‘VIRTUAL’CCTV CONTROL

Effective CCTV needs to be able to identify the faces of suspects and show clearly vehicle number plates in order to provide prosecution evidence and be a deterrent to crime or anti social behaviour. 

Traditional analogue CCTV cameras are low resolution (usually 0.4 of a megapixel) and need to be manually zoomed in for a close up image which offers any prospect of suspect or vehicle identification. This requires a CCTV control room with expensive specialist equipment and even more expensive operators manning the control room 24/7.

The current economic climate has put pressure on local council budgets and prompted reviews of CCTV costs. Also a search for an effective but lower cost alternative to a fully manned control room. Megapixel high resolution cameras show 30 to 50 times more image detail than conventional CCTV cameras.

This has enabled the development of a much lower cost ‘Virtual’ Control room concept. New camera control software is able to replicate a traditional control room function at a fraction of the cost. The new generation of megapixel CCTV cameras have onboard computers which can store real time video clips and new software can create functionality previously impossible for traditional CCTV cameras.       

Megapixel resolution enables cameras to have a much wider panoramic view than the old CCTV cameras enabling a number of traditional CCTV cameras to be replaced with a single 3.1 megapixel camera. Megapixel cameras cost slightly more but the total cost of installing a megapixel network system is usually substantially lower, sometimes as much as 50% lower.

One of the most compelling advantages of high-definition surveillance is the ability to capture not only situation awareness and the big picture of what is going on but also fine details that can be used for number plate reading and identifying people.

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