You probably already know some of the reasons to update your video surveillance system. Improvements in camera resolution, field of view, and recording capability are widely known. Here are 6 more reasons that are less talked-about but are just as important from risk-reduction and financial perspectives:
- System flexibility
- Lighting adaptability
- Smart Recording technology
- Location restrictions
- Security / tampering counter-measures
- Future-proofing
System flexibility
- Analog systems often limit you to adding devices in chunks of 4, 8, or 16 units. That’s not very flexible.
- What if you just need ONE MORE camera in a location? IP allows you the flexibility to add or remove any number of devices in any number of locations.
Lighting adaptability
- Analog cameras are well known to be susceptible to glare, shadows, and other lighting problems.
- IP Cameras offer “WDR”: Wide Dynamic Range. This allows them to darken bright spots and see into the shadows, all within the same picture. Do you have a camera facing a client entrance that gets morning sun but is in afternoon shadow?
Smart Recording technology
- Tradidtional systems record every minute of every day – filling storage space quickly and containing many hours of empty footage.
- IP cameras offer motion-activated recording technology. This conserves system and network resources, as well as making incident review significantly faster by only viewing footage that contains movement.
Location restrictions
- Analog systems require every camera to have a physical connection to the DVR.
- IP systems can integrate wireless cameras – perfect for efficiently adding cameras to places like outdoor light poles without the expense of long cable runs.
Security / tampering counter-measures
- Analog video travels along an old copper wire and can be intercepted and manipluated, or physically attacked.
- An IP stream can contain dual-side authentication to verify the received signal actually originated at the camera. The data stream can also be encrypted to prevent unauthorized viewing.
Future-proofing
- Analog video is an old technology that is quickly growing obsolete. Continuing to invest in repair or replacement may not make financial sense
- Digital systems contain hardware that will be relevant and useable for the foreseeable future. When technology inevitably upgrades again, most components will be usable in next-gen systems. Some IP systems can use standard PC hardware as a DVR – ensuring forward-compatibility for a very long time.
Have questions about migrating to an IP video system? Looking for a cost-effective solution to migrate at your (and your budgets’) pace? Contact us for quotes on single components or entire systems, or to discuss your situation and how to plan a migration.
You can email us, click here to ask us a question, or call us at 720-235-5405.
Thanks for reading!
