IP CCTV camera

Why IP cameras for video surveillance are gaining popularity and what types of IP cameras do exist in our article.
In recent years, IP cameras for video surveillance are gaining popularity. For IP cameras do not need additional equipment - each camera is independent in itself and can work without additional devices. Poe technology allows you to supply power to the IP-camera via Ethernet-cable.

Types of IP camera

For different purposes, different types of IP cameras are used. Conventionally, they can be divided into three types:

• by installation locations
• by body type
• by lens type

According to the places of installation, the cameras are divided into outdoor and indoor.

Since street weather conditions are quite severe, a quality outdoor camera can operate in the temperature range from -50 to +50 degrees. Often c cameras use special heated thermometers. Outdoor cameras are also designed for high humidity and calmly withstand installation inside rooms such as a car wash. Increased performance dictate higher prices for this type of IP cameras.

Internal cameras are installed directly inside buildings . Such cameras are not designed to operate at very low or high temperatures and high humidity. Usually installed in offices or other premises to control the organization’s business processes. The advantage of such cameras is the price, which is significantly lower than that of outdoor IP cameras.

According to the type of the camera body , they are divided into cameras in a standard case, dome-shaped, PTZ cameras.

Cameras in a standard package are the simplest devices in a standard package. Can be installed both indoors and outdoors. For outdoor installation, a special thermoplastic is used, which protects against moisture ingress and low / high temperatures.

Dome cameras can be installed both indoors and outdoors. They have a body that visually resembles a hemisphere. Most often, an ip camera in this design is attached to the ceiling, less often to a wall. The hemisphere of cameras is often tinted so that the lens is not visible where it is directed.

PTZ cameras (PTZ-Pan-tilt-zoom) - a camera that supports remote control of the direction and zoom. This type of camera is convenient to use when you need to remotely rotate the lens of the camera, as well as zoom in on some fragments of the frame.

IP cameras lenses 

Camera IP cameras are divided into lenses with fixed focal length and variable focal length . On cameras with variable focal length, you can change the focus, which will either expand the viewing angles — get the overall picture, or focus on a smaller object in more detail.

When you need to decide what focal length to choose, you need to understand that the smaller the focal length, the less far-sighted your IP camera will be, but at the same time it will cover a larger viewing area. Conversely, the larger the focal length of the lens, the more detailed the frame from the camera will be, but the viewing area will be smaller. Wide-angle lenses are suitable for a general overview, such as car parking or a  conference room., and a greater focal length allows you to see a more detailed image that is required at cash desks in supermarkets or in banks to resolve controversial issues. Usually changing the focal length is a mechanical task. On the lens there are levers that allow you to change the parameters. On more expensive models, it is possible to change the focal length remotely.

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WHY DO WE NEED VIDEO CONFERENCING, IF YOU HAVE SKYPE?

Why do large companies choose video conferencing to streamline negotiations, corporate training and costs, rather than popular video chats? Read in our article about the benefits of video conferencing.

Almost every company has a question about optimizing the business process using modern technologies. Video conferencing is no exception; it allows you to optimize the time and money costs of the enterprise and quickly resolve issues with partners.

WHAT IS VIDEO CONFERENCING (VIDEO CONFERENCING)?

What is videoconferencing is, in general, clear from the name, but it is necessary to realize that video conferencing is more than just cameras, computer and software are equipment and technologies that, in combination, allow remote communication to be transferred to a high, qualitative level, often achieving a presence effect.

The professional video conferencing system includes the following elements:

High-quality video camera with high resolution.


During a conversation using a popular video chat, you often see a low-quality picture with unregulated illumination. Professional video camera with adjustable sensitivity and color reproduction, reproduces high-quality, detailed image of your interlocutor. As a result, you are not distracted from communication and perceive the interlocutor as if he is at arm's length.

Conference systems (microphones)

Conference systems have high sensitivity to ensure high-quality speech during negotiations, as opposed to a microphone on a telephone or computer. More details about microphones.

Acoustic systems

Sound equipment is installed only after the engineering acoustic calculations of the room. In conference rooms and meeting rooms use various types of equipment: ceiling acoustics, wall mounted, frontal. When using the latter type of acoustics, there will be an additional effect of the presence of a remote participant.

Acoustic data room.

This item is directly related to the above; Without decent room acoustics, the sound effect of presence cannot be achieved. Mainly edited and formed using interior materials during the repair.

Video equipment

This refers to video mapping systems of interlocutors (screens, monitors, panels). The transfer of visual content is most important during video conferencing, the quality of equipment plays the most important role here.

WHY DO I NEED VKS, IF YOU HAVE SKYPE?

The main differences are quality, reliability and capabilities.

The quality and level of video conferencing are directly related, as you have probably understood, from the installed equipment. A popular smartphone or even the latest version of the laptop with the best performance will not be able to broadcast video of a similar quality that is inherent in professional equipment, even if not a popular brand. When communicating via Skype, you simply see the interlocutor on your screen, the video conferencing system provides the effect of presence.

Reliability.

The actual problem for many organizations is the confidentiality of information. Unlike Skype, the videoconferencing system is protected from data “leakage” and listening, since all connections go through the client’s server, and the equipment is serviced by the company’s staff.

One of the main differences of video conferencing is the possibility of stable and safe operation, on weak communication channels, and vice versa, in local networks, where data transfer is very high.

Skype only works when connected to its servers via the Internet; that is, every time a connection fails, you will not be able to use the video connection all the time, until you troubleshoot. Imagine if this happens during very important negotiations with your partners or clients.

Opportunities

• demonstration of presentations, videos, photos, drawings, tables and any other multimedia materials during the conversation.
• during communication, an electronic board is available on which you can draw, enter and edit data.
• provides for the duplication of your desktop on the overall screen and desktop management of your interlocutor.
• video of negotiations and all data, if necessary.
• unlimited number of participants.
• the organization of the schedule of video conferences and invitations. By scheduling a conference, mark the date and time, and your interlocutors will receive individual emails.
• Integration with IP-telephony - the ability to call landline numbers, from the application for video conferencing, during the conference. Thereby providing a full audio participation of the interlocutor.

Of course, if you need a point-to-point video conferencing (two-way video conferencing), use extremely rarely and are not afraid of the “leakage” of information, then the most affordable and best option for you would be Skype or similar products.

But if the company is large, actively developing or planning to conduct training between the branches, you will need multi point videoconferencing. For the implementation of "multi point" you will need conference equipment that supports "multi point" (there is conference equipment with built-in up to 8 points) or a special video server. In more detail about the types of video conferencing, we will tell in the next article.

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Video conferencing equipment for real-world meeting rooms

Video conferencing has ceased to be an exotic concept and is increasingly penetrating our everyday work environment. She went beyond the meeting rooms and became available in the workplace of employees and mobile devices. This widespread use of video conferencing is facilitated by the growing transition from purely hardware solutions (such as Polycom, Cisco, LifeSize) to software and hardware. There are several reasons for this transition, but the main ones are as follows:

1. Software solutions for video conferencing are more affordable without losing functionality.
2. Software solutions for video conferencing provide greater flexibility in equipping workplaces and meeting rooms, in contrast to the standardized composition of hardware terminals.

This article, on the example of a specific meeting room, describes how it is possible to equip a room with video conferencing facilities that is simple and relatively inexpensive. 

The concept of a standard meeting room

The meeting room is now in almost any company. This is the place where meetings between employees, meetings with clients, discussion of projects are held. Recently, meeting rooms are also used for video conferencing with remote participants. The equipment of such meeting rooms allows participants to hear and see each other at a distance in real time, to share content (presentations, slides, videos). 

As a rule, meeting rooms have a metric of 25-30 square meters and a capacity of 8-10 people. These rooms are medium-sized meeting rooms.

Modular approach to equipping meeting rooms

Before turning to specific examples of equipment, you should talk about the modular approach. 

Today, equipping a meeting room with video conferencing equipment has ceased to be a highly specialized task. Previously, a hardware terminal with a predetermined composition of components was almost the only option for VKS equipment. Now the personal computer with the software client of the video conferencing center becomes the central hub, for example: Skype, Polycom Realpresence Desktop or TrueConf. 

Both of these options solve the problem - they provide participants with video calls, but they have different approaches:

1. The option based on a specialized hardware terminal involves placing typed equipment in a room — a video camera with the parameters offered by the manufacturer, a microphone, also a specific model, a central computing unit with certain functionality, and so on. Connectors for connecting equipment to the central unit are often proprietary. This makes it difficult to replace components. For example, the Polycom company produces video cameras with a non-standard HDCI connector, which without “dancing with a tambourine” is difficult to connect to anything other than the hardware terminals of the same company. This imposes certain difficulties in connecting cameras through a video switch, to build more complex video conferencing systems. The flexibility of upgrading and scaling in such hardware solutions is a bit
   
2. The option based on a personal computer, equipped in the simplest case with a video camera and microphone, gives more flexibility in choosing equipment, as the connection interfaces (USB, HDMI, 3.5 mm analog connector) are standardized and present in any modern personal computer.

The second variant of equipment embodies a modular approach to equipping a meeting room, which involves the separation of all equipment into several subsystems, the composition of each of which can be changed without losing the overall functionality. Video and audio signals of each of these subsystems are connected to the client terminal on the basis of a personal computer.

1. Subsystem technology television. In essence, this is a video camera system. For large conference rooms, several video cameras are needed to capture all participants in the video. In the case of an average meeting room, a single video camera with a suitable viewing angle, swivel lens and optical zoom (PTZ) is sufficient.
   
2. Subsystem display information. This may be a projector or a screen, but recently LCD panels are increasingly being used because of their availability and convenience - no need, as is the case with a projector, to specifically dim the room or periodically change light bulbs. When choosing a TV size, you should be guided by the following rule: the distance from the TV to the closest participants should be at least one diagonal of the TV, and to the farthest participant - no more than four diagonals. 
   
   It is clear that for a long room, based on this recommendation, you will need a large diagonal TV. In some cases, the best options for the display subsystem become a video wall or duplicate screens.
   
   Video wall - a set of display devices (projection video cubes, plasma or LCD displays), which are combined with each other and form a single screen that allows you to play large volumes of information from different sources in a multi-window mode. The issue of video walls is very voluminous and is beyond the scope of this article. But the main parameters that you should pay attention to when choosing a video wall are: its size in inches, the width of the seam between the panels (usually 5.5 mm), the mode of operation, video sources and the functionality that the video wall controller must implement. 
   
   When collaborating with documents, the use of auxiliary panels that duplicate an image from the main screen becomes much more useful than one big screen. In this case, you must use a video splitter.
   
3. Subsystem sound capture. The wide-directional frog microphones, which are part of the hardware terminals, are replaced by speakerphones - devices that combine an array of microphones and a speaker. They connect to a computer via USB and provide effective echo and noise reduction, as well as a large radius of sound capture. In addition, speakerphones have the ability to cascade into a circuit to expand the sound capture zone.
   
4. Subsystem sounding room. There are a lot of options - from speakerphones and loudspeakers built into the LCD TV and ending with ceiling loudspeakers that evenly sound the whole room.

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