How IP Remote Surveillance Works

When it comes to video surveillance more and more companies are turning to IP cameras and remote surveillance. Both government agencies and business are using the advanced techniques of IP remote surveillance. So what makes this form of remote monitoring so much better than older methods? The following article will discuss the changes and benefits that IP remote surveillance can bring to your business.

When it comes to choosing a remote surveillance system, you need to be cautious of what you are getting as well as the individual terms involved. Shopping for an IP remote surveillance system can be confusing, and this isn't because there are too many types of systems. Rather the confusion stems from the fact that there is no genuine definition as to the term "IP-based" or similar video surveillance systems.

At one time, video surveillance was done with analog technology through the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) and was recorded to video tapes. This was perfect for those who wanted to record what happened, but there was no way to broadcast actual live information. This means you couldn't monitor your stores from a remote location. In addition, the picture quality was never excellent, and you had to change the tapes regularly in order for the system to work. Then the solution of IP remote surveillance came along, but what is it exactly?

The Future with IP Remote Surveillance

An IP remote surveillance system uses network cameras to broadcast a video image over a Local Area Network (LAN). Once the images are transmitted, they are taken to a computer or server which then manages all of the information. Depending on the software that a company has installed the computer or server can manage the digital images, record, display or transmit the images to any other location throughout the world. You can easily upgrade your IP remote surveillance software package in order to analyze data, flag specific items, and several other functions such as video verification.

The true form of IP remote surveillance uses CCD cameras which send packetized video streams over the LAN network using signal processing through a Cat 5 cable rather than the standard coax cable network. This means IP remote surveillance uses greater bandwidth and standard TCP/IP communication.

Using IP remote surveillance give you better data mining and information retrieval. By choosing full digital surveillance, you also have the added security advantage of data encryption to help protect your images against tampering, something you could never get with traditional analog recordings.

Recently a few companies have even started to offer plug and play IP cameras, which are fully digital cameras that have their own integrated, built-in web servers, so you don't need any external computers in order to operate them. Instead the signal is transmitted directly to the terminal location where you can either store them or play them.