Saturday, January 17, 2015

720p and 1080p explained

720p explained
720p is the shorthand name for a category of HDTV video modes. The number 720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines of display resolution (also known as 720 pixels of vertical resolution), while the letter p stands for progressive scan or non-interlaced.

Progressive scanning reduces the need to prevent flicker by filtering out fine details, so sharpness is much closer to 1080i than the number of scan lines would suggest. A 720p frame has about 1 million pixels. Compared to it, a 1080p frame has 2 million pixels so the amount of detail doubles. However in practice the difference between 1080p vs 720p is not as obvious as the one between standard definition vs high definition (480p vs 720p). For example a regular DVD isn’t even considered high definition because it is either 720×480 (NTSC) or 720×576 (PAL) but it looks much better than regular NTSC or PAL TV broadcasts and not as great as 720p. That being said, you do get more detail from 1080p than from any resolution if you have the “winning” formula for screen size, resolution and viewing distance – that is if you have the optimum conditions to get the most out of 1080p.

1080p explained:
The number 1080 represents 1,080 lines of vertical resolutions (1,080 horizontal scan lines), while the letter p stands for
progressive scan (meaning the image is not interlaced). 1080p can be referred to as full HD or full high definition although 1080i is also “Full HD” (1920×1080 pixels). The term usually assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a horizontal resolution of 1920 pixels. This creates a frame resolution of 1920×1080, or 2,073,600 pixels in total.

The only pure 1080p content comes from high definition DVDs like Blue Ray and HD DVD. Regular DVDs are way below that, having just 480p or 576p. You also get HD content from TV broadcasts but for now only 1080i and 720p. Basically 1080i offers pretty much the same amount of detail as 1080p but the quality of fast moving scenes is a bit inferior to 1080p. To understand this better read the 1080p vs 1080i guide. 720p content will of course look the same (or very similar) on a 1080p screen as it does on a 720p screen because what also matters is the content resolution not just the screen resolution.

Here is a sample with the difference between 720p and 1080p:
480i - Total image resolution 337,920 pixels
480p - Total image resolution 337,920 pixels
720p - Total image resolution 921,600 pixels (roughly equivalent to a 1 mega pixel camera)
1080i - Total image resolution 2,073,600 pixels (equivalent to a 2 mega pixel camera)
1080p - Total image resolution 2,073,600 pixels (equivalent to a 2 mega pixel camera)

More lines is nice but don't forget about the 'p' and 'i' in the 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The letter is an abbreviation for the type of scan the TV uses -- 'p' stands for progressive and 'i' stands for interlaced.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

1000BASE-TX over CAT 6

1000BASE-TX over Category 6

TIA/EIA-854 : A Full Duplex Ethernet Physical Layer Specification for 1000Mb/s operating over Category 6 Balanced Twisted Pair Cabling (1000BASE-TX).

This document specifies a full duplex Ethernet physical layer interface for 1000Mb/s operation over a 100 meters of a Category 6 twisted pair cabling channel, referred to as 1000BASE-TX.

The purpose of this document, 1000BASE-TX, is to provide an Ethernet physical layer specification that is low complexity and can easily be implemented by many vendors. This will take advantage of the improved transmission parameters provided by Category 6 cabling.

It was believed by the members of this project that a much simpler solution for data rates of 1000Mb/s operating over a 100 meters of Category 6 UTP cabling would be a benefit to users who migrate to the higher data rates. It would eliminate the complicated requirements in the 1000BASE-T standard of canceling the effects of crosstalk and return loss, providing a solution that could operate at a much lower power level, the potential for multiple ports per chip, and could be implemented at a lower cost.  As it turned out, the ports became cheap very quickly and so no hardware vendor adopted this standard.

ANSI decided not to adopt TIA/EIA-854. The IEEE also decided not to adopt this and keep with 1000BASE-T as in IEEE802.3ab.

Since there is no application for this limit and it was not adopted by either ANSI or IEEE, it is not in the DTX CableAnalyzer.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Make Your Internet Faster

How To Make Your Internet Faster (Windows XP, Vista, 7,8)
Slow internet connection is the annoying thing that many people don't want to have. If your internet download speed is slow or your internet connection took long time to load the page, so you are not viewing your Security Camera / DVR. Don't worry today we will teach you how to make your internet faster by change DNS server in the control panel. There are many tricks and tips that also can increase internet speed, but we will show you the effective one.
In here we will walk you through step by step on how to change DNS servers that can increase your internet speed to maximum. Make sure to follow the step correctly for better result.

Step 1 : Open Control Panel

Step 2 : Go to Network and Internet >>> Network and Sharing Center

Step 3 : Click on Local Area Connection >>> Select Properties

Step 4 : Find and double click on "Internet Protocal Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"

Step 5 : Tick on "Use the following DNS server addresses"

Step 6 : Fill up the DNS server like the same down below :

Preferred DNS Server : 8.8.8.8 
Alternate DNS Server : 8.8.4.4

or

Preferred DNS Server : 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS Server : 208.67.222.222 

Step 7 : Click OK and Restart your computer.

Cleaning Up Your Computer
No matter how fast your internet is, If there are a lot of junk files and temporary files in your system, Your internet speed and system performance will drop. Also, there are many program installed in your computer and running on the background, Those programs that running in the desktop can slow down your internet speed also.

If you have many junk files and unnecessary programs installed in your PC, you should delete them out of your system.

Scan For A Virus

Virus is a main problem that causes your fast internet to run slow. Running your system with a virus can slow down your system performance, decrease your internet speed, and cause many more problems. If there are virus in your system, make sure to scan and get rid of it. You should scan for your system once a week for better security.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Protect your home use Security Cameras

I want to protect my home and use Security Cameras

So I want to protect my home.   I need a video surveillance system for night or in areas with low light. So looks like the best option would be infrared security cameras that capture images even in the dark.

So what is an infrared camera exactly?

An infrared camera works by calculating the brightness of a room or particular area. They feature special LED lighting which can be seen on the outside lens. These LEDs are able to capture light from the regions of electromagnetic spectrum that allow an image to be created even if there is little visible light. For this reason we refer to IR cameras as having night vision.

An infrared security camera will switch its mode to infrared only when the light drops below a certain level. It captures black and white images at that point.

Interesting side note, IR Illuminators allow many objects to be penetrated, such as the haze, fog and smoke. Infrared Illuminators are used typically for a low light environment. Sometimes, when the IR array is focused narrowly or the hold is not strong enough the external IR Illuminator will give an extra sharp image. It can provide an additional infrared light source that is invisible to the naked eye normally.

If you are going to use infrared security cameras outdoors, the best option would be to choose those that can stand up to the natural elements as well as tampering from criminals.   I found several options that allow for the greatest flexibility including direct bright light, vandal resistant, weather proof and cost effective.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Value of Video Verification

The Value of Video Verification

Alarm systems have been a part of security since the beginning. We all know that when an alarm goes off, police are called to respond, but how many of those alarms are false? To just one person or business it seems reasonable for police to respond to even the false alarms, but multiply that by hundreds and thousands of businesses in each city and imagine all the false alarms police are required to respond to each day. Unfortunately, police cannot respond to every alarm call within a fair amount of time. Staffing, policies, and priorities often conflict with these calls. With no way of knowing whether the alarm is real or fake, police have to make a best effort, which sometimes results in the real crimes remaining unsolved.
Today systems are being designed to allow video verification of alarms. This means that when an alarm is tripped a monitoring company is alerted and begins remote viewing the facility through installed CCTV security cameras. The monitoring company can then verify if a crime is occurring. Police departments respond faster to a crime in progress rather than an unknown situation. What does this mean to security customers? Well, it will require a higher monthly premium for monitoring your alarm system. With the higher price comes a quicker response rate from local police. In additional, customers with video verification systems will also have the peace of mind in knowing that even when they are unable to, there is someone watching over their property.
Many cities require fees to be paid for false alarm calls. Recently in Glendale, Arizona the city passed an ordinance that requires citizens to pay steep fines when police respond to false alarms. These fines range from $100 to $400 depending on the amount of previous false alarm calls received.
The equipment for a video verification system can be costly, but for some customers the price is worth the result. When you compare the potential loss of property if police are unable to respond in time to a real call or the increased risk of fines for false alarm calls, the setup and maintenance fees are well worth the investment.

How Video Verification Works
To those who are unfamiliar, video verification documents a change in local conditions. When a sensor goes into alarm, cameras record clips or open a feed to live video at the premise. The video and/or notification to view the live feed are sent to a central station where operators survey the situation.
With video evidence and other means of verification, such as audio or cross-zoning, central station operators can tell dispatchers more about what is happening at a property. As such, the quality of the process improves, raising the priority for dispatch and hastening response. This is in line with the protocol followed by most law enforcement agencies across the United States.
This is the procedure that the Central Station Alarm Association’s (CSAA) existing ANSI standard for video verification prescribes and it is an excellent starting point from which the industry can advance with input from law enforcement and the insurance industry. It is important for installing security companies to know that video verification is completely dependent on central station service.

Road to Making Gains
For video verification to truly gain acceptance by all ancillary industry stakeholders — from end users, police and the insurance industry — there must be uniformity in how it is applied. With several years of field experience gained by industry stakeholders, some of the advancements for the next generation of verification are being implemented.
Differentiations can be made for residential, commercial and high-value commercial, as well as interior and exterior applications. Within the commercial realm, there are different risk levels to be accounted for, such as the potential loss at a big-box electronics store compared with a sporting goods store that has a stock of weapons and ammunition.
Fortunately, one distinction everyone agrees upon is that professionally installed and monitored systems will garner prioritized response that DIY, self-monitored systems will not enjoy. That alone gives alarm contractors a tremendous selling point to current and prospective customers, especially as some of the largest technology companies enter into the smart-home market with automation systems and smoke/CO detector devices.
While the industry works on these issues, whatever the final form of this standard ends up being, video verification will deliver value for every stakeholder in the battle against property crime. Alarm system owners will get a fast police response and installing contractors will benefit from satisfied customers. At the same time, police remove criminals from the streets and the insurance industry cuts down on claims they have to pay out now and in the future.

The new video verification standard will be a win for everyone involved.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Basic Things to Know About CCTV as a Technician

Some Basic Things to Know About CCTV as a Technician, If you are manager just share this with your team.

Cable Running
Many facilities use closed circuit television (CCTV) as part of an overall security system. Cameras mounted on buildings or ceilings transmit signals to a central monitoring room. CCTV takes two forms ---hard-wired or wireless. A technician just starting out in CCTV has to gain a knowledge base of how CCTV works, so he will be able to install, test and troubleshoot systems. Do not run 3+1/4+1 CCTV Cable, use RG11, RG6, RG59 only. Find-out the length of Video Cable from DVR to Camera, it should be on limit. Do not overlapping with High voltage wire. Do not join the Video Cable, use complete length ( One drum Video Cable its 305Mtr) of wire. If cable layed in out door use Armour cable.


RG 59 which can transmit signals up to 200 metres. This distances are for a single run of cable with no amplifiers or in-line correctors.

RG 11 which can transmit signals up to 270 metres. It is more expensive because it is thicker. This distance are for a single run of cable with no amplifiers or in-line correctors.

RG 6 which can transmit signals up to 400 metres. It is more expensive because it is thicker. This distances are for a single run of cable with no amplifiers or in-line correctors.

Twisted pair cable is a good alternative to coaxial cable if the length of the run is more than a few hundred metres. With pure cooper twisted pair, runs of up to 600 metres can be used without any in-line repeaters.

Troubleshooting Signal Loss
The picture on the monitor should never be fuzzy or have interference patterns. If it does, signal loss is occurring somewhere in the system. Technicians have specialized testing equipment and know how to use them in order to troubleshoot systems. Usually, a technician starts at the camera and works her way back to the receiver. She/he checks each connection until the test equipment indicates a loss. Some common problems are corrosion due to moisture inside the connectors or cables chewed through by animals.

Camera Installation
CCTV technicians can't be afraid of heights. Cameras are mounted high on the sides of buildings, or high in the ceiling areas of stores. You have to use a boom lift to reach spots to mount cameras. If you suffer from heights, becoming a CCTV Technician may not be a valid career path.
Cables are installed from the camera to the receiver station. You will have to drill through masonry block and below floor to run the cable. Be prepared to navigate through tight cramped quarters to get the cable from the camera to the receiver. Bring along a change of clothes, since you will get dirty in the process.

CCTV Camera Installation Tips:-
1. Test all equipment before installation. Therefore equipment can be replaced before arrival on-site if needed.
2. Ensure the mounting brackets of outdoor speed domes are properly sealed to prevent condensation in the camera housing.
3. Ensure sufficient space for camera, lens and connectors when choosing camera housing.
4. Avoid direct sunlight on equipment as it raises the temperature of the equipment.
5. Position cameras out of reach of vandals or 'curious' people.
6. Mount good quality mounting brackets in a stable location to avoid unstable or vibrating images caused by vibration or wind.
7. CS Mount cameras placed inside, at industrial or dusty/damp installations should be placed into outdoor camera housings.
8. Avoid installing cameras too high above the subject thus preventing 'top-of-head' video images
9. Ensure camera mounting poles are mechanically secure to avoid vibration on camera images
10. Before connecting power, ensure the supply is 12VDC regulated.

CCTV Cabling Tips:
1. Avoid running video cable parallel to AC power cables, especially those carrying high current.
2. RG59U Coax runs should not exceed 180m for colour and 280m for B/W
3.Avoid sharp bends when cabling
4. Avoid cable joins and using BNC barrels
5. Avoid over-tightening cable-ties
6. Ensure use of proper co-ax wire-stripping and crimping tools
7. Ensure BNC Connectors are properly crimped
8. Use Rubber BNC Boots after crimping to protect crimped area and bend radius
9. Mark or label camera and data signal cables
10. Outdoor cable runs should be housed in UV-proof conduit
11. In lightning prone areas, install surge protection devices

Final Testing and Teaching

A technician tests the system after it's installed. This involves knowing how to aim the cameras, knowing how to operate the monitoring equipment in the security room and knowing how to instruct the final operators of the system. You have to be part teacher. You may have to deal with people who have no knowledge of how a CCTV system is operated, so you have to use layperson-friendly language during the training process.

As you are a Engineer / Technician remember this few points:
Visually inspect all major components and connections for signs of deterioration or damage
Check all control equipment (DVRs, VCRs, monitors, multiplexers, video switchers, telemetry units etc) for correct operation
Check mains & power supplies and stand-by batteries including charging rates.
Check environmental conditions for adverse effects, including growth or shrubbery obscuring camera views
Check time and date settings in equipment and update the settings as appropriate
Check integrity of all cabling and sample check external insulation for damage
Clean cable fixings for security
Check auxiliary lighting equipment, infra-red units and photocells (if any) for correct operation
Check air vents are clear in all control equipment including PCs
Clean cameras, lenses and housing surfaces as necessary
Check al glands and seals on external equipment
Clean control equipment surfaces including PC (if applicable)
Establish regular back-ups are taken
Check camera is aligned to user specification, pictures for correct field of view and adjust as necessary
Check brackets, towers and fixings for corrosion or damage. Check clamping bolts/brackets are tightened correctly
Check wash/wipe units and wiper blades (if any) for correct operation and fill washer reservoir where necessary
Check quality of recording during day time and night time modes
Check pan and tilt assembly (if any) including fixings, electrical connections and functions.
Check the satisfactory CCTV transmission of images to remote site (if applicable)
Check warning signs are in place
Check all camera presets
Check all alarm presets

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

PoE network camera in Global market

Development of PoE network camera in Global market

Since the launching of Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard, global enterprise are eager to utilize this emerging technology in just a few years. According the latest survey, in just six years from 2008 to now, the annual increasing rate of power equipment with PoE technology will reach 33%. In 2014, global market of power devices with PoE technology will be over $5.2 billion, compound annual growth rate will be 38%.

Along with the development of worldwide security market, users start to consider deploying some network cameras and other network security devices. Network surveillance based on PoE is more and more accepted by users and have great development.
PoE (Power over Ethernet) means keeping the current Ethernet cat-5 deployment, assure interface AP for wireless network security cameras and other IP signal devise based on IP signal, at the same time, it is able to power ac electric for those kinds of devices. PoE technology use one general Ethernet cable to transmit Ethernet signal and ac electrical source simultaneously, allowing power and date to be integrated into the same cable system. In the case of guaranteeing the construction cable safety, keep normal answer operation. PoE network camera use PoE technology to realize the network video surveillance, which has power device function to use direct current main provided by power device equipment to transmit to power device via twisted-pair.
Compared to normal network camera, PoE network camera has following advantages: apart from power the connected device through Ethernet cable, PoE reduce the investment cost, as a result, it decrease the overall the deployment costs to  organize the device based on IP infrastructure. Poe not only provide the need for installing wall power connection, which dramatically reduce the plug costs related supporting end devices but also install the network connection device on the place where is hard to deploy the local alternating current power supply, to some content, provide more flexibility. We can separate PoE network camera form power device end in the practice, which can be divide into two types, normal cameras and PoE adaptor. Front end has Ethernet switch for PoE power, and back end has PoE adaptor, which will transmit the twisted cable power to network camera for the working power. Because power device is able to identify the rate of power, when we use ups to power, the advantage of saving energy is more obvious.

About Wireless Hacking

About Wireless Hacking


Wireless networks broadcast their packets using radio frequency or optical wavelengths. A modern laptop computer can listen in. Worse, an attacker can manufacture new packets on the fly and persuade wireless stations to accept his packets as legitimate.

The step by step procedures in wireless hacking can be explained with help of different topics as follows:-


1) Stations and Access Points :- A wireless network interface card (adapter) is a device, called a station, providing the network physical layer over a radio link to another station.

An access point (AP) is a station that provides frame distribution service to stations associated with it.

The AP itself is typically connected by wire to a LAN. Each AP has a 0 to 32 byte long Service Set Identifier (SSID) that is also commonly called a network name. The SSID is used to segment the airwaves for usage.



2) Channels :- The stations communicate with each other using radio frequencies between 2.4 GHz and 2.5 GHz. Neighboring channels are only 5 MHz apart. Two wireless networks using neighboring channels may interfere with each other.



3) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) :- It is a shared-secret key encryption system used to encrypt packets transmitted between a station and an AP. The WEP algorithm is intended to protect wireless communication from eavesdropping. A secondary function of WEP is to prevent unauthorized access to a wireless network. WEP encrypts the payload of data packets. Management and control frames are always transmitted in the clear. WEP uses the RC4 encryption algorithm.



4) Wireless Network Sniffing :- Sniffing is eavesdropping on the network. A (packet) sniffer is a program that intercepts and decodes network traffic broadcast through a medium. It is easier to sniff wireless networks than wired ones. Sniffing can also help find the easy kill as in scanning for open access points that allow anyone to connect, or capturing the passwords used in a connection session that does not even use WEP, or in telnet, rlogin and ftp connections.



5 ) Passive Scanning :- Scanning is the act of sniffing by tuning to various radio channels of the devices. A passive network scanner instructs the wireless card to listen to each channel for a few messages. This does not reveal the presence of the scanner. An attacker can passively scan without transmitting at all.



6) Detection of SSID :- The attacker can discover the SSID of a network usually by passive scanning because the SSID occurs in the following frame types: Beacon, Probe Requests, Probe Responses, Association Requests, and Reassociation Requests. Recall that management frames are always in the clear, even when WEP is enabled.

When the above methods fail, SSID discovery is done by active scanning



7) Collecting the MAC Addresses :- The attacker gathers legitimate MAC addresses for use later in constructing spoofed frames. The source and destination MAC addresses are always in the clear in all the frames.



8) Collecting the Frames for Cracking WEP :- The goal of an attacker is to discover the WEP shared-secret key. The attacker sniffs a large number of frames An example of a WEP cracking tool is AirSnort ( http://airsnort.shmoo.com ).



9) Detection of the Sniffers :- Detecting the presence of a wireless sniffer, who remains radio-silent, through network security measures is virtually impossible. Once the attacker begins probing (i.e., by injecting packets), the presence and the coordinates of the wireless device can be detected.



10) Wireless Spoofing :- There are well-known attack techniques known as spoofing in both wired and wireless networks. The attacker constructs frames by filling selected fields that contain addresses or identifiers with legitimate looking but non-existent values, or with values that belong to others. The attacker would have collected these legitimate values through sniffing.



11) MAC Address Spoofing :- The attacker generally desires to be hidden. But the probing activity injects frames that are observable by system administrators. The attacker fills the Sender MAC Address field of the injected frames with a spoofed value so that his equipment is not identified.



12) IP spoofing :- Replacing the true IP address of the sender (or, in rare cases, the destination) with a different address is known as IP spoofing. This is a necessary operation in many attacks.



13) Frame Spoofing :- The attacker will inject frames that are valid but whose content is carefully spoofed.



14) Wireless Network Probing :- The attacker then sends artificially constructed packets to a target that trigger useful responses. This activity is known as probing or active scanning.



15) AP Weaknesses :- APs have weaknesses that are both due to design mistakes and user interfaces



16) Trojan AP :- An attacker sets up an AP so that the targeted station receives a stronger signal from it than what it receives from a legitimate AP.



17) Denial of Service :- A denial of service (DoS) occurs when a system is not providing services to authorized clients because of resource exhaustion by unauthorized clients. In wireless networks, DoS attacks are difficult to prevent, difficult to stop. An on-going attack and the victim and its clients may not even detect the attacks. The duration of such DoS may range from milliseconds to hours. A DoS attack against an individual station enables session hijacking.



18) Jamming the Air Waves :- A number of consumer appliances such as microwave ovens, baby monitors, and cordless phones operate on the unregulated 2.4GHz radio frequency. An attacker can unleash large amounts of noise using these devices and jam the airwaves so that the signal to noise drops so low, that the wireless LAN ceases to function.



19) War Driving :- Equipped with wireless devices and related tools, and driving around in a vehicle or parking at interesting places with a goal of discovering easy-to-get-into wireless networks is known as war driving. War-drivers (http://www.wardrive.net) define war driving as “The benign act of locating and logging wireless access points while in motion.” This benign act is of course useful to the attackers.

Regardless of the protocols, wireless networks will remain potentially insecure because an attacker can listen in without gaining physical access.



Tips for Wireless Home Network Security

1) Change Default Administrator Passwords (and Usernames)

2) Turn on (Compatible) WPA / WEP Encryption

3) Change the Default SSID

4) Disable SSID Broadcast
5) Assign Static IP Addresses to Devices
6) Enable MAC Address Filtering
7) Turn Off the Network During Extended Periods of Non-Use
8) Position the Router or Access Point Safely

Lets find out how best to protect your system from online attacks.
a)    First up don’t allow your CCTV system to respond to a ping request. You don’t want any other internet device to be able to see if your device can “talk” to it. You will be the only one able to do this once you log in to your password encrypted software. Turn the option to receive Pings off in your DVR (digital video recorder) and also in your router. You can also change the port names on the DVR if allowed.
b)    If this function is not feasible, alter the router setups to utilize Port Forwarding, so that web traffic on a certain inbound port number will be sent to the appropriate port of the DVR on your network.
c)    As mentioned above modify the password on the CCTV System with lower and uppercase leTter$ + $ymb0ls- THIS IS A NECESSITY. Make it super complicated.
d)    See to it that you regularly update the firmware on the CCTV System to keep it up to day with the latest security threats. Manufactures will regularly update their software to counteract new threats they have detected.
e)    Configure your router’s Firewall software– Unless you want to give any person on the web access to your CCTV system. With the firewall program that comes along with your router you can also ban particular IP (Internet Protocol) and MAC (computer identification nodes) addresses from accessing your CCTV system.

Monday, November 24, 2014

To 4K or not 4K video or Ultra HD

To 4K or not to 4K video or Ultra HD
Our industry’s seemingly insatiable appetite for more and more resolution has now produced a wave of interest in 4K cameras that promise exceptional clarity and sharpness, akin to the big screen, Ultra HD television sets found in consumer electronics stores and an increasing number of North American homes.
The jury is still out on whether there is an immediate need for the resolution that can overcome the downsides of increased storage and bandwidth required for running 4K cameras in a surveillance operation. Like so many things, if the cost of the camera, cost of the supporting system infrastructure and components were of no concern, this new format would likely be a more viable and attractive option for many security applications.

Here are four things to consider before making the leap to investing in and deploying 4K video:

1. What will I get with 4K that is not possible at lower resolution?
There’s no doubt that 4K technology is light years ahead of analog quality, but the reality is that the increased clarity and sharpness provided by that level of resolution is often over and beyond what is required and able to be managed by a typical security operation. For many reasons, full HD/1080P is the most commonly used resolution for new systems. The majority of security systems in use for live monitoring situation do not really benefit from such a resolution, as the human eye is well served with the details of a 1080P picture. Higher resolutions pay out when more details are required in forensic investigations.

2. Double the resolution, double the processing requirements
Users typically want to see more than one camera on one monitor, and only  occasionally switch to full screen modes. With 4K, the clarity of that multi camera view would be no clearer than what would be viewed from a lower resolution camera. In addition, delivering streams from multiple 4K cameras presents some technical challenges. The client PC and graphics card must handle a significant flow of data. The best approach is to have the live view limited to only enough resolution for the video size and screen resolution of the display.
Today a typical approach to balance PC power requirements and quality uses lower resolution streams for live view, while recording in the highest resolutions. 4K resolution taxes the workload on the network because recording the highest resolution means the full stream content moves from the camera to the NVR.

3. Limitations on form factors, lenses
The availability of affordable high resolution optics is just not there yet, and a dome style camera with a typical curved dome bubble cannot transmit the 4K resolution. In addition, a true 8MP resolution lens with appropriate coverage for the 4K sensor is quite large, which would render a 4K version of the compact dome camera (the market’s favorite form factor) essentially not possible.  The dome camera would get physically bigger which, for many customers, is a negative.

4.  Bandwidth and storage requirements
From a cost perspective, quadrupling the resolution from full HD to 4K won’t quite double the camera price. However, on the recording side it will most definitely demand more than double the storage requirements when operating under the same conditions.

Bandwidth consumption is related to processor power available on the camera. For example, the average full HD cameras deliver about 6Mbps at 30 ips. On the bright side, some manufacturers are offering full HD models with advanced compression capabilities that can reduce bandwidth consumption to about 3Mbps, with the next iteration to handle 4K video at full HD bandwidth consumption levels. Additionally new compression standards such as H.265 HVEC (High Efficiency Video Encoding) will make higher resolution bandwidth more practical for surveillance.

So where does this leave you, 4K today or not just yet? For some customers a bigger number is frequently perceived as a better solution but surveillance installations should focus on the reason the system investment is being made in the first place; protection of personnel and protection of assets. It is far from a one size fits all decision and resolution is an important tool in the system solution.

Next benchmark for video surveillance cameras is going to be the Ultra HD standard, with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 – around 8MP. Given the challenges networks may face carrying Ultra HD video streams it’s hard to say just when we will see the technology reach a tipping point.

THERE are a couple of signs worth paying attention to with Ultra HD (commonly called 4K in consumer and CCTV industries). The first is that UHD consumer monitors, which are now dropping in price at a time many homeowners’ first 1080p HD monitors may be starting to look a little tired. Something else to bear in mind is the consensus forming in digital photography that 8MP is the sweet spot that allows the best balance of low light performance and high resolution.

As most readers know, the more pixels you cram onto an imager, the smaller those pixels must be. And the smaller the pixels, the less light they can absorb. Double the number of pixels on a 1/3-inch HD sensor and you halve the light reaching the sensor. The result is that more pixels does not a perfect camera make – not unless sensor sizes increase. If it’s all about display images today, then 3MP cameras with a 1080p resolution are ideal.

But if you need digital zoom or you use a UHD monitor, then Ultra HD cameras should be a consideration. If you zoom in 2x digital with an Ultra HD image then you are viewing at 2MP, which is pretty good considering how quickly it takes an HD camera to burrow down under 4CIF when digital zoom is applied. 

Something else to bear in mind when considering digital image quality is that pixels on a digital camera’s sensor capture light in red, blue or green – not all colours at once. A layout will be a pair of green, a red and a blue in a grid pattern and onboard software then nuts out the colour value for pixels. This means there’s signal attenuating averaging going on in the background - one colour per 4 pixels.

A camera’s digital engine is also working hard to stave off false colours and moire – spacial aliasing that causes false patterns in a scene. Camera engines will blur an image slightly then sharpen it in order to lose such artifacts. Clearly, the more pixels, the more work the camera processor has to get through and this can be noticeable as latency or blurring if there’s sudden movement – like cars moving at right angles across a scene.

Lenses are another issue. An Ultra HD camera is going to need a quality lens and there’s no doubt that plenty of 1080p cameras are being sold with lenses that are not perfect. Sure, things look good in the centre of the image but out towards the edges details get muddy, especially on the sorts of deep zooms that might motivate a buyer to choose Ultra HD in the first place.

Sensor noise is also something that has to be considered at multiple levels. In low light, cameras increase exposure, elevating noise levels. Furthermore, pixel measurements are never perfect and the flaws in these signals show up on a monitor as noise. It’s unhelpful during the day and blinding at night. Digital noise reduction is the answer but DNR processing doesn’t just lose noise, it sloughs fine detail off a scene. When you look at a camera being tested in low light you can often see the areas where DNR has scrubbed and smudged a scene free of detail. It’s not a good look.

Engineers can build high resolution imagers with fewer noise problems but they need to be big – 1-inch or 1/1.5 inch sensors are ideal. A 1/1.5-inch sensor has 4x the area of the 1/3-inch sensors that typically run inside 1080p CCTV cameras. No wonder GBO’s S1080 camera (BGWT sells them in Australia) with its monster 1-inch sensor has such a great image in low light.

If the sensors are large enough, the lenses are good enough, the network is capable enough and the storage sufficient, then Ultra HD cameras will give end users a lot more detail than 3MP 1080p cameras can. But this capability has to be balanced against many things. Image quality is about more than megapixel count. 

“If a sensor is of the similar size as the equivalent HD sensor and it has 4x the pixels - low light performance will be 4x lower. And streaming bandwidth will be close to 4x larger unless better compression is used”

Keep in mind,
4K =     8.3 megapixels, aspect ratio 16:9 Horizontal resolution
1080p= 2.1 megapixel,  aspect ratio 16:9 Vertical resolution
720p=   1.3 megapixel,  aspect ratio 16:9 Vertical resolution

D1=      0.4 megapixel,  aspect ratio   4:3 Vertical resolution

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Site Surveys Planning for Your Customer

Site Surveys – Planning for Your Customer
Most of us have heard the old saying “Prior planning prevents poor performance” and nowhere is it more important than planning out a Video Surveillance System & Access Control System. Taking time upfront to make sure your survey is complete and accurate will save great amounts of time, money and energy for your installers, making both you and the customers bottom line better.

Making the sale and picking the right product are only parts of the puzzle. Camera placement, lens selection, mounting options and cable planning are all equally important to the success of a job. These elements will also help you gain the loyalty of your customer. If you’re a salesman, project manager or an estimator, at some point you’re going to have to put a project together and it will help if you know what to look for.
Of all the various parts of a CCTV system & Access Control System, the one thing the customer is going to notice above all else is a picture that doesn’t meet his expectations. He won’t care what kind of cable you used to get the picture in front of his eyes, nor will he worry about whether there’s a space in between each piece of equipment mounted in a rack. But he will know right away if he can’t see what he thought he was going to see or if what he can see is out of focus.

Picking camera and lens combinations are one of those areas that have become far easier over time. More sensitive cameras and varifocal lenses have taken most of the work out of the selection process. EM Lock installation has taken most of the work out of the selection process. It is still important however to have a good grasp of the concepts.

Focal length of a lens refers to two main things, the distance a lens can see clearly and the width of the scene a particular lens can see. Focal length is rated in millimeters. The lower the millimeter number, the wider the scene. As you go higher in millimeters, the lens becomes more telephoto and the scene width is greatly reduced. Taking the time to pick the right camera and lens combination will make for a smoother install and a happier customer and reduce the need for return visits.

One aspect of a site survey and system design that is frequently over looked is the environment itself. Not only conditions like temperature and weather extremes, but also physical aspects of the environment. I was recently out at a customer’s site looking at a parking lot through the view of his cameras. The customer told me the view was good now but in the spring when the trees bloom he cannot see anything. His system was installed in the winter when all the trees were bare. Please remember that trees grow. Those newly planted saplings will become towering oaks in a few years. Make sure they won’t impede your view now or ever.
Physical obstruction aren’t only limited to the great outdoors. Warehouses are notorious for large shelving and stacks of product. Shelves and products are subject to reconfiguration at any time. Make sure your camera placement is high enough so that it doesn’t get blocked by a stack of boxes.

It seems obvious to take things like that into consideration but I can tell you it doesn’t always happen that way. In times like we are experiencing today the need to get in and out of a project quickly becomes very important to the bottom line, but we can’t let it compromise the integrity of our system design.