IP surveillance refers to the transmission of digital media over IP networks. By leveraging digital and networking
technologies, it provides the advantages of both fields. Digital technologies enable IP surveillance to provide video quality
superior to analog CCTV systems. Video and audio compression techniques can be applied to reduce bandwidth and
storage space requirements, and because data can be recorded onto digital storage media, storage costs are significantly
reduced. Additionally, data can be analyzed automatically to provide more useful behavior information.
Networking technologies bring to IP surveillance the benefits of remote access anytime, anywhere as long as an Internet
connection is available. IP surveillance systems can be easily scaled up by connecting small systems together through
IP networks, and can incorporate new technologies such as Power-over-Ethernet and wireless LAN. Because of their
support for open standard Internet protocols, IP surveillance systems are compatible with a company’s existing network
infrastructure.
Among these benefits, superior video quality, especially for megapixel technology, is the most important driving force that
will encourage continued migration to IP.