PCM Systems & Services

All the major manufacturers of security cameras are now making the transition to IP network cameras. Despite the early claims that analogue products were superior (which was probably true), this is no longer the case due to the many advantages of IP technology.

As we all know, technology is moving forwards at an amazing pace. It is not just the developments in the electronic hardware that drive this: the combination of these developments coupled with innovative software applications have lead to staggering advances.

Look at what has taken place in the last 30 years with IT Networks. Back in the 70's, companies were using dumb VDU terminals to run their businesses. These networks were proprietary, which suited the manufacturers. If a customer wanted to even change the make of VDU it was a huge problem.   Then along came the humble PC - a machine with bit of intelligence built in, they just needed an operating system. Even IBM saw these machines as a bit of a gimmick, nothing to take seriously and certainly no threat to the big mainframes that were the kings of the corporations. This is why they were pleased to let a young man called Bill Gates develop the operating system... the rest, as we know, is history.

Roll on to the present day. Computer networks are now an integral part of our lives. The internet, email, ecommerce, mobile phones, iTunes, HDTV...the digital age is here.

Well nearly. The CCTV market has until recently ignored this trend. Analogue cameras recording onto video tape are still commonplace in many companies. The VCR’s have been replaced with hard disk recorders in many instances, but analogue cameras are still being regularly installed. These cameras are relatively cheap, and present a decent image to be recorded. There have been some software developments with the digital network recorders to give some features like motion detection, alarm handling, but all pretty basic stuff.

Like the growth in PC networks, IP network cameras now have intelligence. They have the motion detection built in. They can now accept signals to record when a door opens, or a light switches on. This intelligence is now in partnership with video management software that runs on the recording device, often now a PC with the capability to analyse what the camera has seen and take the appropriate action. This can be a simple thing such as counting people entering a shop entrance, or counting people in a stairwell. Retailers might wonder why the sales figures have taken a dip although the footfall count has gone up... time for staff training perhaps?  One person waiting in a stairwell may not be a problem, a group of five hooded youths could be a threat.

These individual cameras and the recording devices are on the “Network”, and they can be accessed over the internet. They can connect to the mobile networks. They can be viewed on a wireless network. And there is more. Because the cameras are digital, the images are pixels, not lines across a TV screen. We now talk in terms of image resolution - not lines. The maximum resolution from an analogue camera is 0.4 meg, while megapixel network cameras are now readily available. Thanks to advances in megapixel technology, even mobile phones are increasingly being used as viewing devices, and have taken on more important roles in areas such as crime prevention, journalism, business applications and of course,for personal use. The sharp images shared today are a far cry from the fuzzy, unreadable images which mobile phones captured just a few years ago.

Two way audio is now included in many IP network cameras, which allows the cameras to monitor sound - breaking glass can be captured as well as conversations or distress calls.

In many applications the power for the camera can be supplied over the same cat5e data cables as used by the computer network - another cost saving.

All of the driving forces and methods used in computer networking can now be applied to security camera systems. The cost of hard drives and memory cards is falling as fast as their capacity increases, so storage gets cheaper. Megapixel cameras generate a lot of data per frame of video so more effective compression techniques like H.264 are being used. Both cameras and recording hardware can be put onto an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to maintain surveillance even during a power outage. Wireless networks allow cameras to be quickly deployed or for temporary use if required.

The internet allows not only remote viewing from anywhere in the world, but also the internal settings and the firmware of the camera can be modified, all with the security of passwords and authentication.

Of the major manufactures in the Network camera sector, Axis is the market leader. They have steadily been champions of this drive towards IP for many years. They produce cameras and basic video monitoring software and have worked closely with developers who have produced various applications and complimentary monitoring software, Milestone being one example.

In fact, as Axis are market leaders, all the major video monitoring software developers support Axis cameras.           

There is a drive for some standardisation for the interoperability of the cameras and the Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF) has been established with Axis, Bosch and Sony as founder members with Panasonic, Cisco, Siemens and Samsung also on board. 

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