Design of a commercial CCTV camera system
When designing a camera system for your business or company, it is important to consider five factors that will give you a good quality system. Many camera systems are designed based on false assumptions or what people see on their favorite TV show. Knowing the facts about cameras and camera systems will give you a CCTV system that will give you the most bang for your buck.
1. What problems are you looking to solve or prevent with cameras? – You have to sit down and first decide why you want a CCTV system in the first place. Is this going to save you money, prevent a robbery or theft, catch a thief who has already robbed you, etc…? You want to be able to clearly define what you want from the camera system. This will allow you to choose the right cameras and camera placement to solve or prevent your problem.
2. Do you have problems day or night? – Most of the time the problems occur at night, but when people look at the cameras and their quality, the cameras demo takes place during the day. Seeing how a camera performs in similar lighting conditions is crucial in deciding if a camera is right for you. Many cameras can provide excellent images during the day or in optimal lighting conditions; but what happens at night or even in low light with the image? Does the camera still produce good quality video and are the images still sharp? More importantly, can you achieve the goal you set in #1?
3. Will the cameras be used for live playback or both? – Most camera systems are used for playback to see what happened after an incident occurred. In this case, make sure you know what the quality of the video will look like on playback. Many systems can look good when you’re watching the live video feed, but what about in playback mode? Many digital video recorders have the ability to record in different quality modes. Look at all the different modes and choose the quality that’s right for you.
4. Are you looking for general surveillance or forensic details? – Most people have seen the TV show where a person can watch a video of a convenience store and zoom in and enhance the video to see some amazing facial recognition or license plate. This is just TV fiction and not CCTV fact. Zooming in on the video and clicking an imaginary “enhance button” doesn’t exist. Since this doesn’t exist, you have to decide where you need general surveillance or where you need forensic details. General surveillance will allow you to view a parking lot with one or two cameras. You may be able to see the color and type of car, but that’s about it. With forensic details, you are looking for very close facial details or license plates of a person. The same camera can give you both, but the field of view and the lens used will determine which one you get.
5. How will you, your security personnel or other security officers access the system? – There are many ways with today’s technology to access your camera system. Will you be using a PC, a MAC, a wireless laptop, a Blackberry, or an iPhone? Simply identify who will access the cameras and decide which of the above will be used. Then be sure to select a camera system that works for you.
After thoroughly considering all these issues, you are ready to look at different CCTV camera systems. Now you can base your decision on facts and how the system will work for you. Remember that every situation is unique and security products must meet your needs. Not all camera systems are designed the same, so make sure that not only the products you select are the right ones, but that the company you choose to install the system is also right for your business.
