Your First Line Of Defense: HDTV Security Cameras

CCTV has long been an important tool in the security professional’s arsenal. Video is used everywhere, from street corners to gambling casinos, to provide visual data of whatever activities are taking place within the camera’s view. And while video surveillance has been an essential, money-saving tool for institutions requiring “eyes on guard,” the limits of analog surveillance TV have long been known.

Introducing HD Security
The problems with analog security cameras have always been related to picture quality. Grainy. Unrecognizable images. Blurred motion. Camera maintenance – all contribute to less than crystal clear images. Yes, that’s the individual who broke into the warehouse but the image is so degraded, no useful data can be extracted from the analog tape.

But that’s changing – and FAST! With the advent of HDTV in homes, this sophisticated technology is now available to those tasked with maintaining security in virtually any environment.

In 2007, approximately 35% of American homes had HDTV, and experts estimate that by 2012, 85% of homes will be outfitted with HDTV sets. The technology is here today, in millions of homes. Virtually every network broadcasts in HDTV. And now, this digital technology has entered the remote surveillance arena, providing security professionals with high quality imaging, truer color definition and larger monitors to provide the “big picture.”

Megapixel Networks: Work-Arounds
Megapixel CCTV networks remain an option for some institutions and businesses despite the fact that this platform is simply an adaptation of previous generations of analog cameras. Megapixel is not recognized as a “best practices” industry standard. Instead, this technology is sometimes used as a “work-around” to existing intra-nets as a cost-cutting measure.

However, just as VHS became the standard and ate Sony’s Beta format for lunch, HDTV is the platform that has become industry standard for families who enjoy brighter, clearer, sharper images of their favorite TV shows, and professional security personnel who track objects and individuals in high-speed motion, or in cases where identification is critical.

The Growing Use of HDTV In Institutional Security
In order for HDTV to become a viable alternative to traditional video security, a number of technical issues had to be resolved. The most difficult, perhaps, was compression of the HDTV digital signal.

Early on, the National Television System Committee – TV’s tech oversight organization – determined that broadcast TV would be comprised of 480 TV lines running across the TV screen at 30 frames per second (fps). And for decades, this has been the standard despite the demand for higher quality images both for entertainment and security purposes.

HDTV delivers much more data – data that must be stored and maintained. To do this effectively, HDTV signals must be compressed – compacted to take up less storage space. Once the compression problem was solved, the electronics industry quickly recognized the potential for HDTV and digital recording devices, and the sales race was on.

Today, any consumer can walk into a big box store and walk out with a 56” digital HDTV for less than $1,500. Piece of cake.

With effective signal compression technology now in place, vast amounts of HDTV digital data (camera images) can be stored and used at a later date as needed. This has been a great step forward for consumers requiring the highest standards of resolution for identification – even in the case of moving vehicles.

HDTV, as part of any security network, delivers sharper images to identify license plates on moving vehicles or faces that rush by an HD surveillance unit.

The Power of HDTV
In addition to providing improved image clarity and truer color fidelity, HDTV also allows for up to 500% higher resolution than traditional

analog security cameras. In turn, this has enabled manufacturers to produce screens in wide formats while maintaining the clarity required for high-end security.

Today’s security monitors deliver a 16:9 aspect ratio which translates into a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels in large-screen HD mode compared to a 720×486 ratio for out-dated analog security systems.

This enables security screens to be larger, while maintaining clarity and color definition with precision. In turn, this lowers cost of security because fewer personnel are required to maintain 360 degree visual coverage – with clarity.

The Benefits of HDTV for Your Security
Institutions – colleges, hospitals, corporate campuses, public venues, gaming casinos, public schools and public buildings – all require CCTV security coverage, in most cases, 24/7/365.

With HDTV’s capabilities, security professionals are turning to this cutting-edge technology for obvious reasons:

• higher quality imagery, even with objects moving at high speeds

• clarity of colors and truer overall picture fidelity

• larger monitors to provide a broader, integrated view of site activities

• lower security costs because HDTV requires fewer security personnel to monitor activity

• world standard uniformity, enabling your institution to upgrade in the future at lower costs

• lower data storage costs with higher compression ratios, more images can be stored in less space, lowering both on- and off-site data storage costs

• improved accuracy in interpreting visual security data

• value-added data at no additional cost to the institution

Closed-circuit, HDTV has evolved quickly to its current state, yet most institutions are reluctant to switch out their current analog systems because of cost. The fact is, HDTV saves the institution money immediately.

Further, as improvements to this technology are made, as they surely will be, the industry-accepted HDTV format will enable upgrades to be made faster and at lower costs.

If your institution hasn’t made the switch to HDTV, you aren’t as secure as you could be. To learn more about the latest in HDTV surveillance, please visit us at www.pro-tecdesign.com.

You should see what you’ve been missing.