IP: What is it and Why Should I Use it?
Numerous individuals become confused when they hear about Internet protocol being affiliated with a security system. It is easy to understand why one might be confused, but you can simplify the process and put it into terms that are easy to understand.
Internet protocol is an easy way of saying a digital system enhanced with a direct connection to the network on the end of the camera. Some of the current models, as well as older ones, use analog closed circuit television security cameras and transform them into a digital signal thanks to a digital video recorder. A real IP security system will consider the type of security camera that needs to be used, whether it is digital or Internet based. The Internet protocol portion of the camera allows it to connect directly without having to worry about additional hardware. In order to gain access to the numerous advantages in a quality security system, you will want to make sure you have all of the pieces on the most current technology around.
Advantages of an IP System
An IP system allows you to enhance your system based upon the changing technology and what lies ahead. You will be ready for growth and change when they happen, without having to worry about changing any of your key components.
Access Your Device from a Remote Location – Video encoders and network cameras can easily be configured to access footage from a remote location. This allows multiple users to access the footage at any time from a network around the world. If you want a third-party company to access your video feed, this is one of the biggest advantages to this system. In a typical analog closed circuit television system, the user is required to be on location to manage the video feed. It was not possible to access the video from an off-site location without the specified equipment. The digital video recorder is taking over for the video cassette recorder.
Accessing your video as it is happening can be done from anywhere around the world, not to mention at anytime. Video will be stored on a digital video recorder or through a remote monitoring facility. You can work to link multiple sites into one without having to worry about adding on additional devices for storage.
Image Quality Beyond Compare – It is imperative that you have the utmost image quality around when it comes to security footage. You want to make sure you have a clear image of the incident as it happens to help identify the individual or object involved in the incident. When you have progressive scan and enhanced megapixel technology, your network camera works to provide you with an enhanced quality image and higher resolution over a standard analog closed circuit television camera.
Quality of image can be retained in a network system over that of an analog surveillance system. Given the analog systems of today that use a digital video recorder as their main means of recording, many conversions between analog and digital have occurred. It begins with the analog signal being transmitted into a digital signal and then back to analog for transporting. The analog signals are then turned digital for recording. Images captured are reduced in quality during every conversion between analog and digital formats and depending upon the distance involved for cabling. As the distance increases for the signal to travel, the quality will weaken over the distance.
In a digital IP system that is digital, the images from the network camera are transferred into a digital format and they remain that way without having to worry about any conversions. There is no need to worry about downgrading the signal when it comes to travelling over a distance on the network. Digital images can easily be stored and found later on when an analog tape was used.
An Internet protocol camera can help provide you with the most amazing quality around when it comes to picture quality. The scope of their picture will far exceed anything a basic analog closed circuit television system can do. There is no need to worry about converting from analog to digital because it is digital from the source along the way to the end user. Similar in the respect of the CD taking over for the cassette player, DVD taking over for the VHS cassette, the Internet protocol cameras are not taking over for the traditional closed circuit television systems.
Flexibility, Scalability and Freedom to Connect – Adding on an Internet protocol camera is really all it takes. There is no need to purchase a new digital video recorder and other expensive pieces of equipment. If you only need one camera, all you need to do is buy one Internet camera and you are all set.
There is almost no limit to where you can place your IP camera. They are not tied down to anything physical, such as a digital video recorder, but instead they are operated through a wireless or satellite connection. When it comes to the server, it does not need any additional cables to make it operational.
Network systems can grow as the user does. An IP system helps to provide you with the opportunity for using multiple network cameras and encoders, as well as numerous other applications to share the network for communicating data across the board. You can add as many network products to the system as you need, without having to worry about any extravagant costs to the structure. This is not the situation when it comes to an analog system. Analog systems have a dedicated cable that must run from the camera into the recording station. Separate cables are required for using audio in the recording. Network products can be placed from just about anywhere, which allows you to open or close the door as needed.
Pricing is Affordable – IP systems normally have a lot lower cost of ownership than that of a traditional analog closed circuit television system. Often the infrastructure is already in existence and being used for other applications within the business, so adding a network application that can hook into the existing infrastructure is relatively easy. An IP network or wireless option is far cheaper than their alternatives when it comes to traditional cabling for an analog system. Digital video streams can be routed around the globe using quite a display of interoperable infrastructures. Since the back-end applications are ran on the industry standard, costs for equipment and management are far less than their counterparts.
PoE cannot be applied to analog systems, but it can be used in a network setting. It allows the devices to receive their power from a switch using the same cabling to transport video. PoE can provide you with a tremendous amount of savings on installation and the system will be more reliable than ever before.
An IP system runs through a typical computer network while numerous digital video recorder systems are ran through standard hardware and software. The requirements for infrastructure are substantially lower. Taking advantage of PoE helps to allow standard cabling to provide the necessary power to an IP camera, which helps to limit the amount of costs involved.
Managing Events and the Use of Intelligent Video – Often there is far too much video recorded and not enough time to perform a proper analysis of them all. Advanced cameras and encoders have the built-in intelligence and analytics to help tackle this problem through a reduction in the amount of recordings that are uninteresting, as well as enabling a programmed response. These functions are not available in a traditional analog system.
Video encoders and axis network cameras are equipped with built-in features including motion detectors, active tampering alarms, audio detectors, input and output connections and event managing capabilities. These features work together to help enable the cameras and encoders to analyze the input to help detect any events and respond automatically with video and audio recordings. It also works to send out the necessary alarm functionality.
You can configure the event functions using the network interface or the video software program. Users are able to define the alarm or the event through setting the triggers for use, as well as when to use them. Responses can be configured as well, regardless of whether you are on or off site, such as activating an outside alarm, light or door and sending a notification message to the user.
Integration for the Future – Network products are based upon an open standard, which allows them to easily integrate with a computer based system via the Ethernet cable, as well as software for managing applications and videos. Video from your network camera can easily be integrated with a system to help manage your point of sales. Thus keeping your technology on the cutting edge at all times.
Visit the Techpro Security website today to see how IP Network DVR’s can work for you.
