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AC Adaptor
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Also called a power supply. All CCTV devices need power. Each device has its own power requirements usually 12 volts with minimum amperage The power coming out of the wall in the (UK) is 240 DC. The adaptor converts the AC power to DC power and will adjust it to specified amperage. The power supply should be included with each item - you usually don’t have to buy these separately
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AGC Automatic Gain Control
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A circuit for automatically controlling amplifier gain in order to maintain a constant output voltage with a varying input voltage within a predetermined range of input-to-output variation
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Alarm input
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An input connection to a security VCR or DVR that triggers the unit to start recording if the alarm is triggered
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Analogue
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There are two main ways of doing things electronically, analogue or digital. An analogue signal can be represented as a series of sine waves. The term originated because the modulation of the carrier wave is analogous to the fluctuations of the human voice or other sound that is being transmitted
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Angle of view
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For security cameras. This refers to the angular range in degrees that you can focus the camera on without distorting the image. When focusing close up, you can generally see a wide angle of view. If the focus is distant the angle of view is smaller or narrower
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Aperture
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In television optics, it is the effective diameter of the lens that controls the amount of light reaching the photoconductive or photo emitting image pickup sensor
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Aspect Ratio
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The ratio of width to height for the frame of the televised picture. 4:3 for standard systems
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Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
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A method for moving data over regular phone lines. An ADSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, and the wires used are the same wires used for regular phone service. ADSL supports data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data known as the (downstream) rate and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data known as the (upstream) rate. ADSL requires a special ADSL modem
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Audio - Video Interleave (AVI)
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An AVI file is a sound and motion picture file that conforms to the Microsoft Windows Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) specification. AVI files which end with an .avi extension, require a special player that may be included with your web browser
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Auto Balance (AB)
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System for detecting errors in colour balance in white and black areas of the picture and automatically adjusting the white and black levels of both the red and blue signals as needed for correction
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Auto Iris
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A lens in which the aperture automatically opens or closes to maintain proper light levels on the faceplate of the camera pickup device
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Automatic Brightness Control (ABC)
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In display devices, the self-acting mechanism which controls brightness of the device as a function of ambient light
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Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
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A process by which gain is automatically adjusted as a function of input or other specified parameter
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Automatic Iris Lens
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A lens that automatically adjusts the amount of light reaching the imager
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Automatic Light Control
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The process by which the illumination incident upon the face of a pickup device is automatically adjusted as a function of scene brightness
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Automatic White Balance (AWB)
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A feature on colour cameras that constantly monitors the light and adjusts its colour to maintain white areas
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Back Focus
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A mechanical adjustment in a camera that moves the imaging device relative to the lens to compensate for different back focal lengths of lenses. An important adjustment when a zoom lens is fitted
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Back Light Compensation (BLC)
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A feature on newer CCD cameras which electronically compensates for high background lighting to give detail which would normally be silhouetted
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Balun
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A transformer that levels out impedance differences, so that a signal generated on to a coaxial cable can be transferred on to a twisted pair cable
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Bandwidth
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The bandwidth determines the rate at which video can be sent through a network - the greater the bandwidth, the more video that can be sent in a given amount of time. Usually measured in bits-per-second
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Baud
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The baud rate is how many bits can be sent or received per second
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Bitmap
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A bitmap is digital graphic that basically consists of a map of dots. Bitmaps include GIF, JPEG also other file formats
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Black Level
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The dark parts of a video signal corresponding to approximately 0.3 volts
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BLC
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(back light compensation) A feature of modern CCD cameras, which electronically compensates for high background lighting, to give details that would normally be silhouetted
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BNC connector
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It is a type of a connector used to interconnect two coaxial cables or connect a cable with other CCTV components
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Brightness
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The attribute of visual perception in accordance with which an area appear to emit more of less light. Luminance is the recommended name for the photo-electric quantity which has also been called brightness
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Broadband
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A general term for different types of high-speed, high-bandwidth connections to the Internet, including ADSL and cable
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Camera Format
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The approximate size of a camera image pickup device. This measurement is derived from the diagonal line of a chip. Common formats are 1/6” - 1/4”- 1/3”- 2/3” and 1”
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Category (CAT)
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5 Cable that is capable of transmitting data at high speeds (100 megabits per second and faster). CAT 5 cable is commonly used for voice and data applications. Usually comes with RJ45 connectors
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CCD
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Charge coupled device, a flat thin wafer that is light sensitive and forms the imaging device of most modern cameras. Size is measured diagonally and can be 1/3”-1/2” or 2/3”. There are two types, frame transfer and interline transfer
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CCIR
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The European 625 line standard for the video signal
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Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)
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CCTV cameras with CCD sensor will give sharper, better defined pictures. All professional level cameras will be CCD
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Circuit Switched Data (CSD)
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A GSM transmission standard that allows data to be transferred at up to 14.4kbps
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CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
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Similar to a CCD, it also detects light for conversion into a signal. Lesser image clarity than CCD, but more compact in size with lower power usage
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C - Mount
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An industry standard for mounting a lens to a camera with a 1” x 32 thread and a distance from the image plane of 17.52mm from the shoulder of the lens. A C-mount lens may be used with a CS-mount camera with a 5mm-adapter ring
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Coaxial Cable
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A particular type of cable capable of passing a wide range of frequencies with very low signal loss. Such a cable in its simplest form consists of a hollow metallic shield with a single wire accurately placed along the center of the shield and isolated from the shield
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Codec
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Short for compressor / decompressor, a codec is any technology for compressing and decompressing data. Codec can be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of both. Examples of Codec include Wavelet MPEG-4 and JPEG
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Composite Video Signal
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The combined picture signal, including vertical and horizontal blanking and synchronizing signals
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Compression Technology
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This is the Codec used for compressing and decompressing video data
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Contrast
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The range of light to dark values in a picture or the ratio between the maximum and minimum brightness values
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CS-Mount
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An industry standard for mounting a lens to a camera with a 1” x 32 thread and a distance from the image plane of 12.52mm from the shoulder of the lens. A CS - mount lens may not be used on a C - mount camera
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Day / Night Cameras
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Day/Night Cameras are regular cameras with an especially sensitive CCD chip that allows a good image to be captured in very low ambient lighting regular lighting - not infrared
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Definition
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The fidelity of a television system to the original scene
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Depth of Field
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The in-focus range of a lens or optical system. It is measured from the distance behind an object to the distance in front of the object when the viewing lens shows the object to be in focus
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Depth of Focus
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The range of sensor – to - lens distance for which the image formed by the lens is clearly focused
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DialUp Line
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A connection to the internet through a normal telephone line. Speeds of up to 56Kbps can be achieved over a 56K modem
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Digital Signal Processing
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An algorithm within the camera that digitizes data (the image). Examples include automatic compensate for backlight interference, color balance variations and corrections related to aging of electrical components or lighting. Functions such as electronic pan and zoom, image annotation, compression of the video for network transmission, feature extraction and motion compensation can be easily and inexpensively added to the camera feature set
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Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
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A digital video recorder is basically a computer that converts the incoming (analogue) signal from the cameras to digital, and compresses it, and stores it. The DVR replaces the function of a multiplexer (or quad or switcher) and a security VCR. There are many advantages of digital video recorders over their analogue counterparts
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Distortion
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The deviation of the received signal waveform from that of the original transmitted waveform
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Distribution Amplifier
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A device that provides several isolated outputs from one looping or bridging input, and has a sufficiently high input impedance and input-to-output isolation to prevent loading of the input source.
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Downstream
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The downloading of data from the Internet to the PC. ADSL has both upstream and downstream data rates
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Duplex
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A circuit that permits transmission in both directions. In CCTV, duplex is often used to describe the type of multiplexer that can perform two functions simultaneously: recording in multiplex mode and playback in multiplex mode
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Dynamic
IP address
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The term used to describe how an IP address is dynamically assigned to computers as and when needed. Unlike Static IP addresses, the IP address is temporary e.g. when you connect to your ISP using a dial-up connection , you PC or router will be dynamically assigned an IP address whilst you are on-line. This form of IP addressing is commonly used for consumer ADSL service
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EIA
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Electronic Industries Alliance. Monochrome video signal standard used in North America and Japan: 525 lines 60Hz
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Equalizer
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An electronic circuit that introduces compensation for frequency discriminative effects of elements within the television system, particularly long coaxial transmission systems
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Ethernet
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The most widely used LAN transmission network. Based on a bus network topology, it runs at a maximum speed over 100 meters of 10Mbit/s. It operates over conventional co-axial cable, thin wire co-axial cable and unshielded twisted pair cabling. This has several implementations - 10Base5 for use over conventional co-axial cable, 10BaseF for use over optic fibre, and 10BaseT for use over Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cabling.
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Field
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One of the two equal but vertically separated parts into which a television frame is divided in an interlaced system of scanning. A period of 1/60 second separates each field start time.
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F-Number
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Indicates the brightness of the image formed by the lens, controlled by the iris. The smaller the F-number the brighter the image.
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Field of View
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The maximum angle of view that can be seen through a lens or optical instrument.
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Firewall
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A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks.
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Focal Length
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Of a lens, the distance from the focal point to the principal point of the lens.
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Focal Plane
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A plane (through the focal point) at right angles to the principal point of the lens.
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Focal Point
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The point at which a lens or mirror will focus parallel incident radiation.
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Frame
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The total area, occupied by the television picture, which is scanned while the picture signal is not blanked.
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Framerate
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The number of frames per second that the camera produces.
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Frames per Second (fps)
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This refers to the number of pictures that can be recorded or displayed per second. A television displays 25fps and is referred to as real time. This should not be confused with fields per second. Two fields per second is equivalent to one frame per second. Recommended frame rates are as follows:
POS Monitoring = 25fps
Retail Surveillance = 16fps
Door/Car Monitoring = 4fps
Examples of different frame rates can be viewed by clicking on the links below:
25fps,16fps,12fps,8fps,6fps,4fps,1fps
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f-Stop
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Also called F Number and F System. Refers to the speed or ability of a lens to pass light. It is calculated by dividing the focal length of the lens by its diameter.
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Gain
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An increase in voltage or power, usually expressed in dB.
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Galvanometric
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This is one method used on Auto Iris and Direct Drive lenses to move the iris vanes open and closed using a coil operation.
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Gamma Correction
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An electronic correction carried out by the camera circuitry to balance the brightness seen by the camera to that of the monitor.
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Gateway
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A piece of hardware that acts as the ‘gate’ between a LAN and the internet. The Gateway address is simply the IP address of the Gateway.
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General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
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Part of the GSM standard that delivers”always-on” wireless packet data services to GSM customers. GPRS can provide packet data speeds of up to 115 kb/s.
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Ghost
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A spurious image resulting from an echo.
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Gigabyte (GB)
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This unit is typically used to measure large data storage or data transfer capacities (by current standards). 1GB = 1024 MB = 1,048,575 KB = 1,073,741,825 bytes.
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Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
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The communication system used by cellular phones in the UK.
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Gray Scale Variations
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In value from white, through shades of gray, to black on a television screen. The gradations approximate the tonal values of the original image picked up by the TV camera.
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Ground Loop
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An alternating current (AC) that can be produced in a cable. This is usually caused by parts of the system being fed from different electrical sources resulting in different earth potentials at each end of the signal path. This results in interference of the video pictures in the form of a black shadow bar across the screen or as a tearing effect in the top comer of a picture.
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Ground Loop Transformer
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An isolation transformer. There is no direct connection between input and output.
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H.264 Compression It
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Is generated from MPEG-4, but more advanced for video compression. It has more complex coding algorithm, lower usage of bandwidth and smaller royal fee than MPEG4. It works well on a very wide variety of applications, networks and systems (e.g., for broadcast, DVD storage, and multimedia telephony systems).
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Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
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The storage device usually fixed inside of your computer or DVR used to store information
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Hertz (Hz)
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The number of variations per second (e.g. picture frames, alternating of the current, etc)
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High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD)
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A GSM transmission standard that allows data to be transferred at up to 28.8kbps
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HTTP
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Hyper text transfer protocol
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HTTP Port 80
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Normally this is the HTTP port address that cameras can communicate over
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Impedance (input or output)
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The input or output characteristic of a system component that determines the type of transmission cable to be used. Expressed in ohms.
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Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
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Digital telephony scheme that allows a user to connect to the Internet over standard phone lines at speeds higher than a 56K modem allows. Capable of speeds from 57.6 K to 128 K.
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IP
Internet Protocol
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The TCP/IP standard protocol that defines the IP datagram as the unit of information passed across an Internet and provides the basis for connectionless packet delivery service.
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IP Address
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The numeric address of a computer on the Internet. An IP address is written as a set of four numbers separated by periods (each number can range from 0 to 255). An example of an IP address is 123.456.7.8
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Image Intensifier
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A device coupled by fiber optics to a TV image pickup sensor to increase sensitivity. Can be single or multi stage
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Incident Light
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The light that falls directly on an object
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Infra Red Camera
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Infrared cameras (night vision cameras) have special infrared lights installed around the perimeter of the camera lens. This provides special light that the camera uses to capture a good picture even in total darkness
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Interference
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Extraneous energy which tends to interfere with the reception of the desired signals
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Iris
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Mechanism within a lens to regulate the amount of light that passes through, and falls upon, the image sensor. It can be controlled manually or automatically
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Jitter
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Small, rapid variations in a waveform due to mechanical disturbances or to changes in the characteristic of components. Supply voltages, imperfect synchronizing signals, circuits, etc..
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JPEG
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Stands for `’Joint Photographic Experts Group’’ who designed the standard. This is a standard way of compressing images which works particularly well for photographic images (as opposed to graphic art)
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JPEG2000
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JPEG2000 is image coding system and the successor of the JPEG format. Its architecture lends itself to a wide range of uses from portable digital cameras to advanced pre-press, medical imaging and other key sectors. Compared to JPEG, JPEG2000 offers higher compression without compromising quality, progressive image reconstruction
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LAN
Local Area Network
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A communications system that links computers into a network, usually via a wiring based cabling scheme. LANs connect PCs, workstations and servers together to allow users to communicate and share resources like hard disk storage and printers. Devices linked by a LAN may be on the same floor or within a building or campus. It is user-owned and does not run over leased lines, though a LAN may have gateways to the PSTN or other, private, networks
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LED
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Light Emitting Diode is a type of light source which generates an infrared frequency when stimulated by electricity
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LCD
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Liquid Crystal Display. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) offer several advantages over traditional cathode-ray tube displays that make them ideal for several applications. LCD’s are flat, and they use only a fraction of the power required by CRTs. They are easier to read and more pleasant to work with for long periods of time than most ordinary video monitors. There are several tradeoffs as well, such as limited view angle, brightness, and contrast, not to mention high manufacturing cost
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Lens
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A transparent optical component consisting of one or more pieces of optical glass with surfaces so curved (usually Spherical), that they serve to converge or diverge the transmitted rays of an object, thus forming a real or virtual image of that object
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Lens Format
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The approximate size of a lens-projected image. In most cases the lens will project an image slightly greater than the designated image size to insure the pickup device is completely covered. It is recommended that camera and lenses are the same format size. A lens larger format size can be used on a smaller format camera, however a smaller format lens should never be used with a larger format camera
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Lens Preset Positioning
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Follower Pots are installed on lens that allows feedback to the controller information relevant to zoom and focus positioning allowing the controller to quickly adjust to a pre-selected scene and arrive in focus at the proper focal length automatically
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Lens Speed
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Refers to the ability of a lens to transmit light, represented as the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the lens. A fast lens would be rated f/8. The larger the f number, the slower the lens.
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Light
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Electromagnetic radiation detectable by the eye, ranging in wavelength from about 400 to 750 nm..
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Line Amplifier
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An amplifier for audio or video signals that feeds a transmission line; also called program amplifier
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Line Locked
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A camera that is synchronized to the frequency of its AC power supply
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Loop Through
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Also called looping. The method of feeding a series of high impedance circuits: such as multiple monitor-displays in parallel, from a pulse or video source with a coax transmission line in such a manner that the line is bridged with minimum length stubs and that the last unit properly terminates the line in its characteristic impedance. This minimizes discontinuities or reflections on the transmission line.
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Lumen-FT2
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A unit of incident light. It is the illumination on a surface one square foot in area on which a flux of one lumen is uniformly distributed, or the illumination at a surface all points of which are at a distance of one foot from a uniform source of one candela
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Luminance
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Luminous intensity photometric brightness of any surface in a given direction per unit of projected area of the surface as viewed from that direction, measured in foot lamberts (fl).
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Lux
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International System (Sl) unit of illumination in which the meter is the unit of length. One lux equals one lumen per square meter. A camera’s light gathering ability. The lower the number, the better the image in low light conditions. A sunny day would be about 100,000 lux - a full moon at night would be about 0.1 lux - street lighting would be about 1 to 10 lux - home/office lighting would be about 100 to 1000 lux
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Manual Iris Lens
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A lens with a manual adjustment to set the iris opening (aperture) to a fixed position. This type lens is generally used in fixed lighting conditions
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Matrix Switcher
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A combination of electromechanical or electronic switches which route a number of signal sources to one or more designations
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Megabits Per Second (MBPS)
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A measurement of the transmission speed of data measured in 1,048,575 bits per second
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Motion Joint Photographic Experts Group (MJPEG)
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This compression standard generally refers to JPEG images shown at high frame rate, generally 25 frames per second. It gives high quality video images, but the comparatively large file sizes of each individual image does put demands on the transmission bandwidth
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Modem
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Device for the transmission of data via dial-up networking
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Modulation
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The process or results of the process, whereby some characteristic of one signal is varied in accordance with another signal. The modulated signal is called the carrier. The carrier may be modulated in three fundamental ways: by varying the amplitude, called amplitude modulation; by varying the frequency, called frequency modulation: by varying the phase. called phase modulation
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Monitor
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A unit of equipment that displays on the face of a picture tube the images detected and transmitted by a television camera.
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Monochrome
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Black and white with all shades of gray
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Monochrome Signal
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In monochrome television, a signal wave for controlling the brightness values in the picture. In color television, that part of the signal wave which has major control of the brightness values of the picture, whether displayed in color or in monochrome.
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Monochrome Transmission
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The transmission of a signal wave which represents the brightness values in the picture, but not the color (chrominance) values
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Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
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MPEG is an international standard for video compression. MPEG -1 is a low-resolution format currently used on the World Wide Web for short animated files. MPEG-2 is a much higher resolution format being developed for digital television and movies. MPEG-4 is increasingly being used in CCTV solutions
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MPEG-4
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MPEG - 4 is a graphics and video compression algorithm. It is further development of the MPEG - 2. MPEG - 4 resolves the picture more effectively and can thus compress sequence quicker and maybe smaller. Now, it is popularly used for Internet transmitting.
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Multiplexer
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A device primarily developed as a means to record multiple cameras simultaneously to a single video tape. They also allow viewing of multiple cameras on a single monitor in various arrangements
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ND Filter
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A filter that attenuates light evenly over the visible light spectrum. It reduces the light entering a lens, thus forcing the iris to open to its maximum
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Night Vision Cameras
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Cameras that have night vision have the ability to see in low light conditions. To judge how dark it can be for your camera to work. Look at the Lux rating on the camera. The lower the lux, the better it will see at night.
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Noise
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The word (noise) originated in audio practice and refers to random spurts of electrical energy or interference. In some cases, it will produce a `salt-and-pepper` pattern over the televised picture. Heavy noise is sometimes referred to as (snow)
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Non-Composite Video
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A video signal containing all information except sync
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NTP
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Network time protocol
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NTP Server
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A central source that can set the time of all network devices
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NTSC
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Abbreviation for National Television Systems Committee. A committee that worked with the FCC in formulating standards for the present day United States color television system
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Output
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The signal level at the output of an amplifier or other device
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PAL
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The UK’s colour television standard
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Pan and Tilt
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A device upon which a camera can be mounted that allows movement in both the azimuth (pan)in the vertical plane (tilt)
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Pan/Tilt Preset Positioning
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Follower pots are installed on pan/tilt unit to allow feedback to the controller and provides information relevant to horizontal and vertical positioning, allowing the controller to quickly adjust to a pre-selected scene automatically
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PCI Video Card
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A PC card that allows video from analogue cameras to be fed into a computer
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Peak-To-Peak
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The measurement of a video signal from the base of the sync pulse to the top of the white level. For a full video signal this should be one volt
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Phase Adjustable
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The ability to delay the line locking process so as to align cameras fed from AC voltages of different phases
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Photo Detector
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A device at the receiving end of an optical fibre link that converts light to electrical power
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Photocell
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A device that automatically switches on the infra-red lights when light levels fall to a pre-set level
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Pic In Pic
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An electronic device that superimposes the view from one camera over that of another
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Picture Element
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See Pixel
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PIR
Passive Infrared
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Passive Infrared widely used in devices to detect motion. A special lens on the front of the PIR divides the sensor into zones. A individuals body heat radiation is detected as it moves through the sensor zones in front of the PIR
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Pixel
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Short for Picture Element, A pixel is the smallest area of a television picture capable of being delineated by an electrical signal passed through the system of part thereof The number of picture elements (pixels) in a complete picture, and their geometric characteristics of vertical height and horizontal width, provides information on the total amount of detail which the raster can display and on the sharpness of the detail, respectively. Monitor resolution is measured in pixels. CCTV pictures of 640 x 480 pixels (full screen) and 320 x 240 (quad screen) are most common
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Port
Re-direction
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This refers to pointing a port of a modem-router to an IP address where a PC or networked DVR can be found for viewing cameras over the internet
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Protocols
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When data is being transmitted between two or more devices something needs to govern the controls that keep this data intact. A protocol is a formal description of message formats and the rules two computers must follow to exchange those messages
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Proxy Server
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A server that acts as an intermediary between a user's computer and the computer they want to access. If a user makes a request for a resource from computer, this request is directed to the proxy server, which makes the request, gets the response from computer and then forwards the response to the client. Proxy servers are useful for accessing World Wide Web resources from inside a firewall
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Quad Processor
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Is a device which uses digital video to display pictures from 4 cameras on a single monitor
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Quad Splitter
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A product that can display the views from 4 cameras simultaneously on one monitor. It is also possible to select any individual camera for full-screen display on real time monitoring, dependent on model
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Random Interlace
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A method of combining two fields to make one frame where strict timing is not a requirement
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Reflectance
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The ratio of light returned from a surface expressed as a percentage
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Reflected Light
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Scene illumination multiplied by reflectance. This is the amount of light returned to the camera and determines the quality of picture
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Refracted Index Profile
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A description shown in the form of a diagram illustrating how the optical density of an optical fibre alters across its diameter
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Regenerators
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Devices placed at regular intervals along a transmission line to detect weak signals re-transmit them. These are seldom required in fibre optic systems. Often incorrectly referred to as (repeaters)
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Remote Switcher
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A video switcher to which the cables from the cameras are connected and which contains the switching electronics. This unit may be remotely located and connected to a desktop controller by a single cable for each monitor
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Real time video
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Is a picture with more than 24 frames per sec and therefore looks continuous
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Resolution
(horizontal)
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The amount of resolvable detail in the horizontal direction in a picture. It is usually expressed as the number of distinct vertical lines, alternately black and white, which can be seen in a distance equal to picture height
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Resolution Limiting
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The details that can be distinguished on the television screen. Vertical resolution refers to the number of horizontal black and white lines that can be resolved in the picture height. Horizontal resolution refers to the black and white lines resolved in a dimension equal to the vertical height and may be limited by the video amplifier bandwidth
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Resolution
(vertical)
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The amount of resolvable detail in the vertical direction in a picture. It is usually expressed as the number of distinct horizontal lines, alternately black and white, which can theoretically be seen in a picture
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Retained Image
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Also called image burn. A change produced in or on the target which remains for a large number of frames after the removal of a previously stationary light image and which yields a spurious electrical signal corresponding to that light image
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Resolution
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Is a measure of picture definition and clarity and is represented by number of lines. Greater the number of lines, higher the resolution
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RF (Radio Frequency)
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A frequency at which coherent electromagnetic radiation of energy is useful for communication purposes. Also, the entire range of such frequencies
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RG-59
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Is a type of coaxial cable used for transmission of video signals up to 230m It is the most popular cable used in CCTV
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RJ-11
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A type of telephone connector standard in the US.
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RJ-45
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A standard network connector, often found at the end of CAT-5 cable
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Roll
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A loss of vertical synchronization which causes the picture to move up or down on a receiver or monitor
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Saturation
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In color, the degree to which a color is diluted with white light or is pure. The vividness of a color described by such terms as bright, deep, pastel, pale, etc. saturation is directly related to the amplitude of the chrominance signal
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Scanning
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The process of moving the electron beam of a pickup tube or a picture tube across the target or screen area of a tube Sensitivity In television a factor expressing the incident illumination upon a specified scene required to produce a specified picture signal at the output terminals of a television camera
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Scart
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Standard European 20 pin connector used for carrying both video and audio signals in domestic TV appliances, now utilised on some CCTV equipment
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Serial Port
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Also known as a communications port or COM port. The serial port is a location for sending and receiving serial data transmissions. These ports are known by the names
COM-1, COM-2, COM-3 and COM-4
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Sensitivity
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For a camera usually specified in lux to provide indication of light level required to gain a full video signal from the camera
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Shutter
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Ability to control the integration (of light) time to the sensor to less than 1/60 second; eg. Stop motion of moving traffic
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Signal to Noise Ratio
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The ratio between useful television signal and disturbing noise or snow
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Snow
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Heavy random noise
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Spike
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A transient of short duration, comprising part of a pulse, during which the amplitude considerably exceeds the average amplitude of the pulse
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Spot Filter
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A neutral density filter placed at the center of one of the elements or on an iris blade to increase the high end of the F-stop range of the lens
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Static IP address
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An IP address which is the same every time you log on to the Internet. The alternative to a dynamic IP address often standard for business broadband but not for domestic broadband
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Subnet Mask
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A numeric designation with the same format as an IP address which determines how much of an IP address is used to partition a network using TCP/IP into smaller entities called subnets
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Telemetry
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The system by which a signal is transmitted to a remote location in order to control the operation of equipment. In CCTV systems this may include controlling pan, tilt and zoom functions, switch on lights, move to pre-set positions etc. The controller at the operating position is the transmitter and there is a receiver at the remote location, the signal can be transmitted along a simple twisted pair cable or along the same coaxial cable that carries the video signal
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Telemetry Transmitter
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The unit that is at the control position of a CCTV system contains the keys, joysticks etc. for the remote control of pan-tilt-zoom cameras
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Termination
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The video cable requires an impedance of 75 ohms at normal video signal bandwidth. This is often called (low Z) there is a switch on the back of the monitors to select either 75 ohm or (high Z) sometimes (high-low). If a signal is looped through more than one monitor all should be set to (high) except at last, which should be to (low) or 75 ohm
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Test Pattern
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A chart especially prepared for checking overall performance of a television system. It contains various combinations of lines and geometric shapes. The camera is focused on the chart, and the pattern is viewed at the monitor for fidelity
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Tight Buffered
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A type of cable in which the optical fibres are tightly bound
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Time-date generator
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Is a device which generates time and a date superimposes it on the video signal
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Time Lapse VCR
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A type of industrial video recorder that can be set to record continuously over long periods. Typically this can be from three hours to 480 hours achieved by the tape mechanism moving in steps and recording one frame at a time. This means that if set to record over long periods much information can be lost. For instance in the 72 - hour mode only 3 frames/second will be recorded instead of 25 frames / second in the real time mode On receipt of an alarm signal these machines can be automatically switched to real time mode. With rapid advances in digital storage and retrieval techniques the mechanical video recorder is now nearing the end of its life in industrial security systems
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Unbalanced Signal
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A composite video signal, transmitted along a coaxial cable, is an example of an unbalanced signal. (See balanced signal)
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Unterminated
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Video input of apiece of equipment, wired so as to allow the video signal to be fed to further equipment. Does not necessarily include extra sockets for the extra cables
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UPS (UninterruptiblePower Supply)
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A battery, attached to a piece of hardware, for example a server that provides back up power for conducting an orderly shutdown if the server's normal power supply fails
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UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)
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The standard cabling used for telephone lines. The standard IEEE 802.3, 10BaseT, defines use of Ethernet over UTP for rates up to 10Mbit/s. the general LAN medium of choice for the 1990s
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Vertical Resolution
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The number of horizontal lines that can be seen in the reproduced image of a television pattern
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Video Amplifier
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A wideband amplifier used for passing picture signals
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Video Band
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The frequency band width utilized to transmit a composite video signal
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Video Signal Non-Composite
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A picture signal containing visual information and horizontal and vertical blanking (also see Composite Video Signal) but not sync
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WAN
(Wide Area Network)
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A network that covers a larger geographical area than a LAN and where telecommunications links are implemented, normally leased from the appropriate PTOs. Examples of WANs include packet switched networks, public data networks and value added networks
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Wavelet
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Compression that is optimised for images containing low amounts of data The relatively inferior image quality is offset against the low bandwidth demands on transmission medium
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White Level
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The brightest part of a video signal corresponding to approximately 1.0 volt (0.7 volts above the black level)
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Workstation
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Term used freely to mean a PC node terminal or high-end desktop processor for CAD / CAM and similar intensive applications. In short a device that has data input and output and operated by a user
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Y/C
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A colour camera producing separate luminance - (Y) and chrominance - (C) signals to provide greatly improved picture quality from video recorders Can only be used with a restricted range of equipment
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Zoom
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To enlarge or reduce on a continuously variable basis the size of a televised image primarily by varying lens focal length
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Zoom Lens
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An optical system of continuously variable focal length is the focal plane remaining in a fixed position
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