CCTV Systems

High Tech Closed Circuit Television (CCTV Systems):

What is IP CCTV System?

An Internet protocol camera, or IP camera, is a type of digital video camera commonly employed for surveillance, and which, unlike analogue closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, can send and receive data via a computer network and the Internet. It is the network that needs to be used in order for a HD CCTV system to be active.

What is HD CCTV System?

HD CCTV (High Definition Closed Circuit Television) is an open industry standard for transmitting uncompressed high-definition digital video over standard network cabling for video surveillance applications.

Image Quality

This is one of the most important aspects of a CCTV system and is more often the reason people seek to upgrade to a HD CCTV System; for superior image quality. Some of the biggest headaches analogue CCTV users face is poor image quality, especially with the recorded footage. In many cases analogue footage becomes unusable and more often than not cannot be used in court. On average a typical HD CCTV image is four times greater in resolution than that of its analogue equivalent resulting in much sharper images in both live and playback.

Easy to set up

Traditional analogue CCTV systems require a specific cable for every camera you wish to install on your premises. They then require a separate cable for power and camera control. HD CCTV cameras use a single standard network cable which is easily connected onto the camera network. Everything is then controlled through this single network cable, from receiving the image, through to power & pan zoom control, which means less disruption to your workplace due to a lesser time to install them. Alongside this you can install a HD CCTV system by using your existing high bandwidth network infrastructure (in conjunction with your IT department). HD CCTV systems have been created to make the experience for the user easy, features such as multiple workstations, smart search and drag and drop cameras make using the system a whole lot easier for all involved.

Cost effective

When budgets are tight, migrating from analogue to a HD solution is considerably cheaper than upgrading straight to a full HD system. No longer do HD CCTV systems have to be expensive. Your existing analogue systems can be easily migrated on to a new HD CCTV system, using encoder modules that convert the analogue camera signal into the new IP format that HD systems use.. This gives you the advantages of upgrading little by little, at a fraction of the price of a full HD solution, whilst benefitting from a feature rich, scalable platform. It is important to remember that the resolution and clarity of the analogue cameras will remain the same as research and development with this technology is coming to an end, whilst HD cameras are continuing to advance in resolution, features and performance.

Storage

Upgrading to a HD system gives far greater opportunities to increase the number of days you want to retain your footage. Unlike traditional analogue footage that is usually limited to what you buy at the time, modern IP based systems offer many cost effective and flexible solutions to store footage over much longer periods. An example of this is automatic backup features, where footage is archived to a network attached storage (NAS) device for retrieval at a later date.

Future proof

IP network CCTV systems can be expanded much easier than traditional analogue systems enabling you to scale the system at any time to meet your growing needs. Most IP CCTV systems adhere to industry standard open protocols allowing connectivity to a far greater range of equipment than ever before, meaning it has the capabilities and future ability to integrate with other equipment. With the rise of UHD (Ultra High Definition) CCTV this couldnt be more important.

Smartphone/Tablet integration

IP CCTV systems now give you far greater control on the go, live & recorded views can be accessed on your mobile device via an app from anywhere that an internet connection exists, giving you the option to be in the know at all times.