Glossary Term: Image Preset
When using a camera which can physically move, such as a PTZ or dome camera, image presets can be useful. Image presets allow the camera to save the position that the camera currently occupies so it can be easily returned to the same position at any point. Different cameras are able to save various amounts of presets.
Presets allow the user to move the camera to a position of interest with one click. This has the benefit of letting a user see different views quickly, without having to manually pan, tilt and zoom the camera into the correct position. Another advantage of using presets is that the presets can be named to correspond with the view they point at. This allows the user to know what they are actually looking at.
Some IP cameras can also be set up to cycle through different presets, this makes it easier for a security camera operator to monitor positions of interest. Another feature which could be useful for security monitoring is to have the camera automatically take a picture of each of the presets and send it to a server.
Glossary Term: Overlay
When using an IP camera you may want to have text displayed within the pictures the camera produces. This can be done by using an overlay. An overlay will impose different information on top of the current image. The overlay is usually set up within the camera’s web interface, which contains options to configure which text you want displayed and in which format.
The time and date are a popular image overlay. This allows the user to see exactly what time and date the image was taken. This can have advantages in security monitoring in that a user can tell what time a photo was taken.
Another popular overlay that is often used is the location of the camera or the camera name. Having this information on a picture can be useful as you can tell where the picture was taken just by glancing at it. A combination of both the date and the location is often used so that an image viewer knows exactly when and where the image has been taken.
A more complicated overlay can be achieved by using environmental variables held in the camera . This type of overlay can display lots of different information held in the camera. Another image overlay that can be used is an image. This can be extremely useful for a company who wants to show their company logo over a camera image.
Glossary: Pre/post alarm image buffer
A useful camera feature in security installations are the pre and post alarm image buffer. When a camera alarm is triggered it can upload images or footage to a server for later use. A pre image buffer allows the viewer to see what happened before the alarm was triggered e.g. which direction a person walked into the camera’s view from. A post image buffer stores any images which have been captured after the alarm has been triggered.
A pre-buffer alarm is useful when you wish to capture images directly before an event. Most IP cameras allow you to specify the length of the pre-buffer when setting up the event and these images will be recorded along with the event recording. The buffered images can then be sent to the user. The same is true of the post image buffer but these images are captured after a trigger event.
There are a few ways in which images can be sent from the camera. Images can be emailed using an SMTP mail server. This is done by adding the SMTP account settings into the camera and choosing an address to send the images to. Another way of sending images from the camera is using the File Transfer Protocol. FTP allows the user to transfer images to another device which has an FTP server or client running.
The size of an image buffer is often the main factor in estimating how much images and footage an image buffer can store, for example the Axis 210A can hold 9MB (up to 5 min of 320×240 video at 4 fps) buffered images or footage.
Glossary Term: Megapixel IP Camera
Megapixel resolutions are starting to become more and more prominent in the IP camera market and with high resolution output they offer a lot more to the security industry than their non-megapixel counterparts.
Resolution
Of course the main benefit of a megapixel IP camera is the resolution of the images it delivers. Digital images are made up from picture elements (or pixels) and the more pixels which make up an image will increase the sharpness and clarity of the image. A megapixel IP camera has more pixels than a non-megapixel camera so therefore the images it delivers will be crisper, sharper and contain more detail. Also, because it uses more pixels to render a face or an object (such as a license plate), it is ideally used in security applications where capturing detailed information in required.
Field of View
Megapixel IP cameras also typically contain a larger field of view than traditional CCTV cameras. Sometimes it is cost-effective to consider megapixel cameras in security systems as they can replace several fixed-mount analogue CCTV cameras in certain applications.
Digital Pan-Tilt-Zoom
Another feature which some megapixel IP cameras support is digital pan-tilt-zoom. This feature allows the user to digitally zoom-in and manipulate the image in real time using pan-tilt controls, without the camera physically moving the lens. The way it achieves this is due to the size of the image being, in most cases, larger than the screen size that it’s being displayed on. This allows you to zoom into the picture a few steps with no loss of quality and pan-tilt to view areas of interest. Most cameras will allow you to do this live and in real-time and some will also allow this on recorded playback too.
Glossary Term: International Protection Rating (IP66, IP65, IP54)
When considering IP cameras or IP camera equipment for outdoor surveillance you may see a number attached to each product such as ‘IP66′ or ‘IP54′ etc. Not to be confused with ‘IP address’, this number is known as the product’s IP rating.
The International Protection Rating (IP rating), or sometimes known as ‘Ingress Protection Rating’, is an international standard used to describe the environmental protection of electrical equipment or enclosures for electrical equipment.
The standard is designed to give more information about the level of protection other than merely stating the equipment is “water-proof” and is normally expressed as a two digit number where the first number indicates the level of protection against the ingression of solid objects and the second digit indicates the level of protection against the ingression of liquids. Note: If the IP rating shows a ‘X’ then there is no level of protection for that specific category.
The full tables showing all ratings can be viewed here but when considering the IP rating in relation to a network camera we are only interested in a number greater than 4 or 5 as these would signify that camera would be suitable for outdoor use.
Common IP ratings for IP cameras
IP66 – The first digit (6) indicates the camera is dust tight giving complete protection against any solid matter entering the equipment. The second digit (6) indicates the camera is protected against powerful jets of water meaning that a powerful jet can be aimed at the camera from any direction with no harmful effect.
This would indicate the camera is completely impervious to damage from natural elements and can be placed in any outdoor location. An example of an IP camera with an IP66 rating would be any of the models from the IQeye Sentinel Series.
IP65 – A camera with an IP65 rating has the same level of protection against dust but slightly less protection against liquids but having a rating of 5 for liquids will mean that it can withstand jets of water projected by a nozzle from any direction and would still be suitable for any outdoor location. A lot of rugged IP cameras have this rating such as the Mobotix M22M and they work without fail in demanding environments.
IP54 – This IP rating is given to a camera which requires a little more attention when being placed outdoors. The first digit (5) indicates resistance to dust. It’s not complete impervious to dust but any dust which does enter will not have any harmful effect on the equipment. The second digit (4) indicates the camera is resistant to splashing water. Splashes hitting the camera from any angle will have no harmful effect.
A camera with an IP54 rating will be fine outdoors but a little more protection should be given such as placing the camera under the eaves of a home or business. An example of a splashproof camera would be the Panasonic BB-HCM531A.
It should be noted that some IP cameras can be mounted outdoors with no extra protection and for other IP cameras protective housings will provide these ratings (and protection) so they can provide outdoor surveillance for any IP CCTV security monitoring system.
Glossary Term: Intelligent Object Detection (IOD)
Intelligent Object Detection (IOD) is a useful security application found in security network cameras which support intelligent video analytics such as the network cameras from Sony’s range which include the DEPA technology platform. It is an effective feature for detecting objects within a scene and provides an ideal tool for security surveillance and monitoring applications by offering the flexibility of being able to detect objects which have been both left in a scene and objects which have been removed from a scene.
With IOD an IP camera can be configured to trigger an alarm if suspicious objects are left for a certain period of time in public spaces, such as an unattended bag in an airport, illegal parking, stalled or broken down cars on a busy freeway etc. Equally, the same function can be used to ensure valuable items are not removed from a scene such as paintings from an art gallery, exhibits from a museum or goods from a warehouse or business.
This is just one of the uses of Intelligent video analytics we find in IP cameras today and as we continue to see advances made in IP camera technology we can look forward to seeing many more uses to improve the efficiency of our security systems in the future.
Glossary Term: Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ)
Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) is a name given to a type of IP camera where the user can control the movement and position of the lens from a remote location using controls on an Internet browser or software application.
Panning refers to horizontal movement of the lens where tilting describes vertical movement. The process of zooming refers to the adjustment of the focal length of the lens to make a subject appear close-up or far away depending on the setting. Although a lot of cameras come with vari-focal lenses with focal length adjustment, a camera described as PTZ will almost certainly have an adjustable optical zoom.
Surveillance cameras with PTZ capability will often also support user defined preset positions which will allow the user to specify a number of positions that they can easily monitor. Preset positions can also be used with alarm triggers, so for example when a camera detects motion it can be directed to move to a specified preset covering an entry/exit point or a valuable object in the room. Some cameras also support guard patrolling and auto panning features which will allow the camera to move automatically between user-defined preset positions providing remote surveillance of a wide area with no user input. In conjunction with motion detection some cameras can even use their pan-tilt functions to follow moving targets.
The benefits of having a pan-tilt-zoom camera in a security application are obvious. Having a camera which can be controlled from a remote location enables a user to cover a much larger area with a single camera. This provides cost savings for any security system as one camera can do the job of many static cameras. Also, with guard patrolling and auto-panning functions the camera can automatically cover a large area when used for security monitoring or recording without any user input, ideal for covering large areas overnight.
Glossary Term: Privacy Masking
Privacy masking is a feature found in many IP cameras which is used to protect personal privacy by concealing parts of the image from view with a masked area. Examples of this use would be masking windows of domestic properties or car number plates which are not subject to surveillance.
It works as follows: You would select an area within the image, normally by drawing a square or rectangle directly onto the picture using the mouse. In some cameras you can also specify the type of mask, whether it is formed from a solid color or using a transparent pixelated effect. This mask will continue to cover sensitive areas of the image whenever users view the camera.
Some PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras also support privacy masking. When the camera is panned, tilted or zoomed, the mask is repositioned and resized so that it continues to cover the original masked area. This ensures the same object is always hidden from view regardless of PTZ position.
HOWTO: Register your Panasonic BB-HNP15 Network Camera Recorder Software
So you’ve got a shiny license for Panasonic’s latest version of their software BB-HNP15. This allows you to monitor, record and playback from up to 64 cameras simultaneously and supports features such as MPEG-4 video, high resolution support, graphical display of recorded events, full screen mode etc.
This guide will take you through the relatively simple process of installing the software and registering your license.
System requirements for Panasonic BB-HNP15 (when 2 cameras are connected):
- Microsoft Windows XP 32bit/Vista 32bit
- Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
- NTFS file system recommended
- Intel Pentium 4 2.6GHz or greater (or equivalent compatible processor)
- RAM: 512MB or higher
- Program installation requires 200MB of free hard disk space
Glossary Term: Application Programming Interface (API)
Most professional network, or Internet cameras have what is called an Application Programming Interface (or API) embedded within their built-in web servers. This feature allows other devices or software to communicate with and control the camera directly through its local or Internet IP address, usually through actions performed by sending commands (or url strings) directly to the camera through its API.
Many, but not all, IP cameras have extensive feature sets which can be controlled in this way, but in its simplest form most cameras allow the retrieval of snapshots or live video directly from the camera using the API.
The API is a smart way of extending camera functionality to other applications such as CCTV or IP video recording software, web applications or mobile clients.
The API is different from the Software Development Kit (SDK) in that the SDK will communicate with the camera on a lower level and may require language-specific, or platform-specific coding.