Historically, video surveillance systems have required the purchase and installation of dedicated digital or analog recording systems that are maintained locally. However, with the growing bandwidth available for digital transmission, this expensive and time consuming solution is a thing of the past. Indeed, to get a robust video surveillance system up and going, all you need are cameras, cabling, and an internet connection. The video surveillance software and system is maintained off site, and all you pay is a subscription fee based upon the number of cameras and their usage.

Digital surveillance can be done over a LAN network of course, but the remote transmittal of surveillance data makes sense for remote monitoring of multiple locations and for remote recording of data onto back-up servers and hard disks for long-term storage. With IP-based video surveillance, you can connect your surveillance camera or cameras to any network or wireless adapter, and you can place your camera just about anywhere. Set-up of an IP-based video system is easy. Just set up the IP address and you're up and running. and it's extremely stable and reliable, and upgradable.

A digital camera views the scene in front of it, broadcasts the video images as a digitized signal over the internet where it is sent to a remote server. This server in turn manages all of this information. Depending upon the software used to manage the digital images, it can record, display or retransmit the images to anywhere in the world.

The software package can easily be upgraded to allow for analyzing data, selecting specific flagged items to watch for and a host of other functions, making it a truly customizable security tool.

IP-based digital surveillance uses CCD cameras that use signal processing that send packetized video streams over the LAN through a Cat 5 cable, utilizing greater bandwidth and standard IP communication. It also provides more intelligent data mining and greater ease and precision information retrieval. If security is an issue, full digital surveillance also offers the added advantage of data encryption opportunities to protect against image tampering.

Halfway there

If you decide not to use an off site server for the management and access of video images, you can maintain a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) on premises. A DVR system is not really fully IP-based, but allows you to migrate towards the more advanced IP technology. In face, a DVR system uses the same camera and structures for cabling as the older CCTV analog systems, but the old VCRs have been replaced with DVR for storage of the data. The data is converted to digital so that it can be stored on hard disks, but the quality of the images captured remains analog since this is how it originated.

When shopping for a system, ask if the system is digital based on the recording (DVR) or on the camera, since many manufacturers consider a system digital by virtue of the DVR storage system even if the camera recording the images is still analog.

• IP-based recording means instant transmittal of images anywhere in the world
  
   
• Can monitor multiple cameras from one remote location
  
   
• No decrease in recording quality over time or with repeated replays
  
   
• Digital picture quality far superior to analog
  
   
• IP-base recording is highly compressed for easier storage and can be transported over a variety of media
  
   
• Digital images can be encrypted for security purposes
  
   
• Updates and add-ons are relatively inexpensive through software packages and Internet computer networking
  
   
• Adjustable frame rates
  
   
• Remote or shared viewing may be done over the Internet or a wireless connection
  
   
• Standard IP video compression techniques are used
  
   
• IP surveillance cameras may be added individually or in groups according to your needs

If you are contemplating increased or upgrading video surveillance for your company or home, understanding how IP-based video surveillance works will make your decision easier. It is the future of video surveillance and, although in the short term may be a bit more expensive, is obviously an investment in superior quality and flexibility.

• Over 15 years of Software development
• Operating System supplied on 4GB Read Only Flash drive
• VIP Software runs as a Windows service, no log on required
• Expanded support for IP cameras and Encoders
• True Hybrid capability
• All camera settings are independent, set up to four different frame rates by ½ hour of day and/or day of week.
• Configure VIP from anywhere using our remote configuration tool
• UPS included in cost of core system
• Complete Immervison lens functionality supported
• Multiple display support with display profiles (up to 64 simultaneous camera views per Display Manager)
• ATM and POS data capture supported, Ethernet, SDLC, Bisync, Async, POS
• 3 year warranty on all PC hardware

• Affordable solution
• All images are uploaded to a secure server
• Flexible packages based on frame rate and length of storage
• No local DVR to power (average monthly cost to power a DVR and monitor is $20)
• If an incident occurs, there is no local DVR for someone to steal. All images are secure at our off-site location.
• Live and recorded images are viewed using Internet Explorer
• You can access your images from anywhere at anytime
• Installs can range from 1-8 cameras
• Financial institutions can upload critical cameras to our storage facility for redundancy