Closed-circuit television (CCTV)

Closed-circuit television (CCTV)

Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point (P2P), point to multipoint (P2MP), or mesh wireless links. Though almost all video cameras fit this definition, the term is most often applied to those used for surveillance in areas that may need monitoring such as banks, casinos, airports, military installations, and convenience stores. Videotelephony is seldom called "CCTV" but the use of video in distance education, where it is an important tool, is often so called.

In industrial plants, CCTV equipment may be used to observe parts of a process from a central control room, for example when the environment is not suitable for humans. CCTV systems may operate continuously or only as required to monitor a particular event. A more advanced form of CCTV, utilizing digital video recorders, (DVRs), provides recording for possibly many years, with a variety of quality and performance options and extra features (such as motion detection and email alerts). More recently, decentralized IP cameras, some equipped with megapixel sensors, support recording directly to network-attached storage devices, or internal flash for completely stand-alone operation. Surveillance of the public using CCTV is particularly common in many areas around the world. In recent years, the use of body worn video cameras has been introduced as a new form of surveillance.

Ip camera

IP cameras differ from previous generation analog cameras which transmitted video signals as a voltage, instead IP camera images are sent using the transmission and security features of the TCP/IP protocol, which provides numerous benefits:

  • Two-way audio via a single network cable allows users to listen to and speak to the subject of the video (e.g. gas station clerk assisting a customer on how to use the pay pumps)
  • The use of a Wi-Fi or wireless network.
  • Distributed intelligence such as video analytics can be placed in the camera itself allowing the camera to analyze images.
  • Transmission of commands for PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras via a single network.
  • Secure data transmission through encryption and authentication methods such as WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES.
  • Remote accessibility which allows live video from selected cameras to be viewed from any computer, mobile smartphones and other devices (with sufficient access privileges).
  • POE Power over Ethernet to supply power through the ethernet cable and operate without a dedicated power supply.

Wireless cameras

Wireless security cameras are closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that transmit a video and audio signal to a wireless receiver through a radio band. Many wireless security cameras require at least one cable or wire for power; "wireless" refers to the transmission of video/audio. However, some wireless security cameras are battery-powered, making the cameras truly wireless from top to bottom.
Wireless cameras are proving very popular among modern security consumers due to their low installation costs (there is no need to run expensive video extension cables) and flexible mounting options; wireless cameras can be mounted/installed in locations previously unavailable to standard wired cameras. In addition to the ease of use and convenience of access, wireless security camera allows users to leverage broadband wireless internet to provide seamless video streaming over-internet.

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