Megapixel Cameras

Megapixel (MP) technology has been around in our regular digital cameras whether they be SLR’s or point and shoot. They provide a more detailed image where one can zoom or crop the picture as they like. That technology is the same basis when it comes to Megapixel CCTV cameras which require the ability to identify has become more and more important. We have all seen the images on TV shows like Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) that when surveillance footage is used in a crime they are able to “blow” up the image and be able to identify someone from a distance of the cameras field of view. While that is not exactly the case, because TV has a tendency to be very elaborate to its viewers. The mega pixel technology does offer the capability of zooming in to identify within reason.

Let’s talk a little about resolution and how resolution is measured in the CCTV world. An image when taken by a camera has a cap on its resolution by the number of TV Lines (TVL) it is capable of delivering. In the analog world that is typically anywhere from 330TVL to 580TVL the latter being the highest resolution. This when measured against the recorders capability of saving that resolution is measured in the Common Intermediate Format (CIF) and CIF has a basic image size of 352 x 288. Below CIF there is QCIF (176 × 144) and SQCIF (128 × 96) as you can see the image size horizontal and vertical is much lower giving you a lower quality image. Above CIF there is 2CIF (704 x 288) and 4CIF (704 × 576) giving you a much bigger picture to provide capabilities of zooming into that field of view.

Megapixel technology also means that you will not be in the analog realm of cameras any longer. Megapixel technology for the security cameras is only available in IP cameras. Megapixel camera manufacturers go as high as 16 Megapixel. Most “cctv” manufacturers have adopted Megapixel into their lineup of products offered as they have to respond to public need. Many law enforcement/government entities are starting to employ Megapixel technology at places like border crossings, airports, rail/bus terminals and sports events. This is due to the overwhelming increase in terrorism threat. The ability to identify people is critical for preventing major catastrophes.

The different levels of resolution offered by Megapixel are 1.0MP (1280 x 720) (720P HD resolution), 2MP (1920 x 1080) (Full 1080p resolution), 3MP (2048 x 1536) and so all the way to 16MP (4872 x 3248) which is the highest available on the market today. As you can see by the image size delivered as you go higher and higher in the Megapixel size the image get bigger and bigger which allows you to get in close to get better detail from a cameras field of view.

Having Megapixel technology also eliminates the need for Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) cameras which can optically zoom into to get a better closer look. The main reason for this is when a PTZ is honing in on a particular object its field of view is on that target and unless there are other cameras covering that area and if something happens that is no longer in viewable in the field of view. With just one Megapixel camera it is constantly maintaining its field of view and even if you have zoomed in the camera is covering the entire field of view which means you miss nothing.

The Megapixel IP Cameras are the newest most talked about products in the surveillance industry and will keep getting higher in resolution. Some of the downfalls in using such cameras is the cost, bandwidth and storage of such images produced. Cost is always an issue and being that law enforcement and government have the funds for such technology they are some of the only one using it along with some big named corporation who can afford it. The price as with any electronics will come down in the years to come, but for now they are very expensive. The bandwidth and storage these cameras take up is very significant so having the appropriate storage and network requirements has to be adapted when using such cameras.

I hope you have found the information contained on this topic useful, and look forward to your comments.

The next topic of discussion will be CCTV Architecture & Design!!

Kal