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Security Camera Basics
  • Security Cameras

    Security cameras, also known as surveillance cameras, are used to monitor homes, businesses, and other types of properties. Typically, they are connected to a recording device such as a tape recorder or a disk. In the last few years, IP-based security cameras have become increasingly popular. Security cameras enable you to remotely monitor a scene and play back recorded images.

  • Analog CCTV Cameras

    Analog Closed-Circuit Television cameras record pictures or videos as analog signals. Most of old surveillance cameras are analog cameras. This type of camera records directly onto a video tape recorder. In order to save recordings to a PC, the analog signal must be converted to a digital format; this can be done with a video capture card.

  • Digital CCTV Cameras

    Digital CCTV cameras directly capture images and videos as digital signals. The signals are compressed and encoded into a standard video format such as MPEG. Digital CCTV cameras usually record videos onto a hard drive or a storage server.

  • DVR/NVR Security System

    A DVR (Digital Video Recorder) security camera system or a NVR surveillance system is basically a series of security cameras connected to a monitor and recording system. Most (old) DVR/NVR security camera systems are CCTV-based with the cameras connected to the recording system via video cables. A multi-channel DVR/NVR security camera system is dramatically more expensive than a regular IP camera; DVR/NVR security camera systems from different vendors require different cameras. Using IP-based network cameras, you don't need a DVR/NVR security camera system as each network camera can connect to the cloud directly.

  • IP / Network Cameras / Webcams

    An Internet Protocol camera or network camera is a type of digital video camera that can send and receive data via a computer network. This type of camera has become increasingly popular among homeowners and business owners in the last few years because of steep price drop. A webcam can also be considered as a network camera because it can send or receive data via a computer.

  • Security Camera Vulnerabilities

    Security cameras themselves are not completely secure. They can fail due to dust, smoke, fog, loss of power, or damage. They are also easily susceptible to tampering. If a security camera records data onsite, both the camera and the recorded data can be destroyed – by intruders, burglars, or anyone else who wants the data gone forever.

  • Camera Features
  • Motion Detection

    Many security cameras now support motion detection - a technology that triggers recording only when something changes in the scene. Motion can be detected by image changes or sound changes. Many security cameras can only detect image changes. As minor scene changes can occur due to events such as natural light changes or wind changes, many security cameras allow you to configure a “threshold”. By setting a higher threshold, minor scene changes will be ignored and only scene changes that reach the “threshold” will be recorded. Motion detection is very useful if you want to significantly reduce bandwidth and storage usage.

  • Night Vision Cameras

    One of the main usages of a security camera is to monitor night-time scenes. If the scene is not well lit, it is recommended that you use a camera with night vision capability. Those cameras use an infrared spectrum of light at night and can take pictures of objects in the dark.

  • Wireless Security Cameras

    Wireless security cameras transmit video and audio signals wirelessly to a receiving device. There are analog and digital types of wireless cameras. Digital security cameras have become much more popular recently because they can be accessed over the Internet.

  • FTP/SMTP Cameras

    FTP/SMTP cameras are a type of IP cameras that can upload recorded image/video files to an FTP/email server. Almost all IP cameras support FTP/SMTP uploading. FTP offsite storage is the most popular way of storing image/video files from a security camera/DVR.

  • Video Cameras

    All security cameras are video cameras. Most security cameras support real-time monitoring / live streaming via a web browser within the same network. From the Internet, it requires more complicated network configuration. Some security cameras can store video files to a network file server within the same network. Almost all security cameras can upload image snapshots to an FTP/SMTP server; some cameras can also upload video clips to an FTP/SMTP server. CameraFTP supports video recording if your camera supports it.

  • Camera Storage & Image Size
  • Security Camera Storage

    Most DVR/NVR security camera systems can store recorded images and videos to a tape, hard drive, or onsite storage server. However, storing data in this manner leaves it susceptible to tampering and damage by intruders. For better protection and security, offsite storage is the best solution.

  • Storage Requirement

    The required amount of storage is dependent on your camera’s image resolution, frame rate, compression ratio and days of retention. Setting up your camera to use motion detection can significantly reduce storage usage.

  • Camera Retention Time

    Security cameras can generate a large amount of data. The amount depends on the compression ratio, images captured per second, and image size. Most cameras provide a limited amount of storage space; therefore, recordings are usually kept for a preset amount of time before being overwritten by new images.

  • Camera Image Resolutions

    An analog security camera usually supports PAL (768x576 Pixels) or NTSC (720x480 pixels) format. A digital security camera can support many different image resolutions, e.g. 640x480, 800x600, 1280x960, 1920x1080 and more.

  • Upload Bandwidth

    While the resolutions of still image cameras can go as high as 10 million pixels, for a video surveillance camera, the standard resolution is lower. The main reason probably is because of storage and bandwidth requirement. The higher the resolution, the more storage space and the more bandwidth it requires. If you set the resolution to higher than 1280x720 and if you have multiple cameras, you might run out of upload bandwidth if you use ADSL or Cable Modem connections.

  • CameraFTP.com Service
  • Offsite Recording

    Offsite recording addresses one of the biggest vulnerabilities of a security camera. Instead of storing recorded data onsite, recorded images are uploaded to Camera FTP server in real-time. Even if an intruder destroys a security camera, he cannot destroy the recorded data, which can be very helpful for tracking down the intruder.

  • Remote Play Back

    Once a security camera uploads the recorded image/video files to Camera FTP server, you can play back the recorded footage from anywhere using CameraFTP’s Viewer App. The Camera Viewer feature is available for PC, MAC, tablet and smart phone.

  • Real-time viewing

    Camera FTP supports real-time viewing (live streaming) of a scene using the Camera Viewer feature. Many IP cameras can support live viewing; however, such feature usually only works at the same location and only supports few connections. With Camera FTP service, you can view images/videos over the Internet from anywhere using any device. It also allows many people to live stream the video concurrently.

  • Home/Business Security

    CameraFTP offers a revolutionary security and monitoring service for home and business users. Compared with traditional security services, it has a lot of advantages. It is extremely easy to setup, does not require any expensive hardware, requires no professional installation, and the cost is extremely low. Moreover, it is more secure than regular security services as it supports Cloud Recording and Playback.

  • Service Comparison

    CameraFTP has many advantages over other security and surveillance services. You can compare features and prices with other security services. It is also better than using regular FTP/email service (such as Gmail, Outlook, Dropbox) for security camera storage.