The Digital Revolution

How companies can be prepared as security systems move into the digital realm

For the past 20 years, monitoring and surveillance applications have been served by analog technology. CCTV (closed-circuit television) has traditionally been recorded to VCRs (video cassette recorders), and because of its perceived ease of use and manageable price point, analog was probably the right choice at the time. However, the rise of digital has laid bare analog’s many shortcomings. Analog CCTV systems are high maintenance, offer no remote accessibility and are notoriously difficult to integrate with other systems.

It has been possible to build 100% digital, network-based systems for security, surveillance and remote monitoring for some time. Nonetheless, there are still a few concerns regarding this move toward digital technology – what are its advantages over analog closed-circuit television (CCTV), how difficult is it to install and maintain, and how can companies cost-effectively migrate from analog to digital technology?

Today, there are many products for networked-based video that utilize Ethernet and TCP/IP standards. Most of these products still employ a PC at the heart of the system, and several cameras and video servers can be connected directly to the network. The main difference in this configuration is that the video digitization is being performed at the camera level, and the computer network is being used to transfer the picture back to the PC-based server for storage. This is beneficial because computer networks are generally readily available, and utilizing the Internet allows the video to be remotely stored and monitored.

Digital video starts with the network camera. A network camera serves many of the same purposes as the standard analog CCTV camera, but it provides users with increased functionality at a greater cost saving. Because network cameras plug directly into the existing data network via an Ethernet port, companies can save thousands of pounds by not having to wire their facilities with coaxial cabling as is required for analog cameras. Because they also have integrated Web servers, image compressors and operating systems, network cameras operate independently of PCs and images can be viewed from standard Web browsers anywhere in the world.

However, if a data network does not exist in the facility, and a wiring project is needed, Ethernet computer networks are much more efficient to install than with analog systems. Because Ethernet networks run over small, inexpensive twisted pair wiring such as Category 5, they are much cheaper and easier to install than analog networks that transmit signals over thick coaxial cabling. In addition, several cameras can share a line of Ethernet cabling, requiring less cabling to be installed.

Network cameras also save companies money by reducing the amount of dedicated equipment needed to manage the security system because they can be monitored from any PC in the world. Analog CCTV systems require dedicated monitors and security personnel who are readily available to view the images.

Sending Images Over the Network
Once the system is in place, users can start transmitting images over the network via high-quality video imaging standards such as motion JPEG and MPEG.

Preventing Decay
One of digital video's main advantages over analog is digital storage. Instead of using low-quality, degradable videotapes to record and store images, images can be saved on a hard disk by using digital video recorders (DVRs). With images saved in digital format, users can play, forward and reverse the digital film, similar to videotape. The main differences are that there is no gradual decay of stored images, and you can make as many copies as you like. Moreover, the forward and reverse functions are much faster, and searches for changing images and image sequences can be done quickly or automatically. 

Migrating to a Networked-Video System
For companies that have already made large investments in analog CCTV systems, it is possible to upgrade existing analog systems with digital video technology.

Video servers are the key to transforming analog video into digital video, making it possible to migrate toward a digital system without having to discard existing analog equipment. Video servers convert images from existing analog CCTV cameras into digital video for network transmission, bringing new functionality to analog equipment and eliminating the need for dedicated equipment such as coaxial cabling and monitors.

Video servers typically have between one and four analog ports for CCTV cameras to plug in to as well as an Ethernet port for connectivity to the network. Like the cameras, they contain built-in Web servers, compression chips and operating systems so that incoming analog feeds can be transformed to digital video and transmitted over the computer network for easier accessibility and viewing.

Versatile security solutions
Migrating to a digital solution through the use of network cameras and video servers also increases a company's opportunity to use images in support of other applications such as keycard access or entry control. For example, network cameras can take images when someone swipes a keycard for access to a secure area. This indicates that someone has entered the premises and verifies whether that person was indeed the authorized cardholder.

As another example, when verifying an alarm, network cameras can send images to the arriving emergency personnel so that they know what conditions to expect at the scene. Or, for retail applications, a camera can provide storeowners with data as to how customers circulate through the store as well as provide security surveillance. 

Future opportunities to integrate
Without a doubt, network-based video is quickly gaining ground. Research firm Frost & Sullivan predicts that the combined global network camera and video server market is expected to reach approximately $791 million by 2005, up from $73 million in 2000 – a ten-fold increase in five years. 

Today, companies can transmit video signals to PCs as well as to wireless devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants. This means that future security, surveillance and remote monitoring systems can be made even more personalized, accessible, cost-effective and flexible – no matter where in the world network administrators and security personnel are located.