For quite some time analog cameras have been used for both residential and commercial security surveillance. However, with technological advancement in the security surveillance industry, IP cameras are fast taking over. As CCTV installers in Kenya, we know IP video surveillance offers more value in terms of image quality and video analytics.
In as much as analog cameras can be accessed remotely via the DVR, IP video surveillance cameras can also be accessed remotely through their own IP address. Whether analog or IP cameras, the CCTV cameras can either be bullet or dome-shaped. And third camera type is the PTZ camera. PTZ cameras have the ability to pan, tilt and zoom. As matter of fact, PTZ cameras are some of the high-level video surveillance devices due to their advanced security features.
Bullet cameras tend to have a narrower field of view and a long focal length. Since bullet cameras have been designed with a longer focal length, they are ideal for outdoor installation. On the other hand, dome cameras have been designed with a wider field of view but a shorter focal length. Hence the dome cameras are ideal for indoor installation.
Difference between analog CCTV cameras and the IP surveillance cameras
Signal transfer
The analog cameras will transfer the signal to the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) in analog format. The analog stream will then be converted to a digital stream in the DVR. On the other hand, the IP video surveillance cameras will transfer signals in digital format over the ethernet networking infrastructure to the Network Video Recorder (NVR). This is much more efficient than an analog CCTV system.
see; best VoIP PBX system in Kenya
The Video Recorders
The video recorder for the analog cameras is known as the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). While the video recorder for the IP cameras is known as the Network Video Recorder (NVR). Therefore, recordings from the analog CCTV cameras will be kept in the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). However, the IP CCTV cameras will send the captured video to the Network Video Recorder (NVR).
The connectors
Since the wiring of the analog CCTV cameras will be based on the RG59 cabling system, the connectors used will be BNC connectors. Also, balloon connectors can be used for analog cameras. On the flip side, the wiring required for the IP cameras will be a CAT6 ethernet cabling system. Thus, the connectors will be RJ45 connectors patched into the network port.
Power supply
the IP cameras get powered through Power over Ethernet (PoE). This means that the ethernet cabling system will transfer both and signal directly from the NVR device. Network cameras will run on the existing structured cabling and networking infrastructure. The analog CCTV cameras get will require separate wiring for power and additional wiring for the signal.
See also: office biometric access control system
Video compression and encoding
CCTV cameras ride on different technologies for compressing the video data captured. Presently, H.264 video compression standard is what is being used on most CCTV cameras. However, a new compression standard H.265 is slowly being embraced as the standard for video surveillance compression.
The H.265 is also known as the High-Efficiency Video Coding technique. This compression technology is twice as efficient as the previous one. Besides, the H.265 can optimize bandwidth utilized to just about 35% of the standard requirement. Moreover, the original quality of the video will be maintained even after compression.
The main reason why all video footage has to be compressed is to reduce bandwidth requirements, particularly during transmission. Secondly, video compression also saves on storage requirements since the video file will tend to be smaller upon compression.
After encoding the video, it needs to be encoded so that a different can read it. For instance, the compressed CCTV video footage needs to be encoded so that it can be viewed on a computer or any other device. This is because different devices require video files to be in a format compatible with the recommended video format.
The Night Vision cameras
The night vision capability was only available on select analog cameras. Thus, a client needed to specify categorically that the CCTV camera to be installed must have vision capability. However, today most IP video surveillance cameras come with night vision capability as a default feature. The camera feature that enables night vision is called infrared (IR). The inbuilt light sensors will detect dim light so that IR can be turned on.
With the night vision feature, IP surveillance cameras can still capture good quality images in low-light areas such as parking basements. Also, these cameras can capture clear images even at night when the security lights are switched off.
The CCTV Camera lens type
Fixed focal length camera lens: as the name suggests, this lens is fixed and set to focus in one direction. In order to shift the area of focus, the camera has to be adjusted physically to face the desired direction. This is the most common CCTV camera lens type.
Varifocal camera lenses: these camera lenses are found inside CCTV cameras with zooming capability. With this type of lens, you will be able to zoom in on an image that might appear to be far, by bringing the image closer so that more details can be visible.
Motorized varifocal camera lens: this type of lens is designed to allow zooming especially from the video management system, and client application software. Since this is software-based, a user can zoom remotely the real-time CCTV video footage or the recorded CCTV video files.
As CCTV installers in Kenya, we offer a variety of IP video surveillance solutions depending on the client’s unique needs. Contact us today for the best IP CCTV cameras with the capability for remote viewing.
