IP Cameras are Great

The video surveillance industry has changed a lot over the last few years. I know because I've been around for few years. I actually started out life as an engineer and developed some of the first digitized video systems. This was back in those historic days of 1970's. We used CCTV cameras with vidicon sensors, analog to digital converters, and digital logic (no computers) to detect motion. What fun!

In the last 5 years I have gotten more involved in network attached camera systems or IP camera systems. This is quite a change from those old CCTV analog surveillance systems. Actually they are still around. Why have IP cameras become so popular? It’s because of the improved flexibility and ease of installation provided by this new technology. More importantly, it’s more cost effective. The latest IP solutions even include intelligent video processing that can track objects. Nowadays I don't have to worry about the hardware; it's all software now.

These network attached video solutions enable us to remotely and cost-effectively monitor and secure people, property and industrial processes. You can even use it to conduct remote classes, establish remote troubleshooting sessions, or broadcast sights and sounds on a Web site. Your network video system can be as simple or as sophisticated as you want it to be.

One of the major differences between the older CCTV surveillance systems and the new IP systems is the distance between camera and monitoring station and the ease of access to the video. Analog systems are restricted by the coax cabling systems, IP cameras are as boundless as the Internet.

More about this later. If you have any questions or like to add to this commentary you can contact me at bobmesnik at yahoo . com.