Archive for February, 2008

CCTV Security Camera Provides Valuable Evidence

Using a CCTV security camera in various places within a business has made protecting the company’s assets much easier and provides the evidence usually needed for successful prosecution. Depending on the type of business and its size will determine how many cameras will be needed as well as the types of cameras in use, and installation should be supervised by someone knowledgeable in closed circuit television systems.

Most businesses will want a video of customers and others as they enter the business and a CCTV security camera with an automatic aperture will be needed if the business hopes to have a usable image. Manual aperture settings might provide a good image at night, if the aperture is open wide enough but during the day when the sun comes out, the image will be washed out and useless. Resetting the manual lens for a good shot during the day will result in a shot that is too dark at night making the individual unrecognizable.

Anywhere a CCTV security camera is placed by a door or window there the available light is likely to change significantly should be equipped with an automatic lens. All of the CCTV security cameras should also be fitted with auto-focus lenses so that no matter how far the subject is from the camera, they will remain in constant focus.

Choose CCTV Recording Device Wisely

A CCTV security camera system is only as good as the quality of the recording devices to which it is connected. For many years companies relied on videocassette time-lapse recorders to provide 24-hour recordings. While this works fine for only one camera, possible four running through a four-camera multiplexer, as the number of CCTV security cameras increase, the quality of the playback diminishes. Using digital recorders it is possible to have up to 16 cameras connected to one recorder and have good quality images available for playback.

The recorders should also allow for quick reviewing of the image to make finding specific instances easy to find. The purpose of a CCTV security camera is to use as evidence and the quicker they can be found the quicker law enforcement can proceed with doing their job.

There are different sizes available for a CCTV security camera, from a standard size about four-inches long to pinhole cameras that are mounted on a board that is about a half-inch square and no more than a quarter-inch thick. The lens can be aimed at a small hole in a wall or ceiling, hence the name pinhole and used for covert surveillance.

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February 24 2008 | Security Cameras | No Comments »

Homeland Security Camera Network Continues To Grow

If you have ever wondered about what looks like camera housing located in public places, you might be surprised that some of them are part of the Homeland Security camera system. Not all of them, and not in every town and city, but more and more cameras that are in existence in many cities are joining forces with the government agency in its fight against domestic terrorism. There are many cities that have installed cameras to keep close watch on large public gatherings, such as near the White House and around several national memorials to identify problems with crowds.

The ability to network these cameras into a much larger, national network is enabling the Homeland Security camera system to continue to grow by adding cameras from communities all around the country. For those that do not understand how it is possible, consider the internet availability to access your personal computer from anywhere in the world by signing onto a computer and going to a network website.

Start with your home network, if more than one computer is connected to internet access through a hub, you can access anything on one computer from another computer, provided you give all the proper permissions. If you have cameras connected to a network at the office for example, then access the work computer from home, you can call up images connected to the work computer from home. This is the same system the Homeland Security camera system uses to add onto the existing system.

Surveillance System Quickly Growing In Size

With the infrastructure already in place in many larger communities, it is really an easy task for the Homeland Security camera computer to contact the city camera computer and gain access to the images on the computer. Of course, permission has to be granted by the community for the Homeland Security camera system to grab images from the computer. Safeguards are also in place to prevent the homeland computer from having any control over a community’s camera system.

Most of the Homeland Security cameras in use are not only static image cameras. Many of them are equipped with remote accessibility to pan, tilt and zoom to effectively be able to track someone or something within range to help fight the threat of global and domestic terrorism. While there are those that are uncomfortable knowing the government can patch into any community with a camera system and grab images from anywhere, most understand the importance of being constantly vigil for the sake of national security.

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February 22 2008 | Security Cameras | No Comments »

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