Integrated CCTV systems.
What are the elements involved in a fully integrated CCTV system? Starting with the a basic CCTV system we will always have the cameras , the DVR and the monitor. this is what people generally understand when they ask to have a CCTV system installed.
Lots of applications.
We can have an internal CCTV system, an external CCTV system or we can have a mixture of both. Until recently CCTV systems tended to be restricted to a fairly small number of cameras usually up to about 16. Of course there has always been a need on bigger sites for more cameras but there was always the restrictions. The number of frames per second per camera that a DVR could process for instance. The more FPS the more expensive the DVR tended to be to accommodate. Then of course we have the picture quality. Analogue CCTV cameras have always been restricted as to how many lines they can produce to make up the image we see on the screen.
Better picture quality.
Although cameras have advanced to allow more lines, 420 TVL would be typical for instance. It does not stop there, we are then restricted by the monitors and the picture quality they can produce . With the introduction of IP we now have the exciting development of HD CCTV and this means mega pixels and in turn a huge advance in picture quality that we can expect from our recorded images in the future.
Integrated CCTV solutions provide so much more.
Integrated CCTV systems though consist of more .They can be hybrid CCTV systems part analogue, part IP. They can be Integrated to access control systems and linked to central stations. They can be linked to external alarm systems. Sensors, fixed beams and so on to give us many different security solutions and the ability to generate alarms.
CCTV in the future.
Most integrated CCTV systems of the future however will be able to incorporate analytics to generate alarms. This could be used to warn of a terrorists threat such as abandoned luggage and suspicious behaviour etc. The CCTV systems can be integrated to ANPR software that will allow number plate recognition to control barriers and access control and the police are able to track suspicious vehicles across the country by using this ANPR technology. CCTV systems can now integrate to biometric readers to allow faces to be linked to finger prints this offers companies a huge upgrade of security within their organisation.
In summary.
In summary CCTV systems on their own will be a thing of the past. Integrated security in its many forms is the way forward for the future. IP cameras and the improved picture quality they bring together with analytics and more flexibilty are just around the corner , things are moving fast!