IP CAMERAS
Simplifying IP cameras Easy IPeasy By Nick Jackson, Product Manager, Minitran
Nick Jackson discusses the considerations to be made when deploying an IP camera solution.
Although IP cameras have been around for well over a decade, they have only recently become an accepted part of the video security industry. Nick Jackson discusses how best to implement them. Early IP camera solutions offered only marginally better resolution than a conventional analogue camera, but with the advent of multi megapixel cameras, image resolution has massively increased. If you look at the imaging produced from a D1 resolution camera directly against a 3Megapixel or more IP camera image, the difference in resolution is staggering. Simple then, we all use high megapixel cameras. In truth, although the high pixel
count cameras produce amazing images, other factors need to be considered for an IP camera solution. The main one is the storage of image data. A single 3M camera recording at 30 FPS for 24 hours will generate over 260GB of image data per day, compared to a D1 camera`s 1.16GB per day. So this huge increase in resolution requires huge amounts of storage then? Well yes and no. By using the video Intelligence within the camera, pre-defi ned event actions can be set to only record data once an event happens. Most IP cameras have a buffer to record pre and post event images and these times can be adjusted on the more sophisticated cameras. If we reduce the amount of recorded data to around an hour, the storage requirements for a 3M camera drops to around 11GB. This is a more manageable amount of data. Mixing camera resolutions across a system, depending on where they have to go and the imaging required, can also reduce the amount of stored data. More sophisticated solutions allow a variety of different motion detection types to be defi ned, and they allow NVR searches on these specifi c events. It is all very well recording events, but searching for the actual event can be painful unless your NVR includes Video Intelligence searching.
Mega Pics High megapixel cameras can be used in a couple of different ways, depending on what you want to achieve with your imaging. These megapixel sensors can offer a much larger fi eld of view or can be zoomed in to record very high
16 NETCOMMS europe Volume II Issue 3 2012
resolution image data. This allows the recorded images to offer a higher resolution and the ability to crop and zoom in on a point of interest. This is the real advantage of IP over analogue cameras. A high resolution multi megapixel sensor with optical zoom can produce staggeringly high quality images, rather than the more commonly seen CCTV footage where, yes we can see it is a person in the car park, but cannot tell who it is. A Megapixel camera can give you the ability to produce a high quality image of that person. It is often quoted that a large
percentage of analogue CCTV system imaging is unusable. This may well be true, but is the problem caused by cheap CCTV solutions being bought and not installed incorrectly? The same type of considerations that you use for analogue CCTV must be applied with IP camera solutions; fi eld of view, distance to detection zones, lighting, etc. But by using Megapixel cameras, the installer has far more options to play with and can ultimately end up with a better solution.
Compatibility Another issue with IP camera solutions was compatibility between different manufacturers, but with the creation of the Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF) we are seeing compatibility between many of the leading brands of cameras, NVR and software. The advantage to the end user is the ability to upgrade hardware without consigning older hardware to the bin. We are also starting to see hybrid NVRs that will accept IP and CCTV inputs. This is useful for existing CCTV system users looking to upgrade to IP solutions.
Infrastructure The main advantage of IP solutions is the sheer number of ways to connect camera solutions together. Some IP cameras now offer Power over Ethernet (PoE) to provide the data and power down one Category 5+ rated cable, offering a 100 metre maximum distance between the camera and PoE switch. If you have existing fi bre or co-axial cable between the cameras and the NVR, media converters can be used
to convert the copper to fi bre or co- axial cable. Wireless in either radio or laser based systems can also be used. Being IP based, these cameras can also be connected to the internet. Some manufacturers also incorporate memory card slots to allow additional storage in the cameras. These can often be set for standalone recording only, without a NVR, or can switch between local and NVR recording should a problem occur between the camera and NVR. One thing that is often mentioned as
a disadvantage is the extra load put into an existing IP network when IP cameras are connected. Indeed, a 3Megapixel camera will generate a 10Mbps load onto a network. In the days of shared bandwidth this could present a problem, but nowadays with the adoption of switched Ethernet networks the only real problems may exist on older 10 or 100Mbps backbone links. The cost of network switches and Gigabit hardware has come down signifi cantly over the years, so this is not really an issue anymore.
End to End Solutions Some manufacturers such as Surveon offer end to end solutions, meaning that they design and manufacture the cameras, NVRs and ONVIF compatible software in house. For a solution this makes a lot of sense, all the items are designed to work together, often leading to a plug and play type confi guration. This can reduce time on site and makes any troubleshooting much easier as it may result in only one phone call for support, rather than three different manufacturers being involved. Also, these end to end solutions can be fully scalable. The same software and confi guration methods can be used whether you are using one or 500 cameras. A well confi gured and installed system will be a reliable system. This becomes easier if you are not looking at different interfaces depending on if you are using one, ten or 100 cameras. Ultimately, IP camera solutions offer many advantages over analogue solutions, but the main advantage is that you can end up with recorded imaging that you can actually use. Ultimately that is what security surveillance is all about.
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