Transmission of Video Signals

Introduction
This is not meant to be a text book on transmission but is intended to remove some of the mystery associated with various methods of transmission. Many approximations and simplifications have been used in writing this guide. This is to make the subject more understandable to those people not familiar with the theories. For general application in the design of CCTV systems it should be more than adequate and at least point the way to the main questions that must be addressed. The manufacturers of transmission equipment will usually be only too keen to help in final design. This first part deals with the transmission of video signals by cables. Part 2 deals with the transmission of video signals by other methods such as microwave, telephone systems, etc.

Diagram 1 illustrates the many methods of getting a picture from a camera to a monitor. The choice will often be dictated by circumstances on the location of cameras and controls. Often there will be more than one option for types of transmission. In these cases there will possibly be trade offs between quality and security of signal against cost. General Principles
The video signal

A field of video is created by the CCD being scanned across and down exactly 312 1/2 times and this reproduced on the monitor. A second scan of 312 1/2 lines is exactly 1/2 a line down and interlaced with the first scan to form a picture with 625 lines. This is known as a 2:1 interlaced picture. The combined 625 line is known as a frame of video and made up from two interlaced fields. The total voltage produced is one volt from the bottom of the sync pulse to the top of the

white level, hence one volt peak to peak(p/p). The luminance (brightness) element of the signal is from 0.3 volts to one volt, therefore is 0.7 volts maximum. This is known as a composite video signal because the synchronising and video information are combined into a single signal. In the case of a colour signal, further information has to be provided. The colour information is superimposed onto the video signal by means of a colour sub-carrier. A short reference signal, known as the chroma burst, is added to the back porch after the horizontal sync pulse to detect the difference in position or phase. The transmission system must be capable of reproducing this signal accurately at the receiving end with no loss of information.

Note that the imaging device is scanned 625 times but the actual resolution is defined by the number of pixels making up the device.
Synchronising

The video signal from a TV camera has to provide a variety of information at the monitor for a correct TV picture to be displayed. This information can be divided into: Synchronising pulses that tell the monitor when to start a line and a frame; video information that tells the monitor how bright a particular point in the picture should be; chrominance that tells the monitor what colours a particular part of the picture should be (colour cameras only).
Bandwidth

The composite video output from the average CCTV camera covers a bandwidth ranging from 5Hz to many MHz. The upper frequency is primarily determined by the resolution of the camera

and whether it is monochrome or colour. For every 100 lines of resolution, a bandwidth of 1MHz approximately is required. Therefore, a camera with 600 lines resolution gives out a video signal with a bandwidth of approximately 6MHz. This principle applies to both colour and monochrome cameras. However colour cameras also have to produce a colour signal (chrominance), as well as a monochrome output (luminance). The chrominance signal is modulated on a 4.43MHz carrier wave in the PAL system therefore a colour signal, regardless of definition, has a bandwidth of at least 5MHz.

Requirements To Produce A Good Quality Picture From the above it will be obvious that to produce a good quality picture on a monitor, the video signal must be applied to the monitor with little or no distortion of any of its elements, i.e. the time relationship of the various signals and amplitude of these signals. However in CCTV systems the camera has to be connected to a monitor by a cable or another means, such as Fibre Optic or Micro Wave link. This interconnection requires special equipment to interface the video signal to the transmission medium. In cable transmission, special amplifiers may be required to compensate for the cable losses that are frequency dependant.

Cable Transmission All cables, no matter what their length or quality, produce problems when used for the transmission of video signals, . the main problem being related to the wide bandwidth requirements of a video signal. All cables produce a loss of signal that is dependent primarily on the frequency, the higher the frequency, the higher the loss. This means that as a video signal travels along a cable it loses its high frequency components faster than its low frequency components. The result of this is a loss of the fine detail (definition) in the picture. The human eye is very tolerant of errors of this type; a significant loss of detail is not usually objectionable unless the loss is very large. This is fortunate, as the losses of the high frequency components are very high on the types of cables usually used in CCTV systems. For instance, using the common coaxial cables URM70 or RG59, 50% of the signal at 5MHz is lost in 200 metres of cable. To compensate for these losses, special amplifiers may be used. These provide the ability to amplify selectively the high frequency components of the video signal to overcome the cable losses. Cable Types There are two main types of cable used for transmitting video signals, which are: Unbalanced (coaxial) and balanced (twisted pair). The construction of each is shown in diagrams 2 and 3. An unbalanced signal is one in which the signal level is a voltage referenced to ground. For instance a video signal from the camera is between 0.3 and 1.0 volts above zero (ground level). The shield is the ground level.

A balanced signal is a video signal that has been converted for transmission along a medium other than coaxial cable. Here the signal voltage is the difference between the voltage in each conductor. External interference is picked up by all types of cable. Rejection of this interference is effected in different ways. Coaxial cable relies on the centre conductor being well screened by the outer copper braid. There are many types of coaxial cable and care should be taken to select one with a 95% braid. In the case of a twisted pair cable, interference is picked up by both conductors in the same direction equally. The video signal is travelling in opposite directions in the two conductors. The interference can then be balanced out by using the correct type of amplifier. This only responds to the signal difference in the two conductors and is known as a differential amplifier.
Unbalanced (Coaxial) Cables

This type of cable is made in many different impedances. In this case impedance is measured between the inner conductor and the outer sheath. 75 Ohm impedance cable is the standard used in CCTV systems. Most video equipment is designed to operate at this impedance. Coaxial cables with an impedance of 75 Ohms are available in many different mechanical formats, including single wire armoured and irradiated PVC sheathed cable for direct burial. The cables available range in performance from relatively poor to excellent. Performance is normally measured in high frequency loss per 100 metres. The lower this loss figure, the less the distortion to the video signal. Therefore, higher quality cables should be used when transmitting the signal over long distances. Another factor that should be considered carefully when selecting coaxial cables is the quality of the cable screen. This, as its name suggests, provides protection from interference for the centre core, as once interference enters the cable it is almost impossible to remove.

Balanced (Twisted Pair) Cables

In a twisted pair each pair of cables is twisted with a slow twist of about one to two twists per metre. These cables are made in many different impedances, 100 to 150 Ohms being the most common. Balanced cables have been used for many years in the largest cable networks in the world. Where the circumstances demand, these have advantages over coaxial cables of similar size. Twisted pair cables are frequently used where there would be an unacceptable loss due to a long run of coaxial cable. The main advantages are:

1) The ability to reject unwanted interference. 2) Lower losses at high frequencies per unit length. 3) Smaller size. 4) Availability of multi-pair cables. 5) Lower cost. The advantages must be considered in relation to the cost of the equipment required for this type of transmission. A launch amplifier to convert the video signal is needed at the camera end and an equalising amplifier to reconstruct the signal at the control end.

Impedance

It is extremely important that the impedances of the signal source, cable, and load are all equal. Any mismatch in these will produce unpleasant and unacceptable effects in the displayed picture. These effects can include the production of ghost images and ringing on sharp edges, also the loss or increase in a discrete section of the frequency band within the video signal. The impedance of a cable is primarily determined by its physical construction, the thickness of the conductors and the spacing between them being the most important factors. The materials used as insulators within the cable also affect this characteristic. Although the signal currents are very low, the sizes of the conductors within the cable are very important. The higher frequency components of the video signal travel only in the surface layer of the conductors.

For maximum power transfer, the load, cable and source impedance must be equal. If there is any mismatch some of the signal will not be absorbed by the load. Instead it will be reflected back along the cable to produce what is commonly known as a ghost image. Mixing Cable And Equipment Types It is essential that coaxial cables and balanced cables should only be used with the correct type of equipment. Unpredictable results will occur if the incorrect cable type is used. For instance, if the intention is to use a balanced cable, this cannot be connected directly to a coaxial cable or an amplifier designed to drive a coaxial cable. Some form of device is required to be connected between the two cable types so that both cables are correctly matched. This piece of equipment may be an amplifier or video isolation transformer. Cable Joints Every joint in a cable produces a small change in the impedance at that point. The mechanical layouts of the conductors change where it is joined. This cannot be avoided. However, the changes in impedance should be minimised by using the correct connectors. When in line joints are being made, ensure the mechanical layout of the joint follows the cable layout as closely as possible. The number of joints in a cable should be minimised, as each joint is a potential source of problems and will produce some reflections in the cable. The Decibel (dB) Cable and amplifier performance are usually defined as a certain loss or gain of signal expressed in Decibels (dB). The dB is not a unit of measure but is a way of defining a ratio between two signals. The dB was originally developed to simplify the calculation of the performance of telephone networks, where there were many amplifiers and lengths of cable on a network. The calculations become extremely difficult, and often produce very large figures using ordinary ratios, when many of them have to be multiplied and divided to work out the signal levels of the network. However these calculations become relatively simple if the ratios are converted to the logarithm of the ratio, which can then be just added and subtracted. This therefore, is the reason for using the decibel, which in simple terms is: 10 x log (ratio) This dB (power dB) is often used to measure power relative to a fixed level. It is not a measure in its own right. If the impedance at which the measurements are made is constant, the dB becomes 20 x log (ratio). This is the dB (voltage dB) which is normally used to define cable loss or amplifier gain in the CCTV industry. The advantage of using this method becomes obvious when working out the performance of a network containing more than one or two items. Many people who do not use dBs all the time have problems relating them to real ratios. The key figures to remember are:

If the ratio is 2:1, then 20 x log 2= 20 x .310 = 6.021, e.g. 6dB. If the ratio is 10:1, then 20 x log 10= 20 x 1 =20, e.g. 20 dB. If the ratio is 20:1, then 20 x log 20= 20 x 1.3=26, e.g. 26 dB. Similarly a ratio of 100:1 is equal to 40 dB. Therefore, put in reverse, some common ratios are: 6 dB is a loss or gain of 2:1 20 dB is a loss or gain of 10:1 26 dB is a loss or gain of 20:1 40 dB is a loss or gain of 100:1 Diagram 5 illustrates the relationship between the measure of signal to noise in dB and as a ratio.

Example Of Network Transmission The following example illustrates a typical network and how to calculate the losses and gains.

To work out the net loss or gain of signal on a network, add the amplifier gains and subtract the cable losses. 1st cable -- loss 12dB, 1st amplifier -- gain 6dB

2nd cable -- loss 20dB, 2nd amplifier -- gain 26dB 3rd cable -- loss 6dB. The result would be: -12dB + 6dB - 20dB + 26dB - 6dB = -6dB i.e.. 1/2 the input signal is present at the end of the 3rd cable. This calculation is much easier than if the original ratios were used: Reduction Of Signal To Noise Ratio. When a video signal is amplified the noise, as well as the signal, is increased. If the amplifier were perfect then the resulting signal to noise ratio would remain unchanged. Amplifiers are not perfect and can introduce extra noise into the signal. The amount of noise introduced increases as the amplifier approaches its maximum gain setting. A typical amplifier or repeater operating at maximum gain may reduce the signal to noise ratio by about 3dB. Consequently, it is not advisable to run such equipment at the maximum levels. This is similar to the results of turning the volume up too high on a domestic HI FI. A lot of interference is evident and most units are only operated at up to about half their maximum rating. In the same way as the net gain or loss in a network can be simply calculated by adding the dB values arithmetically, so can the reduction in signal to noise ratio. In the previous example if the original s/n ratio is 50 dB at the camera then after two amplifiers the s/n ratio could be reduced to 44dB. After four amplifiers this could be reduced to 44 - 12 = 32 dB. At this signal to noise ratio the picture would show a lot of 'snow' and be close to the limit of a usable picture. This then is the limit of the distance that a video signal may be transmitted using this type of transmission. Therefore, besides calculating the losses and gains of the network the reduction in s/n ratio must also be calculated. This example assumes that the worst case is considered. Manufacturers' data or assistance should be sought if equipment is to be used at maximum settings. Misuse Of The dB The term dB is very often misused as a measurement, which it is not. This practice is very common. However, the correct way of stating a measurement is +/- YdB's relative to a base level. It is a common, though technically incorrect, practice not to mention the base level, which can lead to the assumption that the dB is a unit of measure. Examples Of Typical Configuration Diagram 7 shows some typical configurations for cab \

led systems.

Cable Performance

Overall cable performance is usually defined for its ability to pass high frequency signals. After selecting the correct type of cable with the desired impedance, the next most important factor is the cable transmission loss at frequencies within the video band. Most cable manufacturers provide figures at 5MHz and 10MHz. The 5MHz figure is the most important for CCTV use. The cable losses will be defined as a loss in dB at 5MHz per 100 metres. Care should be taken when dealing with cables of American origin as these are often defined as loss per 100 feet. Generally, the larger the size and the more expensive the cable, the better will be its performance. This holds true for most cables as larger conductors produce the least loss. If the loss is given for a frequency but not the one required, the conversion is as follows. Assuming the cable is rated at 3.5 dB loss per 100 metres at 10MHz, then the loss at a frequency of 5MHz would be:

Note that before using this conversion the cable specification should be checked to ensure that it will transmit satisfactorily at 5 MHz. Some cables are designed specifically for high frequency transmission only, and will not be suitable for the lower frequencies used in CCTV.

Cable Selection

The important factors when selecting a cable for a particular installation are: 1) Establish the type of cable to use, coaxial or twisted pair. 2) Select a range of cables of the correct impedance. 3) Select the correct mechanical format, i.e. normal cable to be laid in ducts or single wire armoured for direct burial etc. 4) Consider the distance the cable is required to run and calculate the length of cable required. Do not forget to make allowances in this calculation for unseen problems in installing the cable. A minimum of a 10% allowance should always be made. This provides a safety margin to cover inaccurate site drawings, sections of the cable running vertically and other problems likely to be met during installation. 5) When the length of cable has been established, assess the high frequency loss from the cable data. 6) Once the cable loss has been estimated, then the equipment requirement can be established.
Cable Specifications

The data for twisted pair cables is not always easy to obtain. However, most telephone type cables are highly suitable for video transmission. Even the internal telephone subscriber cable can be used over quite long distances for video, with the correct equipment. (Typical losses at 5MHz are 4dB per 100 metres.) If in doubt about the suitability of a twisted pair cable, the general rules are that suitable cables will be unscreened and will have a very slow twist to the conductors, 1 to 3 twists per metre. Many twisted pair cables are advertised as "Wide Band Data Cables." These are usually of American origin and are heavily screened. They are designed for use with computers and are generally unsuitable for video use. If a cable is to be used about which there is some doubt, it is worth testing the cable with the equipment to be used before installation. Although this may be considered as a waste of time, it can avoid a costly mistake in the installation. Tests can be run with the cable on drums as the performance will improve when the cable is taken off the drums and installed. When faced with using existing cables on a site, the only safe way to establish if they are suitable is to run an actual test with the equipment it is intended to use. The problems that can be encountered when attempting to use existing cables include: Cables that have absorbed water or moisture.

The cable route is much longer than it appears. Other cables have been connected in parallel. Bad joints. If in any doubt, run a transmission test.

Transmission Equipment and Methods

General

When considering the preceding details regarding cable performance, it is obvious that special equipment is required to transmit video signals over long cables. The type of equipment required is dependent on the length of cable involved and the required performance. This equipment falls under two headings: 1) Launch Equipment Launch equipment is designed to precondition the video signal for transmission over the cables. 2) Cable Equalising Equipment Cable equalising amplifiers are designed to provide variable compensation to make up for the losses after the video signal has been transmitted over the cables.
Selection Of Cable And Equipment

When selecting the cable and equipment for a particular installation the following rules apply: 1) Select the cable to be used, noting the high frequency loss associated with the length of the cable selected. 2) Select the line transmission equipment required to compensate for the cable loss. 3) Sometimes it is possible to save on the installation cost by using a cheaper cable with more powerful equipment. 4) Determine the level of performance required. 5) For colour transmission, it is wise to allow a margin of 6dB extra equalisation in the equipment over the projected cable losses.

6) For high quality monochrome transmission no margin is required other than the 10% for variations in cable length mentioned previously. 7) An acceptable monochrome picture can be obtained with a net loss of 6dB over the transmission link. Example:Cable = 1000 Metres of URM70 = Loss of 33dB at 5MHz. Equipment required for full equalisation = Launch Amplifier with +12dB at 5MHz + Cable equalising amplifier with +32dB of equalising at 5MHz. This combination of equipment provides a total of +44dB at 5MHz against a cable loss of -33dB giving +11dB at 5MHz in hand. This configuration will provide a first class colour picture. In fact it would work well up to a cable length of 1200 metres.
Transmission Levels

The normal transmission levels for video signals in the CCTV industry are: Coaxial Cable:- 1 Volt of composite video, terminated in 75 Ohms, positive going, i.e. Sync tips at 0V and peak white at 1 Volt. Twisted Pair Cables:- 2.0 Volts balanced, terminated in the characteristic impedance of the cable, normally between 110 and 140 Ohms.
Typical cable losses.

A selection of commonly used cable specifications is given below. Cable ref. Type Impedance Loss/100Metres CT125 Coaxial 75W 1.1dB CT305 Coaxial 75W 0.5dB CT600 Coaxial 75W 0.3dB URM70 Coaxial 75W 3.3dB RG59 Coaxial 75W 2.25dB TR42/036 Twisted Pair 110W 2.1dB 9207 Twisted Pair 100W 2.3dB 9182 Twisted Pair 150W 2.7dB

Principles Of Transmission The object of using special transmission amplifiers is to be able to produce a video frequency response that is a mirror image of the cable loss. The net result is that the video output will be a faithful reproduction of the input and effectively the cable loss disappears completely. The above is a much simplified version of what happens in a correctly installed transmission link.

The example in Diagram 8 shows that the equaliser response is produced by being able to adjust the gain of the amplifier at different frequencies. In this case the amplifier has five sections operating at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5MHz.
Pre-Emphasis

If the higher frequencies of the video signal are sent at an increased level, this will reduce the high frequency noise by reducing the amount of amplification required at the end of the cable. This method of changing the video signal is known as pre-emphasis.
Cable Equalisation

A cable equalising amplifier acts rather like the audio "Graphic Equaliser" with which most people are familiar. It enables the gain of the amplifier to be adjusted independently at different frequencies within the video band. The object of this is to be able to produce a mirror image of the cable response. Each amplifier requires setting up to match the cable with which it is to be used. Once set, it should never require readjustment unless a drastic change in the installation is made.
Test Equipment Required

Correct cable equalisation cannot be achieved without the use of special test equipment. This enables the various adjustments to be set to optimum. Some people claim to be able to set up this type of equipment "by eye". No matter how experienced a person is, the results obtained by

attempting to use this method will be always inferior to those produced with the proper test equipment.
Pulse And Bar Generator

This produces a special wave form that is designed to show problems in a video transmission link. The timing and period of the chroma burst are especially important in the transmission of colour signals, particularly if multiplexing equipment is incorporated in the system.

Oscilloscope

This is required to observe the wave form from the pulse and bar generator and should have a bandwidth of at least 10MHz. Object Of Adjusting The Equipment The object of setting up the video line transmission equipment is to obtain a true replica of the Pulse and Bar wave form after it has been transmitted through the amplifiers and cable. If this is achieved, a satisfactory picture will be produced by the monitor. Method Of Adjustment The pulse and bar generator should be connected in place of the camera. The resultant wave form is viewed on the oscilloscope at the output of the amplifier before the monitor. If a launch amplifier is being used, the output level of this should be set first to 1 Volt with no pre-emphasis. The gain of the cable equalising amplifier should then be set to give 1 Volt output.

The equalising controls should then be adjusted in ascending order, i.e. low frequency (LF) lift first to obtain the best equalisation. Each control affects a different portion of the video signal, to obtain the best results. The controls may need adjusting more than once as there is a certain amount of interaction between them. Once the controls are set to optimum in the equalising amplifier, the high frequency (HF) lift control in the launch amplifier should then be adjusted to give the required pre-emphasis. The HF lift controls in the equalising amplifier should then be able to be set to a lower level. Care must be taken to ensure that the launch amplifier output is not overloaded as this may produce peculiar results. Repeater Amplifiers When a video signal has to be transmitted over extremely long or poor quality cables, it is necessary to use a repeater amplifier within the system. The distance along the cable at which it should be installed can be calculated from the cable loss figures. When using repeater amplifiers, an extra allowance of 3dB should be made for the cable loss. It is better to insert a repeater amplifier in a cable run before the video signal deteriorates too much, than to attempt to equalise a very poor quality signal. There is no actual limit to the length of cable and number of repeater amplifiers that can be used. The problem that occurs is that the signal to noise ratio deteriorates with each amplifier. The practical limit is approximately 4 repeater amplifiers in cascade with a launch and equalising amplifier at the ends of the cable. This configuration can easily operate over cable lengths of 50 Km or more if the correct type of cable is used. This applies equally to coaxial or balanced cables. Method Of Adjustment The method of setting up a system with repeater amplifiers is identical to adjusting a single equalising amplifier. The pulse and bar signals are inserted in the cable at the position of the last repeater amplifier. This enables the final equalising amplifier to be adjusted. When this is

completed, the pulse and bar unit is moved up the next section of cable to enable the last repeater to be set up. The procedure is then repeated working along the cable towards the camera position until the launch amplifier is reached. Great care should be taken when setting up a transmission link using repeater amplifiers. This is because once an error has been introduced into the video signal by an incorrectly adjusted amplifier it cannot be corrected by miss-setting another amplifier. Errors are normally additive and a slight mis-setting of several amplifiers will produce unacceptable results. Earth Currents When installing TV cameras or other equipment on large sites, the potential of the earth connection provided for the equipment can vary by quite large voltages (up to 50 Volts). This can produce high currents in cables connected between different points on the site and will produce interference on the video signal. Most video equalising amplifiers have differential inputs that can reject a certain amount of interference due to earth potential variations (up to 10 Volts). However, it is good practice, and a safe precaution, to break the earth connection using a video transformer or opto-coupled equalising amplifier on long cables. It is not safe or legal to remove earth connections from equipment and rely on the earth provided by the video cable. This latter procedure, which is still common practice in the CCTV industry, is in breach of the electrical safety regulations and is extremely dangerous and should on no account be used

Please continue reading to part 2.

HomeContacting UsWhat's NewInstalling CCTV

Search

Transmission of Video Signals part 2

Introduction
The previous section dealt with the transmission of video signals by various types of cable. There are many instances where it is not possible or desirable to use cable and other methods need to be employed. These can be:

Infrared beams.

Microwave. Public telephone networks. Optical fibre cables.

The choice will depend on the final system requirements. This may frequently be coupled with the different cost of several options. Also, the level of security and continuity of use will have a bearing on the final selection. With all these systems it is imperative to study the supplier's information extremely carefully. For instance, there was a slow scan system that described the picture update time as 20 seconds full picture, 5 seconds quad display. What this really meant was that in quad display one picture was updated every 5 seconds. It still took 20 seconds until the first picture was refreshed! Wherever possible see a demonstration of a system on a customer's premises. Look carefully at the resolution versus the refresh time. free space transmission There are frequent situations where there is no possibility of making a direct cable connection between the camera(s) and the control position. This particularly applies when real time continuous monitoring is required. A situation needing this approach would be where, for instance, there is a main road between the cameras and the control. Another situation would be when the two ends of the system are separated by a wide river such as in London. It could be a large industrial site where the cost of cabling would be prohibitive. Free space transmission consists of a transmitter at the camera end and a receiver at the control end. All free space transmission systems require that there be a direct line of sight between the transmitter and the receiver. Normally there are one transmitter and one receiver for each camera. A typical application is shown in diagram 11. All types of free space transmission equipment must be very rigidly mounted. This is especially important if the transmitters or receivers are to be mounted on masts or poles. The distance between the two locations is critical to the choice of equipment. The manufacturer's specification must always be respected. Performance can deteriorate exponentially if their recommendations are exceeded. A 10% increase in distance could result in a 30% fall off in performance.

Application For Free Space Link There will be situations where there are several units requiring surveillance all controlled from a central source. Great care should be exercised in positioning receivers so that there is suitable separation between the beams from transmitters.

Unsuitable Location Of Receivers If the example site in diagram 11 required a second camera to be incorporated, this would need another transmitter and receiver. If they were simply added as shown in diagram 12 there is a strong probability that the beams would overlap at the receivers. This would cause problems with the reception of the separate video signals. There are ways in which different systems can overcome this. However, a little thought can prevent the need for special considerations. An alternative method of siting the receivers is shown in diagram 13 If the receivers are located as shown there will be no chance of cross interference between the two signals.

Preferred Method Of Locating Receivers There is one very important point to consider when setting up any type of free space transmission system. The manufacturers recommended test equipment must be used to align the pairs of units. If the width of the beam is only 1 degree, this is a width of over 17 metres at a distance of one kilometre. Many installers have mistakenly thought that since the receiver is within this band then the reception will be satisfactory. Most systems will be aligned on a clear day when it is not raining and during daylight. Therefore, the reception will seem fine. A slight deterioration in the weather could reduce the performance considerably after the engineers have left site.

Irrespective of the beam width, it should be emphasised that the main signal strength is in the centre part. Only the correct test equipment will ensure that the system will be set up to its optimum for all conditions. Infrared Beams With this type of system the video is superimposed onto an infrared beam by a transmitter. The beam is aligned to strike a receiver where the signal is output as a conventional composite video signal. The infrared beam is at a wavelength of 860 nanometres which, is above the visible part of the spectrum. The system may be configured as a full duplex set up. Then it is possible to transmit telemetry control signals in the reverse direction to control pan, tilt units. The system can also carry speech in both directions. The actual configuration must be specified at the time of obtaining quotations or ordering. The performance of infrared beams can be affected by weather and environmental conditions. It is important to check the capability of the link with the manufacturer if an absolute guarantee of reception in all conditions is essential. The infrared beam is completely harmless and requires no licence or operating restrictions. Selecting the correct beam power for a given range requires some consideration. There is always a trade off between range and quality. One manufacturer, for example, gives the following guidelines. (Table 14) Under each model the range is given in metres for each requirement. Requirement Model A Model B Model C Model D Model E (1) Economy quality 190 710 1220 2350 3100 (2) Full quality 120 320 620 1200 2100 (3) High penetration 30 160 300 750 1200 (4) High resolution 80 250 390 950 1820 (3) & (4) together 120 250 600 900 This table illustrates the problem of selecting the most appropriate model for a particular application. For instance the model specified as having a range of 3,100 metres only provides 'economy quality' at this range. If high resolution and high penetration are required then the range drops dramatically to only 900 metres. Without this information it is very difficult for a customer to compare competing quotations all specifying 'infrared links'. There is a significant price jump from one model to the next. It can also be seen from the table that infrared links are susceptible to poor weather conditions. It is important therefore that both the installer and the customer are aware of the limitations of this type of link. One argument is that if the cameras are installed outdoors then by the time the link has failed due to bad weather the camera picture has also failed. This is a doubtful basis on which to specify a system. There are two factors that have caused problems in the past with this type of link. Both were intermittent and difficult to figure out the cause of lost pictures in

apparently good weather conditions. One was a steam vent outlet that caused the steam to carry through the beam in certain wind conditions. The other was smoke from a chimney stack that obscured the beams also only in certain wind conditions. Neither of these effects was in the sight of the cameras. Infrared links therefore do offer a cost-effective solution to free space transmission. However, they should be used with full knowledge of their possible limitations. There is no requirement for any form of licence for an infrared link. Microwave Transmission Microwave links carry the video and telemetry along a link from a transmitter to a receiver. They are capable of much farther transmission distances from 1 kilometre to 50 kilometres. They are largely unaffected by weather conditions. On the other hand they are more expensive than infrared links. Similar comments apply that mountings must be rigid and the correct test equipment must be used for installation. Duplex systems can be provided where it is required to operate telemetry controls in the reverse direction. This must be specified at the time of quotation or order. The requirement for licences should be checked with the manufacturer to find the total cost of a system and any recurring costs. Transmission by telephone systems

This is one of the most rapidly developing areas in CCTV. By the time of publication there will have been even more advances. Therefore, the object of this section is to provide an introduction to the concepts and terminology of the subject. The main telephone system in the UK is provided by British Telecom. However, private companies such as Mercury are allowed by law to use the main network to provide a competitive service. There are two main methods of transmitting speech or data through the system. The original is the Public Switched Telephone Network, abbreviated to PSTN. The latest system is known as the Integrated Services Digital Network, abbreviated to ISDN. The fundamental difference between the two systems is that the PSTN uses analogue signals whereas the ISDN uses digital transmission. The most significant benefit of ISDN is in the speed of transmission, which is many times that of the PSTN. There are many reasons why it may be necessary to send pictures down the telephone system. Some of these are summarised as follows.

There is no line of sight to allow the use of infrared or microwave links. The distance is too great for either of these methods. It is not necessary to maintain a continuous monitoring of the site. To remotely verify the status of a site in the event of an alarm. To periodically 'patrol' remote sites from a central station.

The most common use of the telephone system to transmit pictures is in association with alarm systems connected to a central station. The huge increase in the installation of intruder systems in recent years has been under pressure from Police and insurance companies. As the number of installations grew so did the number of false or accidental alarms. Nearly all commercial premises that have an alarm connected to a central station are covered by private operators. Transmission By PSTN The common term used for transmitting video signals through the telephone system is 'Slow Scan'. This was supposed to describe the slow rate of sending video pictures by this medium. Slow scan systems are invariably used on sites that are unmanned and for alarm verification. The system requires a transmitter at the site and a receiver at the central station. A video signal cannot be transmitted down a telephone line as a composite video. It must be converted to a series of digits that can be sent as a line of numbers. To do this, the slow scan transmitter converts the video signal to an RS232 signal, which is a stream of binary digits. This is known as Analogue to Digital Conversion abbreviated to ADC. This is connected via a device called a 'modem' to the PSTN. The modem converts the binary digits to a series of tones, which is the only way to pass a signal down the PSTN. The transmitter is receiving pictures from all the cameras on a site continuously, but not carrying out any processing. On receipt of an alarm signal the transmitter locks onto a predetermined camera. It then automatically dials a pre-programmed telephone number of the central station. Here a receiver converts the digital signal back to an analogue signal for display on a monitor. Other information is also transmitted such as the status of alarms, camera number, time of alarm, etc. When the receiver number is dialled and connected there are several protocols that must be processed. Each site has a unique number that is stored in the receiver. The receiver must check that a valid site is calling. There are also other codes that prevent unauthorised receivers making contact with the transmitter. This checking, connecting and checking can take a significant time, sometimes up to one minute. The time could be further increased by congestion in the system. Due to the time needed to transmit the signal it is not feasible to simply connect the camera output to the transmitter. The method used is for the transmitter to store one frame of video on receipt of an alarm or other input. This frame is held in a digital frame store until the telephone contact is made and then transmitted line by line. Some transmitters have the capacity to store several frames and transmit them in sequence. The speed of transmission is restricted by the bandwidth of the PSTN and not much can be done about that. Transmission By ISDN Now, the whole of the UK trunk network is digital. To connect to the service the local exchange must be digital. By the time of publication it is anticipated that most business premises will be

served by a digital exchange. To use the features of ISDN the exchange at both ends must be digital. The main benefit of ISDN links for security is speed of connection and communication. With each exchange on the system, the dialled up connection is virtually instantaneous when the last number is dialled. The speed of transmission is about three times that through PSTN lines. The combination of these increases can dramatically reduce the time from an alarm on site to the receipt of the first picture at the central station. It is not possible to provide details in too much depth in this article about ISDN. However, the following information will illustrate the fundamental principles. The basic system is known as ISDN 2. This provides two channels, each of which can transmit 64,000 bits of data per second, (64 Kb/s). Up to eight separate pieces of equipment can be connected to each line. Any two of these can communicate simultaneously with each item using one of the lines. Therefore, it would be possible to have one line transmitting video data and the other line in telephone contact. The equipment at the premises is connected to the telephone network by a small unit called Network Terminating Equipment. To connect video signals to the system, an interface called a 'Codec' or terminal adapter is necessary. This will normally be offered as part of the slow scan package. Even so, the average time to complete the handshake procedure will about sixteen seconds. The benefits of using ISDN links for CCTV transmissions are higher resolution, higher transmission rates and combinations of the two. The other option offered to larger users is called ISDN 30. This is the same in principle except 30 channels are available via a single connector. This offers the facility for live video conferencing with real time colour pictures and simultaneous sound. It should be remembered of course that the telephone bill is clocking away all the time. Dedicated Lines It is possible to have a permanent line connected between premises. This eliminates the handshake procedure and transmission of a picture commences immediately on receipt of an alarm. Then the installation and rental charges are much higher but there are no call charges. This installation is feasible when continuous CCTV monitoring is necessary and can be less expensive than fibre optic cabling. Enhancements To Transmitted Pictures For both networks, manufacturers have developed ways to overcome the inherent problems of transmission time versus resolution. Each must be a trade off against the other. One method is to use a technique called digital image compression. With this, as each frame is digitised, each pixel is compared with the same pixel of the previous frame. Only those pixels that have changed are transmitted. This dramatically increases the rate of transmission and can approach real time pictures where there is a small amount of change. With normal slow scan transmission a person may be in one frame and gone by the time it has been updated. Using digital image compression,

the person may be captured on many successive frames. This is also known as conditional refresh. One problem with the technique mentioned is when there is a great deal of movement in the scene. This could be from trees or moving traffic. Another development has been to specify certain areas of the screen and only update those. Movement outside the designated area will be ignored and not transmitted as refreshed data. Control Of Remote Equipment Most systems can include options for the control of positioning devices at the remote site. With some earlier systems this was not a great advantage because of the slow transmission rate. The current systems using digital compression techniques offer a much more practical method of control. When it is required to control the remote devices, the main screen is frozen and a small 'window' is opened on the screen. This small area of the screen shows the camera view in low resolution. The fact that it is in low resolution and a small area means that it can be updated at very nearly real time. Therefore the camera movement can be easily controlled to the required position. After this the screen is returned to whatever resolution and update time is wanted.

Fibre Optic Transmission

For the purposes of this article the following conventions have been used. Fibre Optics is the technology of transmitting data along cables that consist of Optical Fibres. Advantages Of Fibre Optics In the field of communications in general, fibre optic technology has made tremendous advances. Not many years ago every connection had to be made in a sterile, strictly controlled environment. The cost per joint was enormous in relation to a commercial project. This has now changed and fibre optic links are now commercially viable. In fact, there are now many developments that would not have been possible without fibre optic technology. Optical fibre cables are replacing copper in many applications. Optical fibres are much smaller and lighter than copper, therefore easier and cheaper to install in long runs. A major advantage of optical fibres is that they can carry far more information than copper. This is especially important in the transmission of vast amounts of data. This may seem irrelevant to CCTV but the conversion of video analogue signals to digital signals is becoming more commonplace. This is why the improvements in data communications will have a significant bearing on the developments in CCTV. Optical fibres are completely immune to interference from electromagnetic sources. Running copper cables requires careful consideration in many situations where there are power lines, electrical machinery, etc. The problems just do not exist for optical fibres.

Attenuation is a term that is frequently used in connection with losses in fibre optics. It is simply a method of describing transmission losses along a cable. Attenuate means to weaken or dilute, therefore the lower the attenuation the less the reduction in signal strength and quality. In relation to CCTV this is one of the main reasons for using fibre optic transmission. Video signals can now be transmitted without being boosted over previously unthinkable distances. Twenty to thirty kilometres over one continuous fibre is quite feasible. Wavelength, Frequency And Bandwidth The electromagnetic spectrum is reproduced below because fibre optic transmission uses light from a particular part of the spectrum.

The different parts of the spectrum have previously been described in terms of the wavelength. An alternative measurement is the frequency of the part being considered. Frequency is the number of crests of a wave that move past a given point in a given unit of time. The most common unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz), corresponding to one cycle per second. The frequency of a wave can be calculated by dividing the speed of the wave by the wavelength. Thus, in the electromagnetic spectrum, the wavelengths decrease as the frequencies increase, and vice versa. For example the wavelength of infrared light is 850 Nm, the equivalent frequency is 3.5 x 1014 Hz.

Different frequencies have different bandwidths and the higher the frequency the wider is the bandwidth. The wider the bandwidth then the more information can be carried. Frequencies in the visible part of the spectrum offer a wider bandwidth, therefore they provide more space for the multiplicity of TV signals and reams of data that need to be transmitted. The frequencies used in fibre optic transmissions are between 850 Nm and 1550 Nm. Transmission By Light An optical fibre is a rod of the finest purity glass that technology can produce. The part of the light spectrum that functions best with optical fibres is the infrared frequency. Coincidentally, this is the same range that is used for infrared illumination. In fibre optics, messages whether data or video are first converted from electrical impulses into pulses of light. This function is performed by a minute device that incorporates a laser chip or an LED (light emitting diode). The infrared light is switched on and off at incredibly high speeds, thereby creating the stream of light pulses. These are then focused onto the end of the optical fibre. The lightwaves travel along the fibre to the receiving end. Here the pulses are converted back into electrical pulses by a piece of electronic equipment, strangely enough called a converter. Converters also function more efficiently when dealing with infrared light.

There is one manufacturer that produces a fibre optic transmitter that will fit directly onto the camera. The unit only measures 50mmx30mmx30mm yet can transmit up to three kilometres without the need for set up or repeaters.

The Optical Fibre An optical fibre is a solid rod of glass, finer than a strand of human hair. Even so, the fibre is extremely flexible. Ordinary glass would lose a signal within a few metres due to impurities scattering the light. The glass used in fibre optics is so pure that a solid block 35 Km thick would appear as pristine and clear as a window pane. The fibres are produced in extremely exacting manufacturing conditions from pure silica, which is a type of common sand.

The optical core in the fibre is only 0.005mm diameter. A bundle of them would pass through the eye of a needle. Cable construction can consist of multiple fibres. Each fibre would be similar to that shown in diagram 18. Cables can also be made up with varying types of protective covering including steel wire armour for direct burial. The dimensions in diagram 18 are approximate and illustrate the difference to the familiar coaxial cable. Transmission Losses In Fibre Signal loss or attenuation in coaxial and twisted pair is usually given as so many dB per metre or per 100 metres. With optical fibre it is given as dB per kilometre. A typical value for singlemode fibre would be 0.5dB per kilometre, which is 0.05 dB per 100 metres. The figure given for a typical coaxial cable, URM 79, is 3.31 dB per 100 metres. For instance, for a 6 dB loss (50%) the coaxial cable run would be 181 metres. For the same loss the optical fibre run would be 12 kilometres. This example is over simplified but it explains the significant advantage of fibre optic technology. The typical weight of a single fibre cable is about 10 Kg per kilometre. Again to reflect the different technology, coaxial cable is provided on drums of so many hundred metres. Optical fibre cable is provided on drums of so many kilometres. Multiple Transmissions Diagram 17 illustrated a simple one to one connection through an optical fibre link. There will be many occasions when it is required to transmit signals from more than one camera. One method would be to use a multiplexer at each end of a single link. The disadvantage of this method is that the pictures are not truly multiplexed. They are sent as a stream of consecutive frames from all the cameras. They can then only be decoded by the same type of multiplexer as the one encoding at the transmitting end. The ability to use the individual pictures is very restricted. Transmission By Multicore Optical Fibres

There are two main methods of transmitting multiple live pictures by fibre optic technology. The first and most obvious is to use multicore cable. Here again the difference in technology is apparent. The outside diameter of a sixteen-fibre cable suitable for running in a duct is only 10 mm. It only weighs 70 Kg per kilometre. For these reasons running multiple video signals is very much easier using fibre optics than conventional coaxial. This is apart from the greater transmission distances possible. There are applications where the cable runs are within the capacity of coaxial cables. However, running sixteen coaxial cables is time consuming and takes up a lot of space in trunking and in ducts. This is especially so if the route is tortuous and difficult to access. A single, light, optical fibre cable may offer dividends in overall cost.

Transmission By Multiplexed Video Mention was made earlier about the wide bandwidth available with frequencies in the infrared part of the spectrum. It is not important to understand the meaning of bandwidth to appreciate the application. The following example illustrates how advantage can be taken of this feature. A technique known as 'frequency division multiplexing' is employed to transmit multiple channels of video along a single optical fibre. This is achieved by allocating an individual carrier frequency to each separate video channel. The signal, having been modulated, occupies approximately 35 MHz and carriers are spaced 40 MHz apart. Diagram 20 shows the concept of frequency division multiplexing.

At the receiving end of the system demodulators are tuned to each of the individual carrier frequencies. These detect and recreate the original waveform of the video signal.

The big advantage of this system is that each individual video signal is recreated at the receiving end. These then could be shown on separate monitors or be connected into a matrix switching system and combined with other systems. It is possible to add audio and data channels into the combiner and transmit these over the same single fibre. Transmission distances of up to 35 kilometres are achievable along the one fibre without the need for repeaters. Distances of 50 - 60 kilometres are possible using special equipment. If telemetry signals are required for the remote control of equipment then one additional fibre will be required per group of receivers. The telemetry signal will be transmitted through a separate optical transmitter and receiver. The type of telemetry considered should be discussed with the optical equipment supplier to ensure compatibility of components. It was said that the optical transmitters use infrared wavelengths between 850 Nm and 1550 Nm. The frequency division multiplexer can be further extended by making use of different wavelengths of light. This is called 'wavelength division multiplexing' and follows similar principles.
This chapter is supplied by Mike Constant and was originally published in CCTV Today. Mike is the author of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is generally accepted as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Introduction to Closed Circuit Television

If you are looking for guidance on the purchase of a CCTV system for your Organisation please go to Purchasing CCTV. If you would like to learn more about the technical aspects of CCTV then please read on...

Introduction
As the name implies, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is a system in which the circuit is closed and all the elements are directly connected. This is unlike broadcast television where any receiver that is correctly tuned can pick up the signal from the airwaves. Directly connected in

this context includes systems linked by microwave, infrared beams, etc. This article introduces the main components that can go to make up CCTV systems of varying complexity.

The Applications for CCTV

Probably the most widely known use of CCTV is in security systems and such applications as retail shops, banks, government establishments, etc. The true scope for applications is almost unlimited. Some examples are listed below.

Monitoring traffic on a bridge. Recording the inside of a baking oven to find the cause of problems. A temporary system to carry out a traffic survey in a town centre. Time lapse recording for the animation of plasticine puppets. Used by the stage manager of a show to see obscured parts of a set. The well-publicised use at football stadiums. Hidden in buses to control vandalism. Recording the birth of a gorilla at a zoo. Making a wildlife program using a large model helicopter. Reproducing the infrared vision of a goldfish! Aerial photography from a hot air balloon. Production control in a factory.

The list is almost endless and only limited by the imagination.

The Camera
The starting point for any CCTV system must be the camera. The camera creates the picture that will be transmitted to the control position. Apart from special designs CCTV cameras are not fitted with a lens. The lens must be provided separately and screwed onto the front of the camera. There is a standard screw thread for CCTV cameras, although there are different types of lens mounts.

Diagram 1 Camera And Lens

Not all lenses have focus and iris adjustment. Most have iris adjustment. Some very wide angle lenses do not have a focus ring. The 'BNC' plug is for connecting the coaxial video cable. Line powered cameras do not have the mains cable. Power is provided via the coaxial cable.

The Monitor
The picture created by the camera needs to be reproduced at the control position. A CCTV monitor is virtually the same as a television receiver except that it does not have the tuning circuits.

Diagram 2 CCTV Monitor

Simple CCTV Systems

The simplest system is a camera connected directly to a monitor by a coaxial cable with the power for the camera being provided from the monitor. This is known as a line powered camera. Diagram 3 shows such a system. Probably the earliest well-known version of this was the Pye Observation System that popularised the concept of CCTV, mainly in retail establishments. It was an affordable, do-it-yourself, self-contained system.

Diagram 3 A Basic Line Powered CCTV System The next development was to incorporate the outputs from four cameras into the monitor. These could be set to sequence automatically through the cameras or any camera could be held

selectively. Diagram 4 shows a typical arrangement of such a system. There was even a microphone built into the camera to carry sound and a speaker in the monitor. The speaker, of course, only put out the sound of the selected camera. There were however a few disadvantages with the system, although this is not to disparage it. The microphone, being in the camera, tended to pick up sound close to it and not at the area at which it was aimed. There was a noticeable, and sometimes annoying, pause between pictures when switching. This was because the camera was powered down when not selected and it took time for the tube to heat up again. The system was, though, cheap to buy and simple to install. It came complete in a box with camera, 16mm lens, bracket, switching monitor and 12 metres of coaxial cable with fitted plugs. An outlet socket for a video recorder was provided, although reviewing could be a little tedious when the cameras had been set to sequence. There are now many systems of line powered cameras on the market that are more sophisticated than this basic system. Most of the drawbacks mentioned have been overcome. Cameras had been around for a long time of course, before this development. The example is given to show the simplest, practical application. The use of some line powered cameras can impose limitations on system design. They do though, offer the advantage of ease of installation.

Diagram 4 A Four-Camera Line Powered CCTV System

Mains Powered CCTV Systems

The basic CCTV installation is shown in diagram 5 where the camera is mains powered as is the monitor. A coaxial cable carries the video signal from the camera to the monitor. Although simple to install it should be born in mind that the installation must comply with the relevant regulations such as the Institute of Electrical Engineers latest edition. (Now incorporated into

British Standard BS7671). Failure to do so could be dangerous and create problems with the validity of insurance. This arrangement allows for a great deal more flexibility in designing complex systems. When more than one camera is required, then a video switcher must be included as shown in diagram 6. Using this switcher any camera may be selected to be held on the screen or it can be set to sequence in turn through all the cameras. Usually the time that each camera is shown may be adjusted by a control knob or by a screwdriver.

Diagram 5 A Basic Mains Powered CCTV System

Diagram.6 A Four-Camera System With Video Switcher

Systems with Video Recording

The next development of a basic system is to add a video recorder, the arrangement would be as shown in diagram 7.

Diagram 7A Multi Camera System With Video Recorder With this arrangement the pictures shown during play back will be according to the way in which the switcher was set up when recording. That is, if it was set to sequence then the same views will be displayed on the monitor. There is no control over what can be displayed.

Movable Cameras
So far all the cameras shown have been fixed with fixed focal length lenses. In many applications the area to be covered would need many fixed cameras. The solution to this is to use cameras fixed to a movable platform. This platform can then be controlled from a remote location. The platform may simply rotate in a horizontal plane and is generally known as a scanner. Alternatively the platform may be controllable in both horizontal and vertical planes and is generally known as a pan, tilt unit. A basic system is illustrated in diagram 8. This chapter does not deal with how cameras are controlled or wired; it is just showing the facilities that may be incorporated into a CCTV system. Therefore the diagrams that follow are simply descriptive block diagrams and not connection drawings.

Diagram 8 Basic Movable Camera System Cameras may be used indoors or outdoors. When used outdoors they will always require a protective housing. For indoor use the environment or aesthetic constraints will dictate whether a housing is needed. Systems may contain a combination of both fixed and movable cameras.

Diagram 9 Multiple Camera System

Other Considerations
This has been an introduction to some of the fundamentals of CCTV. Recent developments have made some very sophisticated systems possible. These include concepts such as multiple recording of many cameras; almost real time pictures over telephone lines; true real time colour pictures over the ISDN telephone lines; switching of hundreds, even thousands, of cameras from many separate control positions to dozens of monitors; reliable detection of movement by electronic evaluation of the video signal; immediate full colour prints in seconds from a camera or recording; the replacement of manual controls by simply touching a screen; Further articles in this series will cover cameras and lenses in more detail.
This article is an extract from chapter 1 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is generally accepted as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Cameras
Introduction

The principal part of a CCTV system is the camera. There are many types of camera and many ways in which they are used. In this chapter, the different sorts of cameras and the fundamentals of their operation will be examined. It will also explain the terms describing the performance of the cameras. This will enable an understanding of the data sheets available for the myriad of cameras available on the market. There is now no standard method for manufacturers to present data defining camera performance. Therefore, their literature should be studied carefully before making a selection and comparisons made against a common standard.

Types Of Camera
Internal Cameras

Internal cameras are usually designated for use indoor without the need for environmental protection. Normally the cameras are simply fitted with a lens to view the required area and mounted on a wall or ceiling bracket. If the camera is in an area such as a corridor or other place where the light level doesnt change, then a simple manual iris lens may be used. The light level may change because there are windows or skylights in the area being viewed. Alternatively, if twenty-four hour operation of the camera is needed then an automatic iris lens or another means of electronic sensitivity control must be used. (See electronic shutter cameras.) Frequently the styling of an internal camera is important because an architect or similar person will want the camera to blend into the surrounding decor. In those cases, the camera may be mounted inside some kind of housing. There are many housings of different styles available, from simple cases through to domes, wedges and other types. Internal housings are also used for other reasons. It may be important that the camera is not seen at all, in which event a covert housing is used to hide the camera or disguise it as something else. Housings may also be used to give a measure of protection in certain situations. There are many types of enclosures that can be used to protect the camera from vandalism, dust, or other contaminants.
External Cameras

External cameras are usually described for use in outdoor situations. They are nearly always housed in some form of weatherproof housing, an exception being where the camera case itself is water-resistant. The external camera housing normally contains a heater and thermostat to prevent the glass window at the front from misting at low temperatures. External cameras always need some form of electronic sensitivity control. This is because, over the course of the day and night, the light level may well change by a factor of over a million times. At the time this book went to press the most effective way of giving such electronic sensitivity control is an automatic iris lens fitted with a neutral density spot filter. Chapters 4 and 14 provide more detailed information on lenses and lighting.

Electronic Shutter Cameras

There are an increasing number of cameras being introduced with electronic shutters; electronic devices that are controlled by the amount of light falling on the imaging device. In effect, it is the electronic equivalent of the variable speed mechanical shutter fitted to early cine cameras. In these, the amount of light was measured by a photoelectric cell, an increase in light causing the shutter to revolve faster and vice versa. The same problems apply to both devices. At very high light levels, there is a limit to the speed at which the shutter can effectively operate without the picture flaring. At very low light levels, the exposure time is so long that moving images become blurred. Some manufactures have claimed that these cameras eliminate the need for an automatic iris lens. This is doubtful in all conditions. They are ideal for indoor conditions where there is a limited range of light levels. As always, the manufacturers specification should be consulted carefully to check the light range covered. Another problem that should be appreciated is that because the iris is invariably set at the maximum aperture the depth of field is greatly reduced. See automatic light control and electronic shutter later in this chapter.
Miniature Cameras

Since CCD cameras (see later in this chapter) have been available, the size of cameras has reduced considerably. These miniature cameras are available in a number of styles in two main groups, either where the camera is a complete unit or where the image sensor is separated from the camera electronics. Complete cameras are available at the present time with dimensions similar to the size, say, of a pack of cigarettes. If even smaller sizes are required, the cameras with separate sensor heads have sensor blocks of only 25mm cubed. One restriction to the minimum size of camera is due to the necessity of fitting a lens and mounting the camera. The ultimate is a camera of current design that is about the size of a thumbnail, including all the electronics.
Line Powered Cameras

Normally a CCTV camera has to have some kind of power source, either wired from a central point or from a local mains spur. Obviously there is a cost involved of providing the necessary cabling or supply points for such cameras. Some camera manufacturers have addressed this issue by making cameras to which the power for the camera is sent down the same coaxial cable used to bring the video signal back from the camera. CCTV systems using line-powered cameras, then, cost less to install in terms of supply cables or mains spurs. There are, however, two disadvantages. First, some cameras need a specialised power supply unit to feed the camera and separate the video for the monitor. Furthermore, with long cable runs it is not possible to amplify the video signal from the camera because the power cannot travel through the video amplifier. This is also a problem if there is ground loop interference on the camera as it is not possible to use a video isolation transformer with line powered cameras.
Board Mounted Cameras

Board mounted cameras are normally small CCD cameras mounted on the printed circuit board of another system. They are used to give a picture as part of the function of the system. The best

example of board mounted cameras is those used in video entry phone systems. In these systems, a complete CCD camera with a lens is mounted on the PCB of the door entry unit. The boardmounted camera gives pictures to residents, on small dedicated monitor units, of the person operating the bell push.

Types of Image Sensors

Tubed Cameras

The first CCTV cameras to be used were based around special vacuum tubes with a light sensitive coating on one end. Light striking this coating caused electric current to flow down the tube, proportional to the amount of light falling at each point on the coating. The circuits of the camera then converted the current to the video signal. This was a good initial design and gave cameras that had good sensitivity and resolution. However the cameras were bulky and the tubes had a limited life span, requiring regular, expensive tube changes. CCD cameras, when introduced, were smaller, lighter and required practically no maintenance. This has led to their widespread replacement of tubed cameras in CCTV systems, where CCD cameras are now used in practically all new installations. For this reason, no further discussion of tubed cameras will be made in this book.
CCD Cameras

CCD is an abbreviation of Charge Coupled Device. This is the name given to a group of optical detector integrated circuits made from semiconductors (see diagram 3.1). A lens focuses light onto the surface of the CCD image sensor. The areas of light and dark are sensed by individual photo-diodes, which build up an electrical charge proportional to the light. That is to say that the brighter the light on an individual photo-diode the bigger the charge developed. These photodiodes are arranged in a matrix of rows and columns and are given the name picture cells or Pixels. The charge is removed from each pixel by rows of CCD cells. These CCD rows are like ladders for charge, enabling step-by-step the charge on each pixel, and consequently the light level on it, to be read off by processing electronics. When the first CCD cameras were developed, it was important that they could replace existing tube cameras without having to change lens sizes. Therefore, the first CCD cameras were created in 2/3 format. As CCD sensor technology has improved, the format of CCD cameras has decreased to 1/2 inch, 1/3 inch, and most recently to 1/4 inch and 1/8th inch to make cameras smaller and cheaper. The associated lenses are also much more compact, but not necessarily cheaper due to the much higher accuracy required to grind a smaller lens. The dimensions of the imaging devices are shown in Chapter 4.

Diagram 3. 1 CCD Imaging Device An amplifier is needed to boost the signal from the CCD sensor electronics up to the level where it can be used on a monitor. A synchronising generator is also used in the CCD camera to generate the signals that read the light level charge off the CCD and the synchronisation pulses used by the video monitor to re-create the image. The mixer section combines the video and synchronisation signals to produce the composite video signal used by the monitor.

Diagram 3. 2 Monochrome CCD Camera Block Diagram There are many advantages of CCD cameras that have led to their wide spread replacement of tubed cameras. First, CCD cameras use less power and need no high voltages like the tube. As mentioned in the section on miniature cameras, CCD cameras can be very much smaller than tubed cameras. The picture linearity is better with CCD cameras as tubed cameras used a magnetic field to scan the image sensor. It is extremely difficult to make a magnetic field that is completely even over a given area. This meant that the pictures from tubed cameras were sometimes distorted by the magnetic field, bulging out at the edges (barrelling) in bulging in (pin-cushioning). CCD cameras do not use magnetic fields and consequently do not have this geometric distortion.

CCD cameras are also a good deal more rugged than tube cameras. Viewing the sun or another bright point could easily damage the surface of the tube and the tubes regularly needed replacement as a routine maintenance task. CCD cameras do not have this problem and are not damaged by high light intensities, nor do images become burned into the surface over long periods. This, and the ability of CCD cameras to survive vibration and mechanical shock, gives very much reduced maintenance cost for CCD cameras.
Colour CCD Cameras

Colour CCD cameras are basically the same as monochrome cameras. However, there are additional components that have important effects on the performance of the camera

Diagram 3. 3 Colour CCD Camera Block Diagram Light passes through the lens and through a colour correction filter on to the CCD. The CCD is sensitive to infrared light, which is present in normal daylight. This infrared light produces false signals from the CCD that affects the purity of the colours reproduced by the camera. The colour correction filter removes the infrared light before it hits the CCD and ensures the colour purity of the camera. However, it also means that infrared illuminators cannot be used with normal colour cameras as the colour correction filter removes all the lighting created. The actual CCD image sensor comprises of an array of pixels like a monochrome camera. However, each pixel is subdivided in to three smaller light sensitive areas that are constructed to be sensitive to red, green and blue light respectively. Consequently the pixels are larger in size than for monochrome CCDs and the number of pixels which can be fitted on to a colour CCD of a given size is less than a monochrome CCD of equal dimension. This is why, generally, monochrome cameras still have resolution which is higher than colour cameras. The colour

correction filter and colour sensitivity of the pixels also tend to make colour cameras less sensitive to light that monochrome cameras. Typically, colour cameras have sensitivities between 1 lux and 2.5 lux whereas monochrome cameras have sensitivities between 0.01 lux and 0.1 lux. The separate brightness signals for red, green and blue are amplified separately and the used by signal processing circuits to produce the luminance (Y) signal (by combination as described in chapter 2) and the chrominance (C) signal (by phase and amplitude modulation of the 4.434MHz colour sub-carrier as described in chapter 2). The Y and C signals are then combine with the composite sync pulses to produce a composite colour video signal. Many colour cameras also feature a separate connector where the Y and C signals are output separately for connection to Super VHS video recorders and monitors, for improved resolution.

Diagram 3. 4 Using Y-C output with S-VHS recorder Two coaxial cables must be installed between the camera and the S-VHS video recorder. The YC output of the recorder must be connected to the Y-C input of the monitor. This is normally achieved using a pre-made S-VHS cable with mini-DIN connectors on each end. However, the benefit of investing in this cabling plus an S-VHS recorder and high-resolution colour monitor (400 TVL at centre) will be noticeably better live and playback pictures in terms of resolution. Resolution of typically 400 TVL will be possible when viewing live action pictures (compared with about 350 TVL using the composite video output of the camera). Resolution of typically 400TVL will be possible when viewing pictures recorded on theS-VHS video recorder (compared with about 240 TVL compared with a standard VHS recorder). The down side is the cost. An S-VHS system like this may cost twice as much as a standard VHS system using composite video.
Advantages Of CCD Cameras

No geometric distortion. No coils, magnets, or glass tube. Not prone to ghosting or image burn. More compact and resistant to vibration. Not affected to electromagnetic interference.

Initially CCD cameras could not provide the same degree of resolution compared to tubed cameras. The dynamic range was less and produced fewer shades of grey. However, improvements in CCD sensor design have meant that the current generation of CCD cameras produces excellent images of high resolution and accurate colour reproduction.
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) CCD Cameras

In conventional CCD cameras the functions of amplification, signal processing and mixing are carried out by analogue circuits, which work on changing the voltages of the signals by various means. Adjustments to picture quality are made by small adjustable resistors which are set up to give the best overall performance across a range of camera operating conditions (light levels etc.) This approach is very cost effective and gives good quality pictures in most lighting conditions However, these adjustments are, at best, a compromise and the effects of tolerances in the values of the electronic components and changes over the lifetime of the camera can cause the quality of pictures obtained from the camera to vary greatly. In DSP cameras digital circuits, as shown in figure 3.5, carry out the signal processing and mixing. The signals from the CCD are connected to an analogue to digital converter (ADC). This converts the brightness level from each point into a number. In this way, the entire picture captured by the CCD at any moment is represented by a group of numbers. These numbers are processed at high speed by the digital signal processor, which does mathematics on the numbers in order to produce the video signal at the output of the camera. The digital signal processor gives the other name used for digital cameras, DSP. The composite video signal or Y-C video signal is produced by a digital to analogue converter (DAC) which takes the finished information from the digital signal processor and produces the composite video described in chapter 2. Most DSP cameras still produce these analogue composite video and Y-C signals as this is currently the most popular format required by the other equipment in the video system; monitors, switchers, multiplexers, VCRs etc. DSP cameras do have the possibility to produce the video signal in a digital form and it is likely that this will become popular when a worldwide standard is agreed for sending video pictures digitally in CCTV systems.

Diagram 3. 5 Digital Colour CCD Camera Block Diagram A microprocessor controller sets the settings of the camera, controlled by the DSP circuits. This is a small computer built in to the camera, which controls the mathematics used by the DSP circuits to build the video signal. The controls of the camera are usually a series of push buttons on the camera, which are scanned by the controller. With these buttons the user can select and adjust the picture quality and performance of the camera using a series of menus overlaid on to the video picture by the controller. Obviously, the extra circuitry required by a DSP camera make them more expensive than a conventional analogue camera. However, there are a number of benefits for this extra expenditure in terms of features that are not available from conventional analogue cameras. These include:

Stability - the adjustments to the camera are made by changing number values on an on-screen menu and not by small screwdriver adjustments. Consequently the settings of the camera are easily repeatable and tend not to change over time. Menu programming - provides an easy and rapid way to adjust the camera for the best picture during installation. Digital zoom - The DSP circuits have a complete numerical model of each picture and can manipulate these numbers. By performing certain calculations, the DSP circuits can selectively enlarge a section of the picture, producing a zoomed-in image. This is a useful feature but it should be borne in mind that the number of pixels in the CCD is constant and so the greater the amount of digital zoom used, the poorer the apparent resolution of the picture will be. Multi-zone backlight compensation - Unlike analogue cameras, which compensate for bright light behind an object by sampling the video voltage across the whole picture, DSP cameras and have a number of separate zones which can be positioned to cover bright light sources. Consequently, this provides better overall picture quality in these situations.

Automatic quality adjustment - DSP cameras can hold a model of how a good quality video signal should appear. The DSP circuits can then compare this with the picture being produced at any moment, and then actively adjust the camera to provide the optimum picture quality. This can give very good picture quality over a very wide range of lighting conditions. Remote set-up and control - like any computer, the microprocessor controller can communicate with other computers over a digital link. Consequently, DSP cameras can be used in systems where they are set up and controlled by a matrix switcher or a PC, even over great distances. This also simplifies camera replacement in the field as when a camera becomes faulty the replacement fitted can have identical settings downloaded very quickly to give identical performance to the original camera.

Twin Colour/Monochrome Cameras

Twin colour/monochrome cameras, are designed to meet a particular requirement in CCTV systems. Sometimes, it is required to have outdoor cameras which produce colour images in the day but which can provide good quality pictures in low light levels at night, perhaps even using infrared illuminators. In the past, the only way to meet this requirement was to use two separate cameras; one monochrome, one colour that were switched over automatically by some type of photocell or control system. Improvements in CCD technology and the introduction of DSP cameras have led to the availability of colour cameras which produce monochrome pictures at night and which have good sensitivity to infrared illumination. The cameras work as normal colour cameras during the day. The night-time mode is controlled either by the camera itself (by sampling the AGC voltage, see AGC below) or remotely by a control input. In the nighttime mode, the colour subcarrier is switched off and the camera produces just the monochrome composite video signal. Dual format cameras do have to overcome the problem of the infrared cut filter. Colour cameras normally have an ifrared cut filter that removes infrared light and ensures accurate colour reproduction by the camera. However, dual format cameras cannot use the colour correction filter at night because this would filter out the light produced by infrared illuminators. Camera manufacturers have solved this problem in two ways. One way is to have small motor that moves a colour correction filter in front of the CCD in colour mode but retracts it in monochrome mode. This has the advantage of ensuring the best colour quality but has the disadvantage that a complex electro-mechanical assembly is built in to the camera and this will lower its reliability compared with a camera that has no moving parts. The other solution is to dispense with the colour correction filter entirely. The effect of infrared light is then adjusted by the digital signal processing of the camera. This gives a camera, which is very reliable, but the colour reproduction of the camera will always be a compromise as the amount of infra red light seen by the camera constantly changes and the compensation in the digital signal processing is fixed.
Digital Cameras

There are already several camcorders on the market that produce a digital output instead of an analogue video signal. These record onto a miniature DAT (Digital AudioTape) in digital form or download straight to codecs. The playback can be either via a digital to analogue converter in

to a conventional monitor, or direct by RGB input to a computer monitor. The direct input into a computer monitor will provide a significant improvement in resolution and colour rendering. The recording capability for CCTV is still limited by the current problems of compression and storage capacity, but this is advancing rapidly and soon will not be the main problem. Imagine computer graphic type resolution and quality in a CCTV installation, the day will come. The majority of advances in CCTV cameras have been as a result of developments in camera technology and miniaturisation in the vast domestic market. There is no reason to doubt that the digital camera technology will soon be available to our industry, although not at the time of publication of this issue. However, it makes sense to propose some of the advantages of this technology when it becomes readily available. Transmission of video along telephone lines or fibre optic cable requires an analogue to digital converter (ADC) to be incorporated in the transmitter and the reverse digital to analogue converter (DAC) at the receiving end. Using a direct digital output from the camera will render the ADC unnecessary, thus saving cost. When equipment is available that can accept a digital signal then the DAC will not be required providing further savings. It will no longer to use coaxial cable with all its problems of connectors and limited range. Instead, simple twisted pair cables can be used with greatly improved distances and quality. Multiplexers need to convert the analogue signal to a digital signal to hold in the frame store; again, this will be unnecessary. Every time a conversion from one form of signal to another is rendered unnecessary, there will be an improvement in resolution and picture quality.
This article is an extract from chapter 3 of The 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is generally accepted as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Sample Chapter: 5 Monitors

Introduction
Another important and often overlooked part of a CCTV system is the monitor. Ultimately the picture taken by the camera and the lens is displayed on the monitor. The monitors performance and adjustment will have an affect on the picture seen by the system operator.

In the same way that cameras, being analogue devices, have adjustments that enable the best picture quality to be obtained so monitors, also being analogue devices, have settings and adjustments that enable the best picture to be displayed. If the controls on the monitor are not correctly set then, similarly, the money spent on expensive high performance cameras, lenses and control equipment will be a waste because the picture displayed on the monitor will not do justice to the rest of the system. Consequently, it is vital to understand the principles of the normal monitor controls, their effect on picture quality and the correct way to set the controls properly. Monitors are available in different screen sizes. The reason for this is that the size of the monitor depends on the viewing distance. If the incorrect size or position of a monitor is used then at best the monitor will be awkward and unpleasant to use; at worst the picture will be too small to differentiate detail or so large that the picture appears grainy and low quality. In this chapter the principles of operation of monochrome and colour monitors will be explained in a simplified way, leading to the principles and effects of their controls. The correct procedures used to set the controls to obtain the best picture quality will be described. Finally, the principles of choosing the correct number, size and positioning of monitors will be discussed so as to get the maximum from this normally undervalued part of CCTV systems.

The Principles of Monochrome Monitor Operation

Apart from the use of transistors, integrated circuits and other solid state devices in the circuits of monitors the major part of the monitor, the television or Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), has remained essentially unchanged since the first TV monitors were developed. As shown in Diagram 5.1 the CRT consists of a glass tube with all the air removed. An electron gun at the back of the CRT (a special material that when heated boils off electrons) generates a stream of electrons. These are attracted to the front screen at very high speed by a high voltage of several thousand volts. The inside of the screen is coated with a special phosphor that glows when struck by the electron beam, the stronger the beam the brighter the spot generated. Scanning coils around the neck of the tube generate a magnetic field. The magnetic field affects the position of the striking point of the beam on the screen. By changing the voltage on the scanning coils the striking point of the beam can be scanned across the screen of the CRT to create a series of lines; when the beam moves back across the screen, during the retrace, the beam is turned off so that only the line and not the retrace is visible. By selecting the correct wave shape and frequency the same 625 line frame and 50 fields per second patterns as produced by the camera can be re-created For descriptions of fields, frames and the way that the camera produces these see Chapters two and three

Diagram 5. 1 The Cathode Ray Tube The video signal is used to control the strength of the beam. The brightness of the beam at any point along a given line will be proportional to the level of the video signal. This is consequently proportional to the light intensity at that point on the image sensor of the camera. In this way the picture captured by the camera can be recreated on the screen of the monitor and observed by the system operator.

Diagram 5. 2 Basic Monochrome Monitor Block Diagram In a basic monitor the video signal input enters the monitor and is terminated in a seventy-five ohm load. This matches the output impedance of the camera and the coaxial cable (see Chapter three). A sync separator separates the video signal and sync pulses. The sync pulses are used to synchronise the line oscillator of the monitor to the line oscillator of the camera being viewed. The line oscillator and field oscillator respectively control the scanning coils that scan the electron beam into 625 lines. Field sync pulses control the scanning coils to produce 50 fields. The horizontal and vertical hold controls adjust the frequency of the line oscillator. Consequently, these can be used to compensate for differences in the sync pulse frequencies coming from the camera. A high voltage generator is used to accelerate the electron beam. The strength of the beam is controlled by the output of an amplifier. The input of the amplifier is the video signal. In this way, the level of the video signal controls the brightness at any point on the screen. The brightness control sets the basic level of the beam and therefore the general brightness of the picture. The contrast control controls the amplification or gain of the amplifier. The greater the contrast the greater is the effect of the video signal on the brightness. At low contrast, the picture will appear grey and uninteresting. At excessive contrast, the blacks and whites in the picture are very harsh and the picture is unpleasant to view. At the correct brightness and contrast levels, the picture will appear natural with many shades of grey. The DC Restoration affects the overall voltage level of the video signal. Sometimes this is needed because the voltage is modified as it passes through capacitors in the circuits of cameras and control equipment. With the DC restoration turned off there will be a grey raster when no video is input to the monitor. With the DC restoration turned on the screen will be completely black when no video is input.

Principles of Colour Monitor Operation

A colour monitor works in basically the same way as a monochrome monitor except that there are three electron guns. These three guns are for the three primary colours, red, green, and blue. The guns are aligned to the mask on the phosphor screen. If a TV screen is examined closely, it can be seen that it is a matrix of very fine red, green and blue dots. This is why the resolution of colour monitors is typically lower than monochrome monitors. A combination of all three dots is needed to generate white compared with a single dot for a monochrome monitor. This means that for the same number of pixels the ability to resolve black and white lines may be up to three times less on a colour monitor. When the beam from the correct gun strikes a spot or pixel on the corresponding mask then the pixel glows red, green, or blue. As previously explained in Chapter two, combinations of these three basic colours can be used to form any colour in the spectrum. The firing of the guns in combination by the colour composite video signal recreates the colour picture viewed by the camera.

Diagram 5. 3 Colour Monitor Block Diagram After sync separation the combined chrominance and luminance signals are processed by decoder and amplifier circuits. These are divided into separate signals to control the strength of the red, blue and green electron guns. Besides the normal brightness and contrast controls there is also a colour control that affects the general chrominance of the picture. With the control wound to minimum, the image will be monochrome. When the control is turned to maximum the colours will be very saturated and will normally be too unpleasant to view. Usually a composite colour video input is provided but on some monitors a Y-C or Super VHS input will be provided. Alternatively, an input is provided where all three colour signals are brought in separately. This is known as an RGB (red, green, blue) input. The advantage of either

Y-C or RGB inputs is that there is no filtering as associated with colour composite video. The bandwidth available is higher, and consequently higher resolution is available if the Y-C or RGB inputs are used. That is, provided of course that Y-C or RGB has been used throughout the system.

Understanding monitor performance specifications

Resolution

As with cameras, the vertical resolution of a monitor is the number of black to white transitions or lines that can be distinguished from the top to the bottom of the picture. In addition, as with cameras the limiting factor is the 575 lines that make up the picture. The figure for resolution that is normally given in monitor data sheets is, as for cameras, the horizontal resolution. That is to say, the number of black to white transitions or lines that can be resolved along one horizontal line of the picture. The major difference between resolution performance figures for monitors and resolution for CCD cameras is that the figure for monitors is given for the centre of the picture. This is where the resolution is highest.

Diagram 5. 4 The Effect Of Scanning Coils On Resolution And Linearity The reason for this is that the picture is made by 625 horizontal lines produced by the scanning coils using a magnetic field to drive the beam of electrons across the phosphor screen. However, it is very difficult to get a magnetic field to have an even or linear effect across the entire surface of the screen. At the edges of the screen, the magnetic field tends to be non-linear and both the horizontal and vertical lines seen on the screen will appear bent. The electron beam also tends to defocus towards the edges. This reduces the ability to distinguish fine lines at the corners and sides of the screen and reduces resolution at these areas. For example, a monitor with a resolution at the centre of 600 lines might only have a resolution of 400 lines at the corners. This is a very important point to remember in choosing a monitor and in positioning a camera on the screen to see the most detail. The object to be viewed must be placed in the centre of the screen to get the sharpest picture. The problems of non-linearity became worse with the advent of flatter and squarer tubes, because the scanning beam, which is linear had to travel further to the edges of the screen than it

did to the centre. This problem was is overcome with a compensation circuit called S correction. This causes the beam, now non-linear to move slower towards the edge and faster in the centre. Monochrome monitor horizontal resolution is normally quite high, between 750 and 800 lines for a nine-inch monitor. The reason is because the coating of phosphor on the inside of the screen is continuous and the spot size is determined by the electron beam focus. Consequently, in monochrome systems the monitor is not the limiting factor for the resolution of the system. The resolution tends to decrease slightly as the monitor size increases because it is more difficult to manufacture large TV tubes with a fine phosphor coating. In colour monitors, however, because there are three spots to make each point, red, green and blue, the resolution is very much lower typically 330 to 350 lines. The highest resolution that is being achieved at this time is about 450 lines. This is assuming that the Y-C input of the monitor is used. That, of course, has the proviso that all the other parts of the system are Y-C and have the same or higher resolution figures. Bandwidth is also linked to resolution (see Chapter 3 and the section on camera resolution) The greater the bandwidth the higher the possible resolution of the monitor and the sharper the pictures will be. For a 750-line monitor the bandwidth might typically be about 10MHz.

This article is an extract from chapter 5 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Sample Chapter: 7 Analogue video recording

Sample chapter from Mike Constant's book: The Principles & Practice of CCTV Analogue Video Recording The human eye is an incredibly adaptable device that can focus on distant objects and immediately refocus on something close by. It can look into the distance or at a wide angle nearby. It can see in bright light or at dusk, adjusting automatically as it does so. It also has a long 'depth of field'; therefore, scenes over a long distance can be in focus simultaneously. It sees colour when there is sufficient light, but switches to monochrome vision when there is not. It is also connected to a brain that has a faster updating and retentive memory than any computer. Therefore, the eyes can swivel from side to side and up and down, retaining a clear picture of

what was scanned. The brain accepts all the data and makes an immediate decision to move to a particular image of interest, select the appropriate angle of view and refocus. The eye has another clever trick in that it can view a scene of great contrast and adjust only to the part of it that is of interest.
Introduction

The predominant method of recording video pictures at the time of publication of this book is by analogue video recording. In analogue recording, the voltages that make the composite video signal are recorded on to magnetic tape; the changes in voltage magnetise and demagnetise the tape. To play back the recording the changes in magnetism on the tape are converted back in to voltages and the composite video signal is re-created for connection to a video monitor. A video tape recorder is a complex integration of electronics and extremely high precision mechanics. There have been several types of recording systems in recent years, the main contenders being 'Betamax' from Sony, 'Video 2000' from Philips and 'VHS' from Matsushita. They are all based around a tape contained in a cassette with a supply spool and a take up spool. However, there were both electronic and mechanical differences that prevented one tape being used on another make. The one to emerge as the standard throughout the world is the VHS system. VHS means Video Home System and was developed by the JVC Company in Japan.
The VHS Video Recorder

All video tape recorders follow the same principles as an audiocassette recorder. That is, a tape containing thousands of tiny magnets, each with a north and a south pole is passed through a varying magnetic field. The magnetic field is generated in a revolving drum from the video signal. This reproduces the video signal onto the tape. The tape is stored in a sealed cassette with a flap at the front protecting the tape. When the tape is loaded into the recorder, a mechanism draws the cassette into and down the machine. The catch holding the front cover is released and the cover opened. The cassette drops over two threading posts as shown in the first diagram. When one of the functions such as play or record is operated the tape is drawn around the head drum as shown in the second diagram.

Diagram 7. 1 VHS Tape Cassette.

Principles of Video Recording

The descriptions give here are of necessity over simplified and are intended to illustrate the basic principles of recording. As stated before, the two essential elements of a video tape recorder are a rotating head assembly and the tape passing around a drum and head. The head consists of a ferrite ring with its continuity broken by a small gap. A coil is wound round the ring which, when energised, creates a magnetic field. The magnetic field in the ring concentrates in the gap. An essential aspect of design is that head gap is in the order of 0.3 microns. A micron is onemillionth of a metre. Therefore, 0.3 microns is about one-hundredth the thickness of a human hair.

The video signal is fed to the magnetic coil and creates an analogue version in the form of a magnetic field. As the tape passes the gap in the head the magnetic field causes the 'internal magnets' to align according to the signal passing through the head.

This makes a magnetic copy of the signal on the tape. The tape passes the drum at a fixed speed, therefore low frequencies will create long 'magnets' in the tape, and high frequencies will create short 'magnets'.
Tracks On Tape

The tape consists of an insulated base material with a fine oxide coating. For various reasons, the head is displaced at an angle to the tape. This is known as helical scanning and is standard for all recorders. The magnetic information is recorded at an angle across the tape. Diagram 7. 2 Tracks on Video Tape

The width of tape for standard VHS is 12.65mm (1/2"). The speed for standard real time recording is 23.39 mm/sec. Early video recorders and some domestic VHS recorders still available today had two coils, or heads, on each head cylinder. This worked well while the tape was moving, producing moving pictures on playback. However, when the pause function on the recorder was activated to view a single still picture horizontal noise bars would appear on the picture because the head was not moving fast enough to capture the single picture from the tape accurately. The solution to this problem was introduced when the first four-head video recorders were made. These use four coils or heads, two each on opposite sides of the head cylinder. By using four heads instead of two twice the amount of information could be written to or read from the tape. Four head video recorders can replay still images without any noise bars and this has led to their general use in domestic and CCTV video recorders, replacing the older two-head design.

The heads are spaced 65 microns apart for a standard VHS time-lapse recorder and these lay down tracks on to the tape, which are 58 microns wide. Head cylinders of this design are known as type SP heads.

HomeContacting UsWhat's NewInstalling CCTVMaintenance ContractsEquipmentApplicationsCCTV for LiftsServicesAccess ControlUseful InformationData Protection ActInformationLens CalculatorTraining CoursesNews Items

IP Technology
Introduction
It used to be that CCTV images were always transferred over coaxial cable, for various reasons: range, bandwidth, ease of installation, low attenuation, and so on. However, there is a trend which is emerging to integrate CCTV images into (or over) existing digital networks which are there to provide data services. The reasons for this trend would appear, on the face of it, to be unarguable: most organisations have large data networks already; there is often spare capacity (although the network manager may disagree with that statement); twisted pair cable extends everywhere; it is simple to install and maintain; it makes maximum use of (or leverages) an expensive asset. There are downsides to the integration of data and images on a single infrastructure, usually to do with two things: the effect on data patterns caused by streaming video, and the problems of reliability and resilience in a network where 100% uptime is usually an impossibility. This chapter acts as a simple guide to networking which hopefully will cover a lot of what you wanted to know about networking. This is not an in-depth technical guide: there are already too many of those around. Rather, it looks at an overview of networking from the data perspective, and then deals with the issues of adding CCTV to the infrastructure. The first part looks at what a network is and how simple networks operate. This leads on to check out protocols, and in particular, the OSI 7 layer model. Then TCP/IP, IP addresses and gateways are dealt with. Local Area Networks are looked at: how they work, and what to look out for when CCTV is added. Ethernet will be described, the worlds most popular LAN, and the difference between hubs and switches will be examined. Later, the Internet is described: where it came from and how it works; what domain names are, and how a name, and its location, are looked up through a service called the DNS. Then routers are explained - how do they do their job? What happens if they stop working? Whats a router-switch? The next part of the chapter looks at the circuits used to connect equipment together copper, wireless and optical fibre. Lastly, how networks are accessed is described, and security issues are dealt with reference to Virtual Private Networks and Firewalls.

Networks
Over the years, many different definitions have emerged to cover the word Network. A group of PCs connected together might be one; a fully interconnected system of hardware with redundant circuits to provide resilience might be another. In actual fact, a network is something as simple as two desktop computers sharing a single printer, to something as large as the internet. What drives a network is the word interconnectivity.

Diagram 9.1 Interconnectivity Can one PC send data to another PC and vice versa, irrespective of how they are actually connected together? Can a computer in, say, England, download information from another computer in China? Will the two computers be compatible? Should we need to know? The answers to these questions are yes, yes, yes and no, in that order. The fact that a computer made by one manufacturer can talk to a computer made by a different manufacturer somewhere else in the world isnt something just to do with the fact that both might use Microsoft operating systems: theres a bit more to it than that. Buried deep in the heart of the PC is a set of protocols which take care of any incompatibilities between different computers. It isnt necessary to know that theyre there, but it might be helpful to explain a little about protocols and how they work before continuing.

Types of communications

Diagram 9.2 Types of communications Whenever you write a letter, you observe a protocol: Dear Sir ends with yours faithfully; Dear Ms Smith ends yours sincerely and so on. We do it without thinking: its what we were probably taught at school. Similarly, when we ring someone, we have a protocol for identifying who is at the other end of the line, and how long we speak for before finding out whether the other party has understood. We also know what to do if we have misheard or misunderstood what was said a sort of error detection and correction routine using the word Pardon? or Sorry, I missed that, say again What do we do if we answer the phone, and find someone speaking a language we dont understand? We might be able to speak a few words of the foreign language, but if we cant, then there is no point in trying to communicate. What we need in the computer field is a kind of lingua franca or a common language which is used by every computer so that any computer can communicate with any other. That doesnt mean that if you go to a Japanese web site and download some data that you will necessarily understand what it says it will still be in Japanese characters, but your computer will have had no problem understanding what you asked it to do, and no problem in understanding how to ask the computer in Japan for the information either. This is because all computers work to an internationally agreed set of protocols. Back in the 1970s, there was no need for protocols: all computers were made by IBM. By the 1980s, many other manufacturers had entered the market, using different internal operating systems, and it became very clear that international communications were here to stay. New email packages became available; for example Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora Light, Eudora Professional, MailPlus, Pegasus, Lotus Notes, and others. So to enable anyone anywhere to send email to any other computer anywhere, irrespective of whether, for example, one PC used Outlook to generate an email, and another used Lotus Notes to do the same job, some sort of protocol was needed to carry out conversion work between two dissimilar elements of software or hardware. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) got involved, and came up with the

Open Systems Interconnection 7-layer Model as the best way of solving the problem. The code for this is embedded into the computer operating system, and works quietly in the background.

Open systems interconnection

One of the simplest ways of understanding the Open Systems Interconnection model is to relate it to a set of envelopes several envelopes fit inside one another, until only the largest is visible. The largest one hides all the others, and is the only one visible to the eye. Before we see how it works, lets ask another question. If you want to be absolutely sure that any postal packet you send to another person actually gets there, what would you do? You ought not to drop it into a post box, even though the Royal Mail has a good track record of delivery: you would send it recorded delivery or registered post. That way you can be sure that the addressee has got it. Networks use the same idea: if you want to send, say, an email to somebody, and be sure that (a) its arrived, (b) its not been damaged in transit and (c) the whole email has been delivered, and no part is missing, then your computer would automatically use a system for recorded delivery this is called TCP, or Transmission Control Protocol. You dont actually see this happening: your PC takes the appropriate action immediately you decide to send an email. Lets use an example. Well send an email to enquiries@tavcom.com. This email has an attachment which consists of a Word document of 100 pages of text. The computer we will use has Lotus Notes as its email package (or client, as it is usually called) and it is connected to an internal Local Area Network, or LAN. When we click on create mail, and fill in the various boxes with subject, addressee, text, attachment, and so on, the OSI model is already working away on this information. The email itself is placed inside an envelope with the type of email package Lotus Notes on the front. This in turn is placed inside another envelope with a label on the front to indicate that the contents are, in fact, electronic mail. This label says SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This envelope in turn is placed inside another, which says TCP on the front. This is the instruction for the recipient to acknowledge safe receipt. Since this envelope isnt big enough to hold the email and the 100 pages of text (a TCP envelope will only hold about 300 words, or roughly the equivalent of a single A4 page of text) the computer automatically generates enough TCP envelopes for the whole message, and gives each envelope a sequence number. So, for example, the first envelope would have a sequence number of 1 of 100, the second would be 2 of 100 and so on. In this way, the recipients computer knows how many envelopes it is supposed to receive, and it can therefore ask for retransmission of any missing ones. Each TCP envelope is then placed inside another envelope with the source and destination addresses on it. Since networks dont actually use email addresses to send information, the destination address enquiries@tavcom.com - has to be changed into an address format which can be used. This is called the Internet Protocol address, or IP address. This is automatically done by the computer. Finally, the IP envelopes are put inside another set of envelopes which are addressed to a device which will send the full message into the internet where it will be routed to enquiries@tavcom.com. This device is usually called a gateway in actual fact it will physically be a router. Think of it as your post room, where incoming and outgoing mail is sorted for delivery.

Assuming the data successfully arrives at the post room at Tavcom, it will be forwarded to the PC designated to handle enquiries. At this point, envelopes begin to be opened. The IP envelope is opened to see whether it has been delivered to the right address, and to see where it has come from. If that is OK, then the TCP envelopes are opened one by one to check if they have arrived in the right sequence and with their contents intact. If so, then the envelopes are passed to the computers internal mail room where SMTP opens them and uses the information to convert what it has received (Lotus Notes) into the email package of the computer at enquiries@tavcom.com this is Microsoft Outlook. Only when all this has been correctly done, and any missing envelopes chased up and checked, will the recipient be advised that an email has arrived.

OSI model
So lets translate all this into the OSI model. Layers 7, 6 and 5 are to do with the type of email package (Lotus) and whether it is indeed an email (SMTP). Layer 4 makes sure that TCP is used for recorded delivery Layer 3 contains to and from IP addresses, and Layer 2 has the address of your post room or Gateway. Layer 1 defines how, and at what speed, the data is sent from your PC to the Gateway over the LAN. To use the correct technical term, when data arrives at Layer 3, the IP layer, it is loaded into an envelope which is formally known as a Packet, an IP Packet or an IP Datagram.

Diagram 9.4 The layers of the OSI However, there is a problem with this analogy with respect to the transmission of CCTV images. These must be sent and received in real time, so to acknowledge receipt of each packet of video information would introduce an unacceptable delay from end to end. So there must be a way of sending information without the need for all the checking and acknowledging which is an

essential part of TCP. The answer is to use an alternative protocol, called UDP (User Datagram Protocol). This is sometimes called Fire and Forget, and is the equivalent of the postal analogy where letters are simply posted to their addressees without the need for acknowledgements. Many IP cameras today have a user-selectable option for TCP or UDP to improve the end-to-end delay characteristics of a network.
This article is an extract from chapter 9 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Remote Positioning Devices

Introduction
There are two main types of remote positioning device, those that move only in a horizontal plane, and those that can move in two planes. Movement in a horizontal plane is known as panning or scanning. Movement in the vertical plane is known as tilting. The device that provides movement in both planes is called a pan, tilt unit or pan, tilt drive. Both scanners and pan, tilt units are made for indoor and outdoor use. The construction is fundamentally the same except that those units for external use are designed for the appropriate IP rating. (See Chapter 9 for description of IP ratings). Pan, tilt units are also produced for the range of hazardous environments mentioned in Chapter 10.

Scanners
A common type of scanner is shown in Diagram 11.1, which may be designed for either internal or external applications.

Diagram 11. 1 Typical Scanner Unit

The camera may be mounted directly on the platform in usual indoor situations. The camera mounting platform is adjustable to a fixed position of tilt by a bolt through the pivot. The degree of rotation is set by two movable strikers that operate limit switches at each end of the required travel. These units can be set to automatically reverse when a limit switch is operated and therefore continuously scan between the set limits. This is called auto-pan and requires an additional simple board in the control unit. The wiring is very simple and telemetry would not generally be used for controlling this type of device. For external use the units are larger and made weatherproof to the appropriate standard. They are also more powerful than indoor models because they need to support a weatherproof housing. The camera supply and coaxial cables must be left with sufficient slack to eliminate strain through the movement of the scanner. There should be enough slack cable to allow for the maximum travel of the unit. Although it may be initially installed with a small degree of scanning, requirements could change in the future. Typical scanning speed is 6 per second and maximum rotation in the order of 345. There is usually a minimum rotation of 5-10 due to the size of the limit stops. This type of scanner is not very attractive in appearance especially with the slack cables going to the camera. On the other hand it is easily seen and is often used for its deterrent value. Where aesthetics are important or discrete mounting is needed there are other types of scanners available. The hemispheres and domes mentioned in Chapter10 could incorporate scanning drives.

Diagram 11. 2 Housings for Discreet Scanners

Pan, Tilt Units

As with scanners, pan, tilt units may be designed for either internal or external use. There are two main types of pan, tilt unit. The first is a unit where the camera or housing is mounted directly on a platform that forms part of the construction. There are two types of this design where the platform is either mounted on the side of the unit or over the top. The second type of pan, tilt unit is where the driving components are contained within an enclosed housing.

Diagram 11. 3 Types of Pan, Tilt Unit

Rating of Pan, Tilt Units

Pan, tilt units are rated by the load carrying capacity of the platform. In addition, over the top units are rated by the centre of gravity of the load being within a certain distance above the top of the platform. See comments later for load rating of over the top units.
This article is an extract from chapter 11 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Multiple Screen Displays

Introduction
Any system that combines more than one video signal is technically a multiplexer. These days it is customary to refer to multiplexers as equipment that can simultaneously combine eight or more signals, otherwise they are known as screen splitters or quad splitters. There will be many occasions when it will be advantageous to display more than one camera on the monitor at once. One example is if an incident occurs but it is not certain just where it originated. With a simple switching device, it would be a tedious business to review all the cameras recorded in sequence. In addition, as stated previously, essential information may be lost. However, if all the cameras were recorded simultaneously and could be displayed simultaneously then reviewing and finding the sequence of events would be very much easier. In

addition, virtually no information would be lost and the relevant scenes can then be analysed with full screen pictures. The essential benefit therefore of recording in the various multiple screen formats is that no information is lost due to dwells in switching.

Analogue and Digital Displays

The picture received directly from a camera and displayed on a monitor is an analogue representation of the scene. The picture information has been converted directly to a video signal and reconverted to the same scene on the monitor. The clarity of the picture is dependent on the quality of the camera, the lens, the transmission system and the monitor. To display or record more than one picture at a time it is necessary on most systems to convert the analogue signal to a digital form. This is known as analogue to digital conversion. After processing, the signal then has to be converted back to analogue form to be displayed on a monitor. This process introduces the possibility of degradation to the original picture. Definition can be lost through the complicated conversion processes and noise can be added to the signal. Also, the final quality is dependent on the resolution in terms of the number of pixels comprising the digital information.

Picture In Picture
This is a simple system by which one scene can be inserted in another. The camera outputs are connected to a controller that allows one camera to be designated as the main picture. The other camera is designated as the inserted picture. The inserted picture may be positioned and sized anywhere on the screen as shown in Diagram 13.1. Usually either camera may be displayed as a full screen picture. The normal controls for the inserted picture are: Horizontal size, vertical size, horizontal position and vertical position. Note that only the inserted picture may be altered, the background camera is always shown full screen. Note that, where the inserted picture is analogue the cameras need to be synchronised. This can be from an external sync generator or one camera can be synchronised from the other.

Diagram 13. 1 Example of Picture in Picture

Screen Splitters
This is similar to a picture in picture inserter except that both camera scenes can be adjusted to compose the most useful combination. A screen splitter refers to a combination of two cameras. The split can be arranged either horizontally or vertically. The degree of overlap of either camera can also be adjusted. Screen splitters also require the cameras to be synchronised.
Quad Screen Splitters

As the name implies, this system allows the presentation of four cameras on the one screen. The majority of quad splitters now incorporate digital image processing. This means that it is not necessary to synchronise the cameras and the picture is digitally compressed to a quarter of its size. The four images are then displayed on a single screen. Note that each picture will only be 25% of the screen resolution. There are many features that may be available with quad screen splitters and it is essential to check with manufacturers literature for particular models. As always, the more features it provides the more expensive a unit is likely to be. It is possible to spend more than necessary if poor selection of a piece of equipment includes more features than are required. Another factor to check out is the resolution of the displayed pictures.

Diagram 13. 2 Illustration of Quad Screen Display Some features that may or may not be included are as follows. Camera Inputs By definition, quad splitters will have four inputs but there are units available that can have eight inputs. These usually display blocks of four cameras in sequence. Electronic Zoom When a camera is shown in full screen this is a method of electronically enlarging a quarter of the screen to a full screen view. The area in view may be panned around any part of the original picture. Note though that this will produce a very grainy looking picture. This is because each pixel in the enlarged view will be four times as large as in the full screen scene. For instance, if the full screen picture is made up of 512 x 512 pixels then a quarter screen will contain 256 x 256 pixels. When zoomed the new full screen picture will be made up of the 256 x 256 pixels. Sequential Switching This is the capability to provide either a quad display or sequencing through each full screen picture. Dual Output

The capability of providing dual monitor outputs, one with a quad display, the other a sequence display. Alarm Inputs Some quad splitters offer the capability to accept alarm inputs. The treatment on receipt of an alarm can vary. For instance, it can hold the associated camera on full screen until deactivated or it could override a sequence and switch to quad display. Alarm Outputs Alarm outputs are sometimes provided. These can be used to switch a video recorder to real time or operate any other ancillary equipment. Camera Titling Another option sometimes available is the facility to insert camera numbers and titles on the screen. These can usually be moved around the screen to prevent obscuring an important part of the scene. Not all systems allow the positioning of individual camera titles. Some only provide a fixed position for all cameras. The number of characters available for titles varies between models. Loop Through As with switchers, some models provide loop through facilities with switchable termination. The same comments apply to ensure correct termination when looping through video signals. On Screen Menu Some of the systems with more facilities provide the capability of setting up the various functions from on screen prompts. Video Loss Alarm This feature can provide a warning, both visible and audible, if there is a loss of video signal from any of the cameras
This article is an extract from chapter 13 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Transmission of Video Signals by Cable

Introduction
This is not meant to be a textbook on transmission but is intended to remove some of the mystery associated with various methods of transmission. Many approximations and simplifications have been used in writing this guide. This is to make the subject more understandable to those people not familiar with the theories. For general application in the design of CCTV systems it should be more than adequate and at least point the way to the main questions that must be addressed. The manufacturers of transmission equipment will usually be only too keen to help in final design. This first part deals with the transmission of video signals by cables. Part 2 deals with the transmission of video signals by other methods such as microwave, telephone systems, etc. See chapter 9 for transmission over networks in more detail.

Diagram 15.1 Methods of Transmitting a Video Signal Diagram 15.1 illustrates the many methods of getting a picture from a camera to a monitor. The choice will often be dictated by circumstances on the location of cameras and controls. Often there will be more than one option for types of transmission. In these cases there will possibly be trade offs between quality and security of signal against cost. This diagram could now include transmission by IP metworks.

General Principles
Video Signal

The essential components of the video signal are covered in Chapters two and three. Certain aspects that are related to the effective transmission of those signals are repeated in this chapter where it is necessary to save continuous cross-reference.
Synchronising

The video signal from a TV camera has to provide a variety of information at the monitor for a correct TV picture to be displayed. This information can be divided into: Synchronising pulses that tell the monitor when to start a line and a field; video information that tells the monitor how bright a particular point in the picture should be; chrominance that tells the monitor what colours a particular part of the picture should be (colour cameras only).
Bandwidth

The composite video output from the average CCTV camera covers a bandwidth ranging from 25Hz to 5MHz. The upper frequency is primarily determined by the resolution of the camera and whether it is monochrome or colour. For every 100 lines of resolution, a bandwidth of 1MHz approximately is required. Therefore, a camera with 600 lines resolution gives out a video signal with a bandwidth of approximately 6MHz. This principle applies to both colour and monochrome cameras. However, colour cameras also have to produce a colour signal (chrominance), as well as a monochrome output (luminance). The chrominance signal is modulated on a 4.43MHz carrier wave in the PAL system therefore a colour signal, regardless of definition, has a bandwidth of at least 5MHz.
Requirements to Produce A Good Quality Picture

From the above it will be obvious that to produce a good quality picture on a monitor, the video signal must be applied to the monitor with little or no distortion of any of its elements, i.e. the time relationship of the various signals and amplitude of these signals. However in CCTV systems, the camera has to be connected to a monitor by a cable or another means, such as Fibre Optic or microwave link. This interconnection requires special equipment to interface the video signal to the transmission medium. In cable transmission, special amplifiers may be required to compensate for the cable losses that are frequency dependent.

Cable Transmission
All cables, no matter what their length or quality, cause attenuation when used for the transmission of video signals, the main problem being related to the wide bandwidth requirements of a video signal. All cables produce a loss of signal that is dependent primarily on the frequency, the higher the frequency, the higher the loss. This means that as a video signal

travels along a cable it loses its high frequency components faster than its low frequency components. The result of this is a loss of the fine detail (definition) in the picture. The human eye is very tolerant of errors of this type; a significant loss of detail is not usually objectionable unless the loss is very large. This is fortunate, as the losses of the high frequency components are very high on the types of cables usually used in CCTV systems. For instance, using the common coaxial cables URM70 or RG59, 50% of the signal at 5MHz is lost in 200 metres of cable. To compensate for these losses, special amplifiers may be used. These provide the ability to amplify selectively the high frequency components of the video signal to overcome the cable losses.
Cable Types

There are two main types of cable used for transmitting video signals, which are: Unbalanced (coaxial) and balanced (twisted pair). The construction of each is shown in diagrams 15.2 and 15.3. An unbalanced signal is one in which the signal level is a voltage referenced to ground. For instance, a video signal from the camera is between 0.3 and 1.0 volts above zero (ground level). The shield is the ground level. A balanced signal is a video signal that has been converted for transmission along a medium other than coaxial cable. Here the signal voltage is the difference between the voltage in each conductor. External interference is picked up by all types of cable. Rejection of this interference is effected in different ways. Coaxial cable relies on the centre conductor being well screened by the outer copper braid. There are many types of coaxial cable and care should be taken to select one with a 95% braid. In the case of a twisted pair cable, interference is picked up by both conductors in the same direction equally. The video signal is travelling in opposite directions in the two conductors. The interference can then be balanced out by using the correct type of amplifier. This only responds to the signal difference in the two conductors and is known as a differential amplifier.
Unbalanced (Coaxial) Cables

This type of cable is made in many different impedances. In this case impedance is measured between the inner conductor and the outer sheath. 75-Ohm impedance cable is the standard used in CCTV systems. Most video equipment is designed to operate at this impedance. Coaxial cables with an impedance of 75 Ohms are available in many different mechanical formats, including single wire armoured and irradiated PVC sheathed cable for direct burial. The cables available range in performance from relatively poor to excellent. Performance is normally measured in high frequency loss per 100 metres. The lower this loss figure, the less the distortion to the video signal. Therefore, higher quality cables should be used when transmitting the signal over long distances.

Another factor that should be considered carefully when selecting coaxial cables is the quality of the cable screen. This, as its name suggests, provides protection from interference for the centre core, as once interference enters the cable it is almost impossible to remove.

Diagram 15.2 Unbalanced Cable

Balanced (Twisted Pair) Cables

In a twisted pair each pair of cables is twisted with a slow twist of about one to two twists per metre. These cables are made in many different impedances, 100 to 150 Ohms being the most common. Balanced cables have been used for many years in the largest cable networks in the world. Where the circumstances demand, these have advantages over coaxial cables of similar size. Twisted pair cables are frequently used where there would be an unacceptable loss due to a long run of coaxial cable.

Diagram 15.3 Balanced Cable The main advantages are:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The ability to reject unwanted interference. Lower losses at high frequencies per unit length. Smaller size. Availability of multipair cables. Lower cost.

The advantages must be considered in relation to the cost of the equipment required for this type of transmission. A launch amplifier to convert the video signal is needed at the camera end and an equalising amplifier to reconstruct the signal at the control end.

Impedance

It is extremely important that the impedances of the signal source, cable, and load are all equal. Any mismatch in these will produce unpleasant and unacceptable effects in the displayed picture. These effects can include the production of ghost images and ringing on sharp edges, also the loss or increase in a discrete section of the frequency band within the video signal. The impedance of a cable is primarily determined by its physical construction, the thickness of the conductors and the spacing between them being the most important factors. The materials used as insulators within the cable also affect this characteristic. Although the signal currents are very low, the sizes of the conductors within the cable are very important. The higher frequency components of the video signal travel only in the surface layer of the conductors.

Diagram 15.4 Transmission Impedance. For maximum power transfer, the load, cable and source impedance must be equal. If there is any mismatch, some of the signal will not be absorbed by the load. Instead, it will be reflected back along the cable to produce what is commonly known as a ghost image.
This article is an extract from chapter 15 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Transmission of Video Signals by Fibre Optics

Principles of Fibre Optic Transmission
Most people are familiar with the everyday use of light, X-rays, radio waves, microwaves, and Radar. All of these are actually examples of electromagnetic radiation, which is characterised by a radiation wavelength or oscillation frequency. Diagram 17.1 shows the electromagnetic

spectrum with application areas identified. The 400 - 750 nm region of the spectrum is the region of visible light; this region is expanded in the lower part. The area of interest for fibre optic transmission extends from the red region of the spectrum out into the wavelengths much longer than those visible to the human eye, the infrared. Specific wavelengths used have been driven by the requirements of the fibre technology and by source and detector technologies. Particular wavelengths used are nominally 780nm, 850nm, 1310nm, and 1550nm.

Diagram 17. 1 The electromagnetic spectrum The different parts of the spectrum have previously been described in terms of the wavelength. An alternative measurement is the frequency of the part being considered. Frequency is the number of crests of a wave that move past a given point in a given unit of time. The most common unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz), corresponding to one cycle per second. The frequency of a wave can be calculated by dividing the speed of the wave by the wavelength. Thus, in the electromagnetic spectrum, the wavelengths decrease as the frequencies increase, and vice versa. For example, the wavelength of infrared light is 850 nm; the equivalent frequency is 3.5 x 1014 Hz.

Diagram 17. 2 Bandwidth at Different Frequencies Different frequencies have different bandwidths and the higher the frequency the wider is the bandwidth. The wider the bandwidth then the more information can be carried. Frequencies above the visible part of the spectrum offer a wider bandwidth, therefore they provide more space for the multiplicity of TV signals and reams of data that need to be transmitted.
Transmission by Light

In fibre optics, messages whether data or video are first converted from electrical impulses into pulses of light. This function is performed by a minute device that incorporates a laser chip or an LED (light emitting diode). The infrared light is switched on and off at incredibly high speeds, thereby creating the stream of light pulses. These are then focussed onto the end of the optical fibre. The lightwaves travel along the fibre to the receiving end. Here the light pulses are converted back into electrical pulses by a photodiode or avalanche photodiode.

Diagram 17. 3 Basics of Fibre Optic Transmission

Optical Fibre Structure and Light Guiding

An optical fibre is a complex strand of silica glass. A cross section of a typical fibre is shown in diagram 16.4.

Very small units of length are measured in microns. One micron is one millionth of a metre, therefore, 1 micron is 0.001 mm and 125 microns is 0.125 mm.

Diagram 17. 4 Construction of single optical fibre The optical fibre is made from a rod of highly purified silica called a pre-form. The pre-form is heated and drawn out into a thin fibre using highly specialised and accurate equipment. As the fibre is drawn, it is coated with a protective polymer layer known as the primary coating. At this stage the coated fibre is approximately 0.25 mm diameter and is flexible enough to be coiled on drums with a bend radius of not less than 5 cm. In most fibres in use today the diameter of the glass fibre itself is 125 microns/ 0.125 mm. This primary coated fibre is then used as the building block for assembly into optical fibre cable that provides the ruggedisation needed for everyday use. The optical fibre itself has internal structure with the refractive index of the fibre varying across its diameter with all fibres having a lower refractive index on the surface than at the centre of the fibre. This variation in refractive index across the fibre diameter is the key to the transmission of light by the fibre. Remembering school physics experiments, when light passes from a high to low refractive index media e.g. glass to air, some of the light ray is reflected and some is refracted out of the high refractive index media. As the angle of the light ray to the surface gets shallower, there comes a point where all of the light is reflected and no light is refracted out of the media. This angle (to the normal) is called the Critical Angle above which all light is reflected; optical fibre transmission uses this effect to transmit light along the fibre. In diagram 17.5, the optical fibre structure is assumed to consist of a high refractive index glass core surrounded by a low refractive index glass cladding. Light rays are incident on the fibre end from a light source entering the fibre core over a range of incident angles. Once in the fibre these rays can be considered to be travelling in straight lines until they meet a refractive index discontinuity. At this point, some of the ray is reflected back into the fibre core and the rest is refracted out of the core into the cladding glass. The reflected light ray then transits the fibre core until another reflection occurs and the refracted ray hits the cladding glass/protective polymer cladding interface and is absorbed or dispersed. As this is concerned with light propagation down the fibre length it is clear that the reflected ray is the one that we require for signal transmission, with the refracted ray simply reducing the transmitted light signal intensity.

Diagram 17. 5 Step index multi-mode fibre Consider a continuum of light rays in the fibre core covering all possible angles of incidence to the core/cladding discontinuity, then it can be seen that all light rays with an angle of incidence above the critical angle will be reflected back into the fibre core. This is known as total internal reflection. Those rays with an angle of incidence below the critical angle will be partly reflected and partly refracted in the manner explained above. The light rays transit along the fibre by being reflected at each refractive index change that they encounter; in effect the rays bounce off of the sides of the fibre core. After multiple reflections the rays with angles of incidence below the critical angle will have been reduced in intensity by refraction losses and do not contribute to the light, and hence signal, transmission process. In contrast, the rays with angles of incidence above the critical angle will not be reduced in intensity by refraction and it is these rays that enable fibre optic transmission to work. As the angle of incidence is measured with respect to the normal to the relevant surface it can be seen that the fibre could be bent and twisted and still allow light to be transmitted along its length. This ability of optical fibre to guide light along a non-linear path, just like and electrical conductor, is essential for its use in real world applications. This range of rays may be traced back to their original coupling to the fibre core and we find that the transmitted rays are contained in a cone of angles as shown in diagram 17.5. In defining optical fibre parameters this acceptance cone is characterised by the cone half angle and the Sine of this half angle is known as the fibre Numerical Aperture N.A.
This article is an extract from chapter 17 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

SearchInterfacing with Other Systems

Introduction
CCTV Systems are rarely used as the single means of security at any site. This is a wise approach, as CCTV cannot on its own provide total security for any location. There is very little point in having a system that enables intruders to be observed or miscreants identified if this does not actually prevent loss or damage to the property of the owner of the site. At the very minimum there must be good mechanical security with good quality doors, locks, fences and other barriers to physically prevent undesirables from gaining access to secure areas. For insurance purposes, there must nearly always be some form of intruder detection and alarm system. With the growth and reduction in relative cost of telephone lines these intruder alarms are normally connected to some kind of central monitoring facility, called a central station, where responses to alarms are co-ordinated and from where the Police or other security agencies are summoned. Intruder alarm systems form the backbone of electronic security, from the smallest retail site to the largest industrial, commercial or governmental establishments. A second mandatory electronic system present on sites is the fire alarm system. Fire alarm systems are installed for both insurance and building regulations purposes. Increasing use of electronics in the controls of these systems has meant that they have become more sophisticated and more reliable while at the same time offering many more features. Having a site that is safe and secure outside business hours is vital. However, it is of little benefit during working hours, when access control to a building or site may be relaxed to enable the employers staff to come and go. Thieves or vandals can also come and go at will. It is for this reason that access control systems have started to become increasingly common. The simplest form of access control is a security guard checking the identification passes of those who are entering and leaving the site. In the highest security sites, this method is still used, due to the efficacy of human beings in recognising people and determining whether they should be allowed entry. However, due to the cost of manned guarding and the dramatic reduction in the real cost of microprocessor based electronic systems over the last few years electronic access control systems are becoming more common. In these systems, the individuals who are permitted to enter various areas of a site carry some kind of token that is presented to an electronic reader. The control electronics then identifies this token and looks into electronic memory devices. If the individuals token is valid for that entry point then an electric lock will be released for a short time to allow entry. Otherwise, access will be denied and an alarm message may be displayed on the system control terminal. The technologies available for the tokens are myriad; from simple magnetic stripe cards similar to bankers cards through to specialised high security cards, special keys, keypads, and even palm print readers. On large sites there may be a very long length of fencing which can be a problem to protect at all times, within the limits that are available with manned guarding. It is, however, important to

protect this perimeter in commercial and industrial sites to prevent theft and vandalism, and in governmental sites to meet these as well as terrorist and other threats. As with access control the best form of perimeter protection is manned guard posts. This is, however, very expensive and consequently this technique tends to be reserved for the highest security sites. Due to this fact, various electronic devices have been developed to detect intruders crossing the perimeter. One group is seismic wires installed in the fence material, which detect cutting and climbing of the fence structure. Another group of seismic detectors are buried directly in the ground and detect the footsteps of intruders crossing the perimeter, the alarms being signalled by cable or radio link. Long range passive infrared detectors are also used. These sense the body heat of intruders crossing the perimeter. Finally, video motion detection as described in the previous chapter is used to sense intruders. In high security sites, these devices are often used in combination to minimise false alarms while maximising detection. On such sites, regular perimeter patrols give the highest level of security available. More recently, the control of environmental and other systems around a site has been centralised into systems using personal computers. These Building Management Systems (BMS) control heating, lighting and air conditioning systems while also providing alarms on the failure of heating boilers, excessive sump water levels, etc. The display of all these individual systems in front of an operator can be very confusing, requiring a high level of training for the staff to operate the systems individually. The level of work for the system operator when there are multiple alarms can also be excessive, as several different monitors and control panels must be used. A better solution is to integrate these different systems in to a central display station, such as a siteplan graphics system described in Chapter 12. This central point then gives the operator a single screen on which to observe and acknowledge any event in the system; using a computer mouse or touch screen the CCTV may be controlled at the same screen. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the ways in which these other systems may be interfaced with the CCTV system to assemble an integrated security management system.
This article is an extract from chapter 19 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Search

Specifying CCTV Systems

Introduction
There are three main types of specification for CCTV systems.

1. The proposal presented to a potential customer based on a companys interpretation of preliminary visits and discussions. 2. A specification prepared by a customer in which the operating principles and requirements of a system are outlined and the final design left to the installation Company. 3. A specification prepared by a customer in which the position and performance of every component in a system are clearly defined and specified technically.

There is actually a fourth type of specification. This is where the customer produces a combination of 2 and 3 but with only a laymans knowledge of CCTV. This is a little knowledge is dangerous type of specification. The first part of this chapter is intended to provide guidance for the first two types of proposal. This is followed by guidance for end users The size and thickness of a proposal and specification are not necessarily proportional to its usefulness. In addition, the structure of the proposal should be carefully thought out to inform the recipient. The intention should be to provide a reasoned and progressive argument for the system being proposed. Many customers will only have a passing knowledge of CCTV. Therefore, avoid the use of trade jargon in anything other than technical specifications where it is necessary. Most companies will have their own preferred layout for proposals. The following notes show a structured approach that can be adjusted to fit in with any corporate presentation.

Contractual Considerations
The proposal will form the basis of a binding contract between the installing company and the purchaser. It can be the companys defence or downfall if there is a dispute. With the best will in the world disputes will happen. In the case of CCTV it is invariably the quality of picture or scenes in view that cause the greatest problems. It is equally important to describe the drawbacks as well as the advantages of the system. This may come across as negative thinking to the salesperson but it can be turned into a positive advantage. Statements of fact can increase the credibility of a company and impress the customer with their ethics. This is especially the case when the competitors have failed to point out the drawbacks. A common comment from disappointed customers is that, I employed your Company as an expert, took your advice and now the system does not do what I expected. This is often followed by refusal to pay the invoice. There have been many cases where this is a smoke screen because they now dont have the money or are simply being fraudulent. Frequently the complaint is aggravated because it is a very subjective judgement. Such comments as; I cant read the number plates and see the whole width of the 60-metre entrance. I cant see people directly below the camera. The chapter on lenses made the point that many customers expect to see through a camera lens what they see with their own eyes. Therefore, it is important to have laid out exactly what the system will and will not do. The following headings illustrate a structured layout for a proposal.

Contents Of Proposal

The proposal is the main selling document that will be presented to the customer. It is an opportunity to present the company as competent and professional. Besides providing legal protection, it can persuade the customer to accept the proposed system as the best suited to their needs. This is the document that remains after the salesperson has left and is maybe forgotten. Another thought is that many other people will read the document than those that met the salesperson. Therefore, it should be easy to read and set out logically. Many companies now use word processors with a series of standard paragraphs to construct a presentation. This obviously saves much time and can improve the appearance of a document. However, it can also give the appearance of being produced by a machine and not a person. It is possible to devise a word-processed document that is personalised to each customer and his or her particular needs. For instance, many companies have a standard paragraph describing a pan, tilt, zoom camera mounted on a wall bracket with a 10:1 zoom lens, etc. This can often be about seven or more lines of description within which may be the location and field of view. In a system with sixteen cameras, this paragraph may be repeated sixteen times with just minor changes for each location. This could take up about five or six pages of repetitive information and be very difficult to comprehend. It may look impressive in volume but not in communication. In these and similar cases the camera locations and fields of view could be listed as one part of the proposal, followed by a separate detailed description of the equipment proposed. This would be much easier to read and comprehend. There should be three main components in a proposal.
1. The written proposal and specification. 2. A site drawing showing camera locations and fields of view, the latter being described in more detail within the specification. 3. A schematic diagram of the system. Terms Of Reference

This will contain a summary of the invitation to tender and any documentation and drawings provided by the customer.
Site Visits

Details of any site visits made and the degree of information available. Also, state whether further visits will be necessary to finalise site details in the event of a contract being placed. A qualification is especially important here if a tender document includes drawings and a description but site visits are not permitted.
Summary of Brief

This introductory section should describe the brief agreed between the installing company and the customer. This will restate the overall objective for the system and any qualifications to it. The statements could be taken from the checklist suggested in Chapter 20. The purpose of this section is to ensure that both parties understand the reasons for the specification that follows.

There will be instances where the brief has been provided by the customer without prior discussion. It is still important to restate it, as the basis for further comments that will be made in the proposal.
Interpretation of Brief

There will be occasions when further considerations will have become known during design of the system. These could be limitations to desired fields of view or an extra camera needed, etc. These should be noted as an extension or restriction of the original brief. If comments are omitted then the customer can assume that the proposal meets the brief in full. A major trap for the unwary is a document that contains a requirement that the system will provide video recordings suitable for evidential use. In these cases, it should be perfectly acceptable to include a qualification along the following lines.
Use of Video Recordings for Evidential Purposes

It is not possible to state conclusively that all video recordings will be suitable for evidential purposes. It depends upon many factors, mainly the distance the suspect is from the camera and the focal length of the lens. Lighting, quality of the camera, quality of video tape and several other factors all contribute to whether a recording is suitable for evidence. There is also a difference between using a recording for identification and for evidence. The rules of thumb for using video recordings are as follows. (a) To see that it is a person rather than an animal or other object requires that the subject should be at least 10% of the height of the screen view. This only infers that it is a person but with no chance of identification. (b) There is a possibility of a subject being identified if they fill 50% of the screen and are familiar to the viewer. (c) To achieve positive identification of an unknown person they need to have their head and shoulders fill the screen. With the lenses fitted to the proposed system, the person will need to be within thirty to fifty metres to see that it is a person depending on the lens fitted. They will need to be within about ten to twenty metres to stand a chance of identification. Therefore the cameras are generally positioned so that a person is moving towards them and at some point should be of sufficient size on the screen to be of value.
Description of System

This should contain a summary of the complete system in plain English. There is no need at this stage for any technical specification. It should be as brief as possible, simply an outline of the main features. An example could be as follows. The system will consist of eight external monochrome cameras. Five will be fully functional pan, tilt, zoom. The others will be static units showing a fixed field of view. The cameras will be connected back to a central control unit in the gatehouse. The main control will be a multiplexing unit that also contains the control of the pan, tilt, and zoom functions. The multiplexer provides the facility to almost simultaneously record all the cameras in the system. There will be two monochrome monitors, one 17 and one 12.

This type of description is all that is necessary at this stage. It simply introduces the rest of the more detailed specifications. In the case of a larger, more complex system, it may be necessary to provide sub headings to make a more logical description such as. Description of System. - Site system. - Main controls at site 1. - Slave controls at site 2. - Microwave links.
Design Considerations

There can be several different approaches to the final design of a system, with different companies putting forward their own ideas. It is frequently useful to provide an explanation outlining the reasoning behind the solution proposed. This section will put the proposed solution into perspective with other possible competing systems. It also helps to justify the proposal compared to other systems that may be a lot less expensive but do not meet the critical objectives. One example would be where the proposed system includes cable equalising amplifiers because there are large variations in cable runs. Not all companies would consider this factor to be important, and consequently submit a lower price. Explaining the reasons for such features can increase confidence in the proposal and cast doubt on competing submissions. It is also an opportunity to sell the advantages of certain makes of equipment where these are important to the final performance. For instance, certain makes of camera or video motion detector may include features that are not in other makes.
Schedule Of Cameras

The essential information in this section is the location and field of view for each camera. It may also include details of lighting conditions if existing lighting is to be used. As noted previously it is preferred not to clutter this information with technical detail or jargon. It is still part of describing the system to the customer in terms that everybody will understand. The information would be taken from the schedule of camera locations prepared during the site survey or produced by the customer. A typical specification may be as follows.
CAMERA NO. 1 Location: Scene to view: Type A Corner bracket 2.5 m high on corner of building 39. 2 metres either side of entrance A.

Cable distance to control: 95m Distance to view: 30m

Width to view: Lens focal length:

15m 12.5mm

Light levels, below camera 9.3 lux " mid distance " furthest distance Housing: Type of camera: 19 lux 5.7 lux Weatherproof with heater Fixed

Any other relevant information should be listed to ensure that there is no room for doubt as to exactly what is being supplied. The details of light levels would be appropriate if existing lighting were to be used; in which case the proposal may specify that the customer provides light to a certain average level. If infrared lighting were to be used then this information would not be required. If the system includes several types of camera, it is better to simply state the type with a separate list of specifications for each type.
Equipment Specifications

The degree of specification will vary between proposals according to the type of customer. The descriptions of equipment should be specific and informative. Avoid phrases such as high performance, low light camera. It is jargon and meaningless in defining a camera. Whether to state the make of each item is a matter of individual preference. There are advantages where the manufacturer is a household name and inspires confidence. On the other hand, with the rapid development in technology it may be considered better to state the specification and select the most appropriate and competitive make when the order is placed. Some examples of typical specifications follow.
This article is an extract from chapter 21 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Fundamentals of Video
(Redirected from Sample Chapter: 2 Fundamentals of video) Introduction Video signals are the signals used to send closed circuit television pictures from one place to another. Television (TV) is literally, tele-vision, a means of viewing one place from somewhere else. The word video comes from the Latin verb Videre, to see. A television picture is made up from a number of horizontal lines on the television screen, which are laid down, or scanned, from the top to the bottom of the television screen. There are now only two standards for TV pictures in general use, 525 lines in the USA (EIA) and Japan and 625 lines elsewhere (CCIR). The descriptions that follow are based on the 625-line system. The number of lines describes how each still picture is created, but a television picture is made up from a number of still pictures displayed every second. There is a characteristic of the human eye known as persistence of vision. The eye retains an impression of an image for a fraction of a second after it has disappeared. If a series of still images is presented at a rate of about 14 per second an impression of continuous movement will be perceived. This, however, would give rise to a very distracting flicker. If the rate were increased to 24 images per second, the flicker would be almost unnoticeable. Increasing this to 50 images per second would eliminate noticeable flicker. To transmit 50 complete images per second would be needlessly complex and expensive to produce. The solution is to adopt what is known as interlaced scanning. Instead of scanning the full 625 lines 50 times a second, the scanning speed is effectively doubled and so is the vertical spacing of the lines. Therefore, one scan produces 312 1/2 lines from the top to the bottom of the picture. This is known as one field. The next scan is arranged to start at a precise position exactly between the lines of the first scan, so that the lines of the second field interlace, like fingers, between the lines of the first field. In this way, a complete frame of video is created made up from two fields. On a TV screen, the phosphor on the screen continues to glow from the first scan while the second scan is being displayed. In this way, although only 25 complete pictures (frames) are presented per second the screen is scanned 50 times (fields) per second. The result is to achieve a flicker rate of 50 Hz (cycles per second) while only using a bandwidth for 25 frames per second. Some broadcast televisions now use a technique called 100Hz technology to further reduce the flicker on the TV screen. However, this technique is not generally used in CCTV monitors due to the extra cost involved.

Diagram 2.1 Interlaced Fields The relationship between the length of the horizontal lines and the height of the picture is always the same and is known as the aspect ratio. It is given by the following ratio.

Monochrome Video Signal Components

The signal used to carry the scanning pictures from one place to another is called the video signal. A voltage is generated proportional to the brightness of the image at any point on a horizontal line. For the brightest parts, corresponding to a white area, a level of one volt is produced; this is the white level. For the darkest parts corresponding to a black image, a voltage of approximately 0.3 volts is produced; this is the black level. Between these levels, the camera will produce a voltage proportional to the shade of grey of the image. However, the brightness signal is not the only part of the video signal normally produced by a camera. Some method is required of synchronising the monitor on which the camera picture is being displayed to the field and line scanning process. This is to enable it to re-create the picture that the camera is viewing. The method used to achieve this is to add pulses for the start of each field and the start of each line. The synchronising, or sync, pulses for the start of each field are called Vertical Sync Pulses. These vertical sync pulses reduce the voltage from the black level down to zero voltsand take up a time space equivalent to 25 horizontal lins, i.e. 1.6 milliseconds. The sync pulses for the start of each line are called Horizontal Sync Pulses. The horizontal sync pulses are also from the black level down to zero volts and are 4.7 microseconds in long. The type of video signal that contains both video and synchronising information is known as composite video.

Diagram 2.2 composite video signal The relationship in level between the video signal and sync pulses is normally given by the following formula:

The complete horizontal line lasts 64 microseconds. There is a short period between the end of the video signal for a line and the leading edge of the next horizontal sync pulse. This is known as the front porch. There is also a short period between the trailing edge of the horizontal sync pulse and the start of the video signal of the next line. This is known as the back porch. Considering the times for the horizontal sync and the front and back porches, the actual length of the video signal in a horizontal line is 52 microseconds. In practice only 47 to 50 microseconds is visible due to overscanning at the monitor. There is not just one sync pulse. The nominally 625 line system uses 25 lines for field blanking, therefore 50 lines in one frame. This leaves 575 lines for picture information. The 25 lines are used as follows:

This article is an extract from chapter 2 of The 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is generally accepted as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Lenses
(Redirected from Sample Chapter: 4 Lenses)

Introduction
The human eye is an incredibly adaptable device that can focus on distant objects and immediately refocus on something close by. It can look into the distance or at a wide angle nearby. It can see in bright light or at dusk, adjusting automatically as it does so. It also has a long depth of field; therefore, scenes over a long distance can be in focus simultaneously. It sees colour when there is sufficient light, but switches to monochrome vision when there is not. It is also connected to a brain that has a faster updating and retentive memory than any computer. Therefore, the eyes can swivel from side to side and up and down, retaining a clear picture of what was scanned. The brain accepts all the data and makes an immediate decision to move to a particular image of interest, select the appropriate angle of view and refocus. The eye has another clever trick in that it can view a scene of great contrast and adjust only to the part of it that is of interest. By contrast, the basic lens of a CCTV camera is an exceptionally crude device. It can only be focused on a single plane, everything before and after this plane becoming progressively out of focus. The angle of view is fixed. At any time, it can only view a specific area that must be predetermined. The iris opening is fixed for a particular scene and is only responsive to global changes in light levels. Even an automatic iris lens can be only be set for the overall light level, although there are compensations for different contrasts within a scene. Another problem is that a lens may be set to see into specific areas of interest when there is much contrast between these and the surrounding areas. However, as the sun and seasons change so do light areas become dark and dark areas become light. The important scene can be whited out or too dark to be of any use. A controversial but important aspect of designing a successful CCTV system is the correct selection of the lens. The problem is that the customer may have a totally different perspective of what a lens can see compared to the reality. This is because most people perceive what they want to view as they see it through their own eyes. Topics such as identification of miscreants or numberplates must be subjects debated frequently between installing companies and customers. The selection of the most appropriate lens for each camera must frequently be a compromise between the absolute requirements of the user and the practical use of the system. It is just not possible to see the whole of a large loading bay and read all the vehicle number plates with one camera. The solution may be more cameras or viewing just a restricted area of particular interest. A Company putting forward the system proposal should have no hesitation in pointing out the restrictions that may be incurred according to the combination of lens versus the number of cameras. Better this than an unhappy customer who is reluctant to pay the invoice. Although a lens is crude compared to the human eye, it incorporates a high degree of technology and development. There can be a large variation in the quality between different makes and this

should be considered according to the needs of a particular installation. The lens is the first interface between the scene to be viewed and the eventual picture on the monitor. Therefore, the quality of the system will be very much affected by the choice of lens. For general surveillance of, for instance, a small retail shop, it is possible to use a lower quality lens with quite acceptable results. As the demands of the system requirement increase then the use of a premium quality lens must be considered. The difference in cost between a poor quality and a high quality lens will be a very small percentage of the total cost of a large industrial system.

The CCTV Lens

Exposure Control

The exposure in a normal photographic camera can be controlled by a combination of shutter speed and iris opening. This is not so with a CCTV camera lens. A standard CCTV camera produces a complete picture every 1/2 of the mains frequency. This is every 1/25 second where the mains frequency is 50 Hz (cycles per second) and every 1/30 second where the mains frequency is 60 Hz. Generally the exposure time is fixed and the only control of the amount of light passing to the imaging device is by adjusting the size of the iris. This is covered in more detail later in this chapter. Most camera tubes and imaging devices have some tolerance of the amount of light passed by the lens to create an acceptable picture. The range of tolerance is generally inversely proportional to the sensitivity of the camera. The more sensitive cameras require greater control of the iris aperture.

Types of Lenses
Lens Formats

Early CCTV lenses were designed for the 1 format tube camera and many of these are still available on the market. The lens screw thread on these cameras is called a C-mount. This is a particular design of thread size and flange length originally used on photographic cameras. In recent years lenses have been developed for the 2/3, 1/2 and now 1/3 format cameras. Consequently, great care must be exercised when selecting a lens for a particular camera. Just as there are four formats of camera so there are four formats of lenses and they are not compatible in every combination. A lens designed for a larger format camera may be used on a smaller format but not the reverse. In addition, the field of view will not be the same on different size cameras. There is now a further complication in that there is a range of lenses with what is called the CS-mount. The difference between the two types of mount is the flange back length, which is the distance from the back flange of the lens to the face of the sensor. See diagram 4.1. The screw thread and shoulder length for each type of mount is identical. This makes it impossible to see the difference except that the overall size of the CS-mount lens is generally smaller. A Cmount lens may be used on a CS-mount camera with an adapter ring but a CS-mount lens cannot be used on a C-mount camera. The main problem is that either type of lens can be screwed onto both types of camera without apparent damage. The result is that if the wrong type is used it will be impossible to focus the camera. Some C-Mount lenses have a projection at the back that could damage the sensor in a CS-Mount camera.

Diagram 4. 1 Types of Lens Mounts A chart is provided at the end of this chapter showing the relationships between different lenses and camera combinations and the associated angle of view. At the time of going to press, most lenses with a focal length of 25mm and above are still designed for 1 cameras. This means that special care must be taken when using this long focal length lens on modern cameras. For instance, a 25mm 1 lens provides the following approximate angles of view on the different formats. Therefore, there would be a significant variation in the expected scene content if this fact were overlooked.
FORMAT 1" 2/3" 1/2" 1/3"

ANGLE OF VIEW 29 9.5 114 9.79

Diagram 4. 2 Angle of view for different formats

Lens Selection
There are two other main factors that must be considered when selecting the most appropriate lens for a particular situation. The focal length and the type of iris control. Within each of these factors, there are other features that will also need to be considered. Lenses may be obtained with all combinations of focal length and iris control. The selection will depend on the site and system requirement.
Focal Length

The focal length of a lens determines the field of view at particular distances. This can either be calculated from the formula given later in this chapter or found from tables provided by most

lens suppliers. Most manufacturers also provide simple to use slide or rotary calculators that computes the lens focal length from the scene size and the object distance. The longer the focal length the narrower is the angle of view. Although not strictly correct, lenses with a focal length longer than 25mm are often called zoom lenses. The focal length of the lens requires careful selection to ensure that the correct area is in view and that the degree of detail is acceptable. A rule of thumb is that to see a person on a monitor they should represent at least 10% of the screen height. To see in this context means to be able to decide that it is a person. For purposes of being able to identify a known person requires them to be at least 50% of the screen height and preferably 60%. An unknown person should occupy at least 120%of the screen height.
Fixed Focal Length

This type of lens is sometimes called a monofocal lens. As the name implies, it is specified when the precise field of view is fixed and will not need to be varied when using the system. The angle of view can be obtained from the suppliers specification or charts provided. They are generally available in focal lengths from 3.7mm to 75mm. Longer focal lengths may be produced by adding a 2x adapter between the lens and the camera. It should be noted that this would increase the f-number by a factor of two (reducing the amount of light reaching the camera). If focal lengths longer than these are required, it will be necessary to use a zoom lens and set it accordingly. Except for very wide-angle lenses, other lenses have a ring for adjusting the focus. In addition, cameras include a focusing adjustment that moves the imaging device mechanically relative to the lens position. This is to allow for minor variations in the back focal length of lenses and manufacturing tolerances in assembling the device in the camera. Correct focusing requires setting of both these adjustments. The procedure is to decide the plane of the scene on which the best focus is required and then set the lens focusing ring to the mid position. Then set the camera mechanical adjustment for maximum clarity. Final fine focusing can be carried out using the lens ring. The mechanical focusing on cameras is often called the back focus, originally because a screw at the back of the camera moved the tube on a rack mechanism. Modern cameras now have many forms of mechanical adjustment. Some have screws on the side or the top, some still at the back. There are cameras that have a combined C/CS-mount on the front that also has the mechanical adjustment and can accept either type of lens format. The longer the focal length of the lens the more critical is the focusing. This is a function of depth of field described later in this chapter.
Variable Focal Length

This is a design of lens that has a limited range of manual focal length adjustment. It is strictly not a zoom lens because it has quite a short focal length. They are usually used in internal situations where a more precise adjustment of the scene in view is required which may fall between two standard lenses. They are also useful where for a small extra cost one lens may be specified for all the cameras in a system. This saves much installation time and the cost of return visits to change lenses if the views are not quite right. For companies involved in many small to

medium sized internal installations such as retail shops and offices this can save on stock holding. It makes the standardisation of systems and costing much easier.
Manual Zoom Lens

A zoom lens is one in which the focal length can be varied manually over a range. Usually this is by means of a knurled ring on the lens body. It has the connotation of zooming in and therefore infers a lens with a longer than normal focal length. (Say more than 25mm.) The zoom ratio is stated as being for instance 6:1, which means that the longest focal length is six times that of the shortest. The usual way of describing a zoom lens is by the format size, zoom ratio and the shortest and longest focal lengths. For example, 2/3, 6:1, 12.5mm to 75mm. Again, great care must be taken in establishing both the camera and the lens format. The lens just described would have those focal lengths on a 2/3 camera but an equivalent range of 8mm to 48mm on a 1/2 camera.
Motorised Zoom Lens

Manual zoom lenses are not widely used in CCTV systems because the angle of tilt of the camera often needs to be changed as the lens is zoomed in and out. The most common need for a zoom lens is where used with a pan tilt unit. The lens zoom ring is driven by tiny DC motors and operated from a remote controller. With the development of ever-smaller cameras and longer focal length lenses the method of mounting the camera/lens combination must be considered. There are many cases where the lens is considerably larger than the camera and it may be necessary to mount the lens rigidly with the camera supported by it. In other cases, it may be necessary to provide rigid supports for both camera and the lens. Always check the relationship between the camera and lens sizes and weights when selecting a housing or mounting. Most manufacturers of housings can provide lens supports as an accessory.
Focussing A Zoom Lens.

The most frequent reason for the focus changing when zooming is that the mechanical focus of the camera has not been set correctly. The following is the procedure for setting up the focus on a camera fitted with a zoom lens. The focusing ring should be marked near and far. Set this to far and set the zoom ring to the widest angle of view. Aim the camera at an object about 40 metres away and adjust the camera focus for maximum clarity. Next zoom in to an object nearby and set the lens focus for maximum clarity. It should now be possible to zoom all the way back without the focus changing. Many motorised zoom lenses will be used in external conditions with limited light. If this is the case then it is advisable to fit a neutral density filter in front of the lens to make the iris open fully. A neutral density filter is one that reduces the amount of light that enters the lens, evenly over the whole of the visible spectrum. This will create the shortest depth of field and ensure setting up more accurately for the worst conditions. The depth of field, as explained later, depends on the aperture opening.

Some controllers can override the automatic iris mechanism, usually to open it to see into darker areas. This is often the case when a camera is looking out over open country in bright sunlight and the lens closes because it measures the average light levels. The scene at ground level can be very dark in these conditions, with little detail. This is not a desirable feature to include unless absolutely necessary. This is because the override can be forgotten with resultant poor pictures being recorded if the system is not fully monitored. The better solution is to tilt the camera down until there is less proportion of sky in the picture.
Motorised Zoom Lenses With pre-sets

There are many situations where it is required to pan, tilt, and zoom to a predetermined position within the area being covered. It is possible to obtain motorised lenses with potentiometers fitted to the zoom and focusing mechanisms. These cause the lens to zoom automatically and focus to the setting by measuring the voltage across the potentiometer and comparing it with the signals in the control system. All other functions are as for motorised zoom lenses. Pre-set controls are only possible with telemetry controlled systems. The specification of the telemetry controls should be checked to see whether the pre-set positions are set from the central controller or locally from the telemetry receiver.

Iris Control of Lens

Manual Iris

With this type of lens, the iris opening is set manually by rotating a knurled ring on the lens body. Typically, it will have a range of settings from the maximum to fully closed, although the adjustment will be rather coarse. This type of lens is only suitable for indoor applications where the light levels remain fairly constant. It can also be used indoors with cameras having electronic shutters making a significant cost saving. Care must be exercised in using this camera/lens combination in external applications because the camera may not have adequate control to cover the total light range. In addition, manual iris lenses do not usually have a neutral density spot filter to cope with extremely bright sunlight. In many indoor situations, the general level of light will vary significantly between summer and winter due to light from windows, skylights, etc. Therefore, it is often necessary to adjust the aperture two or three times a year to maintain optimum clarity of the picture.
Automatic Iris

Due to ongoing development, tubed cameras were becoming more sensitive and their use was spreading to more outdoor applications. They were very limited in the range of light that could be coped with. To overcome this problem manual iris lenses were fitted with motors bolted on to the barrel to drive the iris ring. The motors were connected by way of an amplifier to the video output of the camera. This was monitored to adjust the iris ring according to the voltage of the video signal. The lower the voltage then the more the iris would be opened until the correct video voltage was achieved, and the reverse when the video voltage increased. The early amplifiers suffered from the problem of being too sensitive and responding too quickly to changes in the

video signal. This caused hunting of the iris opening control and resulted in fluctuating contrast of the picture. To overcome this a delay circuit was introduced in the amplifier but this sometimes caused the reverse problem of the picture changing too slowly. Modern automatic iris lenses are now completely self-contained units produced by the lens manufacturer and containing very sophisticated electronics and microscopic motors. There are three main types of automatic iris lenses.
Iris Amplifier

This type of lens is sometimes referred to as a servo lens. The most common type contains an amplifier and is connected to the video signal of the camera. It is driven by a dc voltage also provided from the camera. It was mentioned in Chapter 3, that the voltage of the video signal is proportional to the amount of light on the imaging device. The video level falls in proportion to the light level. The amplifier is continuously monitoring this voltage to maintain it at 1-volt peak to peak. As the voltage changes so the iris amplifier opens or closes the iris to maintain a constant 1-volt. Most cameras that provide an automatic iris drive include a socket on the rear. There are three connections, +v, 0v, video. Unfortunately, there is no current standard for this connector but most cameras are packed with the appropriate plug. This can create problems if one camera is substituted for another make during maintenance or service. It can mean that the service engineer has to change the iris plug on site, which is not an easy job. In recognition of this problem, many cameras are now being produced with screw terminals on the rear.
Galvanometric Lens

These are also known as a galvometric or galvano lens. This type of automatic iris lens is driven by a reference voltage produced by an amplifier in the camera. In other words, the amplifier is within the camera instead of being part of the lens. The lens contains a driving motor to open and close the lens and a damping coil to prevent hunting. These lenses have four connections, +ve drive, -ve drive, +ve damping, and -ve damping. The camera specification should be checked to ensure that it contains the circuitry for this type of lens. Galvanometric lenses are usually less expensive than lenses with a built-in amplifier. They are simpler to install but can only be used with a limited range of cameras. Again, for this type of lens many cameras are being produced with screw connectors instead of a socket for the lens connection.
Sensor Lens

This lens includes a light sensor similar to that in a photographic camera. This measures the light levels and adjusts the iris aperture accordingly. It requires a 12-volt dc supply that may be obtained from any source. This type of lens is not very common now having been introduced for use on Vidicon cameras that did not have a video and 12 volt output. The problem was that the light sensor was pre-set and not responsive to the video level, therefore the correct level was always maintained. The vast majority of cameras now provide an automatic lens connection therefore there will only be rare cases where this lens will be required.

Lens Parameters
Focal Length

The rays from infinitely distant objects are condensed by the lens at a common point on the optical axis. The point where the image sensor of the camera is to be placed is called the focal point. A lens has two focal points, the primary principal point and the secondary principal point. The distance between the secondary principal point and the plane of the image sensor is the focal length of the lens.

Diagram 4. 3 Focal Length of Lenses

Angle of View of Lenses

This is the angle that the two lines from the secondary principal point make with the edges of the image sensor. The focal length of a lens is fixed whatever the size of the image sensor. The angle of view however varies according the size of the sensor.

Diagram 4. 4 Angle of View The angle of view is given by the following formula:

The angle of view for a given focal length lens varies according to the sensor size. This is shown in diagram 4.5. The corollary of this is that for a given view the required focal length varies according to the sensor size as shown in diagram 4.6. This illustrates that for the same field of view, the smaller the format the shorter is the required focal length.

Diagram 4. 5 Angles of View for Different Sensor Sizes

Diagram 4. 6 Focal Lengths for Different Sensor Sizes

Field Of View

The field of view is the ratio of the sensor size to the focal length and the distance to the subject. This is shown in diagram 4.7. The width to height ratio of the sensor is 4:3. The horizontal and vertical angles and therefore fields of view are different and must be considered separately.

Diagram 4. 7 Field Of View

Sensor Sizes

Diagram 4.8 shows the sensor sizes to be used when calculating fields of view and angles of view.

Diagram 4. 8 Sensor Dimensions For example, if it were required to view a subject 2.5 M high at a distance of 10M using a 2/3 camera and lens the calculation would be as below. Using the relationships given in diagram 4.6.

The nearest standard lens in this case would be a 25mm and the actual height of the subject scene would be 2.64 M. The slightly shorter focal length lens provides a slightly wider angle of view. Most lens brochures give the horizontal and vertical angles of view. The relevant views can be calculated from the formula as follows:

Where: H is the height of the scene, d is the distance from the camera to the scene. This would give the vertical height of the scene using the vertical angle of view. Similarly, the horizontal width of the scene would be calculated from the horizontal angle of view.

Relationship Between Sensor Size and Lens Size

It can be very confusing to establish the actual field of view that will be obtained from a combination of sensor size and lens specification. Lenses are specified as designed for a particular sensor size. A lens designed for one sensor size may be used on a smaller size but not the reverse. The reason is that the extremities of the scene will be outside the area of the sensor. Many people in the CCTV industry have grown up with the 2/3 camera as the most popular and are familiar with the fields of view produced. However the 1/2 and 1/3 cameras are now being extensively used and therefore there are important factors that must be taken account.

Diagram 4. 9 Effect of Sensor Size on View Diagram 4.9 shows the effect of using one lens on two different sizes of sensor. The result of using a larger lens format on a smaller lens format is to create the effect of a longer focal length, which is a narrower angle of view.

Diagram 4. 10 Using a Correctly Matched Camera and Lens Format Diagram 4.10 shows the result of using a lens designed for a 1/2 format on a 1/2 sensor. This is an important consideration when deciding the most appropriate lens for a required field of view. The design size of the lens must be related to the size of the sensor being used. To summarise then:
1. A lens designed for one format may be used on a smaller format camera but will produce a narrower angle of view. 2. A lens designed for one format may not be used on a larger format camera.

3. Assuming a focal length has been assessed based on a particular format of camera and lens, and it is then decided to use a smaller format camera, the same field of view will only be obtained if a shorter focal length lens is used. 4. Always check the angle of view for the particular lens and camera combination it is intended to use. 5. Charts at the end of this chapter provide guidance on the selection of lenses and the relationship between different formats of camera and lenses. Aperture

The size of the aperture is called the f number of the lens, e.g. f1.4, f1.2, etc. This is a mechanical ratio of the lens components and is specified as:

The effective diameter is related to the size of the front lens. Note that this is effective diameter and not the actual diameter. This is a measure of the amount of light that the lens will pass to the imaging device. As stated it is a ratio and does not refer to the quality of the lens. The smaller the number then the larger is the aperture. The figure given in specifications for lenses is the maximum aperture and this value is often followed by the minimum aperture. For instance, f1.4 - f360, this second value being important if the camera is very sensitive such as an intensified sensor. Intensified cameras often require a minimum aperture as small as f1500. From the formula above it may be calculated that with a 16mm lens having the aperture set to f360 the effective diameter will be only 0.04mm. Even so, this could allow too much light to the sensor of an intensified camera and damage the tube or flare out the picture. Having said that the f-number is a ratio, this does not imply that a lens with a lower number is better than one with a higher number. There are other factors that affect the light transmission through a lens. However, when comparing the major brands of lenses it is sufficient to use the fnumber unless the application is especially demanding, where, for instance, image comparison or ultra fine resolution is necessary. The efficiency of a lens and the amount of light it can transmit depend on many factors that lens designers must consider. However, ultimately a lens must be a commercial proposition and affordable to the CCTV installer and the customer. Two factors that affect the cost of a lens are the size of the glass elements and the number of elements. Therefore, it is less expensive to produce a 16mm f1.8 lens than it is to produce a 16mm f1.2. Consequently, some manufacturers produce the same focal length lens in two variations of f-number. For indoor conditions with ample light, or outdoor use in daylight only, the cheaper f 1.8 lens would be satisfactory and could represent a saving in cost. Exercise care in selecting the cheaper lens if the application is outdoors with low light conditions. As can be seen from this chapter, this would require nearly three times as much light as the f1.2 lens.
This article is an extract from chapter 4 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is generally accepted as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

SearchVideo switching
Introduction
There are few CCTV systems that have only a single camera apart from door entry or vehicle rear view systems, etc. Most systems incorporate more than one camera and therefore have the need to select the view from any camera on to a monitor. This chapter covers the main types of video switcher and their applications.

Principles of Video Switching

It would be possible to switch video signals using simple toggle switches but this would introduce several undesirable results. The switching could cause severe interference on the screen due to the induced noise on to the signal. There would be a lot of picture roll until the monitor became synchronised to the next camera. The picture might be unstable until the monitor is synchronised correctly. Modern video switchers incorporate electronic switches and a technique known as vertical interval switching. When a new camera is selected, the electronic circuits wait a fraction of a second until the field sync pulse of the video signal is detected and then switch over. This allows the monitor to lock immediately on to the new line sync pulse and the new picture is displayed without any rolling. This assumes that all the cameras in the system are compatible and on the same phase of the supply. The elimination of picture bounce is the main reason for specifying that all cameras are on the same phase of the supply. There are cases where it is not possible to connect all cameras to the same phase such as large industrial sites or systems having cameras in several buildings. There are cameras available with phase adjustment controls. This allows the video signal to be transmitted out of phase from the local supply and in phase with the other cameras. In many cases, the adjustment is too coarse for accurate alignment and the result would be a small amount of bounce but not a complete roll of the picture. The measurement should be carried out at the monitor using a dual trace oscilloscope. One trace would show the local mains sine wave. The other would show the camera output and its relationship to the supply.

The Basic Video Switcher

The simplest switcher is one that includes the features mentioned previously and where the coaxial cables are connected directly into the rear via BNC plugs. These switchers usually have a number of buttons according to the number of cameras in the system. They are mainly 2, 4, 6, and 8 way units. This type of switcher is usually known as a manual switcher where the keys directly switch the cameras.

Switchers are usually terminated with a 75-ohm resistor, as is the monitor. In the case of the system shown in diagram 6.1 the terminations at both the switcher and the monitor should be left at 75 ohms. Most switchers have two other controls, one to set the cameras to sequence automatically, the other to adjust the dwell time between switching from one camera to the next. The dwell time will be the same for each camera in the system.

Diagram 6.1 System with Simple Manual Switcher

Looping Switchers
On occasions, it may be required to loop one or more cameras to part of the system or another switcher, for dual control. Here a switcher with loop through facility would be used. This type of switcher will have two rows of BNC connectors, one above the other. There will also be a switch adjacent to each camera input, the purpose of which is to set the 75-ohm termination on or off.

One position of the switch will usually be marked high, the other low or 75 ohm. The camera inputs are normally the top row of connectors with a corresponding loop through connector below. The camera signals that are required to carry on to another location would be taken off the output connectors via BNC plugs. The termination switch next to each looped through camera should be set to high. The signal should then be terminated at 75 ohms at its destination. Some switchers with looping outputs do not have a termination switch. Instead the resistance is set to high and plugs with a built-in 75-ohm resistor are provided to fit in unused outputs. It is not acceptable to loop through a video signal by using a BNC tee connector. If this is the only way available then the internal 75-ohm resistor inside the unit should be snipped out, The correct termination at the end of the line should be ensured.

Diagram 6.2 Rear Panel of Looping Switcher.

Switchers with Additional Features

Switchers are available with two monitor outputs. Normally one monitor can be set to sequence through the cameras and the other used as a selectable spot monitor. Another feature available on many switchers is the capability to accept alarm inputs. There is usually one alarm input to each camera input. If there is an input from an alarm, the switcher will automatically switch the monitor to the associated camera. An alarm input will override a sequence if it is set up and hold the selected camera on the monitor. In the case of a switcher with dual monitor outputs one monitor will switch to the alarmed camera while the other continues to sequence.
Remote Switchers

Often it may be inconvenient or difficult to route all the coaxial cables to a desktop switcher. This is especially the case if there are eight, sixteen or more cameras in the system. A remote switcher is one where the camera cables are connected into a panel containing all the switching electronics. This box can be situated anywhere convenient for routing the cables. The desktop control unit is then connected to the remote panel by a small two or four core cable or sometimes a single coaxial cable. The coaxial cable to the monitor(s) is connected to the remote panel.

Diagram 6.3 System with Remote Switcher. Remote switchers can generally be more sophisticated than the desktop type and can incorporate more features. There can be up to six or eight monitor outputs and more versatile handling of alarm inputs. In addition, several keyboards may be incorporated into one system. This allows selection of cameras from more than one control position. The controls in this type of system are generally of the master and slave type, which means that the controls are not totally independent. Where greater flexibility is required then the choice would be to use a matrix switcher as described in the following section. For a system with more than four cameras, remote switchers can achieve significant savings in installation costs.

This article is an extract from chapter 6 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

SearchDigital Technology and Recording

Introduction

Recent developments have made it possible to store video images on magnetic discs, as on a computer hard disc. This is done by converting the image to a digital form to store it. The early problem was that to obtain reasonable resolution required storing a massive amount of data. The result is that only a limited number of images could be stored. A reasonable quality colour picture with a resolution of 681 x 582 pixels has 396,000 picture elements. This would need about 1/3 megabyte (Mb) of disc storage. Modern digital compression technology now means that many more images can be stored. There are now systems that can store thousands of images. Even this must be considered in the light of the quality of image and the amount that can be stored. For instance, real time video is presented at the rate of 25 frames per second, i.e. 90,000 frames per hour. A 100-Mb hard disc would store 330 frames, which is only 13 seconds of video at normal density. A compression of 2:1 still only stores about 26 seconds of live video. Sampling every other frame would double this again but it can be seen that digital storage has a long way to go before replacing the video recorder. Having said this, technology in this field is advancing at a very fast rate and is the obvious way forward. Digital recorders are available but their use is a tiny fraction of that of analogue video recorders. This is no surprise as a videotape costing a few pounds can store over 432,000 high quality colour images, using a recorder costing a few hundred pounds. To store the same number of pictures digitally is very costly both in storage media and hardware required to write to it. The primary successes of digital recorders have been in event recording, where fast recording and search makes digital recorders most attractive. Many digital recorders include multiplexers as the timebase corrector required for digitising means that comparatively little extra circuitry is needed to add this feature, which helps to make them cost effective. This was the original introduction to digital recording in the second edition published in 2000 and would have been written in about 1999. Technology has moved on at a fast pace since then. In fact it is now at the stage where digital recording is virtually the norm with the use of analogue VCRs declining rapidly. Along side this massive development is the growth of IP technology, which now has the following complete chapter (9) devoted to this latest trend.

The Digital Video Recorder (DVR)

The essential elements of any digital video recorder are shown in the simplified block diagram 8.1. Many DVRs have more components to add additional features like motion detection or video transmission. The switcher selects which camera is to be recorded at any moment and routes it to a timebase corrector. The timebase corrector ensures that pictures can be recorded rapidly in sequence without having to synchronise the cameras by gen lock or other means. The analogue to digital converter (ADC) turns the voltages representing luminance and into an array of binary digital numbers which represent the brightness and colour at every point on the video picture. A digital signal processor takes this huge amount of raw data and compresses it so that an acceptable number of pictures can be stored on the limited space available in the digital

store. The store takes this information and holds it, usually under a reference related to the time and date of recording.

Diagram 8. 1 Simplified Block Diagram Digital Video Recorder At any time this archived information can be retrieved and routed via a digital to analogue converter to re-create the video signal required to play back the recording on a conventional video monitor. Alternatively, if a Personal Computer is being used as a digital recorder the playback pictures may stay in digital form for display on the PC monitor.
Units of measure for digital storage

Storage and file sizes are measured in bytes where one byte is the basic unit of storage that would represent a single letter or number. A byte comprises eight bits. One bit is a single binary number either 1 or 0.

One Kilobyte = 1,024 bytes, (210 ) not 1,000 as is commonly used. One Megabyte = 1,024 Kilobytes = 1,048,576 bytes (220). One Gigabyte = 1,024 Megabytes = 1,048,576 Kilobytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes (230) On Terabyte = 1,024 Gigabytes, (240 bytes). The above relationships between units are strictly correct, however it is common practice to use a factor of 1,000 as the ratio between units.

Principles of Digital Video Recording

In digital recording each field is divided in to an array of individual points or pixels. At each one of these points, analogue to digital converters convert voltages representing the colour and brightness at that point to a binary digital number. This array of binary digital numbers can then be stored digitally in a file with a name cross referenced against time and date. A single frame of monochrome video needs about 450kb (Kilobytes) of space for storage and single frame of colour needs about 650kb. This is the uncompressed size that would be needed for storage on hard disc or other storage medium. Consequently to store the same number of images as a video tape a total storage capacity of about 121.5Gb (Gigabytes) would be needed for monochrome and 175.5Gb for colour. This is considerably larger than hard discs and other media generally available and would also be very expensive. Consequently some means is required of reducing the amount of space required without adversely affecting picture quality. The technique of reducing the amount of space required is generally referred to as compression. The video frame contains a large amount of redundant information that can be eliminated without a great loss in perceived picture quality. Consequently, common types of compression used are known as lossy compression because the redundant information is discarded. Most compression methods are effective up to a certain point, or Knee, beyond which the image quality quickly degrades. To assist in reducing the amount of size required for storage the video signal can be represented in a form known as YUV. The YUV format consists of the Y (luminance) and UV (colour difference) signals (for further descriptions of luminance and video signal components see chapter 2). The advantage of using YUV format is that fewer bytes are needed to digitise the video. Normally, recording all of the colour components; red, green, blue (RGB recording) would need three bytes, one byte for each colour. By using YUV format the luminance can be digitised as one byte and the colour difference signal as one byte. Consequently only two bytes are needed rather than three, a saving of one third of the storage space required. This technique can be used together with compression to minimise the amount of space required for storage.

Types of Compression

The technology for compressing video pictures originated in the storage of still photographs on computers. The most commonly used standard, JPEG, takes its name from the Joint Photographic Expert Group by whom it was developed. Using JPEG compression, the knee occurs at about 8:1 compression. The most commonly used standard is Motion JPEG for which the knee occurs at about 15:1 compression. Consequently, M-JPEG reduces a 450kb file to only 30kb. While this is still too large to fit the same number of images as a video tape on to a hard disk it is small enough to permit, say, 2 images per second to be recorded for 24 hours on to a 6Gb hard disk, which is a size generally available, costing a few hundred pounds. Another more recent compression standard was devised by the Motion Picture Expert Group specifically for the digitisation of moving images. This standard is given the name MPEG. This standard makes use of the redundancy between adjacent frames. MPEG-1 contains three types of encoded frames. Intracoded frames (I-frames) contain all of the video information required to make a complete picture. Predicted frames (P-frames) are generated by previous I-frames or P-frames and are used to generate future P-frames. Bidirectional Predicted frames (B-frames) are generated using both previous and future frames. A complete sequence of frames is made up of a series of these different frame types with more than one I-frame for every 10 P- or B-frames. This process is known as inter-frame correlation and allows compression ratios of 100:1 to be achieved. MPEG-2 is the format used in the latest Digital VideoDisk (DVD) technology, which can store about 90 minutes of VHS quality video and audio on to only 650Mb of storage space, such as a CD-ROM. However there are a number of disadvantages to MPEG compression. Firstly, in order for MPEG to achieve high compression it needs the video signal not to change abruptly from frame to frame. Since many video recording applications require multiplexing because more than one camera must be recorded, the rapid change from frame to frame as cameras are switched defeats the inter-frame correlation technique used in MPEG. Secondly, MPEG requires much more electronics than JPEG making it more more expensive for security applications. MPEG-4 is the latest development in the MPEG series and is mainly used in video films. Note, there was no MPEG-3. FORMAT KNEE WITH INTER-FRAME CORRELATION JPEG 4 - 8 : 1 Not Available M-JPEG 10 - 15 : 1 Not Available MPEG 10 - 15 : 1 100 : 1 FRACTAL 20 - 30 : 1 > 100 : 1 WAVELET 30 : 1 > 100 : 1 There are two other methods of compression worthy of mention. H.264 standard based video compression core technology with substantially increased coding efficiency and enhanced robustness to network environments in cost effective embedded

platform. This technology will support TV broadcast, digital entertainment, internet streaming and visual communications over broadband and wireless networks. WAVELET', is also seen as offering superior development potential to current MPEG compression, giving a greater amount of compression with equivalent quality. It transforms the whole image and not just blocks of the image, so as the compression rates increase, the image degrades gracefully, rather than into the blocky artefacts seen with some other compression methods. Wavelet applications can have their preferred level of compression selected by the user higher or lower. Thus, although Wavelet is not as established as some other compression techniques, it is growing in popularity.

Compression summary
Compression technology is development rapidly, which makes it very dificult to assess the true benefits of any particular method used in security applications. Each manufacturer, naturally, pushes their own preference but it still leaves a jungle for the end user to find their way through. Fractal compression is not found very often in CCTV applications but is mentioned here for completeness. It is a mathematical method of encoding that requires a great deal of computing power to encode the images. It is not a lossy compression as in JPEG or MPEG. One advantage is that the image can be enlarged or reduced without the blocky appearance of other forms of lossy compression.

Storage Rate
Another factor involved in digital recording is that of storage rate. Working at the full 25 frames per second of real time video would not only require vast amounts of storage (4.5Gb for just one hour @ 30kb per frame) but also very fast processing and storage media capable of digitising and storing a each frame (even at 30kb) in under 0.04 seconds; 40 milliseconds. Many DVRs currently available, particularly those based on hard disc storage get round this problem by sampling and recording frames at lower than the full 25 frame per second rate. This is expressed in a number of ways. For example, a DVR may record every 12th frame, 2 frames per second or a second per frame. All of these are the same value. The combination of file size and storage rate will give a figure for storage capacity per second. For example, to store a 30kb file at 3.13 frames per second requires 30 x 3.13 = 93.9kb per second, or 0.34Gb per hour. However, this is just for one camera and most systems have more than one camera that must be recorded. For 8 cameras the figure above would need to be multiplied by 8 which is 2.72Gb. To record these 8 cameras for 8 hours would need 8 times the storage space again, 21.76Gb. There are currently 23Gb hard discs that would accommodate such storage.

Conditional Refreshment
A technique is now being used by which the first frame of a scene is captured and stored at the highest possible resolution. Subsequent frames are scanned and only those parts of the scene that have changed are stored, These refreshed scenes are superimposed onto the original frame and the changed parts updated. The refreshed scenes use only a tiny amount of data storage compared to the original scene. In this way, the storage capacity can be increased by one hundred or one thousand times according to the amount of movement in the scene.
This article is an extract from chapter 8 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Navigation Sections Search

Home Contacting Us What's New

Installing CCTV Maintenance Contracts Equipment Applications CCTV for Lifts Services Access Control Useful Information Data Protection Act Information Lens Calculator Training Courses News Items

Housings
Introduction

Most cameras are fitted with some form of protective cover for several reasons. The common exception is probably in small retail establishments where the risk of damage is slight.

Internal Housings
Housings are used internally for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is where the need is for the camera to be discrete. This could be in certain types of establishment where the security of customers or members is necessary. It may be that the impression of intrusion of privacy needs to be subtly avoided. There are housings designed to blend in with the decor for aesthetic purposes. These can be miniature cameras secreted in light fittings or ventilation grills. This type of housing is often used in hotels, museums and art galleries, shopping malls, etc. Another range of housings is designed for covert surveillance. The intention of this housing is that it is not a deterrent but deliberately disguised as some innocuous common object. They usually incorporate a miniature camera fitted with a pinhole lens. These objects have been as diverse as PIRs, clocks, extractor fan controls, smoke detectors, etc. There appears no limit to the imaginative methods of concealing cameras. Indoor cameras may sometimes have to be protected from attack and therefore fitted in vandal proof housings. This often takes the form of a wedge shaped housing fitted in a false ceiling with the minimum area projecting below. The disadvantage of the wedge shaped housing is that it must be mounted facing in the correct direction. Once fitted it is not easy to change the orientation of the camera. This type of housing is often used when it is required to view along a corridor or other predetermined direction.

Diagram 10. 1 Camera in Wedge Housing in False Ceiling There may be situations where it is needed to have more flexibility in setting up the direction the camera is viewing. This requirement often also needs the direction being viewed to be discreet. The solution here is to use a type of domed housing. The dome can be either a hemisphere or a complete sphere. The hemispherical, or half dome, can be fitted in place of a standard ceiling tile. The camera is mounted on an adjustable platform that may be set for both angles of view and direction.

Diagram 10. 2 Types of Discreet Camera Dome There are two main types of plastic used for the domes. One is a black acrylic material with a less dense slot through which the camera views. The other has a silvered coating on the inside and acts in the same as a one way mirror. With this type of enclosure, there is a great deal of flexibility in setting the camera view. It is also very easy and quick to change the direction of view through 360.

External Housings
These are often called weatherproof or environmental housings. There are standards that specify the degree of protection to be provided by enclosures. Mainly these are, BS 5490, IEC 529, DIN 40 050. The rating of protection is defined by two digits prefixed by the agreed letters IP. (In some countries three digits are used.) The letters stand for Ingress Protection, and the significance of the digits is as follows: First digit: The degree of protection that is provided with respect to persons and to equipment inside the enclosure. Second digit: The degree of protection that is provided with respect to the harmful ingress of water. Third digit: The degree of mechanical protection. For example, a rating of IP 54 indicates class 5 protection against the ingress of dust and class 4 against the entry of moisture. Camera housings used in the UK will usually have a rating of IP 65 or IP 66. Note that these ratings only apply to normal environmental conditions. Special protection is required for areas such as refineries, mines, flour mills, etc. If there is any doubt the customer will be aware of special conditions applying to particular parts of the site. Tables 10.1and 10.2 at the end of this chapter list all the index numbers.

Selection of External Housings

Weatherproof housings must be about the most mundane aspect of a CCTV installation. Or so it seems, because many engineers simply consider the housing as a protection against the elements.

However, there are many aspects to consider and many suppliers of housings. It is about the cheapest element of an external system yet price appears to be the main factor in selecting which to use. Important considerations should be:

Ease of access for pre-assembly in the workshop. Ease of access during installation. Ease of access for future service needs. Is the camera mounting plate insulated from the case? Can the mechanical focusing screw on the camera be reached? Some are at the back, some at the side and some on top. Can the lens be focused and the peak/average settings adjusted on site? Can one man remove the cover and work on the inside? If there is a telemetry board fitted, can it be accessed without removing the camera?

This article is an extract from chapter 10 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Control Systems and Cabling

Introduction
Telemetry is the automatic measurement and transmission of data from a distant source to a receiving station. In the previous chapter, the various ways in which cameras may be moved so that a different field of view may be obtained were discussed. Some means of controlling these positioning devices must be used where movable cameras are present in a system. These control systems are generally referred to as telemetry systems. This name comes from the Greek word meter, to measure, and therefore to control, and tele meaning at a distance, in the same way that television means viewing an object at a distance. There are many types of control systems available on the market and, as always, each method of controlling a movable camera has its benefits and drawbacks. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the principles of the various types of control systems available and to discuss their advantages and disadvantages. There are two main ways of configuring the cabling from a controller to remote locations. One is known as daisy chain in which the cable is looped from one unit onto the next and so on. The

other is a star configuration in which a separate cable is run from the controller to each location. These types of connection only apply to the control cable. The video cable must always be run from each camera location back to the main control. In other words, the video cable is always in a star configuration.

Diagram 12. 1 Remote Control Wiring Systems The daisy chain configuration does not need the last unit to be looped back to the controller. The control system being considered should be checked to ascertain which method of cabling is required. In a large industrial CCTV system, the layout of the site will dictate which type of cabling will be the most economical.

Hard Wired Control Systems

Hard-wired control systems are the simplest way of controlling movable cameras. As the name would suggest the connection between the control panel and the scanner/pan-tilt and motorised lens is direct connection by a length of multicore cable. The cost benefits of such an approach are that no form of telemetry receiver is required at the camera location, neither is a local power supply point necessary at the camera site as all the power for the camera, lens and pan-tilt may be sent over the same cable. The lens functions require a 6 or 12 volt DC supply, which will be provided by the controller. The pan, tilt functions may be 12 volt DC or 24 volt AC. A typical hard-wired camera installation might be as shown in Diagram 12.2.

Diagram 12. 2 Typical Hard Wired Camera Installation The video switching in a system like this would be done with a simple video switcher on to one or two monitors. As there is only one movable camera in the system, it is a simple matter to select the picture from the movable camera on to one of the monitors, and then to control the position and lens of that camera with the hard-wired control panel. Typically, the cable required for connection from the control panel to the movable camera must consist of 12 individual wires, or cores, covered by an overall sheath. This number of cores is needed, as all the functions of the movable camera must be individually sent along the cable. A typical schedule for such a cable might well be as follows: CORE FUNCTION 1 Pan Left 2 Pan Right 3 Tilt Up 4 Tilt Down 5 Pan/Tilt Common 6 Zoom in 7 Zoom out 8 Focus near 9 Focus far 10 Housing washer

11 12

Housing wiper Common

Table 12.1 Typical telemetry connections There are two important factors to be considered in respect of hardwired systems. These are; the safety and cost of installing this multicore cable, the maximum distance at which hardwired pantilts may be sited from the controller. It is obvious to see that the cost per metre of a 12 cored cable will be higher than the single or double pair cable required by other forms of telemetry system. This though is offset by the saving in supplying telemetry receivers and transmitters. In a site where there are several hardwired movable cameras at some distance apart, the cost of the cable may be noticeable in the total price of the system. The second part of this concern is that there are two main types of pantilt unit available, 24-volt AC types and 240 volt AC types. The IEE wiring regulations state that 240-volt cables must be run in protective conduit or trunking, for safety reasons. These regulations further state that low voltage cables, such as those conductors used for lens control must not be run in the same conduit. If 240-volt AC pan-tilts are used then all the expense of providing this protection must be considered. The other limitation of hard-wired controllers is imposed by the voltage drop caused by the resistance of the cable. The current drawn by the pan-tilt unit causes the cable to heat and resist that current. The symptom of this resistance is a drop in the voltage available at the pan tilt. The greater the current drawn by the pan-tilt the greater the voltage drop, therefore the smaller the distance that the pan/tilt can be from the controller before the remaining voltage to the pan/tilt is too small for the pan-tilt motors to work! The limiting voltage drop is about 10% of the total, I.e. 2.4 volts for a 24-volt pan-tilt and 24 volts for a 240-Volt pan-tilt. Ohms law enables the effect of the resistance of the cable to be calculated. This is given by the following simple formula :
Voltage drop = Current x Resistance (IR drop)

From cable datasheets, the amount of resistance per metre can be obtained. Once that has been found then the resistance of the cable can be calculated. The overall resistance will be for twice the length of the run. This is because there is the resistance of the core feeding the motor and the resistance of the return core to be considered. The current drawn by the pan-tilt can be found in the datasheet of the pan-tilt. The current and resistance obtained can then be put into the formula above to find the voltage drop. If the voltage drop is greater than 10% of the total then there will be problems and a larger core of cable will have to be used. This will have a consequent effect on the cost of the installation. As an example, a 20-AWG cable might have a resistance of 0.053 Ohms per metre. A pan-tilt with a current consumption of 0.9 Amps is planned for siting 25 metres from the controller.

The total length of the conductor will be twice 25 metres, because of the effect of the supply and return cores. The total resistance would be 50 times 0.053 Ohms = 2.66 Ohms. The voltage drop will therefore be 0.9 x 2.66 = 2.4 volts. This is the maximum that may be tolerated. Therefore, the maximum cable run for hardwired control is quite small for 24-volt AC pan-tilts. One option is, of course, to use 240-volt AC pan-tilts. The benefits of such a choice are two fold. First, the 240-volt pan tilt uses much less current that a 24-volt pan tilt and so the voltage drop will be smaller. Furthermore, the 10% maximum voltage drop is 24 volts rather than 2.4 volts and so the effect of any voltage drop is less. However, due to the wiring regulations mentioned earlier, the additional cost of installing conduit or trunking for the 240-volt cables must be incurred. Some equipment manufacturers have approached this problem by developing relay boxes that are installed at the pan-tilt location. A relay box consists of several low voltage relays, one for each function. The low voltage is provided from the controller that operates a relay that switches the mains voltage to the appropriate function. Such a system would be as shown in Diagram 12.3. The relay boxes give several advantages: 1. The relays use much less current than pan-tilts and so the voltage drop is much less. The payoff is in operating range, up to 4000 metres! Alternatively a much smaller gauge, and consequently cheaper, cable may be used. 2. Either type of pan-tilt, whether 24 volt or 240 volt, may be used at any one camera location. However, there are also two disadvantages: 1. 240-volt mains supply points are needed at each movable camera location to power the relay boxes. It is important to remember, though, that these supply points would also be needed with any other form of telemetry. 2. There is a cost involved in buying the relay boxes, but these are noticeably less expensive than a telemetry receiver of any other type of system.

Diagram 12. 3 Hard Wired Control System with Relay Boxes The limiting factor for hard wire systems is the number of movable cameras. It can be confusing for the person using the system if there are, say, more than three joysticks for camera control. There are controllers available where several movable cameras, typically six, can be controlled from a single controller. In such a controller, the operator pushes a button to select which camera is to be controlled and the control voltages are switched to the corresponding multicore cable. The operation of such systems is slightly awkward, as the operator must remember to select the same camera on the video switcher as has been selected on the hard wire controller. The effective limit, then, for hard-wired systems is really one or two movable cameras.
This article is an extract from chapter 12 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Light and Illumination

Introduction

The subject of the science of illumination is complex and is not appropriate to this book. This section is intended to provide general guidance to those aspects that affect the performance of CCTV systems. An understanding of the principles of light is important to the design of CCTV systems because without adequate light there can be no pictures. What is adequate light is dependent on many factors, some of which have already been mentioned in the specification of cameras and lens. The most important aspects of light affecting the design of CCTV systems are: Light level in lux: Reflectance: The wavelength of the light source. The light level and reflectance are interrelated and decide the camera sensitivity. The wavelength must be related to the spectral response of the camera.

Principles of Light
Electromagnetic Radiation

Light is energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The different forms of electromagnetic radiation all share the same properties of transmission although they behave quite differently when they interact with matter.

Diagram 14. 1 Electromagnetic Spectrum Light is that part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be detected by the human eye. This is a very narrow band within the total spectrum as shown in Diagram 14.1. The wavelengths used for CCTV lighting are shown and are discussed later in this chapter. One metre is 1,000,000,000 nanometres (nm).
Electromagnetic Waves

The Transmission of light energy can be conveniently described as a wave motion and having the following properties:

Electromagnetic waves require no medium and therefore can travel in a vacuum.

It has been shown that different types of electromagnetic radiation have different wavelengths or frequencies. All electromagnetic waves travel at the same velocity, which is approximately 300,000,000 metres per second in a vacuum. The waves travel in a straight line but can be affected by: o Reflectance. Which is the reversal of direction that occurs at the surface of an object. o Refraction. A change of the angle that occurs at the boundaries of different surfaces. Different wavelengths have different angles of refraction. o Diffraction. Which is a deflection that occurs at apertures or edges of objects.

Visible Radiation

These are the wavelengths of light that are visible to the human eye and are from approximately 380 nm to 760 nm. When all these wavelengths are seen simultaneously the eye cannot distinguish the individual wavelengths and the result is seen as white light. Therefore, white light is not one wavelength but a combination of them all. This effect can be demonstrated in reverse by passing white light through a prism. As stated previously, different wavelengths have different angles of refraction, therefore when the light is passed through a prism it is dispersed into its constituent spectra because each wavelength is refracted differently. The result is that if a white screen is placed to show the light passing out of the other side of the prism it will show all the individual colours. This effect is shown in Diagram 14.2. The result is to show the spectrum of light and the seven significant colours of the rainbow. In reality, there is a continuous range of hues but the eye sees mainly the main colours. A real rainbow is created in the same way by the light being reflected and refracted by droplets of moisture in the atmosphere.

Diagram 14. 2 Refraction of White Light

Spectral Sensitivity

The spectral sensitivity of cameras is described in Chapter 4 and this section brings this together with considerations of the light and the nature of the light. It should be emphasised that the charts plot relative sensitivity. The vertical scale represents the percentage of the rated sensitivity at different wavelengths. It is not a measure of the camera sensitivity in lux. There are many installations that have been disappointing in performance. This is due to a lack of understanding of the relationship between the light source and the specification of the camera. Most

manufacturers will provide a spectral sensitivity diagram for their products on request. However, they are not all to the same scale on each axis and so can be confusing to make a realistic comparison of performance. It is a good idea to reproduce different diagrams to one common scale that gives a much better impression of relative sensitivity. An example is shown in Diagram 14.3 of two different sensitivity diagrams. The one on the right could easily give the impression that it covers a wide range of wavelengths, whereas the one on the left could convey the idea of very high sensitivity. They are in fact for identical specifications.

Diagram 14. 3 Sensitivity Diagrams

This article is an extract from chapter 14 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Video Motion Detection

Introduction
There are many methods of detecting intruders into premises. These include such systems as:

Intruder alarms. Fence mounted detectors. Buried vibration or electric field devices. Active infrared devices. Passive infrared devices. Microwave devices. Video motion detection devices.

This chapter is concerned with Video Motion Detection devices. (VMD). These may be within or outside the premises and, besides detecting intruders, can be used as part of a building management system. VMD may often be used either as a stand-alone system or integrated with other detection systems. In an ideal world, detection devices would give no false alarms and 100% of genuine alarms. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world, and a certain amount of compromise is necessary. This compromise must be reduced to the most effective and acceptable level to achieve the system objectives. There are really only two types of alarm, genuine alarms and false alarms. Sometimes mention is made of spurious alarms, unexplained alarms and system failures. These must only be considered as false alarms because the system has alarmed for no apparent reason. A genuine alarm is one created by deliberate nefarious human action, e.g. by movement of a person or vehicle into the detection field or disturbance of the alarm system. A false alarm is one that has no deliberate human input, such as those caused by animals, birds or any malfunction of equipment. One measure of the efficiency of a system is the False Alarm Rate (FAR). This is the ratio of false alarms to a time scale, i.e. five per day. The FAR level will depend on many local site considerations. The objective is to reduce this to the minimum without missing any real alarms. Another measure is the probability of detection (PD) rate, which is the ratio of detections to the number of attempts in controlled tests. The ideal for PD is 100%.

Uses Of VMD
The primary function of a VMD system is to relieve CCTV operators from the stress of monitoring one or many screens of information that may not change for long periods. The VMD system will be monitoring all the cameras in its system, and only reacting when there is suspicious activity in one of the scenes. During the long periods of inactivity the operator can continue with other tasks, secure in the knowledge that when something occurs the system will immediately respond. Even a moderate sized system, with eight cameras, would prove impossible for an operator to monitor. Eight monitors could not be viewed with any degree of concentration for more than about twenty minutes. If the monitors were set to sequence, then activity on seven cameras is lost for most of the time and would be totally ineffective to detect intruders. With more cameras in a system, the task of detecting intruders becomes impossible and technology must take over the strain. The idea of VMD systems is that the processor is continuously monitoring all the cameras in the system. During this time, the, operator may select or sequence cameras using the conventional switching system. The system may include an additional monitor connected to the VMD system that will normally show a blank screen. When activity in any camera occurs that the VMD

system interprets as an intruder, the alarmed camera is immediately switched to the blank monitor and a warning sounded to alert the operator. The operators attention, is therefore, immediately focused on the camera covering the alarm. The detection of an intruder can also set off further events, such as setting a video recorder to real time recording, setting a matrix switching system to sequence through a specific series of cameras, etc. The operator can analyse the scene and take the appropriate course of action. An intruder could generate an alarm and be out of view of the camera before it is displayed. The operator would therefore see just a blank screen and be unsure about what to do next. To overcome this, at the time of detection, many VMD systems will capture an alarm image sequence containing one or more freeze frames. This may be displayed as the first view on the previously blank screen. The operator may then examine the scene at the instant of alarm in more detail.

Principle of operation
In the descriptions that follow reference is made to a frame of video. Some systems use frames and some use fields, some systems can select between the two. This also applies to storage devices. For ease of description, the term frame is used for consistency but the actual method used should be checked for the system being considered. Video Motion Detection is an electronic method of detecting a change in the field of view of a camera. In its simplest form, this is achieved by storing one frame of the video information and then comparing the next frame with this to decide whether there has been a change. The change detected would be a difference in the video voltage, indicating a change of brightness within the scene. This would be initially ignored as an alarm until a further frame confirmed the change, or not. If confirmed as a change of brightness in the scene, then an alarm would be generated. This could cause a contact to close and activate some warning device such as a buzzer, or cause the switcher to select the camera that detected the motion. The sampling process may take somewhere between one fiftieth of a second and one second to detect a change, depending on the method of sampling. This simple detector could be used in an environment where all conditions were absolutely stable and the only possible change in brightness would be due to an intruder. However, the intruder could be a mouse or a person. The system couldnt differentiate between the two. In addition, by the time the alarm is displayed on a monitor, the cause of it could be out of view. If the scene were being continuously recorded, the event could be reviewed but this may be too late to take effective action.

Diagram 18.1 Principles of video motion detection

Detection Cells

For the purposes of this chapter the following definitions are used although there are no standard terms used at present. A CELL is a single detection block that is analysed electronically for brightness changes. A cell may be a single pixel, a block of pixels, or the whole screen. A ZONE is a group of cells that have been defined as an active area. The exact meaning of zone must be checked with a manufacturers specification before assuming what area is covered and to what degree of definition. This method of comparing complete frames therefore has severe drawbacks. The next development was to divide the picture into a number of separate areas or cells. This was refined by being able to switch cells on or off to define the area of the scene that is of interest. Diagram 18.4 illustrates a VMD system that divides the picture into cells, and how only a selected part of the scene can be set for motion detection. The shaded areas are inactive and the clear parts are the active cells. In this case, only activity in the area of the car will create an alarm. The cells are only displayed as such during setting up the system. Once the set-up mode is exited, the complete picture is displayed as normal and it is not possible to see any of the cells. The sensitivity of the cells can be adjusted to take into account local conditions. This control though is applied across all cells to the same extent. Some systems can be pre-set to different sensitivity levels, for instance, to make allowance for day or night operation when the lighting levels may be different.

Diagram 18. 2 Frame Divided Into Cells This type of system would not be suitable in the scene shown out of doors. This is because external light conditions are changing frequently. Clouds moving across the sky would cause changes in brightness and create alarms. This type is used in simple indoor situations, where the lighting conditions are constant and anything breaking the cells could be considered an alarm. The set-up can be refined to reduce unwanted activations. For instance, there may be two doors in the scene, only one of which needs to be monitored. In this case, the part of the scene of interest could be adjusted accordingly. Note that with this type of system any change in any one or all the cells will create an alarm.
Intelligent Cells

The next move towards reducing false alarms is to build in the computing power to process each cell individually and create algorithms that will intelligently analyse certain situations. In this way, decisions can be made according to the direction of movement. For instance, one cell may be declared as a pre-alarm cell and another as a detection cell. Pre-alarm cells do not create alarms. Instead, they instruct the system to associate detection in this area with detection in another. Activation of detection cells alone will not create an alarm. A combination of successive detection in adjacent cells will trigger a logical action dependant on the program. For example, if a detection cell is activated after a pre-alarm cell an alarm will be created. However, movement in the reverse direction, detection before pre-alarm, will not create an alarm. In this way, all persons leaving a building will not create an alarm but persons approaching it will do so. Also, persons moving down the right of the perimeter will not create an alarm.
Cell Count

Another factor that could be calculated in the processor is the number of cells caused to change simultaneously. This would then be used as a further part of the equation, so that an alarm would only be created if more than x cells change contrast simultaneously. This brings in attendant problems in some situations. Three dogs in the scene could activate the same number of cells as one person. A major problem with cell count is that of the different number of cells a certain size of object occupies in relation to the position of the camera.

Diagram 18. 3 Intelligent cells

Diagram 18. 4 Problems of Perspective Diagram 18.4 shows that a person in the foreground occupies eight cells while one in the background is less than half a cell. Similarly, a cat close to the camera would activate far more cells than a person in the background. Simple cell count systems may offer some improvement in false alarms but do not offer accurate size discrimination.

Contrast Levels

It was stated that the detection of movement was obtained by measuring the changes in video level (brightness) between successive frames. This is fine if a person in a dark suit passes through a very bright scene. The change in brightness will be dramatic and immediately evident to the processor. However, a person in a grey suit in a grey scene, with little contrast, will cause only a small change in the brightness levels. If the sensitivity of the system were set to detect the latter event, it would be over responsive to insignificant changes in a bright scene. This is less important for indoor systems, but a significant factor in external systems where the light changes frequently and greatly. In addition, where the object is smaller than the cell, the brightness change will be a function of both the size of the object and the contrast between the object and the background. This becomes especially critical when detecting a person in the background when they may be only 10% of the screen height. This can be only 0.25% of the screen area. If the person is substantially smaller than the cell, the sensitivity would have to be very high to detect this change, but would cause many false alarms for larger subjects providing greater contrast, although much smaller than a person. Another problem with measuring brightness using large cells is that a small dark object such as a cat could cause the same brightness change as a large low contrast object such as a person.
Camera Shake

In external systems, cameras are mounted on brackets or towers. It is often impractical to ensure that they are absolutely rigid with no movement. The camera would only have to move a small amount, such as can happen in the wind, to cause a global change and register an alarm.
Changes In Light Levels

By processing separate cells and having the power to define better algorithms, other problems can be overcome. For instance, light changes may be ignored if all cells are affected to the same extent. Another method to allow for global light changes is to make one reference cell in which movement is unlikely. The other cells are then referenced to this to compensate for light levels. This latter method can impose limitations on the system set-up and is now infrequently used.
Cell Sensitivity

All the systems described so far have only been able to set the overall sensitivity of all cells. This renders them quite unsuitable for outdoor use. The next need therefore is to be able to adjust the sensitivity of each cell individually. This obviously requires much more computing power but is an absolute prerequisite for any VMD to be used externally.
Processing Speed

Most simple VMD systems have one processor irrespective of the number of cameras. If it requires three frames to analyse a scene then the processing time for one camera will be about 0.12 seconds. This must be multiplied by the number of cameras in the system. Therefore, with

eight cameras the processing speed for each will be about one second. For example, a 1/2 camera with a 25mm lens has a width of view of about 5m at 20m from the camera. A person could run across this field of view in less than the processing time and not be detected.
Limitations of Simple VMD Systems

The previous examples have served to show the principles of simple video motion detectors. Variations of these types are still available but their use is limited, and they should be used with great caution in anything but the most basic applications. However, they do have uses and can provide a very cost-effective method of motion detection when the situation is appropriate. The limitations of the types described for demanding external situations are as follows.

Will not cope with moderate changes in light levels. Sporadic generation of alarms in high contrast scenes. Will not cope with changing weather conditions. Lack of size discrimination means compromise in setting up. Non-uniform sensitivity with range. Will not cope with size variation due to perspective. Slow processing speed can miss moving action. Inability to discriminate between small high contrast dark and large low contrast objects. Prone to false alarm due to camera shake. Cell measurements prevent accurate area discrimination. Restricted to small areas of view. Unlikely to detect a person at 10% of screen height. Only simple algorithms can be computed. Cannot distinguish between a person moving in a line and a waving object. Single processor increases time between frame comparisons.

This article is an extract from chapter 18 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Surveying for CCTV

Introduction
This and the next two chapters can be interpreted from two points of view. First, the installing company when designing a system. Second, with regard to the potential customer what to expect from a well-presented proposal.

So far this book has defined all the elements of a CCTV system and provided guidelines on their operation and limitations. So now comes the time to visit a site and design a system. This chapter cannot give detailed instruction on how to do this, just as a book on mechanical engineering cannot show a person how to design a bridge. However, it does illustrate a structured approach to producing a system design that will ensure a satisfied customer. This chapter is intended for those situations where a company is invited to make a system proposal from scratch. The writing of specifications is covered in Chapter 21.

Obtaining the Brief

The initial meeting with the prospective customer is the most important link in the chain to providing a final acceptable solution. It is essential at this stage to find out exactly what the user is expecting to achieve. It is also useful at this preliminary meeting to explain the relationship between general surveillance and identification, which is that clear identification is a trade off against the width of the area in the scene. To start, try to obtain a definition of the fundamental objective of the system. This could be along the lines of the following examples.
1. To obtain clear identification of every person passing down the corridor to the wages office. 2. To view the general car parking areas and alert security guards if there are persons acting suspiciously. 3. To identify the numberplate of every vehicle passing the inward barrier. 4. To cover the entire perimeter of the site and be alerted automatically in the event of an intruder. 5. To act as confirmation of an alarm created by an intruder detection system. 6. To provide general views of the site and identification of all persons at front and rear entrances.

Having established the prime need of the system, use something like the following checklist to establish the basic requirements and environment. The checklists given in this chapter are intended as a guide only. Each company should create their own according to the general nature of its business.
Requirement Only a simple deterrent. A general view of what is happening in specific areas. A detailed view of what is happening in specific areas. Daytime only use. Nighttime only use. Day and night use. Notes

The system is for use indoors only. The system is for outdoor use only. The system is for both indoor and outdoor use. Is the system to be colour, monochrome, or a mixture? To be integrated with other systems? Will full control of the system be on the site? Is remote monitoring required, i.e. central station? Is continuous recording of all areas necessary? Automatic activation of aspects of the system is required in the event of an alarm. (VCR switched to real time, a camera sent to pre-set positions, etc.) Adequate lighting is available. Supplementary lighting is to be provided. Mounting locations are available for all cameras. Mounting locations are not available for all cameras. Will the system be monitored continuously?

Table 20.1 Checklist for System Brief The list can be extended considerably but the intention is to obtain a general impression of the brief. It is not needed to answer specific questions at this stage.

Site Walkabout
The next phase is to have an informal walk around the site with the customer to become familiarised with the topography. This also enables the names of locations and areas to be learned. The site in this meaning could be a whole estate, a warehouse or a retail store, etc. This initial walk around the site will be invaluable in leading up to the more detailed survey to be carried out.

Surveying the Site

Most customers will provide a drawing of the site. If not, then a second walkabout will be necessary to make a drawing with key dimensions on it. The main areas of interest will now be known, therefore the amount of detail drawn can reflect this.
This article is an extract from chapter 20 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

News ItemsTesting and Commissioning Systems

Introduction
It is assumed that an installation has been completed according to the specification and the relevant regulations. It is also assumed that pre-assembly of all the systems components will have been carried out according to the relevant manufacturers instructions. The time has arrived to test, commission, and hand over the system to the customer. There are four main aspects to this final phase.

Testing individual components to ensure that they operate to the design specifications. Commissioning all the components to function as an integrated system. Demonstrating the system and its operation to the customer. Training operators in the use of the system.

Testing Components
Although most components should have been checked and, if necessary, pre-assembled before dispatch to site, the final setting up can only be carried out during installation. Although the degree of setting up will vary according to the size and complexity of the system, there will be certain procedures that will be common to most systems. The following is a very brief checklist of some key aspects that need attention.
Cameras and Lenses

Check that the correct lens is fitted in line with the specification. Set up the lens focus and back focus of the camera. If automatic iris lenses are fitted, adjust the peak/average and level potentiometers. Check that the field of view is as required. This will usually be adjusted using a hand held test monitor. There is also available a hand held focus adjuster. If the camera has to cope with a wide range of light conditions, fit a neutral density filter to set the focus at the maximum lens aperture.

If a zoom lens is fitted, check that the scene remains in focus throughout the zoom range. If the focus changes, it may be necessary to recheck the camera back focus.
Transmission

Check every video cable for continuity and shorts to earth. A common problem is whiskers of the braiding on a coaxial cable touching the core conductor. If twisted pair transmission or video line correctors are fitted then the only correct way to set up the system is using a pulse bar generator. Check through every video line to ensure that all terminations are set correctly.
Switchers

Check the dwell time and sequencing of standard video switchers. In the case of matrix switchers set up the dwell times and sequences for each monitor. If there is a master/slave situation, ensure that the units are correctly located with the master control at the main control location. Again, check for correct terminations.
Telemetry

Check that all functions are operating correctly and that end stops are set as required. Make sure that the pan right and tilt down controls correspond to the right direction of movement. If pre-set positions are incorporated, set them up according to the manufacturers instructions and to the specified fields of view.
Multiplexers

Set the time, date and camera titles. There will almost certainly be options to set up the various multiscreen displays. It is always necessary to program the multiplexer according to the video recorder in use. Most multiplexers now have an on screen list of current VCRs available, in which case selection is straightforward. If the VCR installed is not on this list then it will be necessary to check with the multiplexer manufacturer to establish the correct settings.
Video Recorders

Some systems are supplied with separate tapes for each day of the week or month. Ensure that all the tapes and boxes are marked accordingly. All time lapse video recorders can display the time and date on the screen. If the recorder is the only system component that provides this information then set it to display. If there is a multiplexer or switcher that generates the information then set the recorder not to display and use the other component for this function.

Video Motion Detection

All video motion detection systems require a great deal of time and care in setting up if they are to function efficiently and not generate false alarms. In the case of external systems, it will be essential to carry out the main programming at night under the worst lighting conditions. If the system is installed in the summer then it will always be advisable to return in the winter to finalise the settings.
Free Space Transmission

All types of free space transmission systems need rigid mountings with correct brackets to allow alignment. Always use the manufacturers alignment test instruments to obtain the optimum signal strength. It is never possible to assess the signal simply by observation of the picture.
Interfacing With Other Systems

If the CCTV system is being connected to another system it is advisable to have a representative of the company which installed that other system visit the site and approve the connections.

Commissioning the System

Once all the components in an installation have been checked and set up it is then necessary to commission the system to function as set out in the specification documents. This really means operating the system from the controls and ensuring that every function and view is as originally designed. There will usually need to be some fine adjustments made to cameras, lenses, and angles of view, etc. At this stage, a record should be made of every camera and the scene in view. It is also advisable to comment on the detail that can be seen at various distances from the camera. Commissioning will often necessitate operating the system through the night if appropriate. Particular note should be made of the views and focus of cameras using infrared illumination. There may be areas of flare or dark pockets that must be considered. It is not always easy to predict at the design stage what the effect of infrared illumination will be. Therefore, during the commissioning stage consideration should be given to reducing or increasing the power of some of the lamps if they are not producing the expected results.
Operation and Maintenance Manual

When the system is complete, an operating and maintenance manual must be handed over to the customer. This should contain a copy of the agreed specification and equipment schedule, and will form the basis of the commissioning procedures and tests to be carried out. The manual should contain a copy of all manufacturers data and installation specifications. The aim should be to provide the customer with sufficient information to be able to have the system maintained by any competent company in the future. The need to produce this manual should be considered in the price quoted for the system in the first place. Produced effectively, the manual will represent a significant cost that should not be ignored.

An important aspect of commissioning the system will be to record all programming and equipment set up procedures that have been carried out. These will need to be included in the final operation and maintenance manual that will be handed over on completion. There may be such items as the programming of multiplexers, the programming of alarm handling, sequences set up on matrix switching systems, etc. These should be fully documented in the system manual.
This article is an extract from chapter 22 of 'The Principles & Practice of CCTV' which is recognised as the benchmark for CCTV installation in the UK.

Navigation Sections Search

Home Contacting Us What's New

Installing CCTV Maintenance Contracts Equipment Applications CCTV for Lifts Services Access Control Useful Information Data Protection Act Information Lens Calculator Training Courses News Items

Sample Chapters (Please note that some pages may have been updated in the latest version) 1 Introduction to CCTV 3 Cameras 5 Monitors 2 Fundamentals of video 4 Lenses 6 Video switching

7 Analogue video recording 9 IP Technology 11 Remote positioning devices 13 Multiple screen displays 15 Transmission, cable 17 Transmission by fibre optics 19 Interfacing with other systems 21 Specifying CCTV systems

8 Digital technology 10 Housings 12 Control systems and cabling 14 Light and illumination 16 Transmission, remote 18 Video motion detection 20 Surveying for CCTV 22 Testing and commissioning

Appendix 1 - Glossary of CCTV terms Appendix 2 - Glossary of IP terms

Contact us to order your copy.

Search

ORDER=

The advantages of digital video are:

Single-pass, analog-type impairments are non-cumulative if the signal stays digital. However, a concatenation of digital black boxes using analog interfaces leads to cumulative analog signal degradations and should be avoided. There is a reduced sensitivity to noise and interference. Digital equipment efficiently and economically performs tasks that are difficult or impossible to perform using analog technology. It is amenable to the application of techniques for efficient retention of essential information such as compression.

The disadvantages of digital video are:

Analog-type of distortions, as well unique digital distortions related to sampling and quantizing, result in a variety of visible impairments. Wide bandwidth requirements for recording, distribution and transmission necessitate sophisticated bit-rate reduction and compression schemes to achieve manageable bandwidths.

Unlike analog signals, the digital signals do not degrade gracefully and are subjected to a cliff effect.

What you need from a good video encryption method?

Everyone has a unique encryption key or code. The video encryption system should not try and decode not encrypted video transmissions. The encrypted signal should be positively identified by the decoder. The decoder should recognise the encrypted signal and only attempt to decode when fully validated. On screen status display and identification. Automatic configuration to any video standard.