Almost every business today has a video surveillance system installed in order to deter theft, violence, and vandalism, and to have a record of activity in the case of an accident or false claim. Some businesses have spent thousands of dollars on their analog CCTV surveillance, having purchased equipment such as cameras, digital video recorders, and potentially miles of cable to connect everything together. It is not surprising that the thought of “upgrading” these systems can cause some monetary anxiety for businesses who believe their equipment still has a long life ahead of it.
The good news: CCTV systems are not like TVs, computers, or smartphones, in which “upgrading” effectively means “replacing”; legacy CCTV surveillance can work seamlessly in tandem with IP video surveillance elements thanks to security integration and a solid IP network. Not only can businesses preserve their existing investment of CCTV, but they can experience the benefits of IP video such as:
- Excellent image and recording quality: cameras of varying megapixels are able to provide superior detail during the playback of footage, and the average recording rate for IP cameras is around 4-6 frames per second; analog systems typically reach an average of 1.85 frames per second (when referring to video playback, not real-time viewing)
- Effortless video clip search: IP video surveillance with management software enables the user to punch in the time of the incident, the location of the camera, or a few keywords in order to easily pull up footage; with an analog system utilizing a standard DVR, the user typically has to comb through hours—or days—of footage.
- Eventual upgrades: Because IP video takes advantage of low cost network technology, adding a few more cameras or storage units is simple and no longer requires rewiring an entire network; additionally, IP surveillance provides flexibility so future upgraded components can originate from any vendor or manufacturer.
There are various avenues to go about upgrading a CCTV system. For businesses that believe their cameras are of good quality and in good locations, perhaps they might opt to upgrade the DVR component and replace it with a video server that digitizes the analog signals from the camera and stores the footage on high-capacity hard disk drives. The server then can be accessed from a networked PC in order to run the video management software to easily pull video clips for review.
Another instance would be a larger business with many cameras and a real-time monitoring station that wishes to keep their legacy CCTV system but add IP cameras and a video server/management software. By splitting the cable from the cameras to the original DVR, the analog video can again be digitized by an encoder, fed into the video server, and managed by the software on a PC, as are the additional IP cameras. This solution allows the security personnel to keep real-time views on their traditional video monitors while the additional server storage provides redundancy for the DVR in case it fails.
Naturally, it is recommended to migrate to an all IP-based video surveillance solution, but it is understandable that sometimes the necessary resources are not available in order to successfully convert. In such cases, hybrid solutions are ideal. Because there are dozens of types of configurations of combined CCTV/IP surveillance systems, each potential upgrade requires a thorough assessment from an IP video expert with experience in IT infrastructure. Every business has specific needs regarding how CCTV systems can be upgraded, and some special considerations may apply to your configuration.