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DUMIES

Digital video systems design for

DEALERS / USERS / MANAGERS / INSTALLERS / ENGINEERS / SALESPEOPLE

Planning
Camera Coverage
Areas

© 2011 Video Security Consultants

Continuing Education
Sponsored by PELCO
Part 1 of 4

Brought to You by Presented by

securitysales.com • MARCH 2011 A1


DUMIES
Digital video systems design for

Part 1 of 4

Putting Camera Specs


Text
Into
Context So you’ve been tasked with designing
a commercial video surveillance
system. Your first step is determining
the required degree of security
Illustration by Jerry King

and then tailoring it to the specific


application type. This guide walks
you through the process and explains
how to decipher camera specs.
By Bob Wimmer

W elcome to Part I
of the latest in SE-
CURITY SALES
& INTEGRA-
TION’s acclaimed “D.U.M.I.E.S.” se-
ries: “Digital Video Systems Design for
D.U.M.I.E.S.” Brought to you by Pel-
parameters and needs/expectations,
with particular attention to hybrid ap-
proaches. The first installment covers
analog output equipment and IP, in-
cluding megapixel cameras.
As procedures and products for vid-
eo surveillance systems continuously
glars or physical attacks. The incorpora-
tion of networked cameras offers greater
coverage by remote viewing of these ar-
eas. The development of intelligent cam-
eras and software also lessens the need
for constant viewing by individuals of
these scenes, as well as adding greater ef-
co, this four-part series has been de- advance, the overall designs and many ficiency against missed activity.
signed to educate readers about recent of the applications remain the same.
advances in technology and systems Video surveillance systems can be di- What Designing Minds Must Know
that are likely to shape this decade’s vided into three basic avenues: provide How many cameras are enough?
progression of the video surveillance safety for property and personnel; en- What type of camera configurations
industry. “D.U.M.I.E.S.” stands for able remote viewing; and provide high should be considered? Shall fixed or
dealers, users, managers, installers, en- quality permanent records. pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) cameras be imple-
gineers and salespeople. Surveillance systems can provide mented or would a virtual p/t/z work
The 2011 series will explore areas safety for property and personnel by just just as well for my application?
of concern for using equipment that the presence of cameras, which in many There are a few key areas to examine
meshes today’s surveillance system cases offer a deterrent to would-be bur- that will help determine the number, type
A2 securitysales.com • MARCH 2011
Degrees of Coverage tained by using multiple fixed cam- Category-5e or Cat-6 networked cable.
eras. This method greatly increases There are other differences that could
the number of cameras and associat- be discussed, but this article will only
Pan/tilt/zoom ed equipment, and is often limited by cover requirements needed for indoor
camera =
20% coverage the overall costs. So usually a balanced or outdoor system applications, and
combination of fixed position camer- determining the proper camera equip-
as backed by p/t/z cameras is the best ment for each of these applications.)
method to offer a high degree of securi- When designing a surveillance sys-
ty to any application. However, the sys- tem the first question should be: Is the
Megapixel tem is still not complete. application indoors, outdoors or both?
camera virtual
p/t/z = To obtain a complete surveillance For the most part, indoor applications
50% coverage package, cameras cannot be the only require less preparation. The amount
ingredient. Integration with other tech- of light available is usually well with-
nologies will be required to enhance the in the parameters of all high quality
performance. Tying into systems such cameras. The need for special housing
Integration with
other systems = as card access, e-fields, fence protec- consideration is limited. Yet there are
90% coverage tion and analytic software will all play some areas for concern, such as cos-
an important part in a successful video metics, vandals and angles of view. The
security package. The result will be an cabling distances and layout of the ca-
almost 100-percent coverage system. bles can also be minimized by the close
proximity of the equipment.
and configuration of cameras that will Indoor Vs. Outdoor Applications Indoor applications would be a per-
work best for your application. The first Whether to incorporate IP camer- fect place to start with IP/network cam-
step to consider is the degree of security. as, megapixel cameras or analog out- era deployment. The use of power over
Usually the people selling equipment rec- put cameras usually depends on the Ethernet (PoE) and proper positioning
ommend that the more cameras the bet- application. of wiring closets can make this type of
ter, but in most cases this is not true. (Note: Many printed articles state installation even more appealing.
Let’s explore the different degrees of that analog cameras are obsolete. Since camera selection is based on
security protection. A single p/t/z cam- However, today’s surveillance cameras sensitivity, resolution and special cam-
era can only view a limited area at any are NOT analog, they are digitally pro- era features, indoor camera selection
given time. In automatic mode a p/t/z cessed. The sensor is digital, the cir- is fairly straightforward. Whether the
device can move in excess of 250° per cuitry for the video processing is dig- cameras selected are analog output
second; however, there will be a loss ital. The major difference between IP devices or networked models, all qual-
of visible information as the device networked cameras is the method the ity cameras will produce an image that
moves from one location to another. camera uses to transmit the signal. will be acceptable in enabling satisfac-
What about a virtual p/t/z? Many se- One type uses coaxial cable, the other a tory system performance. ➞
curity professionals have seen where
a single camera and super wide-angle
lens can operate as a virtual p/t/z sys- Indoor Vs. Outdoor Applications
tem. These systems incorporate mega-
pixel cameras, special software and
must have the capability to provide
a recording system that can handle
megapixel information.
In addition to megapixel technology
with very wide-angle lenses, there are
new technologies that can stream multi-
ple images from either multiple cameras Indoor Considerations
• Cosmetics?
and lenses or cameras into a single lens Outdoor Considerations
• Lens angles?
that can cover a 360° view of the area. • Camera sensitivity?
• Lens angles?
The next step to increase the degree
• Housing?
of security of your system can be ob-
securitysales.com • MARCH 2011 A3
DUMIES
Digital video systems design for

Part 1 of 4

How low can the surrounding light- • ESC 1⁄60 - 1⁄100,000 second Typically, there are 140 IRE units as-
ing conditions go before the cameras no • Signal-to-noise ratio 52dB (AGC off) sociated with a 1V peak-to-peak full
longer produce a useable image? This • Backlight compensation selectable strength video signal (1 IRE = .00714V).
challenging low light condition is what by DIP switch setting The introduction of the IRE unit makes
we face when we turn to outdoor appli- • Auto iris lens type DC/video control, luminance level values much easier
cations. Outdoor applications therefore selectable by DIP switch to understand and communicate. The
can and will become very frustrating for greater the listed IRE value, the greater
many first-time system designers. Outdoor Light Levels the image output quality of that camera
The main considerations for any out- Illumination LUX for the given light level.
door or low light application will be: the Direct sunlight 100,000 A video signal is divided into two
amount of light available, other environ- Full daylight 10,000 sections. The first section is the ver-
mental conditions, and the overall oper- Overcast day 1,000 tical and horizontal synchronization
ating distance requirements for both the Dusk 100 signals. This unit is used in the ITU-
Twilight 10
video signal and camera power. R BT.470 that defines PAL, NTSC and
Deep twilight 1
These variables apply to all cameras Full moon .1 SECAM EIA-170A standards. It is used
whether they are analog output, IP/net- Quarter moon .01 to lock up the video equipment in order
worked cameras or even megapixel. Moonless night .001 to produce a stable image. The stan-
For most of us, indoor applications Overcast night .0001 dard level that supports a full sync sig-
usually become old hat — placement of nal is listed as 40 IRE units.
cameras, lens angles and cosmetics are It is, at first glance, apparent that this The second section of the measure-
your main concerns. However, when camera was designed for low light ap- ment is the actual video signal strength
turning to the low light world these ap- plication, but how low? Referring to the from the camera. The reason IRE is a
plications become more difficult. “Outdoor Lighting Level Chart,” it ap- relative measurement is because a vid-
The video surveillance industry has no pears this camera should produce a vid- eo signal may be any amplitude. A val-
standards pertaining to camera sensitiv- eo image during low light levels equal to ue of 100 IRE is defined to be the range
ity specifications. This makes it very dif- a deep twilight condition. The question from black to white in a video signal
ficult to determine if the camera select- now arises, will the quality of the image producing a high quality full video sig-
ed for an outdoor application is the right be acceptable? Let’s find out. nal. A lesser value corresponds to a
choice or if it even will produce an image The data sheet gives the amount of poorer image quality. A value of 50 IRE
the end user deems acceptable. Outdoor light required, but how was that number is usually a minimum requirement for
applications require more information calculated? This is where things change most inputs to digital equipment for
in order to select the proper camera or between manufacturers. Since there are proper operation.
to ensure quality video images. no standards, each manufacturer has its With all of that stated, the simple fact
own idea on the method to determine is that since the video strength measured
Understanding Camera Specs and list the sensitivity of cameras. in IRE units is linear, the greater the IRE
Following is a guide on how to read Using Example 1, it states a light lev- level the stronger the video signal.
and understand today’s camera mini- el of 0.5 lux will produce a video image. Let’s return to the camera Example
mum sensitivity specifications by major However, what are the test parameters 1. With a given rating of 0.5 lux @ 40
manufacturers. Three sets of examples to obtain that number? IRE for minimum illumination in or-
will be presented and analyzed. They will der to produce the higher quality im-
serve as launching pads to investigate Demystifying the I.R.E. Unit age (100 IRE), more than 1.2 lux of
and explain various data as it pertains to An I.R.E. unit is a measurement de- light would be required and not the 0.5
imaging devices. These sample specifica- signed by the Institute of Radio Engi- lux posted on the datasheet. Some of
tions are from three major manufactur- neers that has integrated with the IEEE, you might be thinking, “So what? The
ers and appear here unaltered. the Institute of Electrical and Electronic video image is still acceptable, so what
Engineers. The measurement indicates is all of the concern?” However, it is not
Camera Specifications Example 1 the amount of output signal strength just the reduced quality of the video
• Imaging device 1⁄3-inch imager generated by a camera. Or in the case of but also what this loss of IRE units will
• Horizontal resolution 480 TV lines an IP camera, it’s the signal strength of do to the overall scheme of things.
• Iris control electronic/passive input required by the compression cir- First, for the systems that incorpo-
• Minimum illumination 0.5 lux, 40 cuitry and Ethernet interface in order rate individual encoders, each encod-
IRE, f/1.2, AGC on, 75% reflectance to process the video image. er must convert the analog video sig-
A4 securitysales.com • MARCH 2011
Camera Sensitivity Testing Setup Since every camera requires a lens to
produce an image, the specification sheet
Lux will list the f-rating of lenses used in the
testing phase of the camera. In this case a
fixed lens was selected with an f-stop rat-
ing of f1.2. If an integrator selects a dif-
ferent lens compared to the specification
sheet, he/she must ensure that the mini-
mum f-stop rating of the lenses is equal
to or less than that on the datasheet. If
not, the video output strength from the
Reflectance camera will suffer. The end results could
F-stop mean poor low light video images.
Another fact worth noting is that the
f-stop rating of lenses is logarithmic.
This means that for every single f-stop
nal into digital. This is accomplished ina to react and produce a quality im- increase in a lens, the amount of light
using an A/D converter (analog to dig- age. It is the same with the lenses used passed through that lens will decrease
ital). Each encoder has a set of input in cameras. However, a growing con- by 50 percent
parameters and many of them require cern in lens selection is the minimum In addition, the test lens used for the
a minimum of 50 IRE units in order to f-stop rating of the lens or how well it specification is a fixed f-stop rated lens.
function properly. operates at low light levels. With the The incorporation of a zoom lens can
Secondly, in the case of an integrated increased use of cameras for outdoor add an additional one to two f-stops to
IP camera, the encoder circuitry may applications this has become a very that specification when in the zoomed
try to amplify the video signal up to the real issue. position. This can reduce the amount
100 IRE level. This can cause a grainy To start, the f-stop rating of any lens of light to the camera sensor by a fac-
or noisy image and increase the trans- is determined by the ratio of the focal tor of two to four times.
fer file size on a network. length of the lens divided by the actual Summary to this point, the select-
mechanical diameter of the iris open- ed camera in Example 1 will produce
Lenses and F-Stop Ratings Defined ing of that lens: only a 40-percent video output signal
The camera specification sheet also when using an f1.2 fixed iris lens with
lists the minimum f-stop rating of the F-stop rating = F (focal length in an available light source of 0.5 lux
test lens used in producing the camera mm) / D (iris opening in mm) (deep twilight).
performance specifications. For our
sample a test lens rated at f1.2 was used The lower a lens’ f-stop rating, the Cost of Automatic Gain Control
in order to obtain the minimum illumi- greater its light-gathering capabili- For those who are unfamiliar with
nation figure. ty or speed. The normal minimum f- the function of automatic gain con-
Typically, outdoor scene illumination stop rating of a typical lens is between trol (AGC), a quick update is in order.
measured in lux can vary from 100,000 f0.75 to f1.8. The purpose of AGC is to increase the
(sunny) to 0.00001 (overcast, moon-
less night). To handle this, light range How Lower F-Stop Ratings Impact Light Gathering
lenses with adjustable irises are incor-
porated. However, all lenses have a rat- Speed (F-stops) = Focal length (mm)
ing to specify their ability to pass light Diameter of iris opening (mm)
at low light levels. The term indicating
the lens’ performances is known as the
minimum f-stop rating of the lens.
Let’s look at the human eye as an ex-
ample illustrating the f-stop concept.
As light becomes brighter, the iris of
your eyes closes to allow only the prop- F 0.75 F 1.0 F 1.4
er amount of light that causes your ret-
securitysales.com • MARCH 2011 A5
DUMIES
Digital video systems design for

Part 1 of 4

sensitivity of the camera during low Reflected light in the real-world set • Horizontal resolution 580 TV lines
light level applications. of parameters, especially in the low • Iris control electronic/passive
This feature is a compromise be- light surveillance arena, varies from 5 • Minimum illumination 0.0006
cause it will amplify the video signal percent to 95 percent depending on the lux, 50 IRE, f/1.2, sens-up x256
to improve image strength, but at the viewed scene. The test reflectance per- • Dynamic range 52dB
same time it also amplifies the random centage used by most manufacturers is • Backlight compensation BLC/HLC/
noise generated by the circuitry with- either 75 percent or 89.9 percent and Off
in the camera. This amplification of is determined by the test pattern used • Auto iris lens type DC/video control,
noise causes a grainy image that ran- when testing the camera’s sensitivity. selectable by DIP switch
domly moves about the scene and will After reviewing a reflectance chart,
increase the bandwidth requirement it does not take long for most people In Example 1, we discussed all of the
for networked cameras. AGC is incor- to realize that real-world surveillance normal parameters governing the list-
porated to improve camera sensitivity operates with a great deal less reflec- ed minimum illumination figure for
but it requires a tradeoff. tance than that offered by a camera’s cameras. In Example 2, we are going
Without AGC the camera used in Ex- specifications. to add an additional parameter called
ample 1 would require more than 5 lux of This difference between the actual sens-up. This is a technology that pro-
light to produce a 40 IRE signal output. and specification reflectance indicates vides higher camera sensitivity in low
that the minimum light level printed light conditions. It is also referred to as
How Reflectance Factors In on the datasheet will actually be much sensup or digital slow shutter (DSS).
The last factor associated with the pa- greater when used in normal surveil- To well-established CCTV profession-
rameters for minimum illumination is lance applications. als or photography pros, this definition
reflectance. Some manufacturers pub- Example 1 was based on a 75-pecent makes perfect sense. However, most of
lish the exact procedures and criteria reflective test pattern. Locating this cam- you are probably wondering what this
they use to provide their cameras’ sen- era in an outdoor asphalt parking scene definition means in plain English. Let’s
sitivities while others assume everyone (5-10 percent) the camera would require take a closer look to make sense of sens-
is already knowledgeable on how speci- at least 2 to 3 lux of light to perform with- up and review the pros and cons of this
fications are determined. Well there is a in the limits set by the datasheet. technology when used in practical, real-
little known fact about camera specifi- In summary, for Example 1, the world surveillance applications.
cation that packs a wallop. specification sheet lists are the pa-
Camera manufacturers list the direct rameters used in the test procedure. Getting Up on Sens-Up Pros/Cons
amount of light that the camera requires Understanding this information is a The main purpose of sens-up is to
to produce an image. Many give you the must for anyone to properly design provide a camera with the ability to see
f-stop rating of the lens that is used, the and select the optimal camera for low in very low light conditions.
output signal strength (measured in light outdoor applications. Security cameras equipped with
IRE units) and whether the AGC is in- The “Camera Application Guide” (see this technology use a circuitry that
corporated to produce the numbers list- next page, top left) shows the amount of automatically adjusts the integration
ed on the datasheet. However, there is light required for the camera specifica- timing circuit of the camera’s sensor
one test parameter item missing. What tion in Example 1. However, when ap- in order to vary the sensitivity. (The
is the reflectance factor of the test pat- plying the parameters for an outdoor integration timing circuit adjusts the
tern used in the procedure? parking lot scene you can see that the charge and discharge rate of the sen-
amount of light required by the camera sor in order to increase or decrease the
to produce an image is 15 times greater. sensitivity.) Normal integration rate is
Reflectance Factors Trying to outperform the market- 60 times a second for interlaced cam-
Scene Reflectance place, manufacturers have added fea- eras and 30 times a second for progres-
Empty asphalt parking lot 5% tures to their cameras in order to make sive scan cameras. By changing this
Parkland, trees, grass 20% them more sensitive for low light appli- rate, the camera can be made more or
Red bricks 35%
cations. This leads us to Camera Speci- less sensitive.
Unpainted concrete 40%
fication Example 2 that follows.
Parking lot with cars 40%
Aluminum building 65% Find it on the web
Glass windows and hallways 70% Camera Specification Example 2 Visit the Special Reports section at
Snow-covered landscape 85% • Imaging device 1⁄3-inch vertical dou- securitysales.com/dumies to access more
than six years’ of “D.U.M.I.E.S.” archives.
ble density interline CCD
A6 securitysales.com • MARCH 2011
Camera Application Guide: Datasheet Vs. Actual Using this example, let’s place some
Datasheet Information Actual Scene Information values into the formula. Image per sec-
Datasheet test lens f 1.2 fixed Lens f 1.2 zoom 16x ond is what we want to find. The cam-
Reflectance factor 75% test pattern Reflectance factor 5% asphalt parking lot era with 0.50 lux of scene illumination
Minimum illumination 0.5 lux 40IRE Minimum illumination 15.0 lux 40IRE will require the camera to set its time
1.25 lux 100IRE 37.5 lux 100IRE integration circuitry to 33ms or .033
seconds in order to produce video.
Let’s review images per second. The sue. The tradeoff, if the lighting is low,
words real-time video, real-motion video but adequate, a low sens-up limit and ips (images per second) = 1/.033
and time-lapse video now come into play. a high resolution camera can capture ips = 30
These are old-school terms; however, excellent images without blur or dis-
they still apply to today’s applications. tortion. The trick is setting the camera Thirty images per second, which in
Real-time video is described as 60 up correctly and taking advantage of old terms is known as real-time video
fields or 30 frames being reproduced whatever ambient light does exist. and therefore the image quality will be
per second while real-motion video is The final camera specification ex- blurry or jumpy. Now reduce the sensi-
listed as only 15 images per second. Of ample is very similar to that of sens- tivity to 0.12 lux and recalculate:
course, time-lapse video was anything up; however, it is presented in a differ-
less than 15 images per second. Real- ent manner. ips (images per second) = 1/.500
time is preferred for its high quality ips = 2
and no loss of video information. This Camera Specification Example 3
is especially true when movement is in- • Imaging device 1⁄3-inch (effective) In this case the video image will ap-
volved such as moving vehicles, poker • Imager type CMOS pear blurry or choppy with any move-
games or people running. Real-motion • Imager readout progressive scan ment within the scene at a light level
is a compromise producing acceptable • Maximum resolution 2,048 X 1,536 of 0.12 lux and is equal ~ to a 32x sens-
video at reduced image rates to save • Signal-to-noise ratio 50dB up setting.
hard drive space or meet bandwidth re- • Auto iris lens type DC drive In closing, as more and more video
quirements on a network. Time-lapse • Electronic shutter range surveillance applications are expand-
only provided minimum video cover- 1 ~ 1⁄100,000 second ing to the outdoors and low light en-
age for simple applications. • Wide dynamic range 60dB vironments, more information is re-
In short, as the sens-up value increas- • White balance range 2,000° to quired in order to select the proper
es to produce an image at low light lev- 10,000° K camera. Whether the camera is an an-
els the number of images displayed will • Sensitivity f/1.2; 2,850° K; SNR alog output or IP, all require sufficient
decrease. At the extreme limit of sens- >24dB amounts of light to produce an image
up listed in Example 2 (x256) only 0.5 • Color (33 ms) 0.50 lux that is acceptable to the end user. ■
to one images of video will be displayed • Color SENS (500 ms) 0.12 lux
Robert (Bob) Wimmer is president of Video Security
per second. This limited number of im- • Mono (33 ms) 0.25 lux Consultants and has 38+ years of CCTV experience.
His firm provides technical training, system design,
ages per second is one the problems • Mono SENS (500 ms) 0.03 lux technical support and system troubleshooting. Wim-
when sens-up is incorporated. Sens-up in Example 2 listed the sen- mer is a member of SSI’s Hall of Fame.

The two variables that affect this sitivity of the camera in the integration
sens-up related “blurriness” are the of the sensor or how many images per
speed at which the object moves (the second would be reproduced. This inte-
Next Up for ‘D.U.M.I.E.S.’:
faster the movement the blurrier the gration factor can also be listed in time.
Video Surveillance Image
video) and the maximum sens-up limit The longer the integration time, the
Resolution
of the camera settings (the higher the fewer images per second the camera Be sure to check out the June issue
limit, the blurrier the image). will display. Example 3 lists the sensi- of SSI for Part 2 of 2011’s “Digital Vid-
Many applications such as license tivity of the camera at 0.50 lux @ 33ms. eo Systems Design for D.U.M.I.E.S.”
plate capture cameras, p/t/z cameras The following is a very helpful conver- series. The second installment will
or other high movement areas will be- sion to determine the number of images explore video surveillance image reso-
come streaky and unreadable. That’s per second at listed light levels: lution. Also included will be megapixel
camera design as well as the lenses
not the video image people are look-
required to make it all work as seam-
ing for especially after reviewing video ips (images per second) = 1/time
lessly as possible — plus much more!
for evidence of a robbery or other is- (seconds)
securitysales.com • MARCH 2011 A7
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Performance for All
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