The Future of Digital CCTV - A Clash of Cultures?

                                                                Author:  Gary James

There are many CCTV over IP video solutions, which involve the Internet, and it’s perhaps here where the first real clash of cultures is detected. Why take a system that must (by law) restrict access as much as possible and connect it to the outside world via the breeding ground of malicious hacking? How much more fun it will be for the average hacker to get CCTV images of individuals rather than boring company data. Large networks have Internet access, so any IP based CCTV system working within it has the potential to be hacked into. IT managers are already expected to protect the company’s “crown jewels” on their networks with effective security measures such as firewalls. As they become more involved in CCTV they should also consider that there are specific data protection guidelines for CCTV which must be re-interpreted in the context of IT networks. The data protection registrar wrote the guidelines with no acknowledgement that CCTV would become part of IT networks. Any reasonable sized network is a relatively complex beast (as many CCTV installers are now discovering); with a mixture of different technologies depending on a site’s location and the communication media available. One of the network managers tasks is to try and ensure that staff don’t actually notice the network whilst they are working. This is often dramatically unsuccessful – as we have all probably experienced using a call centre, where the operative complains that the computer is “slow today”. If it’s slow moving tiny bites of data around (like your credit card number), imagine what can happen when it gets presented with large amounts of video data? Within all networks, data is prioritised and often bandwidth (or space) is allocated automatically. If it comes down to making a choice between keeping the money rolling or sending CCTV footage over the network, I’m prepared to bet on how the switching will be biased!

CCTV OVER IP WHY BOTHER?
It’s true that many organisations have extensive structured cabling systems throughout their buildings that form the basis of the networks. However, quite how much capacity is spare and can be allocated for CCTV is open to huge debate.
Many signals can be routed through one cable (or more specifically via one device on the network). Working with networks offers us the opportunity to send multiples of video, audio, alarm and camera control data over a single network link. However, in the development of our own products we have been working with many third party video over IP devices and can report that the claims for the number of video channels on a single network are optimistic to say the least.

A BRIGHT FUTURE?
The flexibility of networks generally and the IT industry’s ability to adapt to conditions are undoubtedly one of the main reasons that CCTV has a bright future in working with networks. Again though, the concept of multiple access points to the CCTV system needs to be examined carefully. It’s easy to see why everyone in the company needs to access the customer database, but the CCTV system? Data protection legislation for CCTV would seem to work totally against the concept of multiple access without very tight controls.

CCTV OVER IP WHO BENEFITS?
Investment in the organisation’s IT infrastructure is often massive. Clearly any organisation will be looking to ensure it maximises its investment in this area. Manufacturers of CCTV over IP equipment are keen to exploit this concept. All this is fine so long as the integrity of the CCTV itself is not harmed. All too often we fear, the reality is that additional IT infrastructure investment would be required to provide even basic CCTV facilities, as networks are already often full to capacity in the first place.
This is a relatively new industry and a few specialist suppliers have become active. Our own chosen route has been to work with as many “standard” products as possible. The existence of these specialist suppliers will be key to the growth of CCTV over IP, as the lack of understanding of IT principles that currently exists within the CCTV industry means that a huge amount of support is needed.
I would emphasise that we do believe there is a sound future for this technology. So far though, we remain a little sceptical about just how much space on networks can and will be found for CCTV in the short term. The benefits that IP technology offers are tangible and just as network providers must consider what part CCTV will play within the IT infrastructure, CCTV manufactures must develop products which interface properly. In the short to medium term, CCTV over IP can be used as a cost-effective addition to the system, where network capacity allows. During this period CCTV over IP must ensure it delivers a workable surveillance solution, not just a workable networking solution.