The History of Video Security and Surveillance
Today’s business environment has seen massive technological changes in point-of-sale and inventory tracking systems. Computerized stock counts and automated reordering have made fundamental changes in the way companies track and process goods for sale.
In parallel with this advancement in business operations technology, the methods of preventing loss through theft, accident and employee oversight have also made great strides. in the last two decades it’s become the norm, rather than the exception, for most businesses to have video surveillance equipment monitoring at least portions of the business premises.
Video surveillance began in the late sixties and early seventies, and was originally so complex and expensive that its use was restricted to extremely secure or sensitive areas in a narrow range of businesses. Prisons, jewelry stores and other high-risk operations were early adopters, with large retail stores, hospitals and warehouses following rapidly.
Early video security equipment was generally referred to as Closed Circuit Television, or CCTV for short. it was essentially just that; analog video cameras (almost always operating only in black and white mode) were used to capture relatively low resolution images, which were communicated to dedicated television monitors via standard 75ohm antenna cable. While viewable, the resulting video lacked resolution, failed in low light levels and required expensive, and labor-intensive, wiring to function.
The most serious drawback to early video systems, however, lay in the recording of images for documentation purposes. almost all early video security systems required on-site video recorders, which used magnetic tape to record analog signals from the system. these same recorders then were used, usually with dedicated monitors for viewing, for reviewing any images that had been recorded. this often required extensive and time-consuming review of tapes in order to locate the evidence captured by the cameras, and careful handling to preserve the analog tape so as not to damage it and the data it carried.
In the late 1990′s, a fundamental advance in video security systems occurred, and systems began to change from television-based formats to computer-based systems. with the rapid development of more powerful PC’s and increasingly sophisticated electronics, video surveillance systems began to rapidly gain in popularity as costs went down, features went up and installation became significantly simpler and less costly.
Modern video security systems typically use software-driven controllers for digital-format cameras, lowering the cost of each camera and simplifying their installation. where the first analog cameras were simply scaled-down television cameras, and thus large and heavy, modern digital cameras are small, lightweight and much easier to integrate into the architecture of a retail store, office complex or other business environment.
The single most significant advance in the use of video security systems, however, is in the area of information retrieval. where early systems required an operator to visually scan all the recordings available from the time and place of the incident in question, the software-based systems used today utilize intelligent heuristics and programmable search criteria to quickly and accurately find specific recorded events. Even inexpensive systems now offer the ability to search specific areas of the recorded field, motion sensing searches and other time-saving methods of locating incidents.
With video security now closely allied to modern desktop computing, its obvious that we can expect video surveillance technology to continue offering more features at a lower cost in the immediate future.
