To understand how IP camera systems work, you need to
understand a little bit about networking, but not much. If you've ever hooked up
a network ready printer, or hooked a regular printer to a print server, you've
already got the concept down....it's not a bit different.
Essentially, and without dragging it out the n'th degree, you can take a NORMAL
everyday CCTV Camera and hook it to a video server (just like a print server) or
you can buy a camera that's already "Network Ready." Either the Video Server or
the "Network Ready" Camera will provide a unique computer "address" known as an
I.P. Address. ANY Computer can search and FIND the IP address, and connect to
it. Depending on how you've configured the network, that computer can be next to
the camera, or a million miles away, it really doesn't matter.
Once you have the IP Address of the camera via either the network ready camera or
video server, you can simply plug one or the other of them into your network.
This can be done with a wire, or it can be done wirelessly...again it doesn't
matter. For example, you could have a video server with four inputs for four
cameras providing four IP addresses. The video server could be directly plugged
into a hub, a switch or a router and made available, via a wire, to your
network. The output of the video server could also be plugged into a wireless
transmitter, and then be picked up by a standard wireless access point, and then
routed via a wire to the PC. HOW you do it will be decided by economics and by
distance or terrain.
Once the PC has "found" the IP address of one or more cameras, it can then "see"
the images coming from the cameras. The next step, is to install some software
solution that simply allows you to DISPLAY those images on the screen.
The Final and easiest step, is to STORE the data being displayed. Add a Hard
Drive or two or 12....you're done.
This is a fairly oversimplified, non-technical description of how it is
accomplished...but it is the EXACT way it's done. The most interesting part is,
if you take out the VIDEO factor....we've been doing this in reverse, for years.
We can take the output of a hundred computers and computer users, and send that
information to be printed, stored or processed to a network printer, a network
storage device, or to a mainframe like system. All we have done with our VIDEO
system, is to reverse the flow of data and change the type of data....now we
have video, from maybe 128 cameras, all coming in via the network, to one
place....the PC.
The FACT of the matter is, once you've hooked up your first IP camera to the
system, you'll be hooked. It's TOO simple. It's TOO easy, and it's TOO much fun.
Someone will tell you....oh my...IP cameras are too expensive....and they're
right, for now....BUT....consider this scenario:
1. Use standard CCTV Cameras - same price as always
2. Use Video Servers - NOT much more expensive than cables
3. Use a standard PC - NO need to worry about which motherboard etc....it
doesn't matter.
4. Storage devices (Hard Drives) are growing in size and are cheap.
5. You don't need a DVR Card or Cards....save the money.
6. You'll need Software....spend the money you would have spent on DVR Cards.
7. End up with a much more scalable, REAL TIME solution that is so simple to
use, fun to install and manage, and is so much more flexible that it makes
everything else silly to consider.
IP Cameras and Network Based Video Systems are NOT the wave of the
future....they've ARRIVED.
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