IP Camera - Advantages Over an Analogue Camera

The Main Advantages of an IP Megapixel Camera over an Analogue Camera  

1. The megapixel IP camera will enable you to zoom in on certain areas of the picture before the point of interest pixellates.
2. The camera will cover a larger area, e.g. a 1.3 Megapixel camera will cover 3 times the area of a standard analogue camera
3. The recorded picture can be digitally zoomed without the picture being distorted to obtain face and number plate recognition

  Quality Resolution Chart for Cameras  

• 2 CIF - 704x288 = 202,752 pixels
• VGA - 640x480= 307,200 pixels
• D1 - 720x486 = 349,920 pixels
• 4 CIF - 704x576 = 405,504 pixels
• 1.3 Megapixel - 1280x1024 = 1,310,720 pixels

  Top IP Camera Manufacturers in the World are:  

• Vivotek
• Mobitix
• Arecont
• Axis
• Panasonic

  IP Cameras - Some Factors to be considered  

• How many megapixels in the IP camera
• What size CCD is in the camera, it is normally a 1/4", 1/3" or a 1/2". The 1/2" is the highest quality and the 1/4" is the lowest quality
• Does the camera have Infra red built in or do you need to provide extra lighting (infra red or security flood lights etc)
• Is the camera compatible with your network video recorder
• Do you want the camera to have an SD slot for recording locally on to an SD card?

  In a lot of cases the quantity of Megapixel Cameras required in an installation will be less than when using analogue cameras. Garage forecourts are now opting for a 1, 2, or 3 megapixel IP camera mounted on each side of the Garage forecourt to read the registrations for up to 4-6 vehicles. Previously the analogue cameras would have been deployed over each pump. This is always the case when trying to obtain a vehicle registration plate number. Number Plate Recognition Test We have carried out tests on Megapixel cameras to test them for number plate recognition at both day time and night time. We used a 2 megapixel Vivotek Camera mounted on the corner of a garage approximately 35m from the point of interest at the gate. The car is captured in the image at the gate, at distance we cannot read the registration plate. However, when wedigitally zoom in on the car using an Avermedia NVR, the registration plate can clearly be seen and there is no blurriness of the image. Similarly, we carried out a night time test using the same Megapixel IP Camera. The test was in a rural area where there is no street lighting or ambient lighting whatsoever. A small Infra Red (IR) illuminator has been mounted underneath the camera. Even with the full headlights on, the registration plate is perfectly readable when we zoom in on the footage. Wireless IP Cameras With the advent of IP cameras it has become easier and more cost effective to transmit video signals wirelessly for an IP camera. A wireless device can be located at each IP camera and normally one device will receive the video signal for up to 3 or 4 cameras and transmit on to a switch and connect into a NVR (Network Video Recorder). Unlike wireless analogue cameras line of sight is not required and a signal can be transmitted for over 2-3 kilometres.

AlertWatch specialise in the installation and supply of CCTV Systems (Including IP Cameras) throughout Ireland and the UK. Should you require any information, support or help on any aspect of CCTV surveillance we would love to hear from you. This article was written by Dawn L Richardson http://alertwatch.ie/cctv-commercial/