If you are recording images using an analogue system, for example, based around a video recorder, you need to stop the tape and replace it with another one if you want to review the footage and search for an event. During the swap, you may miss a vital incident. With a digital system, you can review and search footage from any camera, at the same location or from another location. There will be no interruption to live monitoring or recording. Thus continuous transmission, recording, analysing, searching and live footage are simultaneously active.

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAPTURE RATE AND FRAME RATE?

The frame rate is the number of images monitored per second (also referred to as fps – frames per second)

The capture rate is the number of images recorded per second.

The capture rate of some systems may be lower than the frame rate.

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HOW MANY IMAGES DO I NEED TO CAPTURE?

The number of images recorded per second is known as the capture rate.

If you have an analog system, you will probably use a video recorder and multiplexer. The capture rate will depend on the number of cameras attached and the ‘mode’ selected. Sixteen cameras recording for 24 hours might capture 1 image every 2 seconds, but this will depend on the quality of the system and may not be consistent.

Using a digital system, the capture rate is consistent and can be set on a per-camera basis.

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HOW MUCH STORAGE DO I NEED?

The size of the hard drive you need will be a balance between the number of cameras capturing images, the size of the images (which includes the resolution) and the number of frames being captured per second.

Using smart recording you can maximise the storage space with the most cost-effective hard drive.

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WHAT IS SMART RECORDING?

Digital recording systems can be set to record continuously just like analogue systems. However, in many cases this is superfluous because only movement or specific events are of interest. Smart recording, which can be configured on a per-camera basis, allows you to choose and combine different ways of recording:

• Scheduled recording - recording at specific times and days.
• Video motion detection - record only when movement is detected in areas of interest.
• Event-triggered recording - record only when a specific trigger is detected, e.g. a sound, or if a door is opened.

When and event occurs, the capture rate can be automatically increased. Pre- and post-event recording for periods before and after an event means that no information is missed.

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DO I HAVE TO BE AT A SPECIAL LOCATION TO SEE MY CAMERAS?

You don’t have to be in the same location as your cameras. They can be accessed across a local network or via a secure connection across the Internet. So you can monitor your premises from another premises, a security outpost, home or anywhere in the world.

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CAN I ADD CUBITECH SYSTEMS TO AN EXISTING NETWORK?

Yes, and bandwidth consumption is low for most systems, so that other processes using the network remain virtually unaffected.

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