CCTV
Closed circuit television has been around for decades but in the last ten years the technology has changed. It used to work by recording to tape recorders, not unlike video cassette recorders found in the home. Most modern systems now record to digital video recorders that use hard disks. These are cheaper, more capable and more reliable.
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Digital Video Recorders
Traditional security cameras recorded on tape recorders which had various problems. Tapes needed to be changed and controlled so events could be found going back days or even weeks. This made finding an event was very time consuming and often failings in tape management meant the event could not be found. The tapes deteriorated over time, and often when needed the quality of the recording was too poor to be useful. The tape drives where complex mechanical devices which were expensive and prone to failure. Total cost of ownership was high when considering the cost of the recorders as well as buying, replacing and managing tapes..
Modern recording is now done on digital devices called Digital Video Recorders (DVR). These devices are typically network attached and monitored by computer. If the network is properly setup to get the best use of them, cameras can be monitored either from the local network, over the Internet or even on a suitable smart phone.
The modern DVR is a very powerful device, able to monitor, record and playback, all at the same time. They typically have 4, 8, 16 or 32 cameras and have varying amounts of storage space which is on hard disk. Hard disks have the major advantage of not suffering from reduced quality of image due to tape ware. With modern hard disks storage of over a month of video on all cameras is possible.
Another major advantage is that in the event of a security problem the device is able to go quickly to the time and camera you are interested in without having to fast forward through numerous video tapes. Once an event is found this can be copied to a computer and easily given to the police. This can even be done remotely.
The change from tape based CCTV to a DVR based system is often very simple and relatively inexpensive. Assuming the existing cameras and cabling are working well the changeover is little more than swapping it over as the cables from the existing cameras will be compatible with the new DVR. The new DVR can be used stand alone as was the tape based system but most business owners want to use the network features and view then from their computer or smart phone. This requires a cable connection to the network and some configuration of the DVR and the router or firewall.
An increasing number of Atomik.biz clients have video surveillance equipment and we are able to integrate this into their network to suit their requirements.