Condo Media - June 2014 - 42

SECURITY
structural columns, parked trucks, or
stacks of pallets, often creating conditions where large portions of the
facility cannot be seen by a camera.
* Improper lighting conditions:
Cameras need to have an adequate
amount of light in order to see. More
importantly, the lighting needs to
be uniform throughout the viewing
area. Too little light or the combination of bright areas and dark areas
within the viewing area will usually
produce a poor quality image.
* Improper recording resolution setting: There is a trade-off between the
video resolution used for recording
and the amount of time that images
can be stored on the recording device. The higher the resolution, the
less recording time. In many cases,
the resolution setting has been set
to an unacceptably low rate in an attempt to maximize recording time.

While all of the problems identified
above are solvable, the cost of doing so
can be prohibitive in many applications.
Although it is relatively easy and
cost-effective to get good quality recorded video in small, confined areas, it
can be much more challenging and expensive to cover large open areas. Most
property owners don't want to spend
the money that it takes to properly provide evidentiary-quality video coverage
throughout their facilities, as this can
require many more cameras and much
more recording equipment than they
originally planned on installing.
Instead, they choose to install far
fewer cameras than are actually needed
and hope for the best. They are often
aided and abetted in this effort by security integrators, who would rather sell
just a few cameras than none at all. The
net result: a video surveillance system
that fails to meet the owner's needs
and is incapable of providing recorded
video that is useful as evidence.

*	 	 uilding	Envelope		
B
Condition	Surveys
*	 	 ater	Infiltration	
W
Investigations
*	 Project	Management

42

Condo Media * June 2014

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Megapixel Security Cameras
Won't Cure All Video
Surveillance Problems

New high-resolution video cameras
have been introduced in recent years,
and these cameras are now becoming
popular in the video surveillance industry. Offering resolutions of up to 16
megapixels and higher, these cameras
promise to provide a quality of video
that is substantially better than that provided by traditional standard definition
(SD) cameras.
Many manufacturers and security
integrators have been quick to tout the
benefits of these cameras, claiming they
are the cure to all of the weaknesses of
traditional video surveillance systems.
Some of the claims that we have heard
by manufacturers include: "one megapixel camera can replace up to 10 of
your standard fixed-position cameras";
"there is no longer any need for pantilt-zoom cameras-our 360 degree
megapixel camera can view and record

Due	Diligence	Inspections
Design	Specifications
Contract	Administration
Reserve	Studies
Façade	Certifications
Condo Media - June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - June 2014
