What type of equipment will I need to develop a CCTV system?

The basic requirements for a CCTV system to be developed are; a camera placed appropriate to the subject of monitoring, a monitor, something to record the pictures, and something to view them on. Equipment can vary greatly in cost dependent upon the needs of the user.

What is VMD?

VMD, or Video Motion Detection is an electronic system that takes a scanned CCTV image from a camera and then regularly compares and assesses the image to identify if a change in the picture has occurred. If it has, then the system may alarm, or alert the CCTV operator.

Under what scenarios are CCTV systems set up?

CCTV scenarios can vary greatly from major supermarkets/departmental stores wanting to enhance their present security system to small businesses which want to monitor their property. The only stipulation is that Data Protection and Human Rights legislation is adhered to. It is best practice to draw up an Operational Requirement.

Are their any sites on the Internet that can help me further with reference to CCTV and the various legislation surrounding it?

General information

Data Protection advice

Operational Requirements advice

Legal adivce

Are Televisions as good as monitors?

Televisions are much cheaper than Monitors. Televisions also have audio and remote control. However, the picture quality offered via a monitor is superior, especially if employed for higher security jobs and not just surveillance needs.

What is a day/night switch?

During the day, activity around an area being monitored may be normal, hence alarms are not required. At night, this may be different and a switch can be installed on some security systems that enable the equipment to set off an alarm.

What does an Iris do on a camera?

An iris is a mechanism on a camera that allows more or less light in through the lens, making a picture lighter or darker.

The picture on my recorded footage is fuzzy and doesn't have much definition, what can be the reason for this?

The most common basis of poor picture quality of footage is offered from analogue systems with frequent use of videotapes. Analogue tapes suffer degradation very easily and it is often when footage needs to be called upon that the user discovers the problem. The only way to combat this problem is to discard tapes after certain amounts of time.

The resultant images are out of focus for different times of the day. What are the possible reasons for this?

This problem applies to the focussing set on the camera and not the zoom. The way to solve this problem would be to set the lighting levels at low light, i.e. night. The manual of the camera will show how to set the focus.

The picture is shaking when played back on a system

The poor fitting and installation of a camera more often than not causes this problem. The mounting could be refitted and re-assessed to better suit the size and weight of camera.

The subject on the recorded footage is too small?

This can be caused by a lack of Operational Requirement being carried out before purchase of a system. It may be possible to use a greater focal length lens, which will increase the size of the targets. Alternatively it may be necessary to install other cameras to the system or to re-site the existing ones.