IP camera parameters
While choosing an IP camera for an cloud based surveillance system, you need to decide on these parameters and features:
Housing
- These IP cameras come equipped with a standard case (with a stand), which allows them to stand on a horizontal surface.
- The Dome IP cameras can be easily installed on a wall, poles, ceiling, or under a canopy. It can easily accommodate an all-around view and provide accessibility of lens movement in both horizontal and vertical directions.
- Bullet IP cameras. Ceiling or wall-mounted.
- PTZ IP cameras can provide a panoramic view. They can also monitor suspicious activities like an intruder who has come into the field of view.
Resolution of the IP camera
The higher the resolution of the camera, the clearer the picture quality. However, before selecting an IP camera with a 7MP or 10MP resolution, you need to understand the load on the devices and network as well as the size of the picture. In addition, it will also increase the budget for such endeavour, and the price will have to be multiplied by 4, 8, or, for example, 16 video cameras. The best way is to choose the optimal values even if your business resources are not particularly limited.
Required values for solving a specific problem:
- For object identification and definition of its type (dog, person, car) – 20 pixels / m2;
- Identification (gender of a person, his clothes) – 100 pixels / m2;
- Recognition (person’s face or car number) – 500 pixels / m2.
Specific examples:
- 1 megapixel – Best for general surveillance inside the office premises.
- 2MP- Can be installed in a warehouse for system tracking, in a foyer at the entrance to a business center, area security;
- 4MP- suitable for any large room or a wide area, in front of main gates. However, it should be noted that you will only receive a good quality picture if you have arranged proper lighting or IR illumination.
Light sensitivity
It is the minimum lighting needed by a camera to provide a recognizable signal for the user. Its value is measured in lux. But, there are no clear guidelines for its recognizability.
Therefore, these simple rules should be followed:
- As the resolution is increased, it decreases the pixel’s physical size and the light sensitivity. Therefore, in dark places, poorly lit rooms, there is no point in installing high-resolution cameras.
- Cameras with built-in IR illumination features are more sensitive to lights and can work in any lighting condition.
- No one can compare different cameras from various manufacturers, just based on the numbers shown in the characteristics in the column “Sensitivity.” There are no evaluation criteria and recognition standards. So the best way to choose a wireless cloud based camera solutions for your warehouse is to watch commercials shooting in low light mode and compare the image.
Data compression standard
MJPEG – This format uses frame-by-frame compression and requires network bandwidth. However, it utilises minimum resources for processing both in the IP camera itself and on the server.
H.264 – In contrast, this format uses a high compression ratio to achieve a video stream at the cost of significant resources while decoding. This makes H.264 less bandwidth-hungry.
Power Supply
IP cameras can be easily powered using household 12V power supplies or connected using regular cable or PoE, that is, use one cable for power and signal transmission.
IR illumination
Night vision mode. It can help you provide good signal quality in low light conditions at dusk and night.
Architecture
While preparing to install a new set of security devices, it is essential to decide on its architecture. It involves building an infrastructure for collecting, transferring, storing and viewing information at the facility. It can be further classified according to various parameters.
By device location:
- Network video recorder (NVR) architecture, when all the devices installed for security purposes are at the business premises. This architecture is recommended for large companies with an IT team, cybersecurity system, expensive equipment and a proper place to install it.
- Cloud Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS). An organization does not need to have a static IP address for using this architecture. The organization gets everything fully managed with a productive service from a service provider. It does not require large expenditures, and it is also very safe as the data gets encrypted during transmission. This feature makes it always serviceable and efficient. It requires minimum hardware components (cameras, compact video recorder) are installed at the premises, and everything else gets shifted in the cloud.
By the number of subsystems:
Centralized, using this method, data from all the connected cameras are sent to one physical server or on some cloud storage. It is a recommended option if your organization’s network can withstand the load and ensures sufficient speed that can cope with multitasking requirements: recording, sorting, processing, broadcasting, etc.
Distributed, in this method, a business’s local subsystems are combined into a single whole (over LAN and WAN). It is easily scalable and flexible but more expensive.
A good architecture must support the following features:
- Cluster organization. This method allows an organization to use software to monitor each camera. It can automatically fix any failure and transfers the task to another camera (the closest one to the failed one, which may be “catching up” from the broken one) in the case of a mishap.
- IP Watchdog is a watchdog. It is a feature that allows you to monitor system freeze and make restarts automatically.
- Multithreading support. It is a must-have security feature for any organization. It allows modern IP video cameras to simultaneously form and transmit various data streams with different resolutions. While using the multi-window mode, streams with a lower resolution will be transmitted in single-window mode – with a greater one.
- Decoding the signal in MJPEG or H.264 to save network resources.
- Multitasking support. It allows an organization to use modern server software that can distribute the load evenly and execute multiple processes simultaneously. The most expensive multicore hardware will be useless without such software since its entire capabilities will not be utilised.Check out f95zone, the best gaming site where you can play online games.
Why is it necessary for an organization to connect to the cloud?
Wireless cloud-based security solutions provide constant remote monitoring, differentiate access rights, notify when a potential danger arises, and duplicate information to cloud storage. In addition, it is suitable even for small companies who can not afford a fixed static IP address.
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