PCM Systems & Services

As a user, what do you want from a surveillance system? Certainly image quality should be high on the list.

We have all seen CCTV footage on TV and have been asked "do you recognise this person?". It is difficult to even tell if it is a man or woman, let alone recognise any facial features! Users want to be able to retrieve images easily and quickly and have this information stored securely.

What if there is a power outage? Should the cameras and recording hardware keep recording for the duration? Would it be an advantage to have software that would highlight an unattended bag that had been left for ten minutes in a busy public area?

IP surveillance can provide all of this and a lot more. The limitations of analogue cameras are now becoming more evident with the development of megapixel network cameras. As we have all seen with consumer digital cameras, and HD television in the home, the resolution of the image makes so much difference.

Of course, with megapixel there is a lot more information in each image to be processed. There have been developments in the compression techniques to reduce the amount of storage required. The compression algorithms have moved from MJPEG through MPEG4 and now to H.264 - each reducing the amount of bandwidth required for each camera.

The images can be stored on a PC or server that can be configured with raid storage for redundancy. The recording PC can be safely located in a secure server room with UPS battery backup, and can have software installed for managing the images. It can also link events like unattended bags, the opening of doors and even people walking in an unexpected direction.

Most of the cameras now have Power over Ethernet which not only dramatically reduces the installation costs, but also can keep the recording going if the network switch is powered from a UPS.

An Investment?  Yes!

Of course all this functionality means that these systems are very expensive...or does it?

If you have an existing data network - and most businesses do - the cameras connect over Cat5e or Cat6 UTP data cable. There may not be data outlets already in the ceiling or high up on the outside of the building where the cameras are required, but it is likely that patch panels and data racks are in place. If it is a new network, then the cost to supply extra data points instead of a separate installation of more expensive coax cable is negligible.

An IP network camera is more expensive, but with megapixel resolution, less cameras are required to cover the same area. I am sure that you have filled your car with petrol and observed a row of analogue cameras, one for each lane of pumps. This could be covered with a single megapixel camera covering four lanes.

Quite often in the lobby of a high street bank there can be half a dozen analogue cameras monitoring the customers. One or two megapixel cameras will do the same and give much better quality images as well.

As has been highlighted already, PoE (Power over Ethernet) reduces the cost of the camera installation as there is no need for electrical sockets to be installed. Some models of megapixel camera have digital pan tilt and zoom (PTZ) with no moving parts inside the camera. They achieve this by just taking one part of the image and zooming in on that part only. Normally with lower resolutions, this results in just a pixelated image that is pretty useless. However with the high resolutions the image is very detailed. These cameras are less expensive than the PTZ analogue equivalent, and the cost of maintaining analogue PTZ cameras can be quite high.

It is well known that after quite a short time anyone looking at several camera views on a screen, or several screens, can quickly fail to pick up on events that could be an incident in progress. The intelligence built into the cameras and into the monitoring software combine to signal alarms for the monitoring centre to take the appropriate actions. The cameras have two way audio support built in and monitoring staff can be alerted to the sound of breaking glass during a forced entry or even just a conversation between intruders in an empty building. Analogue cameras do not have the functionality of IP network cameras.

For businesses with several locations, dramatic cost savings can be made with remote viewing from a central site.

In many organisations, the data network is under the remit of the IT department, and security is the responsibility of the facilities manager or location services. This can be a problem as the last thing that the IT manager wants is video images slowing the network to a grinding halt. This is easily overcome by keeping the IP security network on a separate network subnet but with a link into the main network via a router. We can also liaise between the IT department and the Facilities department to ensure that both areas are clear on the running and capabilities of the systems: leaving less room for confusion or conflicts between the two areas.

An IT department could benefit from having a camera installed in the server room to monitor any unauthorised access and events within the room.

No other system could give you the advanced control and monitoring that you benefit from with IP Surveillance. It is a more than capable security solution that has evolved along with our reliance on the internet. Analogue cameras are under intense scrutiny in this digital age, and many businesses are reassessing their security needs in light of this.

We can offer the option of a hybrid surveillance system. We appreciate that businesses have invested money in traditional analogue systems, and may be reluctant to phase the existing systems out all in one go. So, we can help you to move forward with network cameras before the old technology becomes obsolete in the coming years.

Your business/ premises may already have a network infrastructure in place for us to build upon, making for a seamless implementation. If not, or if you're a new business, our cabling experience means that you'll benefit from our expert service.

Top