School Surveillance Applications

In this day in age it has almost become necessity that our schools

, from the elementary level through the college level, include video surveillance for precautionary measures to help provide a secure environment for staff and especially for the students attending. Providing a safe and secure environment also gives piece of mind to parents who send their kids off to school each and every day or send their kids away to college for several months at time. When deciding on what IP network video surveillance devices to use there are key factors that must be considered so that the network video surveillance system is properly used to its utmost effectiveness.

Camera Placement Considerations should be made for camera placement so that the best possible view can be achieved in relation to what the camera's primary focus should be. Schools can feature multiple entrances or exits and may span multiple buildings. It can soon become hard to keep track of where potential security risks may occur at any given time. Although a PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) IP camera can cover more ground in comparison to a stationary IP camera, it is important to note that a stationary camera will remain in a fixed position thus providing a dedicated view of what is most important. A PTZ IP camera, although useful for certain applications, can be repositioned which may result in the camera looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time. In today's society liability issues can present themselves rather quickly if caution is not taken. A high quality megapixel fixed IP camera tends to be more useful for dedicated viewing areas such as entrances, hallways, stairwells or even classroom environments. PTZ IP cameras should only be used is school campus environments as a secondary means of security to compliment fixed IP cameras.

Centralized Management A school campus may include a single building at one location up to hundreds of buildings spanning multiple locations. One of the many benefits to IP video surveillance technology is the ability for centralized management. No longer is surveillance limited to a building by building configuration. Also avoided is the cost of trying to bring all cameras video feeds to a centralized location. IP network video surveillance, including IP cameras and network video surveillance software, allows for mesh surveillance network creation which can then be connected all together for management at one centralized location or at multiple locations simultaneously. By utilizing IP cameras that feature PoE (Power over Ethernet) capabilities, power administration can also be managed at a central location. IP cameras supporting PoE will allow for power to run over the same Ethernet cable that video data propagates through. This intern can allow for power management at the same centralized source that each camera video feed also terminates at which in most cases will be a telecom closet or switch room.

Video Quality and Video Frame Rates Schools can become very busy places rather quickly. It is important that video quality be at a level high enough so that identification of persons can be made easily. Cameras need both high video quality and a reasonable video frame rate for this to occur. This was once difficult due to cost and bandwidth limitations. However, with the introduction of H.264 megapixel IP cameras a high level of video quality at a high frame rate can be achieved without substantial costs or network bandwidth usage. A 2.0 megapixel IP camera will increase the field of view up to 6 times in comparison to a standard VGA IP camera and will provide picture clarity not seen with traditional CCTV analog cameras.

With video surveillance applications over school campuses it is important to focus on areas that are of key importance. These are the key security risk areas that should be monitored at all times without changing camera position. It is also important that IP cameras used in these areas are of high quality so that proper identification can be made easily. With the added benefits of IP network video surveillance including centralized management capabilities and high resolution capable IP cameras, a safe and secure environment can be created where students and faculty can focus on education without the worry of feeling unsafe or unprotected.

Copyright (c) 2009 Wes Fernley

by: Wes Fernley

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