A Glossary of Essential Video Surveillance Terms
Every industry has its own language and terms. These words and phrases can be confusing to anyone who is not part of the daily operations of a specific industry, and the surveillance business is no exception.
To help you understand the terms, acronyms, and phrases regularly used when purchasing a security camera system, Lighthouse Video Surveillance has created this handy reference guide. Here you’ll find valuable information allowing you to comprehend and communicate your surveillance needs effectively.
IP Camera.
The Internet Protocol (IP) Camera is a camera that is connected directly to a switch, computer, or router by the use of an ethernet type computer cable, a “digital” device.
Switch.
A piece of equipment that allows multiple devices (cameras) to be plugged into it, and consolidates all those cameras to one ethernet cable which runs to the video surveillance Network Video Recorder (NVR, Computer, Server).
Analog Camera.
A camera that typically uses a coaxial cable instead of ethernet cable like an IP camera, and plugs into analog video processing equipment instead of a switch, server or computer.
NVR or Server.
A Network Video Recorder is also known as a video server or server. An NVR or Video Server is a glorified computer that is typically set up to have special hard drives that can take vast amounts of writing and rewriting data without failing, unlike a regular hard drive. An NVR should also be set up as a redundant array of independent drive (RAID) device.
RAID.
Redundant Array of Independent Drives (RAID), this is a term that may be used in the setup of an NVR or Video Server. It consists of multiple hard drives which essentially mirror each other, meaning the data on each drive is duplicated on the other drives. If one drive fails or crashes, the other drives should still be working, and the data from the crashed drive will not be lost.
Digital (signal).
It is a way to transmit information (video picture) through an electric signal. Digital signals are a series of 0’s and 1’s. This is the signal that modern computers require to communicate with the cameras.
Analog (signal).
It is a way to transmit information (video picture) through an electric signal. Analog signals are sine waves that smoothly go up and down, and they vary in the amount of their highs and lows. Typically, analog devices in the video surveillance world are older systems. However, these signals can be converted to digital through devices such as encoders.
Encoder.
A device that receives analog signals from an analog camera and converts the signal to a digital signal. The digital signal is then passed on to a digital recording device, NVR or Video Server.
IP or Internet Protocol.
It is a universal guideline that allows computers all over the world to “talk” to each other. Every device on a network (including the worldwide web) must have an “IP Address” to be able to communicate over the network. Each IP Camera has its own unique IP address which allows it to interact with web-based video surveillance software recording programs.
If you’re looking for security camera systems and video surveillance in Houston, Texas, reach out to the experts at Lighthouse Video Surveillance. We are among the very few companies that truly specialize in quality security camera systems.
We have been in business for over ten years now and service many commercial properties and municipalities in and around the Greater Houston area. Our primary service is to professionally design a security camera system for each client, according to their unique needs and the features of their property.
View the full list of our security solutions here, or get in touch with us here.