Surveillance CCTV System vs Security Camera System

There is a big difference between Surveillance Video Camera System and Security Camera System. It all comes to the way you use your CCTV System. Surveillance System is the one you would see in the Large Stores, Shopping Malls, Casinos, Airports, Sport Venues etc. Anywhere there is a security guard watching cameras in real time. Use of Pan Tilt Zoom Cameras (PTZ Cameras) could be very beneficial for Surveillance System. Security guard controlling PTZ Cameras can really pull up all the details he or she needs to properly judge the situation and prevent things like shop lifting, property damage, robberies, etc. In other words, Surveillance System is used to act on the spot rather then after the fact. There are few major differences in design of Surveillance System and Security Camera System. One, and probably the most important difference is that with Surveillance System we can actually use less cameras and have less detailed view of the area than with Security Camera System. Since we will usually act on the spot, there is no need for positive identification on the video footage. There is no need for close up facial shot or license plate camera. Simply, when security guard sees something is not right he can approach suspect and request identification or hold the person for law enforcement to arrive. Same thing applies to identification of vehicle. Surveillance System should also feature real-time display.
With Security Camera System it is much different. Since there is noone there to act on the spot, video footage will be used to try to identify the person, car etc. Thus there is a need for much more detailed picture. Cameras located in very specific areas should be focused on obtaining as much details as possible. Example here would be cameras located in elevators, at the exits and entrances, focused on capturing faces of people or vehicle license plates. The more detailed picture the easier it is later to use video footage as evidence in court. Please remember that not all cameras in Security Systems need to get every detail. If we catch the person’s face at the entrance, than the rest of the cameras is used only to track person’s movement and activity. Same thing applies to vehicle. If we capture vehicle’s license plate at the gate, and than on the wide angle camera of the parking lot we see this car hitting other parked car, that picture does not need to show tags. As long as we can track this car from the moment it enters the parking lot to the moment it hits other vehicle, this is all we need. Important is to have time stamp on every camera picture and if using more than one DVR, time on all DVR units must be synchronized. Real time display is not really important in this case, since there is nobody there to watch it live.
Since there is a difference between Security and Surveillance CCTV System, it is important to consider it when designing it. Camera locations, Camera Lenses and PTZ option along with Real Time Display DVR are the most important factors to consider.