IP camera
Encyclopedia
An Internet protocol camera, or IP camera, is a type of digital video camera commonly employed for surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

, and which unlike analog closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras can send and receive data via a computer network and the Internet. Although most cameras that do this are webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...

s, the term "IP camera" is usually applied only to those used for surveillance.

There are two kinds of IP cameras:
  • Centralized IP cameras, which require a central Network Video Recorder
    Network Video Recorder
    A network video recorder is a software program that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other mass storage device. NVRs are similar to DVRs but with several distinct differences. NVRs take video input over a network, as opposed to directly...

     (NVR) to handle the recording, video and alarm management.
  • Decentralized IP cameras, do not require a central Network Video Recorder
    Network Video Recorder
    A network video recorder is a software program that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other mass storage device. NVRs are similar to DVRs but with several distinct differences. NVRs take video input over a network, as opposed to directly...

     (NVR), as the cameras have recording functionality built-in and can thus record directly to digital storage media, such as flash drive
    Solid-state drive
    A solid-state drive , sometimes called a solid-state disk or electronic disk, is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive...

    s, hard disk
    Hard disk
    A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...

     drives or network attached storage.

History

The first centralized IP camera was released in 1996 by Axis Communications
Axis Communications
Axis Communications AB is a Swedish manufacturer of network cameras for the physical security and video surveillance industries. It focuses on the vertical market segments transport, infrastructure, retail, banking, education, government and industrial....

. It was called the Axis Neteye 200 and was developed by the team of Martin Gren and Carl-Axel Alm. It used a custom web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....

 internal to the camera. In late 1999, the company started using embedded Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

 to operate its cameras. Axis also released documentation for its low-level API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...

 called "VAPIX", which builds on the open standards of HTTP and real time streaming protocol
Real Time Streaming Protocol
The Real Time Streaming Protocol is a network control protocol designed for use in entertainment and communications systems to control streaming media servers. The protocol is used for establishing and controlling media sessions between end points...

 (RTSP). This open architecture was intended to encourage third-party software manufacturers to develop compatible management and recording software.

The first decentralized IP camera was released in 1999 by Mobotix. The camera's Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

 system contained video, alarm and recording management functionality, thus the camera system did not require licensed video management software to manage the recording, event and video management.

The first IP camera with onboard video content analytics (VCA) was released in 2005 by Intellio. This camera was capable to detect a number of different events, such as object was stolen, human crosses a line, human entered a predefined zone, car goes wrong way.

IP cameras are available at resolutions from 0.3 (VGA resolution) to 11 megapixels. As in the consumer TV business, in the early 21st century, there has been a shift towards high-definition video
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...

 resolutions, e.g. 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...

 or 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...

 and 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...

 widescreen format.

Standards

Analog closed circuit television uses established broadcast television formats (e.g. Common Intermediate Format
Common Intermediate Format
CIF , also known as FCIF , is a format used to standardize the horizontal and vertical resolutions in pixels of YCbCr sequences in video signals, commonly used in video teleconferencing systems. It was first proposed in the H.261 standard.CIF was designed to be easy to convert to PAL or NTSC...

 (CIF), NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...

, PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

, and SECAM
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM , is an analog color television system first used in France....

). Generally speaking, each make of IP camera will differ in its features and functions, video encoding (compression) schemes, supported network protocols, and the API to be used by video management software.

In order to address issues of standardization of IP video surveillance, two industry groups were formed in 2008: the Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF) and the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA). While the PSIA was founded by 20 member companies including Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....

, GE Security
GE Security
GE Security was a division of General Electric Inc's GE Enterprise Solutions. It was acquired by UTC on March 1, 2010 and is now part of UTC Fire & Security...

 and Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...

, and ONVIF was founded by Axis Communications
Axis Communications
Axis Communications AB is a Swedish manufacturer of network cameras for the physical security and video surveillance industries. It focuses on the vertical market segments transport, infrastructure, retail, banking, education, government and industrial....

, Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...

 and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

, each group now has numerous members. As of January 2009, each group had released version 1.0 of their specification.

Potential advantages

  • Two-way audio via a single network cable allows users to communicate with what they are seeing (e.g. gas station clerk assisting a customer on how to use the prepay pumps)
  • Higher image resolution: IP cameras have a resolution of at least 640x480 and can provide multi-megapixel resolution and HDTV image quality at 30 frames per second.
  • Flexibility: IP cameras can be moved around anywhere on an IP network (including wireless).
  • Distributed intelligence
    Distributed artificial intelligence
    Distributed artificial intelligence is a subfield of artificial intelligence research dedicated to the development of distributed solutions for complex problems regarded as requiring intelligence...

    : with IP cameras, video analytics can be placed in the camera itself allowing scalability in analytics solutions.
  • Transmission of commands for PTZ (pan
    Panning (camera)
    In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device...

    , tilt
    Tilt (camera)
    Tilting is a cinematographic technique in which the camera is stationary and rotates in a vertical plane . A rotation in a horizontal plane is known as panning...

    , zoom
    Zoom lens
    A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...

    ) cameras via a single network cable.
  • Encryption & authentication: IP cameras offer secure data transmission through encryption and authentication methods such as WEP
    Wired Equivalent Privacy
    Wired Equivalent Privacy is a weak security algorithm for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. Introduced as part of the original 802.11 standard ratified in September 1999, its intention was to provide data confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network...

    , WPA
    Wi-Fi Protected Access
    Wi-Fi Protected Access and Wi-Fi Protected Access II are two security protocols and security certification programs developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks...

    , WPA2, TKIP, AES
    Advanced Encryption Standard
    Advanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...

    .
  • Remote accessibility: live video from selected cameras can be viewed from any computer, anywhere, and also from many mobile smartphone
    Smartphone
    A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

    s and other devices.
  • Cost-advantage for larger systems. Studies show that for systems with fewer than 16 cameras, analog technology is cheaper, between 16 and 32 they are equal, and beyond 32 cameras, IP-based systems are more cost-effective.
  • IP cameras are able to function on a wireless network
    Wireless network
    Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...

    . Initial configuration has to be done through a router; after the IP camera is installed it can then be used on the wireless network. These cameras are used in navigation purpose in defence forces.
  • PoE - Power over ethernet
    Power over Ethernet
    Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, on Ethernet cabling. The IEEE standard for PoE requires category 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate with category 3 cable for low power levels...

    . Modern IP cameras have the ability to operate without an additional power supply. They can work with the PoE-protocol which gives power via the ethernet-cable

Potential disadvantages

  • Higher initial cost per camera, except where cheap webcam
    Webcam
    A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...

    s are used. (Note - IP cameras are becoming cheaper as demand increases and are already available below 50 USD and compete favourably with analogue cameras)
  • High network bandwidth requirements: a typical CCTV camera with resolution of 640x480 pixels and 10 frames per second (10 frame/s) in MJPEG mode requires about 3 Mbit/s.
  • Technical barrier. Most security systems including both CCTV and IP camera systems may require a professional technician to install the system, although a competent person can install an IP camera very easily, depending on make.
  • As with a CCTV/DVR system, if the video is transmitted over the public Internet rather than a private IP LAN, the system becomes open to hacking and hoaxing via internet. Criminals can hack into a CCTV system to observe security measures
    Countersurveillance
    Countersurveillance refers to measures undertaken to prevent surveillance, including covert surveillance. Countersurveillance may include electronic methods such as bug sweeping, the process of detecting surveillance devices, including covert listening devices and visual surveillance devices...

    and personnel, thereby facilitating criminal acts and rendering the IP technology counterproductive.
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