IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CCTV
What is CCTV?
CCTV, also referred to a Close Circuit Television is a system that is privately monitored for surveillance and security purposes and traffic monitoring. It is usually transmitted to a limited or closednumber of monitors.
CCTV technology was first developed in 1942 by German scientists to monitor the launch of V2 rockets. It was later used by American scientists during the testing of the atomic bomb.
What makes up a CCTV surveillance system?
A CCTV system consist of the following components:
- One or more CCTV cameras (Analog or IP), each with a lens quipped with an image sensor.
- A recorder. Either a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) for Analog CCTV systems or Network Video Recorder (NVR) for IP CCTV systems
- Cables – Either RJ45 or CAT 6 for Network and coaxial for analog
- One or more monitors to which the images are transmitted.
Types of CCTV Cameras
The type of CCTV camera you buy will be determined by the requirement of the environmental, locational and topographical factors of the area of mounting. Below are the various types of CCTV:
- Dome CCTV Camera
This is sometimes referred to as indoor cameras because it area of usage and deployment are mainly indoors. The name “dome” itself is derived from the shape of the camera type. It is dome-shaped on the external. Their installation are very easy and comes mostly with Infrared features.
- Bullet CCTV Camera
These are cameras designed for the capture and surveillance of a specific area of interest. It is mostly used for outdoor video surveillance. The cameras are mostly thin and in cylindrical design, hence its name. It is also easy to install. Most subway parks and traffic control terminals surveillance makes use of different variations of the bullet camera type.
- C-Mounted CCTV Camera
These cameras comes with detachable lenses. This makes it appropriate to fit into different uses. The C mount CCTV Camera can be mounted with special lenses that will improve its coverage distance, a normal CCTV camera lens will cover about 35 to 40 feet but with the C Mount Camera, it can cover over 40ft. The C-mounted camera can be used both at homes and in offices. Some call it a varifocal camera.
- Day/Night CCTV Camera
These camera types can work in any condition in any type of environment. This security camera system does not require Infrared illuminators, as it can capture clear video in both light and dark conditions. Ideal for outdoor surveillance where Infrared CCTV cameras cannot function optimally, day/night CCTV cameras are used. It also has infrared functions too with wide dynamic range. It can do surveillance in both colored and black/white output.
- PTZ Cameras
This camera type is also called Pan Tilt, and Zoom Camera. Thus, it allows for adjustment in the up and down direction and also the left and right direction. There’s also a zoom in and zoom out function. Some PTZ Camera has zoom of up to 40 times and covers a long and wide range of distance even at night. It is mostly used in conference halls, video conferencing, big malls and hall etc.
- Night Vision/ Infrared CCTV Cameras
As the name recommends, these cameras are intended to work ideally in completely dark circumstances. They accomplish this by utilizing infrared innovation. Infrared models are more costly than day/night cameras and those choosing this choice generally do as such in light of the fact that late evening recording is indispensable to the security of their business.
- IP/Network CCTV Camera
These cameras share live surveillance across the web so pictures can be effectively gotten to from anyplace on the globe. The transmission capacity of the video is compacted, to make the web-based feed solid. Chronicle film is put away on network video recorders (NVRs) or on secure programming for later access.
Recording Systems
CCTV Recording systems processes the signals received by the CCTV Camera during video surveillance. There are two common recorders:
- DVR: Also known as Digital Video Recorder, it converts analog footage into digital formats. Most analog CCTV cameras are recorded through the DVR
- NVR: Also known as the Network Video Recorder. The only record and process data digitally. The produce a higher surveillance quality than the DVR and are more sophisticated.
Cables and Connectors
Signals processing from the cameras to the recording systems are passed through cables. Only the wireless cameras do not requires cables. Cables used during CCTV installation depends on the type of CCTV camera in place. Examples of cables used include the CAT 6, CAT 5, RJ59 etc.