With crime on the rise many people and business are looking for added security. Video surveillance is one the top ways to improve the security of your belongings and loved ones. I get asked a lot about what is good or recommended and although each situation is different there are some common things to consider when showing a video surveillance system that will bring the required results.
You have two basic kinds of video surveillance cameras, there are the CCTV cameras, which are what you see most often right now. They are the cameras that are connected to a DVR or VCR, they usually have a coax type cable (rg59) and a power cable to power the camera leading from the dvr to the camera. You have many different styles, but the most common are the dome cameras or the box cameras. They both do the same thing, they are just in different enclosures. You also have the pan, tilt, zoom cameras that are normally in domes but you can control the camera position via a joystick or through software on your computer. The other type of video surveillance camera are the network cameras, or IP cameras as some call them. They are the latest technology to come along in the video surveillance industry. Network cameras are generally what I recommend because of their advanced features, such as email notifications, remote viewing, can use a pc to view and operate, ease of installation, and exceptional picture quality with the megapixel cameras. The ip cameras can be installed using a single cat5 or cat6 network cable, most of the network cameras are poe (power over ethernet) ready, which means that the power and video can be carried over the same line, which is a huge money saver compared to a cctv system, a poe injector or a poe switch is needed on the backend to power the cameras.
Another advantage of this type of system is you can have multiple cameras coming from the switch and you can the switch plugged into a UPS (battery backup) so if you ever have a power outage, the cameras will keep running and recording. A network camera has software built into the camera that allows you to change setting such as color setting, motion sensor areas, email settings and so on. One of the biggest selling points of a network camera is that they can be viewed online from any computer that has an internet connection and all you need is your standard browser, like internet explorer. Software is also available, such as Milestone Systems, that allows you to setup multiple cameras from any location and view them all on the same screen. Recording can be set to continuous or motion only and can also be setup to record at different times of the day if you prefer. The actual installation of a network camera is fairly simple. Once you have mounted the camera in the area that want to view you have a the network cable ran from the camera to the poe injector (if its a single camera) or poe switch. You have a couple other options from here depending on if you are going to or want to have a computer onsite. If you plan on doing your monitoring at that location, you would have your computer there with your broadband connection, if you don't have a router you will need to get one, so you would have your broadband modem, whether it be cable or dsl, from the modem it would go into the router, via the WAN port, in one of the router ports you have your computer and in another you have the poe switch. I also always recommend a network harddrive, which could plug into on the other ports on the router or the switch and the video from the cameras would download into it, so you don't have to tie up your computer. If you don't have a computer onsite, then the network harddrive would be the way to go, so you could store the video locally but view it remotely.
That is the basics of the hardware side the software side varies depending on the camera and the software you use to view it, if you use something other than the browser. Generally, they are not too difficult to get going, most cameras have a setup utility that will go out and find the cameras on your network and walk you through setting them up and the same goes for the video surveillance software like Milestone Systems.
In planning for your system there are somethings to consider, will the cameras be inside or out (different housing options), will they be for viewing during day or night or both (lense selection), do you want to be able to view remotely, do you want to use a computer to view the cameras and store the video on the computer or external harddrive or do you want to use a dvr. Camera placement is important so you can see what you need to keep an eye on. Is running cable for the cameras accessible or will you need a wireless setup. What kind of picture quality do you want, do you want to be able to clearly identify someone or something or do you just want to see what is going on. If exceptional picture quality and a larger viewing are is wanted then the megapixel network cameras are the way to go. The last thing you need to consider is your budget. Cameras, equipment, and software prices vary greatly so once you have an idea of what capabilities you want, the type of camera system you want be it cctv or network video surveillance, the amount of cameras along with the other equipment that may be needed and go from there. The biggest price difference is the cameras themselves and they will most likely be the deciding factor narrowing down your purchase.
Choosing a video surveillance system whether it be a cctv or a network system can take some research, hopefully this has helped in determining which system would be best suited for you. My recommendation if it is in your budget is to go with a Megapixel network camera system such as Mobotix, Arecont Vision, Axis, or IQ Invision. The picture quality is so much better, the cameras are more expensive but once you see a megapixel compared to a standard cctv type camera its hard not to go with the megapixel and since most households and businesses have computers the network cameras fit right in with less equipment and ease of use. Whichever camera system you choose is a wise choice for the added security it will give you, just don't wait until something happens and you wish you had implemented a video surveillance system sooner. Visit us at http://www.hivelocitynetworks.com to view our cameras and to get more information.
David Overholser
http://www.hivelocitynetworks.com
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