infrared lighting.
Infrared cameras are also available in a CCTV camera system. You may already be considering a closed circuit television security system because of its superior security options, as it constantly monitors and records activity. Consider a CCTV infrared camera in order to get a high level of night time security, the time when it matters most.
The complexity of your infrared camera system is entirely up to you. An infrared camera can grow with your needs, becoming more elaborate as the situation demands. The cameras are often lightweight and easy in both use and set up.
See it to believe it
In order to fully understand the clear images that can be produced in complete darkness, you have to see it. Most manufacturers have examples the kind of recordings you can view on their web sites. Take a few minutes today to browse through these web sites to get a fuller grasp on imaging from infrared cameras.
Feel free to move around in the dark, knowing your security is protected with an infrared camera. Nothing is more important than your safety and peace of mind. Act today.
 COLOR CAMERA DURING THE DAY!
DAY NIGHT CAMERA - INFRA-RED
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