Video Surveillance is used to observe things locally or remotely. The system usually consists of cameras that are connected to either a recording device or an IP Network. While in the past they were primarily used by businesses, they’ve gotten more popular in residential areas due to reductions in price.
Analog Surveillance
Analog surveillance records straight to a video tape recorder. The footage is saved as images at around 4 frames per second. While these images aren’t easy to access and are blurry, they can be converted to digital with a computer or DVR (digital video recorder) with a video capture card.
Digital Surveillance
Digital surveillance is different than analog in that it doesn’t need a video capture card but the footage goes straight to the computer. However, it takes up a lot of space and needs to be compressed. In addition, the quality isn’t very good (320p). The good news is that HD quality is getting more affordable and that these cameras record at 30 frames per second.
Network Video Recorders
IP cameras can be either analog or digital. They also have an embedded video server and the capability to stream video. These recorders can be an inexpensive replacement for entire CCTV installations. After all, they have a higher resolution than CCTV analog cameras. In addition, they have two way audio, can be moved anywhere on an IP network, allow encryption and authentication, can be accessed remotely, and can function on a wireless network.
Indoor & Outdoor Cameras
While these two types of cameras are very similar, there still are differences. These include lighting conditions, lens quality and selection, video quality, weather durability, mounting capabilities, and power sources.
Lighting Conditions
The part of the camera that allows a little bit or a lot of light in is called the iris. There are auto-iris and manual-iris cameras. Auto is good for outside as it can adjust as the light does. Manual-iris is better for indoors with a fixed brightness. You’ll want to keep the camera parallel to the light source, not directly pointed at it. While standard cameras don’t pick up infrared light in darkness, cameras with day/night technology do, making them a better choice if you plan on putting them in a dimly lit area.
Lens Quality and Selection
Here are three things to think about when choosing a camera:
Iris: The part of the camera that adjusts to light. There are several different types—auto-iris, manual-iris, and fixed-iris.
Focal Length: The focal length determines the width and depth of what the camera can capture. This is important to consider if you need to document details (e.g. facial recognition). There are also a few different sizes—2.8mm (wide-angle), 3.6mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm fixed lens and 6~15 vars-focal lens.
Lens Quality: There’s plastic and glass lenses. The glass comes in high and low quality. In addition, theres’s metal bodied lens and plastic bodied lens. You can also choose between precise and less precise mounts. Remember, a great camera is only great with a good lens.
Video Quality
In general, the more lines you have, the higher the quality. (Beware that some companies will advertise their product as having more lines than it actually does.)
Standard: 330 TV lines to 380 TV lines
High Resolution: 450 TV lines to 480 TV lines
High Definition: 520 TV lines to 550 TV lines (in high definition and new standard cameras)
Weather Durability
There are cameras made to withstand different types of weather. Some are made for rain and moisture, some are meant to stand sand, dust, snow, frost, and humidity. Certain cameras even have heaters and blowers or even wipers to help with this. Be sure you get the one that will work best for the weather conditions where you are.
Mounting Capabilities
When you mount your camera, you want to be sure it’s unobstructed, parallel to the light source, and out of reach from people’s hands and other objects. Also, putting a camera dome over it will help keep it safe from vandalism and theft.
Power Sources
- Plug the camera into a power pack and the power pack into an outlet. (This usually has to be within a 6’ range and isn’t very convenient.)
- Run an electrical wire from each camera to a central location or power panel.
- Connect electrical wires to each camera to individual transformers (in a central location) then to a power strip and, from there, into the wall. (This method isn’t very neat.)
- Run a “Siamese’ cable (a cable for video and an electrical wire for power) back to a DVR and power in a central location.
Wired vs. Wireless
- Wired are more reliable but they are also more visible and harder to install.
- Wireless aren’t as obvious and can be installed anywhere. However, they depend on a wireless internet signal, which means footage could be lost when the wifi is down.
Color vs. Black-and-White
While you don’t always need color in a residential situation, it can be nice to be able to identify criminals such as thieves by the color of their clothing or hair. Black-and-white, however, is better for darkness. Night vision is always a good feature to get.
Storage
Modern video surveillance uses DVR recorders to store the footage on a hard drive. The storage capacity depends on the camera type as well as the number of cameras. You can even monitor footage remotely and the quality is better than options of the past. If you’re going to use multiple cameras, you need to be sure you have enough DVR outputs.
You’ll access the footage in different ways depending on whether you have an IP or analog camera. IP cameras connect to the home internet and the footage is accessible via URL. This option uses your internet bandwidth but works well with wireless systems. An analog camera records endless hours of footage and is less expensive. It does have to convert the analog signal to digital before processing the footage though.
There are several options when it comes to storage, such as memory cards, hard drives, or a cloud. However, each choice has to be replaced from time to time. Memory cards will need to be switched out most frequently, hard drives need to be changed out as well but not as often, and cloud storage can have a capacity up to 2 TB but has recurring fees.
Types of Cameras
Bullet: Lipstick to soda can size, wall mounted, good option if you know exactly where you want to film.
Dome: Round, eye-in-the-sky style, some have a fixed position while others pan, tilt, and zoom.
Live Streaming: Good for remote monitoring, attached to a computer or mobile device to enable live viewing, some can pan, tilt, and scan via remote control.
Hidden: Designed to look like something else, easily hidden and secretive.
Wireless: Plug-and-play wireless cameras, option that has become more popular recently, easily integrated into existing setups.
Tracking Movement
There are cameras created to start filming when triggered by movement. One with a memory buffer will continuously record a couple seconds of video. So yes, maybe it’s just your pet moving around in the night, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Other Things to Know
When it comes to weather-proof toughness, you’ll want to look at the IP (Ingress Protection) rating on an outdoor camera. There are two numbers pertaining to that—the first is its rating against solids while the second is its rating against liquids.
As mentioned before, there are cameras that have a fixed position and others that pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ). It’s also wise to look into cameras that will stabilize themselves when outside “forces” make them vibrate.
Perhaps you’re planning on using the mic on the camera. If this is the case, you’ll need to check in advance that the sound system is good.
If you’re going to be surveilling a large area, you’ll want to get a distribution box that will help you organize and manage all the wires and be sure each camera has power. It also makes it easier to troubleshoot.
It’s also wise to check the laws in place where you live to be sure it’s legal to use the cameras you’re going to use in the way(s) you intend to use them.
Buying A Security Camera Set
A set should come complete with multiple cameras, a hard drive or DVR, and a control system. Before you pick one, you’ll want to check the warranty coverage and how much support during installation you’ll receive. Here’s a couple other things you should get with this kind of package:
- Motion detection alerts by email or text
- Remote control options for cameras with pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) capacities
- Apple and Android compatibility to monitor and remote control apps
- Connecting cables
- Wireless remote
- Simultaneous playback from several cameras
- Privacy masking to limit the area cameras can cover in sensitive places such as restrooms or locker rooms