To PTZ or Not to PTZ: PTZ IP Cameras vs. Multi-Megapixel

I have been speaking to many many clients lately about IP video surveillance and each time we go through the pros and cons of using traditional Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) cameras vs. the latest multi-megapixel IP cameras and in most cases we end up deciding that the multi-megapixel cameras are the way to go. So I have decided to share these ideas to hopefully help others in accessing their own IP security needs, and the solutions to these needs.

So PTZ. What is it? PTZ or pan tilt zoom cameras have been around for years in the analog world of CCTV and have made the obvious transition to IP Video security as well. These cameras are normally enclosed in a dome and have a VGA quality sensor that sits on a multi-axis thimble so that the user/operator can move the camera up, down, side to side and zoom in on a subject to get a closer look at what is happening in a specific location. That should be pretty self explanatory but if you would like to see a PTZ camera I have included a pic for you.

As in other parts of life, there are always advancements that are not necessarily meant to contend with previous methods of doing something but after they are developed they do, and in my opinion multi-megapixel IP cameras are one of these advancements. Multi-megapixel IP video cameras allow you to see double, triple, even quadruple the amount of pixels as a standard "high-resolution" VGA camera. What this means in plain English is that you can see more of a particular view and in greater detail. If that still doesn't make sense, read on as there is a good picture below.

OK, “so what,” right? That is great you say, but what does that have to do with contending with traditional PTZ cameras? Well here is how I see it. PTZ cameras are used because an operator wants to see activity in different locations around his or her property. Well, a standard high-resolution VGA camera has a limited 640x480 field of view so it needs to be moved around to see the "BIGGER PICTURE". Ok, well what happens when you move the camera from area A to see what is happening in area B? Area A is now vulnerable. So why not use 2 fixed cameras one focused on Area A and one on Area B? Well this is a great idea but quickly becomes expensive since you then need to monitor two cameras, you have to buy an extra camera license and of course you need to buy another camera!

So a good solution is to get one camera that has enough resolution or sees a big enough picture to monitor both area A, area B and everything in between all at the same time. This is precisely what multi-megapixel cameras allow you to do. IQeye has a series of cameras that reach up to 5 megapixels, which translates into 2560 x 1920 pixels. That is 16 times the resolution of a high-resolution VGA camera which means the field of view is 16 times as large and therefore the operator can view the "BIGGER PICTURE" without leaving certain parts of the property vulnerable to attack, theft, etc... The nice thing about having all those pixels is that you can then digitally zoom in after the fact and get a closer look without the image becoming overly "blocky" or pixilated. Milestone Systems Xprotect and other NVR packages have this feature already built in.

As promised, here is a picture to try and explain all this. I'm a visual person too so here is an image I’ve made to try and explain this a little more clearly...

I took a picture of a standard University courtyard, that I found on Google Images, with the proper aspect ratio and scaled it down properly so that I could easily demonstrate my point. The green border represents a 5 Megapixel image (2560x1920) and the red rectangles represent standard high-resolution VGA cameras. You can see that exactly 16 red boxes fit inside the one green one, which means that the single 5MP IP surveillance camera can take the place of 16 standard cameras or a PTZ that is constantly patrolling but without missing a thing! In this day of University tragedies can you imagine if a crucial piece of evidence is missed because the crime happened in area A on the left but the camera operator was focused on area B to the right? I say why not see it all?

Let me know what you think about this topic...Send me an Email!

Ronen Isaac
Vice President of WLANmall.com & Continental Computers