The Evolution Of CCTV Camera Systems Technology
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) technology has evolved and developed over the years. Its usefulness cannot be overemphasized and one of the earliest documented uses of CCTV cameras was recorded in Germany in 1942.The main components of the system were cameras and monitors of which the cameras were used to observe the testing of rockets. As it still is today, one of the primary uses of these early systems was to monitor live feed. And now CCTV drain surveys to check any issue in drainage systems and they are waterproof with latest technologies and really very helpful to liberated from these drainage problems. Cameras which are monitored by a person or persons on a monitor can be placed where people do not want to be or cannot be at certain times to effectively monitor the area which would otherwise not have been possible without them.
Video recording was the next main evolution of CCTV. Recording videos meant that they could be used as evidence for crime investigations. Video recording also meant that live manning of a station was reduced or no longer required. Multiplexers that enable multiple cameras to be viewed on one screen also came into use and by the mid 1980’s, VCR’s and multiplexers were widely used between cameras and monitors. By the turn of the millennium, the CCTV industry had moved into the digital age and the VCR was replaced by the DVR. With the DVR, CCTV technology was simplified and more effective as a multiplexer could be built into it and video records can be stored digitally on a hard drive. Once the hard drive is full, it automatically starts overwriting itself but hard drives have much larger storage which can last months.
The current technology that is making the CCTV industry buzz is the IP megapixel camera. The major advantage that this system has over the DVR system is that the picture quality is at least 5 times better. It is of higher resolution and its clarity and attention to detail make it very useful in obtaining the smallest details for evidence. A single IP camera can also cover a wider range making it easier to monitor a large area with just one camera. In between the development of the DVR and IP technology, the CCTV industry has recorded major improvements in technology and evolution is still ongoing in the right direction.
Right from its earliest stage of evolution until the present day, the most important thing about CCTV is the people that use it and the services it provides to such users. In its early days, CCTV systems were quite expensive and the technology relatively new, so only a few of the upper class people and businesses could afford them. Nowadays, the technology is still evolving but readily available at affordable prices to individuals, corporate and public entities and businesses. People can view their cameras with mobile phones from anywhere and security is more assured, ensuring peace of mind to users.
