Taking
a Closer View of CCTV with High Definition Solutions
By Pauline Norstrom, Director
of Worldwide Marketing at Dedicated
Micros
Considering
trends in CCTV technology, the introduction of High Definition (HD) megapixel
CCTV cameras, such as our own CamVu 2000, and associated HD recording
and display solutions reflect a major watershed in the capability of CCTV
systems from the enterprise level HighVu Excel to the new DV-IP HD. Specifically
in terms of the quality of images which can now be provided and, crucially,
the potential to accurately identify suspects and achieve successful convictions.
In
fact, if current trends continue, it is highly likely that High Definition
(HD) CCTV will become the de facto standard for CCTV users and providers
over the next few years.
As with the move in the 1990s from analogue to digital CCTV technology
the appearance of HD CCTV parallels, very much, the experience in the
consumer electronics market. Here we are seeing High Definition (HD) televisions
and broadcast channels becoming the technology of choice and, as a result,
taking an ever greater share of the market.
Key Benefits
From a security and risk management perspective I believe that the transition
to High Definition (HD) CCTV brings with it a number of concrete benefits,
in particular, as mentioned, it allows the delivery of more detailed images
than ever before. With this in mind we are likely to see HD CCTV being
particularly favoured for high risk environments such as banking where
the identification of faces is a prerequisite. Until relatively recently
film was really the only way by which banks could achieve the kind of
detail which they required for evidential purposes. In this case the flexibility
which comes with digital HD CCTV, in terms of the handling of images,
makes it much more attractive and cost effective than recording onto specialised
film.
Other sectors were we will find the early adopter's of HD CCTV concentrated
include: retail, corporate headquarters, urban centres and security sensitive
military installations.
Implementation Matters
Of course as with any new technology the advent of HD CCTV is not without
some potential implementation issues which installers and end users should
be aware of. Amongst the issues which need to be considered are how to
view, record and store CCTV images which are typically much larger than
before.
One approach is simply to have a closed CCTV recording system whose only
role is to store images locally which have been taken directly from the
megapixel cameras. The downside of this is the lack of an ability to make
the content of the images available more widely by for example using an
IP connection.
Another option is to link the megapixel cameras on site, via IP, to a
network video recorder which can sit at a convenient point on the network.
Here care needs to be taken that transmitting the images will not overload
the network with data.
With some solutions it is possible to combine local recording with IP
connectivity by adopting a digital video recorder which can readily store
high resolution images, as close as possible the mega pixel cameras, but
also offer an ability to reduce the size of the images so they are optimised
for transmission across a network.
This is the path we would advocate and have taken with solutions such
as the HighVu Excel and DV-IP HD. The advantage here is that a remote
operator can call up the images without overloading the network and also,
crucially, be confident that a highly detailed version has been recorded
locally for evidential purposes.
Optimised for HD CCTV
Looking in more detail at the DV-IP HD (High Definition) video server,
this powerful addition to the DV-IP family has been developed specifically
to offer a full desktop High Definition CCTV system which can operate
in association with up to 8 of our advanced CamVu 2000 mega pixel cameras.
The cost effective NetVu Connected DV-IP HD video server readily supports
High Definition CCTV recording, playback and local HDMI (High Definition
Multimedia Interface) monitor output. In addition, a built-in TransCoding
capability allows bandwidth optimised images to be streamed to remote
operators without impacting the network.
Other key features of the DV-IP HD include:1.5TB - 2TB of storage (depending
on model), 8 analogue inputs, Gigabit Ethernet input, HDMI output, embedded
user interface, USB mouse, keyboard interface, IR remote control, DVD
writer for archive, remote alarm reporting and dual channel bi-directional
audio.
Crucially, the DV-IP HD breaks down the barriers which to date have prevented
economical high definition recording becoming a reality. Coax cable as
a technology is a non-starter for High Definition CCTV as the resolution
available is severely limited and while IP opens the door to high resolution
image capture and recording, in practice, this typically means that users
are forcing large amounts of data onto the network to record images, potentially
crippling the network.
The solution provided by the DV-IP HD overcomes these hurdles by allowing
high definition recording to be delivered as a single, standalone, solution
without necessarily having to transmit the data over the network.
Camera Technology
When it comes to cameras, as mentioned, the CamVu 2000 is the ideal choice
to be deployed in conjunction with our latest HD recording solutions.
The CamVu 2000's high resolution - mega pixel - technology is based on
the award-winning NetVu Connected architecture. This ensures that deep
integration is possible with a wide range of DVRs and devices, as well
as supporting simplified integration into larger scale systems.
Specialised ChipWrights Visual Signal Processing (ViSP) technology, incorporated
into the new CamVu 2000, allows it to transmit simultaneous MPEG-4 and
JPEG images to be recorded on an associated NetVu Connected DVR such as
the DV-IP HD for image capture. In addition an integrated pre-alarm feature
within the CamVu 2000 ensures that critical pre-event movement can be
recorded.
A High Definition Future
To conclude, there is little doubt that the advent of HD CCTV opens up
tremendous opportunities in terms of the high quality of images which
can be captured and looks set to revolutionise how we use CCTV to secure
sites and identify offenders.
For more information on Dedicated Micros please visit http://www.dedicatedmicros.com.
