What should be taken into consideration when designing the security engineering surveillance camera?

What factors need to be considered when designing a video surveillance system? How to choose the right front-end equipment and back-end equipment? How do you make a design plan? In this article, we have listed several practical suggestions for choosing a video surveillance system.

1. Does the camera have to be concealed or visible as a deterrent?

The camera type we choose (ordinary or concealed) should be determined by the installation position. Firstly, the ordinary bullet cameras are usually big and obvious, which delievers people a signal that the this place is being monitored and the criminals should stay away, and then the theft will take place less. Secondly, the dome cameras will be the best choice if we need the camera well concealed, becasue the size is so small as the palm. Thirdly, the PTZ Camera is very suitable for the large range of monitoring, especially for the buildings, shopping malls, parking lots, etc., and it is also easy for the target tracking.

2. Will the camera be used indoors or outdoors?

Most surveillance cameras are now suitable for indoor and outdoor installations, and some product features that require special consideration such as installation and waterproofing. If you are working in an extremely cold environment, you must select a camera that supports reliable design and a built-in heater when selecting a camera. This ensures that the camera is turned on at low temperatures and can work normally. If it is used in the transportation field, it must be considered to use a reliable and feature-rich video surveillance solution that can work reliably in extreme environments, even if the installation environment may have vibration. Cameras that do not support outdoor installations should consider using a protective waterproof case. In other industrial environments such as factories, cameras also need to take dust protection measures. If it is installed in the restaurant kitchen, make sure that the camera can be protected against oil fumes. It is also applicable in bars, KTV and other places. In places with relatively special environments such as power plants, the camera should use explosion-proof grade IP66 or higher, and even install an explosion-proof shield, install an outdoor wiper, regularly clean the camera shield, and so on.

3. How much range need to be monitored?

The extent to which surveillance cameras need to be covered determines what type of camera is used. It is best to find a floor plan of the surveillance area and draw a sketch of the camera installation, analyze which cameras are needed, and how many cameras are required.

The dome camera is very suitable for large-scale monitoring, because the camera can be rotated 360 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees up and down, and supports optical zoom in on details. Secondly, a high-definition panoramic camera can be used. The panoramic camera can realize 360-degree video surveillance without blind spots, and supports digital rotation zoom. One panoramic camera can replace up to four traditional surveillance cameras. This means that users can use a smaller number of cameras to build a network video surveillance system, while effectively reducing costs.

In contrast, small-scale surveillance may only require the use of ordinary surveillance cameras. Of course, depending on the monitoring range, the network used is different. Most video surveillance only needs to use a local area network (LAN), while large video surveillance systems will use a wide area network (WAN).

4. How about requirement  for the image resolution or other details?

The size of the monitoring area will determine how many resolution cameras are used. For example, a wide range of high-definition cameras are required to ensure that the fit of the image enlargement does not affect the image quality. In addition, small areas such as offices or reception rooms only need to use low-resolution cameras. Not high-resolution cameras are suitable for all situations. Instead, it is best to carefully evaluate each monitoring point and spend money wisely.

At present, the camera is basically 1080P, 2 million pixels are often equipped, 4 million pixels have become popular.

5. How about the Lighting conditions in that environment?

If conditions permit, it is best to test which camera works best under existing lighting conditions. The light received indoors and outdoors at different times of the day is different, not to mention the changes in each season of the year. It is important to think about where the light will come from. For example, will light be reflected from the floor?

Is there a strong background light source and glare? For some environments, such as bars and discos, flashing lights will play a role in monitoring.

Thankfully, there are various technologies to ensure that the camera captures clear images even under different lighting conditions. Light filtering technologies such as infrared cut-off filters can filter useless infrared light during the day, thereby outputting color images with true color reproduction. At night, relying on infrared light sources, the camera can clearly image in the dark night.

Starlight-level cameras are popular at night and in almost dark environments, and the price is gradually becoming civilian.

6. Is the voice monitoring necessary?

Integrated audio collection into the video surveillance system, so that security personnel can talk to the suspect and voice monitoring. From the aspect of video surveillance, a separate sound detection function can also be implemented, which can trigger recording or alarm. For voice monitoring, the front-end camera must use a camera with a built-in microphone and speaker, or a camera with an audio input and output interface. Similarly, the back-end video recorder or client must be able to connect microphones and speakers.

7. Does this security engineering surveillance camera system supprt the scalability? As time goes by, will there be more cameras needed to be added to the surveillance system?
It is very important for the video surveillance system to have flexibility and scalability. The traditional closed-circuit monitoring system transmits in a closed line, which means that all equipment must be wired and not easily expanded. This is the shortcoming of the analog closed-circuit monitoring system.

Therefore, it is best to choose a webcam to add cameras and expand the system through a wireless network. Adding a webcam is as easy as adding a phone to the VOIP network, and there is no need to change the line or update the line.

The end.