CCTV Complete Guide

What is Digital CCTV?

Digital CCTV, or Digital Closed Circuit Television, is the technology used in modern surveillance systems. Traditional ,VCR, CCTV pictures are sent via cctv cameras to a closed area, e.g. a CCTV Monitor, this type of CCTV is likely to produce lower resolution images and have to be displayed via cabling in the workplace. Modern Digital CCTV Systems can be operated remotely via a pc or mobile phone, can monitor various locations and can be monitored from wherever there is internet or GPRS Access.

A History of CCTV SystemsThe saving of CCTV footage has changed in the last 5 years. The industry move has been away from analogue to Digital CCTV Systems:

Analogue CCTVIn the past, all CCTV Cameras were attached to a Multiplexor (A device that will split multiple camera pictures onto an individual CCTV Monitor). The Multiplexor then sends the analogue camera images to a Time Lapse Video Player. These are special CCTV recording devices that can record up to 960 hours of footage on a three hour Video Cassette. This method is still used today for simple CCTV installations but the quality of recording is usually very low (1 Frame Per 12.8 Seconds).

Digital CCTVCurrently the majority of CCTV systems use Digital technology. Digital CCTV Surveillance uses current PC technology to digitize the CCTV camera images and compress them into a PC friendly format. These digital images can then be stored on a PC's Hard Disk Drive. As the digital cctv images are stored on a computers Hard Drive it is possible save digital cctv footage and access it speedily and easily. Digital CCTV also has the advantage over Analogue CCTV systems that the image are of a far higher resolution.

There are two types of Digital Surveillance Systems:

Digital Video RecordersA Digital CCTV Video Recorders, (DVR's), are Stand-Alone units that are capable of saving digital CCTV images to a PC. DVR's look similar to a standard Video Cassette Recorders (VCR's).

CCTV Cameras are connected to the back of the unit via standard CCTV Camera connection referred to as BNC. By connecting a CCTV Monitor or standard Television to the DVR you are able to view your CCTV Cameras in different screen divisions (single camera, 2x2,3x3 etc) and also playback footage at the touch of a button.

Some DVR's can have built in Motion Detection Technology. This means that digital footage is only recorded when someone or something walks in front of your CCTV Camera.

It is also possible with some DVR's to view your cameras remotely via an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line).

PC Based Digital Video Surveillance (DVR)PC Based Digital CCTV Surveillance systems are a reasonably new technology in the CCTV Industry. This type of Digital CCTV system works in two stages. You then install the digital cctv surveillance card and software on to your PC. This Software (or program) will allow you to view your Digital CCTV Cameras, search through previously recorded footage, backup footage to CD/DVD, control PTZ Cameras either on the PC system or remotely and much much more.

Cameras are attached to the back of the DVRUSA PCI Card using the standard BNC connection used in all CCTV Cameras.

DVRUSA Surveillance cards come in a variety of formats depending on:

1) The amount of cameras required (1-16)2) The Frame Rate per Second (FPS) (120 FPS - 480 FPS)

Frame Rate is important, as the higher the Frame Rate, the higher the quality of recording and the more Real Time your cctv recording will be.

Real Time Recording for 1 camera is 30 Frames Per Second (NTSC). In order to capture 16 cameras in Real Time, you would need:

30 FPS x 16 Cameras = 480 Frames Per Second PCI Surveillance Card

How to choose a CCTV Camera?Choosing the correct CCTV Camera for your digital surveillance system is very important. The Digital CCTV Camera, together with a CCTV Lens, uses a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor that captures the image and turns it into a signal that is sent to the monitor or surveillance system.

You will need to decide the following when choosing a cctv camera & lens for a digital cctv system:

1. The Digital Camera Location : Will the camera be situated Indoors / Outdoors 2. The amount or variance of light conditions for the digital cctv camera : Will the camera have to record in low-light conditions such as at night? 3. The Field of View required for the camera : How wide or narrow an angle of vision is required 4. The Focal Length5. How far away objects you wish to record will be from the camera 6. Your budget



CCTV Lens Guide including example distances You need to understand the following when choosing a CCTV lens:

Focal Length The Focal Length is measured in mm. As a guide:a short focal length (e.g. 2.5mm) = a wide angle of viewa long focal length (e.g. 16mm) = a narrow angle of viewthe smaller the CCD Chip - the narrower the angle of view

Depth of FieldThe Depth of View is the distance within which objects in a picture are in focus. A large Depth of Field means almost all objects in the Field of View are in focus.A small Depth of Field means only a small section of the Field of View are in Focus.The following factors can lead to a greater Depth of Field: Using a Wide Angle Lens High F-Stop, Using an Auto Iris Camera FormatThe size of the camera's CCD image device will affect the angle of view. CCTV Cameras come in different chip sizes - 2/3", 1/2", 1/3" and 1/4".

F StopF Stop or Aperture has 2 measurements. When the lens is fully open (Maximum Aperture / Minimum F-Stop), just before the lens completely closes (Minimum Aperture / Maximum F-Stop).F Stop - is the lenses ability to gather light depending on the aperture and focal length. C or CS MountThe 2 standard cctv camera lens mounts. The difference between the two is simply the distance between the lens and the ccd image sensor. C Mount - 17.5mm CS Mount - 12.5mm Auto or Manual IrisFor changing light conditions (e.g. cameras positioned outdoors), Auto Iris lenses are needed.For indoor use manual iris lenses are sufficient as light levels will not vary too much. Video or Direct DriveThe majority of CCTV Cameras will be able to use both types. Video Drive Lenses contain circuitry which converts video signal from the camera into iris control. Direct Drive Lenses require the cctv camera to contain the circuitry



CCTV Glossary

In order to choose the best CCTV Security System and CCTV Cameras you need to understand some of the basic terminology. Below is a glossary of CCTV terms to help you choose your Surveillance system and CCTV Cameras and CCTV Lenses.

ApertureAperture is the area of the camera lens that gathers light. The Iris of the cctv lens controls the size of aperture.

Auto IrisAuto Iris Lenses adjust for changing light conditions in a camera view. If the sun shines on a camera with an auto iris lens, the lens will adjust the amount of light so the picture remains clear.

CCDCharge Coupled Device - a light sensitive imaging device for almost all cameras. Typical sizes for CCTV cameras - 1/2", 1/3", 1/4".

C MountType of screw-on mounting for CCTV Camera Lenses. C Mount lenses need an adapter ring when used with CS Mount camera (see CS Mount).

CompressionCompression Techniques are used in Digital CCTV to reduce the file sizes of recorded video images. Typical compression formats used for video are: MJPEG, MPEG-4 & H.264.

CS MountMore recent type of mounting for CCTV Camera Lenses. Designed for 1/2", 1/3" 1/4" CCD cameras, CS-Mount is the more common lens mount used today in CCTV cameras.

Day/Night CameraA camera that is 'Day/Night' means it can capture video in both day and nighttime.In low light conditions, the Sony Day/Night chipset switches from colour to black & white at night to enhance the picture quality

DSPDigital Signal Processing - a technique by which video quality can be improved by adjusting parameters of the video signal.

DVRDigital Video Recorder - CCTV Footage is converted to a digital signal and stored on a PC Hard Disk. This is now the standard CCTV recording practice.

ExViewSony Chipset type that offers very good images in both day and night time. Typically, cameras with Ex-View chipset have good Low Light (LUX) levels.

FStopThe Ratio of Focal Length to the diameter of the lens. The smaller the F-Stop number, the more light is passed.

Field Of ViewThe view of the camera - in relation to the angle of view and distance of the object from the lens.

FrameA frame consists of 2 interlaces fields. 30 Frames are created every second

Frame RateThe quality of a Digital Surveillance Systems is often determined by the Total Frame Rate it can record at. The higher the Frame Rate, the higher the quality of recording and the more Real Time your CCTV recording will be - Real Time recording for 1 camera is 30 Frames Per Second (NTSC).

IP RatingIngress Protection Scale - 2 numbers indicating the protection level of an outside enclsure - e.g. IP68

IR Cut FilterAn IR Cut Filter is an extra filter inside the camera that moves behind the camera lens when it gets dark. A camera with an IR Cut Filter will produce very high quality images in low light conditions.

IrisDevice inside a lens which opens and closes as light conditions change which adjusts the amount of light passed

JPEGJoint Photographic Experts Group - an image compression technique used for still images

Lens MountSee CMount or CS Mount

LuminanceThe brightness of a video signal

LUXUsed to specify how sensitive cameras are to light (measured in lumens/sq metre). e.g a camera with a LUX Level of 0 can see in pitch black. The lower the LUX Level the better the camera will see in the dark.

Motion DetectionRecording method for digital surveillance systems. When someone walks in front of a camera, the pixels change and the DVR defines this as motion. The surveillance system will then record these images to the hard disk. This is a popular recording setup as every event recorded is actually motion driven as opposed to a static image if the system was set to record 'round-the-clock'.

MPEGMotion Picture Experts Group - a video compression technique for video imagesMPEG-4 has fast become the Digital CCTV standard recording compression format.MPEG-2 is used for DVD Recording quality.

MultiplexerA Multi Screen CCTV device that allows input of 4, 9, 16 etc cameras and provides a 'Mutli-Plexed' (or split screen) display of those cameras

NoiseVideo Signal interference that usually appears as graininess or snow on the picture.

PALPhase Alternate Line - Video encoding standard for Europe.

PTZPan Tilt Zoom - a camera which can be controlled via Joystick or DVR and moved up/down, left/right and zoomed in/out.

Peak to peakVideo Signal measurement from the base of the Sync pulse to the top of the white level. A full video signal should be one volt.

Quad SplitterA CCTV device used to display 4 cameras on one monitor.

ResolutionThe number of horizontal lines a system can display. Digital Resolution (e.g. 720 x 640) 720 = number of points in each row that make up the picture640 = number of rows

RG59A type of CCTV Coaxial cable used to transmit cctv camera video signals to a CCTV System.

SensitivityThe sensitivity of a camera is often configured on your digital surveillance system.Motion Detection based recording uses relies on the sensitivity of the cameras to trigger recording

TelemetryControl of PTZ cameras is provided using Telemetry Control. This signal is sent down 'twisted pair' cable or along the same coaxial cable the video signal is being sent down. Typical Telemetry signals are RS-485 or RS-422.

Varifocal LensA cctv camera lens whose focal length / viewing angle can be manually adjusted to suit the camera view required.Typical Vari Focal lens lengths are: 2.5mm-10mm, 3.5mm-8mm, 5mm-50mm

Video SplitterCCTV device that splits the video signal from a camera (or cameras) so it can be used more than once.

Zoom LensA lens which has variable focal lengths. The image can be 'zoomed' in or out whilst the view of the camera remains in focus.



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Orignal From: CCTV Complete Guide