Designing CCTV Systems with a 3D CAD

Installing a video surveillance system, you need to understand what it is that the system is intended for. That may seem obvious but there are 4 core definitions of camera application

1. Observe the what is happening in an area

2. Recognize a person you know

3. Recognise a person you know

4. detect the presence of people in a scene

Many people want to identify a customer, watch staff theft and overview an area with one security camera, which is 3 of the above definitions. In nearly all applications two or more cameras will be required to achieve this. One for ID and others for overview and staff. Failure to recognize this is why we see so much poor quality footage on TV.

Designing first with a 3D CAD helps to test the scene to determine the right camera resolution, lens and location to give the desired results. This will save you relocating or replacing cameras later on.

This first of a 3 part video takes us through the use of one of the popular CCTV design software’s, showing how to insert a site plan and set the grid scale. Placing a camera to get an idea of its coverage based on the 2D site map.

Part 2 below shows how to determine the above 4 criteria based on the coloured regions in the lens view area. So for ID quality of an unknown person we need to work in the red region. In the blue region you would only be able to detect the presence of a person in the scene but not know who they are or what they are doing. It also shows how we create the 3D images of walls and other structures.

You will find how to test the scene with different megapixel resolution cameras in part 3 as well as the impact electronic zoom has on the actual useable resolution of an image. Un like on TV where we zoom in 800% and still have a great image, the real world would not give great results.

If you are looking for a more comprehensive understanding of video surveillance and how to design a quality CCTV system, have a look at the tutorials at CCTV Design. You will also find information on Australian Standards and legislations.

How often do you ask for some professional advise, only to find they are a back yarder with no real experience. After some searching I found I could get good advice for my surveillance camera design from this guy. Max

Designing Security Camera Surveillance to get the perfect result

It is unfortunate that the CCTV industry as a whole has a reputation of providing surveillance footage that is next to useless. While the quality is improving with High Definition cameras, the fundamental errors are still common.

The most common mistake made in a CCTV system is expecting the camera to do too much. I believe this is influenced by CSI style TV shows that give the impression the police can do anything to enhance the footage.

If you follow these rules of thumb when determining the location for each CCTV camera you install, the results will give you an image quality that you can work with.

Don’t expect the camera to do two roles Security surveillance cameras are able to provide a tight shot for facial recognition or an overview of what is happening. It is uncommon to be able to achieve both from one camera.

Have a camera at a choke point for ID and a second elsewhere for the overview This means as a person enters an area, they need to pass through a narrow area such as a door or corridor. This is the best spot to get a good quality face image. Once you have this, your other cameras just need to provide an overview of their movements.

Keep the camera as low as practical If the surveillance camera is intended to be used to identify faces, don’t install it so high that it only sees the brim of baseball caps and tops of heads. Aim to have less than a 25 degree horizontal angle to the camera.

Lots of other aspects of video surveillance can be considered when looking to improve the end result but each is a topic in itself. These include lighting, the camera’s dynamic range, lens selection and compression types of you DVR or IP camera. More education on these can be found on my site.

Getting great surveillance images is not hard but does require some experience.

Tim has taught me so much more about what makes a good CCTV system design. I recommend reading his articles, which are on his site and the CCTV forums James Nash

Look at the video algorithm before choosing a surveillance camera

All CCTV recording devices have some variety of video compression to scale back the actual quantity of storage required. The uncompressed video signal involves 158Mbps for any D1 video source and much more for High-definition or Megapixel security cameras. How a surveillance camera manufacture compresses this is different from brand to brand. With H.264 being the most prevalent compression utilized, the actual use of it isn’t the same for many security camera makers. The reason is H.264 is not a fixed data compression standard. It’s simply a set of specialist tools to pick from to sample the video in various ways.

Puzzled?

Visualize you might want to carry a big timber vintage display case from Oz over to The united states however, it has to squeeze into 1 m square boxes for moving. You’re able to use as many as needed. Inside your tool kit are standard tools like hammers, screwdrivers and saws that everyone can make use of. Also in there happen to be less frequent tools that require far more competency and technique to use such as a plane and a couple of chisels.

Company 1 chooses the quickest method that needs the least qualified staff to get the display case into the containers. The Ten staff members makes use of the hammer along with the screw driver to smash the cabinet into chunky pieces that fit in the boxes. Every carton has lots of wasted space and one hundred containers are required. Once they arrive at America, one container had been mislaid. This display case ended up being reassembled but because it was roughly deconstructed, several of the parts will not fit together again properly and others are missing. The end result is a cabinet but it looks horrible.

Manufacturer 2 has staff with a little more know-how however as a result they do cost a somewhat more. Their 10 personnel carefully take apart the cabinet utilizing the hammers, screwdrivers and saws. Every piece is cut to slip fairly nicely into a box with minimum lost space. They have the display case 90% packed before a courier turns up but have to race to cut the lower pieces to fit and consequently, the last couple of parts are a little rough in comparison to the rest. Just eight containers ended up being needed as a result the courier bill ended up being less expensive. The reassembly looked quite good. There were clearly a few obvious lines where the sections had been cut but towards the bottom where it was eventually rushed, it looked ordinary.

Company 3 is made of a crew of tremendously knowledgeable people with years perfecting their skills. They knew exactly how to pull the cabinet apart and by utilizing the precision tools and were competent to ensure every one of the edges and fine detail were kept in good order. In addition, they had 2 teams operating together. Group A performed the top while group B do the underside. Since they had double the amount of man power as well as the skills, they were able to get the cases packed efficiently, eliminating lost space along with enough time to book it with the early courier without having pieces damaged or missing. They only required to deliver five boxes, which made the courier happy as they could deliver several other clients jobs simultaneously. In America, the containers arrived early and were able to easily be reassembled in a really small period of time. The cabinet looked stunning!

Now I’m positive you’ll have figured out the relationship of this story to video but just in case …

The trip from Queensland to The United States is the computer network.

The staff are the compression algorithms functioning in the MPU. More employees means much faster final results and having 2 teams is like tandem processors providing a much faster delivery or much less latency. The more experienced workers are the motion search algorithms that analyse where reductions can be produced.

The Tools offer several motion search formulas. The hammer is rather basic and only smashes the video down into pieces with little care for protecting the very fine details. The screwdriver allows you to work with some of the finer features but is still rather coarse for fine details. A saw means that you can precisely slice these sections but with a number of tooth marks surrounding the edges. Using a plane and chisel along with the above makes it possible for much finer detail to be maintained.

The boxes represent bandwidth as well as storage space. More cases implies more cost associated with transportation and storage. Additionally the probability of loosing some in transport is elevated. Having less cases, there will be spare bandwidth and the IT team are pleased.

So considering that you’re all specialists in antique carpentry and transport, go and check far more closely at how your camera or DVR squeezes the video.

Are you interested in: Great video images with 50% less data transfer with out noticeable latency but frequently more pricey for each camera. Video, which is a little blocky every time a person walks through the scene. Could possibly have less bandwidth however, if it is a PTZ, sky rockets as well as the picture quality reduces and it has latency problems. An image that is great when there is absolutely no activity in front of the camera but the data transfer stays huge constantly and also the latency is awful. But (blank) you saved some funds.

Well known across the surveillance industry, Tim Norton has been designing CCTV camera systems and has produced designs for a wide range of clienteles including wide area utility management systems. Migration of analogue to fully network based matrix switches is a core part of his expertise.

Dependable Hidden Cameras For Home Security Are A Must For Family Protection

My sister, a single mom, asked for me to house sit for her since she was traveling abroad and had no one to watch her 5 month-old baby. She couldn’t rely on the nanny enough to leave her at home with the baby. I suggested to her to have hidden cameras for home monitoring if this agreement was going to succeed.

As soon as we had set up hidden cameras for home surveillance, I plotted to have the ability to verify on the nanny while I was busy doing the household chores at the exact same time. My answer was to leave her alone in the home on purpose for brief periods of time. With surveillance cameras set up, I’d know how she’d act on her own then.

A video camera is effective for covert monitoring when its covered in an ordinary, harmless-looking disguise. It may come in different forms of household, office and personal items from pens and wristwatches to a wall clock, boom box, automobile key or electrical outlet.

Take the completely working wall clock we placed in the baby’s bed room. It is such a typical gadget that would not be detected as having a concealed surveillance function, however it truly is a DVR Wall Clock Color Hidden Digital camera. We added in the same room an Electrical Outlet Hidden Digital camera with Built-In DVR. This spy camera is hidden in a non-functioning electrical outlet.

We located an Air Freshener Hidden Camera with Built-In DVR in an additional area of the home, exactly where the camera is concealed in a non-functional air freshener. Elsewhere, we placed an Air Purifier Hidden Camera with Built-In DVR. Even though a non-working air purifier wouldn’t clear the air, the camera within it would certainly observe the nanny.

Most hidden cameras for home safety are simple to set up. My sister and I only picked ones with a built-in DVR that can report on its own without needing any set up. Each included a free SD card exactly where to save recordings so it was feasible to watch videos at a later time.

With our choices of concealed cameras for home use, playback is simple by connecting the camera to a Television or comparable monitor utilizing the provided RCA cable. An additional way would be to insert the SD card in to the SD card reader on the computer.

All of our spy cameras are motion-activated, so automated recording will start as soon as the device senses motion. They feature motion detection area masking for covering areas within the camera’s vision where pets can set off the recording. It was a cinch to place every digital camera strategically and then run it using the provided remote control.

Irgina C Horne is a respected authority in Surveillance and Security and provides a big selection of concealed cameras, nanny cams, home surveillance systems, and DVR camera systems. If you ever ask yourself where do I buy surveillance devices, you now have a secure website to order.