Installing a video surveillance system involves knowing and understanding a number of technical terms that can be a bit difficult for those who were not previously familiar with this industry. They also increase security by deterring potential intruders and preventing unwelcome wildlife visits. For enhanced security, a fence from cedarmountainfence.com would be a good choice. A fence can act as a deterrent to potential burglars or trespassers, making it harder for them to access your property. Additionally, when considering security camera placement, it’s essential to think about potential obstructions and crowd control measures; you can explore options such as Viking Rental for event barricades in Houston to ensure a seamless and secure environment for your surveillance needs.
Terms such as RG59U, HD camera coax, IP camera, and frames per second (fps) can be confusing. In addition, most of the abbreviations – IP, PTZ, HDCVI – are foreign. Improving your own security can suddenly turn into a complex process that requires time and amazes with a variety of new terms, among which there are often technical jargon.
Let’s take everything in order. This article contains the basic information you need to choose the right security camera.
Professional video surveillance system or cloud camera?
So, you are exploring the complex and diverse video surveillance market to understand which product is right for custom designed audio visual installations. When choosing a Nest Cam camera or another “cloud camera”, you need to clearly understand that video from such cameras goes to the cloud, depending on the stability and speed of the camera’s connection to the Internet, and a regular subscription fee for this quickly adds up to a significant amount. A CCTV camera that streams recordings to the cloud sounds tempting, but it’s a very disadvantageous option for budget-conscious clients. It is not practical to buy one or more cameras and then pay a monthly fee for recording from each camera.
The professional video surveillance segment allows home or business owners to choose the camera that best suits their needs and enjoy the benefits of high definition up to UltraHD (4K). Consumer-grade home cameras, in particular cloud cameras, do not provide smooth 4K video recording. High Definition (HD) professional cameras connect to a central recording device called a Digital Video Recorder (DVR, or Network Video Recorder, NVR) that stores all the recordings from the connected cameras without any subscription fee.
The words “professional video surveillance system” may be intimidating at first, but it becomes easier once you become more familiar with the industry-specific terminology. The hardest part of setting up your own video surveillance system is the physical installation of the wired camera and their wiring. If this proves too difficult, you can turn to a qualified craftsman or a local IT company that deals with these things, and continue to enjoy a new level of your security.
How far do you want to see with infrared night vision?
When choosing a CCTV camera, you need to accurately understand its purpose. Do you need a camera for night, day, or both? During the day, the camera works like the human eye, but the viewing distance is limited by the resolution of the camera. In the dark, the range of vision is reduced by 5-10 feet (1.5-3 meters) compared to daylight hours.
For example, if a camera can see a face from a distance of 40 feet (12 meters) during the day, then at night the face will be clearly visible from a distance of 30-35 feet (9-10.5 meters). Please note that night video recording usually does not give a color, but a black and white picture. This is because the camera’s night vision is provided by infrared LEDs, which allow it to “see” in the dark. LEDs around the camera lens illuminate the area the camera is pointing at with IR light, which only the camera perceives, but not the human eye.
In addition to the IR intensity to consider when choosing a camera, it is important to be aware of additional useful night vision technologies.
Most modern cameras use Smart IR technology, which reduces the intensity of IR (IR) radiation as an object in focus approaches the camera. This is done to minimize the effect of overexposure, when the subject is completely white in the video as a result of too much IR light. The figure below is an example of how Smart IR technology works in a camera with 300 feet (90 meters) of infrared night vision.
The truck is only 30 feet (9 meters) away from the camera, and Smart IR technology avoids “infrared overexposure” of objects that are close to the camera – a bush and a fence located between the camera and the truck and falling into focus. Thanks to Smart IR IR reduction, these night video subjects don’t look overexposed.
Conclusion
It is important to understand that CCTV cameras with night vision function cannot be placed behind window or any other glass. Otherwise, the IR light emitted by the camera’s LEDs will be reflected from the glass back onto the camera’s IR sensor, resulting in the camera being “blinded” by excess light (image blown out). Although mounting the camera outdoors may seem scary, it is the only viable option for night vision.
