HOW FAR WE HAVE COME

Forty-some years ago, a CCTV system was comprised of a black and white camera linked to a small black and white monitor by coaxial cable. It was very basic, with each camera in the system having its own monitor. Recording technology was in its infancy so systems were primarily for observation from a safe distance. CCTV systems were largely used in science and industry where it was dangerous for a person to get close enough to observe a process.

VCR technology evolved through the 70s, but left much to be desired. Early VCRs were temperamental and the quality of the recordings left a lot to be desired. The graininess and low clarity of the images due to a combination of low resolution camera images, poor quality video tapes and low specification recording heads meant most recordings couldn't be relied on even for basic identification purposes. VCR technology of the day would not allow an operator to review and record events simultaneously. It was also a very time consuming process to find and review specific events.

Early CCTV systems provided only relatively basic functionality and performance and were expensive in equipment and installation costs as well as not including motion detection or a way of viewing events from a remote location. Besides all that, qualified and skilled installers were difficult to find.

The VCR Based System was the mainstay through the eighties, technological changes being made primarily in cameras. In the mid 90s the computer based digital video recorder (DVR) was introduced. This allowed images to be recorded at much higher resolution than had been previously been possible. This also eliminated a major problem with first generation CCTV systems, the Video Tape. No more loss of image quality with each recording onto a tape.

Other advances in DVR technology included the ability to control a camera over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or via the internet using IP (Internet Protocol) technology. This flexibility allows an operator to control cameras from a remote control center or in fact, from anywhere in the world with internet access. This means high quality digital images may be streamed anywhere and captured at a convenient and secure location. But it's not only the operating platform that has significantly improved; advances in camera technology has allowed for far more functionality as well.

Modern day color cameras can pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ), have higher resolution options, night vision in a large range of lenses as well as automatically adjust to variable lighting conditions. Now audio is becoming a bigger player in DVR based surveillance systems, with the ability to synchronize sound with motion based video events for an even more complete surveillance capture. Two-way audio transmission allows the operator to question possible intruders, give and receive verbal passwords for access control, give instructions to staff and to record/search/replay in both audio and visual form.

The next generation DDTV DVR systems are compatible with earlier camera technology, are scaleable, flexible and can be integrated with a broad range of other management systems, such as access control and building management systems. Technology in the electronics field is ever-changing so we can rest assured further advances in CCTV surveillance lie ahead as well.