CCTV over IP / Network Video

A large proportion of wiring a conventioanl analogue CCTV system is running coaxial cables. Using or modifiying an existing LAN infrastructure will result not only in a higher quality image, but a more cost effective installation.

Benefits of Network Video or CCTV over IP

The digital, network video surveillance system provides a host of benefits and advanced functionalities that cannot be provided by an analog video surveillance system. The advantages include remote accessibility, high image quality, event management and intelligent video capabilities, easy integration possibilities and better scalability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

Remote accessibility:

Network cameras and video encoders can be configured and accessed remotely, enabling multiple, authorised users to view live and recorded video at any time and from virtually any networked location in the world. This is advantageous if users would like a third-party company, such as a security firm, to also gain access to the video. In a traditional analogue CCTV system, users would need to be at a specific, on-site monitoring location to view and manage video, and off-site video access would not be possible without such equipment as a video encoder or a network digital video recorder (DVR). A DVR is the digital replacement for the video cassette recorder.

High image quality:

In a video surveillance application, high image quality is essential to be able to clearly capture an incident in progress and identify persons or objects involved. With progressive scan and megapixel technologies, a network camera can deliver better image quality and higher resolution than an analogue CCTV camera.

Image quality can also be more easily retained in a network video system than in an analogue surveillance system. With analogue systems today that use a DVR as the recording medium, many analogue-to-digital conversions take place: first, analogue signals are converted in the camera to digital and then back to analogue for ransportation; then the analogue signals are digitised for recording. Captured images are degraded with every conversion between analogue and digital formats and with the cabling distance. The further the analogue video signals have to travel, the weaker they become.

In a fully digital IP-Surveillance system, images from a network camera are digitised once and they stay digital with no unnecessary conversions and no image degradation due to distance traveled over a network. In addition, digital images can be more easily stored and retrieved than in cases where analog video tapes are used.

Event management and intelligent video:

There is often too much video recorded and lack of time to properly analyse them. Advanced network cameras and video encoders with built in intelligence or analytics take care of this problem by reducing the amount of uninteresting recordings and enabling programmed responses. Such functionalities are not available in an analogue system.

Network cameras and video encoders have built-in features such as video motion detection,
audio detection alarm, active tampering alarm, I/O (input/output) connections, and alarm and event management functionalities. These features enable the network cameras and video encoders to constantly analyse inputs to detect an event and to automatically respond to an event with actions such as video recording and sending alarm notifications.