WHITE PAPER
Converting an Analog CCTV System to IP-Surveillance
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. Factors to
consider: The move to digital
4. Analog CCTV to IP-Surveillance: Case studies
Digital video recording has been around for a while now—there are hundreds of DVRs on the market today. It used to be that only large installations or Fortune 1000 companies could afford digital. But according to a recent report from industry analysts Frost and Sullivan, demand for digital systems surpassed that for analog systems sometime in 2002. Digital technology has shown it’s superiority, but in the last two years it’s become a commodity. What’s the next step, beyond the DVR, for end users to take their security systems digital?
IP-Surveillance solutions have emerged as an attractive alternative to the DVR as it provides a bridge to enter the digital world with the ultimate solution of a high-performance, low-cost digital video surveillance and monitoring. In this paper, we will provide a guide for the end user who is interested in making the transition from a current analog system to a digital one. We’ll demonstrate how this move can be undertaken in a progressive, step-by-step manner and review the many benefits that come from implementing digital technology. Finally, we’ll examine three specific applications of digital IP-Surveillance technology. Now is the right time to take the step towards digital surveillance and monitoring—let’s see how.
2. Benefits
of going digital
For the past 20 years, monitoring and surveillance applications have been served by analog technology. CCTV has traditionally been recorded to VCRs (video cassette recorders), and because of its perceived ease of use and manageable price point, analog was probably the right choice at the time of purchase. However, the rise of digital has laid bare analog’s many shortcomings. Analog CCTV systems are generally maintenance intensive, offer no remote accessibility, and are notoriously difficult to integrate with other systems. Despite these obvious deficiencies, the end user who has invested in cameras, cables, and more, and is satisfied with the current quality is right to ask, “Why buy new equipment?”
Implementing a digital system does not
require throwing away those trusted (and already paid-for) cameras. With IP-Surveillance, you can still use all
the cameras, lenses, and cables in place through this step-by-step migration to
digital technology. And if this is not
enough reason to seriously consider an upgrade, examine the TLV, or time-lapse
video, recording component. These systems
are highly labor intensive because of the need to change tapes and perform
system maintenance. Tape wear and tear
is an ever-present problem.
Furthermore, the actual quality of the images recorded is often
unsatisfactory, particularly if used for official investigations. With the introduction of digital video
recorder (DVR) technology, the storage media are no longer dependent on
operator intervention or tape quality.
And with IP-Surveillance technology, the video server and network server
represent the next level of improvement by connecting existing cameras to the
network with a video server and then storing the images on the network
server.
Digital’s many benefits. With the spread of digital recording technology, its many advantages
have become apparent: ease of use,
advanced search capabilities, simultaneous record and playback, no image
degradation, improved compression and storage, integration potential, and so
on. But with digital technology as its
core, IP-Surveillance provides all these advantages and many more:
Remote
accessibility. The main benefit from connecting
those analog cameras to a network is that the user can now see surveillance
images from any computer on the network—without the need and expense of
additional hardware or software. If you have a port to Internet, you can
securely connect from anywhere in the world to view a chosen facility or even a
single camera from your surveillance system.
By using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or the company intranet, you
can manage password-protected access to images from the surveillance
system. Similar to secure payment over
the Internet, a user’s images and information are kept secure and viewed only
by approved personnel.
Unlimited,
secure storage. Store as many hours of images as
you want—provided you have hard disk capacity.
And store and view images off-site in any location in cases where
monitoring and storage are mission critical or need back up.
Flexible, pro-active image
distribution.
Take snapshots of an intruder or incident and send by e-mail to police
or appropriate authorities. Also,
police or other password-approved parties can log on to cameras and view
activities around a user’s facilities.
Automatic
alerts. The video server can automatically send an e-mail
with an alarm image to selected e-mail addresses, so the right people have the
information they need to take timely action.
Total
cost of ownership and performance. At the beginning of this section,
we listed the many advantages of digital technology, but it bears repeating
that with no further need of time-lapse video equipment, no more tapes and no
more tape changing and cataloging are required. Maintenance costs go way down.
And while system performance and results markedly increase, total cost
of ownership over time will continue to decrease.
IP-Surveillance
provides all the superior functionality of digital technology, plus the
tremendous benefits of increased accessibility, storage and distribution of
images, and a superior cost-benefit picture.
At this point, analog owners are convinced it’s time to make the switch,
but what factors bear consideration?
Figure 1: Analog and digital systems
working in parallel
3. Factors to consider: The move to digital
At this point, we’ve seen that the transition from an existing analog system to a high-functioning digital IP-Surveillance system can be done step by step and in a cost-effective manner, but there are still a number of factors to consider. What about network bandwidth, bandwidth connections (network, xDSL, ISDN, cellular phone etc.), hard disk storage requirements and software?
3.1 Network Bandwidth
If you are using a local network, cameras can be patched through a special dedicated router for the camera, thus eliminating most concerns about bandwidth. However, if images are sent by PSTN, bandwidth considerations do come into play. To get a performance of 30 frames per second, you need a minimum bandwidth of 120 kB/s.
3.2 Hard disk space
Hard disk storage requirements are dependent on the frame rate of the video you want to store. If you want to store all video at 30 frames per second (30 fps) as opposed to 1 fps, then that requires 30 times the amount of storage. Each application has different recording and storage needs in terms video fps, and hard disk storage requirements will differ accordingly.
3.3 Software application
A wide variety of software applications
can be used. What software to use is
governed by the end-user application and their specific needs. An example of
video management software is Milestone's Xprotect Business product, an advanced and
highly scalable video surveillance software with built motion detection,
intelligent PTZ patrolling features, high capacity recording and remote access
via the Web. Another is a management software from SeeTec, a software for
remote camera configuration and management, direct or automatic control of
cameras and accessory equipment, image representation, display and message
forwarding. A third is the Softsite32
from JDS Digital Security Systems. Softsite32 is a stand-alone application that
enables viewing, recording and management of video streams and snapshots. It is
highly scalable and robust, with quick installation and setup. JDS has a
growing worldwide install base, public and private implementations, as well as
custom solutions.
4. Analog
CCTV to IP-Surveillance: Case studies
4.1 Today’s analog CCTV system
Current analog CCTV systems, like the one
shown below, now have few advantages beyond familiarity and cost. Analog CCTV relies on time-lapse technology.
Storage is limited to low-tech tapes, which make maintenance high and search
capabilities low. Analog has low
integration potential and provides no opportunity for remote access. It’s an old and familiar system, and its
time for retirement is now.
Figure
2: Analog CCTV Systems
4.2 The digital revolution upgrade: video server technology
In the configuration below, the video server
provides the connection between the analog cameras and the network. With the simple addition of this technology,
a whole new list of features and functions becomes available:
· Remote access of images utilizing the computer network—eliminating the need for dedicated security monitors in a central office
·
Password-protected
access anywhere there is an Internet connection
·
Connect to a
remote control station to view what is going on and control cameras and other
aspects of the surveillance system
· Ease of integration with other systems and applications
· Lower TCO (total cost of ownership) by leveraging existing network infrastructure and legacy equipment
· Creates a future-proof system, so no more complete system overhauls
Figure 3: Upgrade:
The ongoing digital revolution
4.3 Expand the benefits over time: the network camera
But we don’t need to stop with the
first-level upgrade described above.
The digital revolution’s video server and camera technology enables us
to expand the system and its advantages.
With a digital system, you can connect as many cameras as you want. You
can attach each new camera directly to the network. This provides a new set of added benefits:
·
Viewing access can be restricted to only authorized
persons, or live video can be posted on a company’s Web site for the entire
world to see.
·
If the building is equipped with an IP network, then
the necessary infrastructure already exists to add network cameras without high
installation costs.
·
Network cameras perform many of the same
functions as a standard analog CCTV camera, but with greater functionality and
at a substantial cost saving.
·
Network cameras plug directly
to the existing network, yielding substantial savings because the coaxial
cabling required for analog cameras isn’t needed.
·
When
computers are already in place, no additional equipment is needed to view the
video output from a network camera.
·
Output
can be viewed in its simplest form in a Web browser at the computer monitor,
and in more complex security solutions, with the aid of dedicated software.
Figure 4: The ongoing digital
revolution
5. Conclusion
The digital solution is easier and cheaper than you think. Even with the enormous growth of CCTV and the recent acceleration in migration to digital video technology, significant hurdles remain for a majority of users in making the switch from analog to digital video recording. Many end users are still not aware that there is a step-by-step path available to transform existing analog security systems to digital technology. In terms of education, most end users still need a deeper understanding of the benefits and possibilities of digital and network-based surveillance systems. It is also important to know that in the transition from analog to digital surveillance systems, no system is too small or too tightly tied to analog technology, to benefit from digital technology. Even a single analog camera connected to a video server will provide the user with the full range of advantages that come from digital, networked surveillance.
Consider the ease and cost-effectiveness
of a progressive, step-by-step move to digital with IP-Surveillance. Now is the
right time to take the digital step.
Axis Communications
Axis
increases the value of network solutions. The company is an innovative market
leader in network video and print servers. Axis' products and
solutions are focused on applications such as security
surveillance, remote monitoring and document management. The products are based
on in-house developed chip technology, which is also sold to third
parties.
Axis was founded in 1984 and is listed on the Stockholmsbörsen (XSSE:AXIS). Axis operates globally
with offices in 14 countries and in cooperation with distributors, system
integrators and OEM partners in 70 countries. Markets outside Sweden
account for more than 95% of sales. Information about Axis can be found at www.axis.com
Contact Axis
Head office, Lund
Axis
Communications AB
Emdalavägen
14
SE-223 69 Lund
Tel: +46 46 272 18 00
Fax: +46 46 13 61 30
