If you are looking for a security and monitoring system that can be viewed away from the site where it is being used you should consider using a CCTV cameras remotely monitored. These systems are useful for monitoring the home from work, the business while at home, or for any monitoring application where the user is not in the same location as the camera.
Before we talk about using a CCTV cameras remotely monitored, let’s go over a few basics. First, CCTV is an abbreviation for Closed Caption Television and actually has a slightly different meaning today than it did 15 or 20 years ago. Television broadcast stations use video television cameras to record their video images. Several years ago these cameras were analog video cameras. These images are enhanced and edited at the studio and broadcast using powerful antennas and radio waves.
Smaller but similar types of cameras were used for security and monitoring systems. They differed from television broadcast cameras in that their video signal was not transmitted through radio waves but via a video transmission cable that ran from each camera to the video recording unit. This created a closed circuit between the camera and the video recorder, hence the name Closed Circuit Television.
However, today CCTV has a slightly looser or different definition. Today most cameras are digital video cameras and they may transmit their images via a video transmission cable or via radio waves. Regardless of the method of transmission, a CCTV camera today refers to a camera that captures video and sends it to a monitor, recorder, or other private device that is not available for public access. In a sense it is still a “closed circuit” in that it is not “open” or available for public distribution.
How are today’s CCTV cameras remotely monitored? This is normally accomplished by using one of two different methods. Either the camera is a wireless camera that transmits its video signal and control data via a radio signal to a corresponding wireless receiver or the camera is connected to the internet and uses it as a network. There variations of these methods and we will attempt to briefly describe each one.
Wireless CCTV cameras remotely monitored normally have their own built in transmitter and antenna. These cameras send their signals using radio signals, the most common using the 2.4 or 5.8 GHz band technology that is often used for land-line based wireless telephones. Some boast ranges of up to 2.5 miles.
These cameras normally operate in such a way that their range is called Line Of Sight or LOS. This means that the range listed is the maximum specified range between the camera and the receiver unit using a Line Of Sight – where no objects stand between the two. However, that doesn’t mean that they will not function is there is something that impedes their LOS (such as a wall, window, building, etc.). If there is an object or objects that impede the LOS the camera usually functions but the range may be reduced. Exactly how much the range is reduced depends on the material the radio signal must pass through and how many objects exist. These cameras can be remotely monitored for this specific range.
Another example is Internet Protocol or IP ready cameras. These digital video cameras contain their own programming technology and server so they can be connected directly to the internet. These cameras can be remotely monitored around the world provided the user has access to a broadband internet connection. The user doesn’t even have to have a personal computer these days as the various electronic personal devices such as cellular telephones and wireless handheld video players can be used to monitor the cameras.
As for the older analog CCTVs? Even they can be monitored remotely. Older CCTV security and monitoring systems that require the coaxial video transmission cable can be connected to servers that connect them to the internet. These servers normally “capture” the analog video and convert it into a digital video signal. These files are normally extremely large so the server also uses programming to compress the file to make it quicker and easier to send over the internet. These servers make remote monitoring of analog systems just as easy as digital video systems.
So if you have a need to keep a watchful eye on your home or business while on travel, vacation, or simply away from the premises you should consider a CCTV cameras remotely monitored system.
