Category: General Information

The CCTV cameras are becoming much better quality, which is another really important development. Surveillance cams now offer up to 29 megapixels, surpassing many cameras used by professional photographers. The latest cameras can be fitted with professional SLR camera lenses to improve images taken.

A shift from the use of analogue to digital equipment is also helping drive the quality of the images the cameras capture. It helps discourage crime and has helped law enforcement officers identify offenders.

Police forces, lawyers and courts have often complained about low-res CCTV images meaning they haven’t always been accepted as evidence in legal proceedings. And if they have, poor quality images has meant that they aren’t always as decisive in helping to establish guilt or innocence as they could be.

But with better and better CCTV imagery now available through advanced hi-definition cameras (HD CCTV), the usefulness of CCTV in court is only increasing.

Manufacturers are using a range of techniques to improve image quality. For example Bosch’s top-end camera records images using the HDR (high dynamic range) dual-exposure process to capture more detail in an image’s shadows. It allows owners to save up to 30 frames per second in 1080p quality video and uses an infrared filter to improve its performance at night.

Whether it’s tracking down a thug who brutally mugged an old lady, a vandal who trashed a war memorial or searching for a missing child, CCTV plays a crucial role in tackling crime and making people safer.

The adoption of internet-connected cameras meant that more footage was being stored off-site for longer periods of time, and that gigapixel camera technology would mean even higher quality images in the future.

Here’s a list of CCTV terminology to get you started!

Analog Backlight Compensation (BLC): Automatically adjusts picture brightness depending on lighting conditions. This helps overcome strong backlighting which normally results in silhouettes or shadows.

Auto Tracing White Balance (ATW): Automatically adjusts the white balance in response to varying light conditions.

Automatic Gain Control (AGC): Amplifies existing video to help camera create an enhanced video signal at low light levels.

Automatic Iris: A device in the lens that self-adjusts to light level changes. The iris opens or closes to control the amount of light passing through the lens.

Backlight Compensation: A feature that compensates for bright backgrounds so foreground objects aren’t silhouetted.

Charge Coupled Device (CCD): A sensor that collects light and converts it into an electrical signal.

Covert Surveillance: Either using cameras that are hidden or disguised to observe a scene without being detected. Covert surveillance can also be physically undertaken by people, generally Private Investigators. See Investigation Services

Digital Recording: Technology that enables images from a camera to be stored on a hard drive. A digital recorder provides clearer images that video tape and faster access to them.

Digital Signal Processing (DSP): Conversion of the analog signal from a CCD image sensor into a digital signal through an analog to digital converter. This enables many digital features such as backlight compensation or sensitivity up.

Focal Length: The distance from the centre of a lens to a point where it focuses light. The combination of the focal length and the CCD format determines a camera’s field of view. The shorter the focal length, the wider the field of view.

IP Video Surveillance: A video surveillance system that allows analog and/or IP (Internet Protocol) cameras, operating over a standard IP network, to transmit real-time video feeds over the internet. The video footage is processed and recorded digitally onto an NVR (Network Video Recorder) where it can be accessed remotely by any PC connected to the network.

JPEG/MPEG: Both the Joint Photographic Experts Group and the Motion Picture Experts Group represent standards for the storage and retrieval of compressed still and video pictures.

Lux: A unit measuring the intensity of light. The light of a full moon is about 0.1 lux, while bright sunlight is about 100,000 lux.

NTSC: Standard of broadcasting color television in the US and Japan formulated by the National Television Standards Committee.

PAL: Short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour-encoding system used in broadcast television systems in large parts of the world, including New Zealand.

Resolution: A measure of the ability of a camera, recorder or monitor to reproduce detail. The bandwidth of the video signal relating to the amount of detail that determines the overall quality of the picture.

Varifocal Lens: Contains several movable elements to permit manual adjustment of the effective focal length. This type of lens allows you to adjust the size of your field of view.

Video Motion Detection: A system that detects motion in the video signal and generates a corresponding alarm. This can be accomplished by some cameras, multiplexers and digital recorders. This feature maximises recording space by only recording while motion is detected.

White Balance: A process used in video cameras to retain true colours.

CCTV can protect employees. In lots of jobs the employees are vulnerable to either physical or verbal attacks from the public. Moreover, it is able to protect the employees against false allegations that might be common in some areas of business.

CCTV helps prevent crime, of course. The hidden cameras are able to help investigators to identify how a crime happened and to spot it in action. However, they are more likely to prevent the crime from occurring simply by letting everyone know they are being watched.

CCTV can help employee satisfaction – Watching CCTV recordings may give you an idea of how to streamline your business and ensure your employees enjoy their work.

CCTV can help settle disputes. In some cases, when a customer has a complaint about your service, there are some doubts and you are not sure who’s in the wrong.

CCTV is convenient for keeping records, as it can act as an automated system able to allow you to prove to customers and check yourself that. A lot of the units on the market these days use CDR technology, which allows to store many hours of surveillance on a single disk.