Selecting the right camera for the job. With so many cameras available, how do you determine the right camera for your application? Below are some guidelines I use to help when deciding between an analog or network camera as well as which specific camera to choose. Below I will provide you with the questions you need to ask and have answered before you can effectively designing a video system and choose the appropriate cameras for the job. If you were to call and ask me which camera you should use for a particular application, I would typically ask you these same questions.

• What is the goal or objective of each camera?
• What specifically is the camera looking at or for?
• Is this a fixed or PTZ camera?
• What quality of image will be needed and why?
• Is this an indoor or outdoor environment?
• How will you be mounting the camera?
• Will Audio be required?
• Are Video Analytics desired?
• Hardwired Coax, Network Cabling or Wireless?
• Distance from head-end to each camera?
• Any other notable issues with the environment or application?

What is the goal of each camera?
When choosing a camera it is important to understand what the expectations are for each camera view and its location. Looking at a parking lot is entirely different than viewing an entry way. You should look at the scene being viewed and determine what details your system (and ultimately the user) will need to capture. Do you need facial shots at 50 feet? Do you need clearly see a license plate number or is this general surveillance? Is the video going to be used for management purposes, to help with operations or is it strictly for security? The goals you have for each camera will determine the field of view, the placement of the camera, and the type of camera and lens required.

What is the Camera looking at?
In each location the distance from the camera to the desired object or objects of interest and the width of the area is going to be a major factor on selecting the correct camera as well as the number of cameras required to cover the area.

• Fixed or PTZ. There are many schools of thought on this but what I always ask is: Will there be someone live viewing the camera or will it simply be recorded for viewing later? If you don’t have someone to live view the camera (and control the PTZ), it may be more beneficial to have multiple camera’s looking at a desired areas than having one camera panning left and right or up and down missing all the action. New megapixel technology allows the recording of high definition images which will allow you to zoom into the video after it has been recorded while preserving detail. For example, a parking lot that is 200’ wide and 100 deep could easily be covered by one of the newer 180-degree 8MP IP cameras for the same price as a PTZ and will record everything, never missing a detail in the desired area. In addition, in some situations several analog cameras might provide the best cost/performance tradeoff. Of course, if you have a live viewing situation, a PTZ camera provides a great degree of control and is a useful tool.

• Quality of image. While we often talk about the benefits of the newer megapixel technologies, there are still many specific applications in which standard IP and the older analog cameras still provide the needed coverage for the best price. It all comes down to how much detail you need, the area you need to cover, and which technology can accomplish the task at the best price. For example in a grocery store where the aisles are narrow, an analog or standard resolution camera is still probably the best and most affordable choice. Over the cash register however, you may need to be able to zoom in to of see the customers face or if the casher scanned an item. While you could place several analog cameras over the registers, a single megapixel may be the better (and more cost effective) option.

Color vs Black & White
These day’s camera’s come in Color, Black & White and Day & Night. A Day & Night camera produces video in color by day and switches to black & white at night. This is because a color camera may need as much as ten times more light to perform than a black & white camera. A day & night camera is often used in outdoor installations since it is harder to add lighting, but can be beneficial indoors as well when little or no light is available. A form of lighting that has become very popular these days is infrared lighting because it provides light that the camera can see, but produces little (or no) visible light which is sometime important. What is important for you to know is that color cameras are actually designed to react more like the human eye meaning they are not very sensitive to infrared lighting. For this reason, if you are using infrared lighting you should choose either a black & white camera or a day/night camera because these cameras do allow infrared light to come through.

Knowing the light level in each area of interest is very important when designing a camera system.

• Light is the number one factor in producing a good image from each camera. When choosing a camera for each area, the available light as well as the sensitivity of the chosen camera will be major factor in the quality of your video. Once you know how much light you have available you can make other decisions such as if additional lighting or IR is lighting is needed. When looking at data sheets, Lux is the measurement of the cameras light sensitivity. The lower the number the better the camera will perform in low light conditions. One thing to keep in mind when comparing cameras is to realize that Lux measurements are somewhat subjective and not typically tested against a standard.

• Does the camera require a housing? Many cameras today come self contained in a dome or bullet style housing which is great for most typical applications. Many applications however, require specific housings to prevent vandalism or to keep out excessive moisture, heat, harmful chemicals, dust etc… There are special housing and enclosures rated for these special environments and applications so it is important to know exactly what the cameras environment will be.

Mounting the Camera
While evaluating the environment for each camera, you need to determine how the camera will be mounted. Will the camera be mounted from a ceiling, a wall or a roof top parapet? In ceiling mount applications; is it a hard ceiling or ceiling tiles? Will the camera be recessed or surface mounted? Consider any other factors that may be involved and could require special hardware or tools. Also consider the structural integrity of the mounting surface and its ability to provide a stable mounting surface and more importantly stable video.

Audio
If audio is required, consider whether one-way or two-way audio is needed as each may have their own special requirements and may lead you to consider one camera over another. In fact, some network cameras allow microphones and speakers to be directly connected to the camera which means you can eliminate the need for separate wiring drops for audio. It will also be important that your client is aware and in compliance with all local and federal laws related to the capture of live audio.

Designs with Video Analytics
Video analytics can be very simple in concept, such as “Tell me when the lines at the register are too long”, but highly complex to deliver. Analytics are obviously very useful as they can help personnel get immediate feedback about situations in the business without having to sit there and view the video full-time. When delivering a video analytics solution, we need to be extremely clear about what the customers exact expectations and desires are for each situation. A client may say, “I’d like to identify license plates” which could actually mean two completely different things. One person may want to simply capture an image of every license plate for immediate review, while another wants the license plate number to be extracted from the video and go into a data base that is searchable. There are many forms of video analytics from basic object, motion or threshold detection to in-depth video analytics like people or vehicle counting, loitering, object left behind, disappearing object, directional motion and others. Many of these analytics algorithms are still being defined (and refined) by the industry so having a full description and understanding by both parties (the dealer and the client) of the desired results will be needed.

Hardwired Coax, Network or Wireless
Are you using analog or IP cameras? In either case you need to have some basic knowledge of the site to ensure that the camera you select will fit the application. Is this a retro fit job or new construction? What is the distance between the camera and the head-end? What is the building construction? Are you going from one building to the next? Is there conduit between building or a clear line-of-site? Are there wiring chases between floors? Will you have to use conduit or plenum wire in certain areas? All of these questions will need to be addressed and may impact the selection of the type of camera used.

• Hardwire. Analog camera’s generally use RG59u or RG6 95% copper coax wire which most companies are highly knowledgeable about. More often than not Siamese wire is used because it sheathes both the coax and the 18/2 power wire in a single cable for ease of install. When IP cameras are used however, it opens up a lot of new options and potential limitations. There are options to utilize coax (especially existing coax) for networks installs with converters like the Highwire products, but most the time you will Cat5e will be used, and some networks may require Cat6. One limitation of network cabling is you cannot exceed the limit of 328’ between repeaters or switches which is very different than the 750-1000’ typical of coax. In addition, it’s not as simple as dropping in a video amplifier to extend those distances but there are tricks and solutions available that you should be familiar with. One benefit of network cameras is a feature called PoE (Power over Ethernet) which means the power can be delivered to the camera over the Cat5 or 6 cabling from the network switch without needing additional cabling or connectors. We are also seeing more and more IP cameras and video networks using fiber optic cabling as well. Fiber has been feared by many of the CCTV & Alarm companies simply because they may not have the skilled labor or tools to effectively install this type of connection. It is however widely used by IT and Network professionals and provides many benefits which means you may have to consider how to get up to speed on fiber while trying to get a grasp on general network cabling as well.

• Wireless. This also has been an area that CCTV & Alarm companies have stayed away from during the analog era due to the complexities and stability issues. This small part of the wireless world has been full of restrictions and limitations set by the FCC which had the tendency to make installs difficult and it was typically very expensive. Network wireless is a whole different animal however with many more options and a lower typical price point. There are still limits, but we have a broader spectrum of products, prices, features and frequencies. The major limitations to be aware of with wireless is line-of-site, distance and expense. While this is still a more expensive option, there are many applications in which wireless will actually be less expensive or the only way in which a particular application can be realized. One common mistake is to forget that you will still need power at the location of the camera and at wireless transmitter location.

If you follow this guide you should have all the information you need to get the right camera for the job.  I hope this has been helpful.

With so many new video surveillance technologies available in the last few years, many people are having difficulty deciding if they should abandon analog systems in favor of the newer IP technology. IP provides so many benefits such as high-definition megapixel that you just can’t get with analog. Yet many organizations have significant investment in analog and analog camera prices have dropped radically in price. 

Market predictions that IP will completely replace analog in 3-5 years leaves those with analog systems wondering if they are simply destined to live in the past. 

Luckily there is an answer that provides the best of both worlds. Hybrid video recorders are unique solutions that are designed to support both types of cameras, and many of the newer hybrid systems also allow you to take full advantage of the new high-definition megapixel, 180-degree and 360-degree formats while allowing you to keep your prior investment in analog cameras.

By industry definition “Hybrid” video systems combine both analog video inputs, and IP video inputs in the same unit. This gives users the ability to connect all their existing cameras and then add IP cameras when it makes sense. Many users simply want to add a few IP or megapixel cameras in key areas, yet they still want to be able to purchase low cost analog cameras for less demanding locations. This is exactly how it works with a hybrid system. Hybrid gives users the flexibility to expand and grow over time without the worry of an outdated system the day of purchase. 

In addition to the obvious benefits of being able to handle multiple camera types, many progressive manufacturers such as 3xLogic are offering creative licensing options that allow users to minimize their initial investment in the number of cameras their system can handle, yet allows the user to upgrade on the fly as their needs increase.  

For example, a convenience store wanting to upgrade an existing eight camera analog system no longer needs to decide if they should buy a 16 camera system to allow for future expansion. They simply buy a hybrid eight (8) camera recorder and then add single licenses as their needs grow.   When they decide to add a camera outside looking at the pumps, they simply purchase an additional camera license and their eight camera system is now a nine camera system without needing to replace any equipment.

Hybrid also allows the user to replace an existing analog camera looking at the cash register or gas pump with  a megapixel camera giving them 6-10 times the resolution  without needing to go above their existing eight (8) camera license. Converting to megapixel is like adding many more cameras without actually adding more cameras. 

The fact is, many system users today don’t have the capital to invest in a whole new video surveillance system. A hybrid system provides flexibility and expandability in an open platform format while future proofing the investment to the greatest extent possible. It is important to keep in mind that not all hybrid systems are equal and it is important to consider a solution that is compatible with a wide variety of IP camera manufacturers such as  Axis, Arecont, IQeye, Pelco, GSP and many more, as well as all the newer technologies such as megapixel 180-degree and 360-degree formats.

Simply put, a hybrid recorder allows you to take advantage of the benefits of analog, IP and megapixel IP all in a single unit that is probably similarly priced to comparable analog-only or IP-only systems.

Analog Benefits:

• Mature Market
• Broad range of camera options
• Readily available
• Low camera cost
• Tried and tested

IP Benefits

• Easy to add additional cameras
• The future of video
• Provides hi-def megapixel options
• Provides newer 180-degree and 360-degree video
• formats

Hybrid Benefits

• All of the above
• Keep existing analog investment
• Low cost expandability / expand when able
• Maximum flexibility
• Reduced installation time and cost
• Protect past & future investment
• Most complete solution available

Dealers that want more sales should offer a subscription option to their clients. With new financing tools provided by 3xLogic, dealers can do just that.

Due to the economic downturn, companies are cutting back on capital expenditures including video surveillance simply because they are not sure how to fund it.  Most customers realize that video surveillance is still required to reduce losses, and many more are realizing that the management capabilities built into today’s products can help them reduce overall operational expenses. So they want and need the product, they just are not sure where to get the budget.

While many dealers continue to offer lease financing options, it is not widely accepted for many reasons including the fact that customers often end up with outdated equipment by the end of the lease. With the new subscription agreement options offered by 3xLogic, customers don’t purchase equipment, they buy the benefits of using a state-of-the-art solution without having to worry about technology, upkeep, capital expenditures and depreciation. For a small monthly fee they get the tools they need to run their business more effectively without the headaches and hassle of other financing options.

Understand that the subscription model is more than just a financing option and provides many benefits to both the dealer and the end-user customer. Customers know what they want to accomplish and dealers know what hardware and software it will take to get the job done. Too often customers get deeply involved in the equipment selection and in the end fail to meet their overall needs. By offering the customer a complete turnkey solution, the dealer is allowed to make the required decisions about the equipment needed and maintenance requirements to keep the system operating at its fullest potential. The customer in turn gets a system that does exactly what they need without having to worry about installation, maintenance and other issues which take time away from the business.

The dealer also benefits in other ways, including the fact that they get paid as soon as the system is turned on and made available to the customer. Getting paid on time is important to dealer cash flow during both tough times as well as high growth periods.
The subscription model also provides an easy way for the customer to request additional features which represents an up-sell to dealers. Adding additional cameras or capabilities simply requires an addendum to the subscription with only a small increase in the monthly fee to the customer. This allows the customer to grow into the solution they really need while minimizing large decisions and cash outlays.
All dealers today should be offering the subscription option as their first choice. Period. If the client wants an outright purchase price they will let you know, but offering the monthly subscription price first sets your company apart from others who want the cash up front.

It is understandable that offering a subscription model may seem somewhat foreign to you and that there are many details that must be worked out before you can offer this. Luckily for you, 3xLogic has done all the work including providing the back-end financing which makes the model work. To start go the Subscription Financing tool on our website to get a quick quote.  For additional information go to the Training & Education tab for our webinar schedule.